Dominance Never Dies (Masters and Mercenaries #11)(64)

“Because she isn’t as good as her father with investors,” Tony explained. “With anyone, really. She relied on her father to smooth things over. It worked for a few months. Once she proved the drug with young Taggart, she was given two more subjects.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“I have friends who keep watch. When you wrote to me asking for a favor, I called in a few of my own. Now, I have to admit, I’m fascinated with McDonald. So brilliant. So deranged. She truly believes in her work, that she’s expanding the boundaries of science. So much so that I believe she started thinking she was bigger than Kronberg. That’s why they decided to raid her site. The funny thing is, they got there roughly seventy-two hours after a man named Liam O’Donnell found the place.”

“McKay-Taggart was there?” Case hadn’t mentioned it.

“For all the good it did them. Her boys, as she likes to call them, are excellent at hiding evidence.”

The robberies finally made sense. “So she’s having them rob banks because she needs the money. Her corporate funds have dried up.”

“Exactly. They’ve dried up and she’s on the run. She needs money and a lot of it. She got some from the robberies, but she spends it like a woman who’s never worried about it once in her life. Money is nothing but a tool to a woman like that.”

“What’s her end game? What is she planning on getting out of this?” It was the one thing she didn’t understand. “Is she going to sell the drug?”

“Ah, I don’t think money matters to her. Like I said, it’s useful and she’s used to having all she needs, but it’s not her purpose. Science is her purpose. She’s Dr. Frankenstein but she’s building her monsters by reprogramming their brains. There’s no thought except to perfect her technique. She’ll keep running as long as someone is chasing her.”

Case Taggart would never stop chasing her. “Do you know where she is?”

“I believe she has something to do with a clinic in the city. I’ve written down the address for you. I also believe she’s preparing to move.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small square of paper.

She glanced down. There was a neatly written address on it. “What makes you think that?”

“It’s what I would do. I’ve also heard some rumors about a blond man fitting Theo’s description inquiring about a plane. He’s going through very shady contacts, though according to my sources he’s willing to pay top dollar as long as the plane can make long-haul flights. He needs a pilot.”

“I’m a pilot. I’ve got a plane, too. Is there any way you could put me in touch with him, with whoever he’s talked to?” All they had to do was get close. Case would do whatever it took to get his brother. Get Theo. Get out. Let them deal with Hope McDonald later.

He laughed at that thought, the most amusement she’d ever heard from Tony. “Yes, he wouldn’t be suspicious at all of a pretty blonde girl with a hundred-million-dollar jet at her disposal. No. And don’t think to use the rest of your team. Americans of any kind would be suspicious. I’ll let you know if anything else comes up. Do you have a tech expert with you?”

“Yes. He’s a former hacker.”

“Excellent. Have him look on the Deep Web. That’s where McDonald will have to find her pilot. I don’t think she’s got an expert with her, but she’ll still figure it out. That’s also where they’ll be forced to buy certain chemicals that she needed Kronberg to provide. You understand that if the subject goes off the drug, the power she has over him ceases to be.”

“So once the drug’s out of his system, he’ll be Theo again?”

“I didn’t say that. I doubt he’ll ever be the same. Imagine having two lives in your memory. Two complete sets. The drug being out of his system won’t erase the memories she gave him. They’ll simply allow the real ones to surface. Theo Taggart will have two lives and he often won’t know which one was real. Like I said, there are worse things than death. I would be surprised if he didn’t kill himself. You should prepare his brothers for that. He was dead the minute he took that bullet. He’s simply been walking around not realizing it. The man you’re searching for, he’s a ghost and nothing more.”

She refused to believe it. Tony was wrong. Theo had a life and a family and they would bring him back. They would find a way. “We’ll handle it.”

His lips curled up slightly. “I suspect you will try. I’ll be in touch. Tell your Taggart that he’s not the only player in this game.”

“I’ll tell him Kronberg and The Collective are looking for her, too.” He would find that interesting and it might change his mind about calling his brother in. Now that she’d met with Tony, they could do whatever they liked.

“It’s not Kronberg he should be worried about. It’s the Agency,” Tony said solemnly.

“Ian works with the Agency.”

He laughed again, this time the sound booming. “The Agency only uses. Tell him to watch out for Mr. White. He’s not Tennessee Smith. He won’t choose friendship or his conscience over his country. He’ll choose whatever takes him further up the ladder. He won’t be the only one. This is a game thick with spies. I wouldn’t trust anyone, pretty girl. Not even the people you think you should. I’ve found men always choose their brothers in the end. Even over a woman they enjoy in bed.”