CHIPPED

Chapter 3

I wasn't expecting to be greeted by anyone in Australia, but I guess when you're working for the government, there is no way they would let you work alone. Of course it's not like a group of men in black suits were waiting for me the moment I stepped off of the plane. Instead, they were all waiting for me in a private limousine outside of the airport.

"Orlon Kane?" One of the men asked me. They all looked like they were in the secret service, and I suppose that's the most logical reasoning behind their suits and sunglasses. I thought about answering with 'no' but decided I'd like to live. I only nodded my head before he grabbed my wrist and patted my index finger with ink. My finger was pressed down against a piece of paper.

"We need tangible proof that you were here with us." One of the men offers the information. I wasn't protesting the idea, but I'm glad he cleared that up.

"Now that I'm here, do we have any ideas where Willder might be? I know he vacationed here a lot, but where exactly?" I try to jump straight to business. The secret service intimidates me more and more by the second.

I tried not to let the men scare me, but I couldn't tell what kind of guys I was dealing with. Were they actually going to assist me, or were they going to watch my every move to make sure I didn't jeopardize anything? 

The man who took my fingerprint speaks up, "Sydney. Keep in mind he hasn't been there in three years since his wife passed."

"And he has no children to contact either, am I correct?" I tried to recall conversations Willder and I had in the past. The secret service men nodded. He was a happy old man for someone who didn't have any family around. What would make him return to Australia without giving anyone notice of his absence? And if he hadn't been there in three years, why go there now?

"Where was Willder seen last?" I asked, wishing I was given a piece of paper and a pen to jot down my train of thought. Since I was in prison while he went missing, I had no clue what happened. I'm still not entirely sure why I was released to do this mission when I was fired from the CIA just a year ago.

I was the Deputy Director for Science and Technology. To sum up my title, I was allowed on numerous occasions to hack into servers within our own country as well as foreign servers. As much as my team hated to admit it, they needed me and they admired my skills. I only worked for the CIA for a year and a half before I was relieved of my responsibilities. The point is, I was promoted to Deputy Director within the first three months of my career. My traits were admirable despite my delinquent record.

Apparently, I took my job too far. I started to investigate closed cases that I didn't believe should have been closed. There were too many theories floating around in my head for me to leave the matters alone. I knew what I was doing was illegal, but I also knew how to cover my tracks. Well, at least I thought I did.

Rushwood got entangled in some of my research. His name popped up on several pieces of evidence. In one instance, there was a murder case. The public didn't know it to be murder, including myself. Everyone thought Governor James Victor died of a heart attack. Now I knew better. When I tried to take a piece of evidence to be tested for finger prints, I automatically lost my job.

As if I needed another reason to hate the government, I was just given two more. Losing my job, and finding out Mr. Victor was murdered by one of his own colleagues. Our government was turning out to be more corrupt than I ever imagined.

One of the secret service men clears his throat, bringing me back to the present. "Willder was last seen on the night of the election. He was in the building during the security breach." The man with the broad shoulders sneered at the 'coincidence'.