WICKED INTENTIONS { Completed}

Chapter 24

Shakira barely noticed that it was still dark outside as she followed Nathan to the living room. A cursory glance at the wall clock revealed that it was just a few minutes past five thirty.

"I don't know why I didn't think of it." Nathan shook his head as he settled on the couch and set the laptop on his lap. "Your boy had a real sense of humor. The password was a combination of Al Nichols, one of the notorious Louisville Grays, and his 1877 game-throwing scandal. It was one of the first documented baseball cheating-"

"What's on it?" Shakira interrupted as she sat next to Nathan, her eyes already zeroing in on the screen. She was not interested in knowing where Charlie had picked his password from just what he was hiding.

"Sorry." Nathan tilted the screen slightly so she could see.

There was only one file on the drive marked as Aquarium Investments. The cursor hovered over the file before he clicked on it to reveal its contents. In it were several spreadsheet files named in the oddest ways. CHIPiranhas-BOSHawks7214, PHXKnights-BUFMachines12314...the list went on and on. Shakira palms were practically sweating and she watched in bated breath as Nathan clicked on one spreadsheet.

Names and numbers.

Lots of names; lots of numbers.

The data was split into four columns but the rows stretched endlessly beyond the length of the screen.

It took a while for the weight of what they were holding to hit Shakira. When it did, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Please tell me those are not the names of players."

"I can't tell you that." Nathan shook his head slowly as he stared at the screen with wide eyes and parted lips. He looked as shocked as she felt. "Please tell me those are not dollar signs next to their names."

"I can't tell you that." Shakira pointed to the third column on the spreadsheet. "He even recorded the dates when they received the money."

He pointed to the fourth column. "What are these?"

She counted the digits. "Oh damn! Swiss accounts?"

The two looked at each other for a couple of seconds suspended in temporary shock. If the length and number of these spreadsheets was anything to go by, they were holding the details to the biggest sports scandal in the twenty first century.

Nathan cupped his hand over his mouth as he minimized that sheet then clicked on another. He scanned the names. "Holy shit! Is that Owen Ure's name? No wonder that mutherfucker sucked at the Knights-Vikings game. He was on the take."He erupted, "We need to get this to Karyn."

Just as Shakira said, "We need to get this to Wayne."

"We-are-not-taking-this-to-Wayne," Nathan emphasized each word as he riveted his gaze on Shakira. "The guy is involved in this."

"Don't be ridiculous." If there was anyone who wasn't involved in this mess, it was Wayne. He'd helped her out more than anyone else had ever done. And she was not messing with the FBI anymore. Gates had cured her of that need.

"Hear me out." There was a trace of pleading in Nathan's tone as he set the laptop on the coffee table. "Wayne was Charlie's best friend, right?" Shakira nodded. He continued, "So why did he offer to defend you?"

She scowled. "Because he's a nice guy."

"He's a lawyer."

"Lawyers can be nice too."

"Not lawyers like Wayne," Nathan returned. "I did some research into him-"

"Research." Her eyebrows shot up to her hair. She knew exactly what kind of messy business Nathan's research entailed.