Catch and Kill: A high-tech conspiracy thriller (Shadow Operatives Book 2) by J.D. Lasica

Author:J.D. Lasica [Lasica, J.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Best of Indie Publishing
Published: 2019-03-24T22:00:00+00:00

36

Miami

Alice Wong stood atop her chair in the conference room at Axom’s headquarters in Miami, grappling with the one-eyed smiley face piñata that dangled overhead. It was a reminder for the staff not to get too self-serious or puffed up. But today the subject was dead serious.

Victorious over the vanquished piñata at last, she stepped down and looked around the large cherry-wood conference table at the war room she’d assembled. Axom was that rare combo of national politics, entertainment, and opinion that actually worked as an online publication. Having a billionaire owner didn’t hurt, either. She’d been elevated to Editor-in-Chief just a month ago. This was her first crisis, and she knew it was a test of her character.

“Is everyone here?”

“Everyone except Alex,” offered Charlie Adams, the super-connected roving correspondent and Alex’s best friend.

Not helpful.

She shut the glass door to the conference room. “Here’s the situation. As you know, Alex Wyatt left a voicemail for me last night. Here it is.” She put her phone on speaker and played the short recording talking about a kidnapping victim.

The ten reporters, editors, and Paul Redman, the billionaire owner of Axom, looked glum at the sound of Alex’s voice being cut off.

“We’ve been trying to reach him all day. Voice messages. Texts. We had a check-in scheduled for noon today. He didn’t call.”

“Okay, let’s begin with the setting. What do we know about Samana Cay?”

She looked around the table and stopped at Paula Hayes, her talented executive assistant. She considered Paula a peer rather than an underling. Axom was famous for being a “flat” organization with few hierarchies and a collaborative structure—the exact opposite of most newsrooms. Which is why her in-box was overflowing with journalists’ resumes.

“About 18,000 residents live on the island.” Paula read from the research she’d pulled together on her Macbook this morning. “Ninety-six percent of the labor force works in tourism. The thing is, there’s not a bright line between the government and the private sector. You live in a government-subsidized corporate village and work at a government-run theme park.”

“Great. A socialist paradise.” Stan Walters, the portly curmudgeon in residence, was known for his provocative conservative opinion columns. “Sounds like your people, Charlie.”

“I hear the Reichstag is adding time shares—you’d be right at home,” Charlie shot back. He could be just as acerbic from his left-of-center perch.

“Boys, boys, we’re here for Alex.” Alice shot a nervous glance at the owner. Have to keep a lid on my team. “Paula, go on.”

“Samana Cay is approaching a half million visitors a year, mostly by cruise ship,” Paula read from her screen. “State-of-the-art VR and AR facilities. A single corporate entity owns everything. Get this. The guy in charge goes by the name ‘Chairman Incognito.’ Nobody knows his real name.”

“You’re joking,” Charlie said.

“I’m not.” Paula knew her stuff. “And since the United States doesn’t recognize Samana Cay as an independent country, we have no ambassador there. No embassy.”

Alice tapped her pencil on the table. “Interpol doesn’t operate in Samana Cay. So the

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