"How the fuck did you get this number?" I demanded.
"When you're an accountant for a criminal like Oliver Wilson you learn a thing or two."
"What do you want?"
"We want to hire you."
"What the fuck did you just say?"
"We want to hire you to kidnap our son."
A woman's voice this time.
"Your son?"
Now I was confused. Wait, Oliver Wilson's accountant. It was coming back to me now.
"Billy," I muttered.
"Yes! Can you get him back for us?"
I laughed without any real humor.
"Lady there is no getting that kid back."
"What do you mean?"
"I was hired by Wilson himself. That's who has your son. There is no crossing Oliver Wilson. It would be suicide for me to even try."
"How much?" the man demanded.
"What?"
"How much money will it take to make you suicidal?"
"You can't possibly offer me enough to ..."
"I can give you a clean start."
"Come again?"
"I've come to know a lot of cyber criminals through my work. One has procured for me a random new identity from the WITSEC program."
"Won't witness protection notice you took it?"
"Erased it, will take years for them to notice. Get my son back you get a new life where Oliver Wilson can never find you."
"Go on."
Billy was getting the fuck outta this place. That crazy bitch had gotten him into this mess but he was going to get himself out of it. He cracked the door open. No one seemed to be around. He crept out into the hallway. Still no one, good. He continued along looking around, ear to the ground. Why the hell was he even in this mess? What was that smell?
Peeking around the corner he saw a bunch of people in what looked hazmat suits. Faces covered by breathing masks they mixed chemicals in various large containers. Holy shit! He was being held in a goddamn meth lab! He started to hurry in his escape. That proved to be a fatal mistake. His foot crunched down on an unseen can left laying on the floor. Several heads snapped in his direction.
"Shit."
He ran for it, hearing someone shout something into a radio. Armed men came bursting out of one of the doors behind him.
"Shit!"
He ran like he had never run before. The staircase! It was just ahead! Freedom was within reach! He flung the door open to find Oliver Wilson on the other side.
I always knew Wilson thought of the Warehouse as his fortress. I never knew how literal that was until today. I got as close as I dared, approaching the building from every angle. There were cameras on every entrance. They were all motion sensitive. That didn't mean there wasn't a blind spot. It just happened to be a small air vent on the southern wall. That was not going to be fun.
"Getting in won't do much good if you don't know your way around."
I spun around to face the voice. He was greasy looking man with a dirty jacket and cheap shades.
"Who the fuck are you?"
He held out a badge.
"Detective Brandon Coultrane."
"What do you want?"
"To take down Oliver Wilson."
"Good luck with that."