She'll Bring Honor To Us All (BWWM) ✓

Chapter 25: Surveillance

Rein's POV
"His name is Sam Wilson." Aaron announced, as he pulled the entire case up on the big screen. McGary and I were now sitting in another conference room.

I didn't recognize the man on the screen, but it looked as if McGary might of. "Doesn't he look familiar to you guys?" He asked. Both Aaron and I glanced at Sam's picture in thought. Eventually, both of us shook our heads. I think McGary sometimes forgot that I had been living deep in the forests of Montana for half a decade.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "He's Sam Wilson... like, the Sam Wilson... of Wilson Firms."

"Holy shit you're right." Aaron replied, as he pulled up the website of Wilson's Firms. Sure enough, Sam's picture beside the words "Let us represent you, and guarantee you receive what you're entitled to!" On the top of the home page.

I stood up, and tapped the image of the lawyers list, before enlarging one that particularly caught my eye. "Well I'll be damned." Aaron whispered to himself as I enlarged the image some more on the big screen. "That's the other college buddy in the photo, right? Derek Manning..." he trailed off reading the name that was printed under the painting.

"Can you run face configuration again, but this time, focus on the employees at the Walten Institute." I requested. Something felt off... very off.

A few more files were pulled up and a list of the employees were given. None of them were Derek though.

"Can you pull up all the information you can on Derek Manning?" I requested. I knew that last name, but I couldn't remember from where. I had seen it though. I had seen it somewhere.

"Derek Manning, married to-"

"Emily Manning... Emily. She worked front desk when McGary and I first entered the institution. She was the one who brought us to the West Wing of the museum. Her name tag said Emily, but her desk plate had her full name." I explained. McGary's eyes grew wide but before he could say anything, Aaron confirmed by pulling a photo of both Derek and Emily at their engagement part about a year ago. She had the same smile she offered me when I had first met her.

"That definitely cannot be a coincidence." Aaron spoke. "We now have both Sarah Gardner, Sam Wilson, and Derek Manning connected to the museum and the attack.

"Why would two lawyers and a bank teller attack an art institution with lethal gas?" McGary asked as Aaron pulled all three accomplices photos up side by side.

No one could answer that as the question was left to hang in the air. I could feel the gears turning, but it felt as if there was something missing to the equation.

Aaron continued to pull up any other information he could on these three, but for the most part, the lives they lived prior to this attack, was a boring one. This just made it all the more difficult.

"Can you pull up all three of their bank accounts?" I asked. Aaron had them up on the screen moments later. A few of my suspicions were proven as the receipt for a wire transfer appeared on all three of their accounts about a week and a half ago. Each of them were wired $56,000. Aaron clicked on the all too familiar routing number as he attempted to run a trace on it. As expected, the number lead to a front for a disclosed Swiss bank overseas.

But Aaron didn't have to run the trace because I already knew who this number belonged to.

"I need to check something. I'll be back." I spoke quietly, before excusing myself from the conference room. Things were starting to come together, and it wasn't looking good. I slipped into another conference room and pulled open the laptop that was sitting on the edge of the table. As I pulled up the database, I set my phone down on the table and started the countdown from 60 seconds. Immediately, I began to hack the government network. It only took moments to recognize the patch that was made from the breach, and once I was through, I established a connection. I only had 30 seconds before the patch would go into affect and lock me out.

|Genji? I typed into the hacked server.

A reply came almost Instantly.

|What is it, imōto?

|Do you remember that painting father acquired when he took us to that art show back in Kyoto? It was the cherry blossom painting from that famous Japanese artist.

|Yes. What about it?

|Do we still have it? I asked.

|Father sold it about a month back-

Before Genji could finish his sentence, the laptop system went black, then red. A "Breach Detected" sign began to flash on the screen. Moments later, the conference room was swarmed with U.S. military men, all with guns pointed directly at me. I slowly raised my arms up.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Aaron demanded as he fought his way into the crowded room.

"A breach has been detected. The source is from that laptop right there." One of the guards replied.

"What is this, Rein?" Aaron asked. For a brief moment, pain flashed in his eyes.

"I had to reach out to Genji. There was no other way to get ahold of him, but to trace the original breach in the network." I explained. "Do you remember the day I first saw the surveillance footage of the attack? One of the men had stolen that painting I recognized. I first told you it was a fake, believing that it was. For as long as I could remember, the original painting was hanging in the entrance of my home in Japan."

Aaron nodded, as he signaled for the men to at least lower their weapons. "Genji just confirmed that that painting was sold by my father a month ago. The painting that was stolen in that attack wasn't a replica, it was real.

"At the beginning of this case, I dismissed the thought that this could have been an art heist. Right now, I'm not so sure I was right."

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