Charmed (Second Sight) Read Free

division was full of young agents like Tim, each one at their workstation, headphones on. The only sound was the whirring and whine of computers and the occasional clicks on keyboards.
    “Right,” Mac said. “Two l’s.”
    Tim shook his head.
    “Nope. No death certificate.”
    Tim glanced down at the picture of Kayla and Daniel that Mac had put next to his keyboard. And though Mac glanced down as well, it wasn’t the photo that he saw. It was Isabelle.
    She’d been furious. Hadn’t even looked back as she’d dashed up the stairs.
    But she had to see this was for her own good.  
    “MacMillan,” Tim said.
    Mac blinked and looked at him.
    “I said, are you sure he’s dead?”
    “I’m pretty sure he’s not,” Mac said finally.  
    “Well then why–”
    “He was reported dead,” Mac snapped, louder than he’d intended. “I wanted to confirm that first.”  
    Tim held up his hands.
    “Fine,” he said quickly. “ Fine .”
    Mac took a breath.
    “I want to know where he is,” Mac said.
    Tim clicked on an icon at the bottom of the screen and it brought up a blank document.
    “Go,” Tim said.
    Mac frowned and looked down at him. Eventually, Tim looked up.
    “That’s all you’ve got?” Tim said. “His first and last name?”
    Mac clenched his jaw at the oversight.  
    I never asked Isabelle or Kayla for Daniel’s middle name.
    “He went to a college here in L.A. and got a degree in a computer related field.”
    Tim scowled at him.
    “You’re joking,” he said. “You expect me to…”
    “To do your job,” Mac said. “Contact Kayla Massen. She might have a social security number for him. She’ll definitely know the school and the years.”
    All of her information had been in Mac’s report. Even so–Mac crossed his arms over his chest–he was mad at himself. Tim pointedly closed the blank document.  
    My head’s not in the game. It’s with Isabelle. He gritted his teeth. Focus .
    “And what about the Green Earth Commune?” Mac said. “What’s the story on Geoffrey and Maurice?”
    “There is no story,” Tim said, not turning around.
    Though Mac was distracted and angry, Tim’s attitude wasn’t helping.  
    “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Though the Green Earth Commune had been on the Cyber Division’s radar and they’d known about Geoffrey Girod from the web site, Maurice had been a new piece of information. And it had clearly been Maurice who was running the organization.
    “They don’t exist,” Tim said to the monitor as he brought up the commune’s file. “Not before seven years ago.”
    “Show me,” Mac said.
    Tim’s fingers pounded on the keyboard. Several windows opened and Tim rolled his chair back to allow Mac a closer look. Escrow records, domain name registrations, articles of incorporation, driver’s licenses, credit cards and yet nothing that went further back than seven years–as though Maurice and Geoffrey Girod hadn’t existed before that.
    Because they hadn’t , Mac thought. They were fake identities.
    And there’s never a good motive for that.
    As much as he’d hated upsetting Isabelle, he’d been right. They were dangerous.

    •••••

    The guard waiting in the gravel parking lot of the commune was an unpleasant surprise. As Isabelle had wound her way up the canyon road and then past the spot where they’d parked off-road when they’d rescued Kayla, she couldn’t help but remember the gun shots and how strange they’d sounded–like little firecrackers. She knew she was gripping the steering wheel of Yolanda’s old Toyota Tercel too hard but she couldn’t help it.  
    The security guard waved her to a stop as she passed under the wide arch that announced the “GreenEarthCommune.org.” Isabelle lowered her window. She didn’t recognize the young man though it was doubtful that she would.
    “Is there something I can help you with?” he said.
    He wore the same black t-shirt that the other guards wore and Isabelle recalled