Witch's Diary: A Paranormal Urban Fantasy Tale (Lost Library Book 4) by Kate Baray Page B
Authors: Kate Baray
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candles?”
Harrington seemed nonplussed by her request, but he dug around in his bottom drawer and produced two emergency candles, much like what she’d practiced on at home. With her mom.
As Harrington handed her the candles, he asked, “Do I want to know?”
Jack answered before she could. “No.”
“Whatever.” Giving Harrington the stink eye, she said, “Just in case you piss me off. Lizzie doesn’t think you’re Satan, and my mom needs you.” She saw he still didn’t get it. “Fire witch—I set things on fire when they piss me off.” It was a slight exaggeration, but she was okay with that. “Better the candle than you?”
Kenna could have sworn Harrington mumbled something less than complimentary about witches. Or not. His lips had barely twitched.
Harrington held up a hand to forestall any further comments. “I’ve got a plan. My tech people traced the account number Margot provided to her bank. They’re working on cloning the login portal now. Once the cloned login is available and she actually logs in, Margot will be seamlessly redirected to a dummy site, where she’ll observe what appears to be the transfer of funds into her account. Naturally, we’ll negotiate with her. Both to delay her—as you said, Kenna, we don’t want them to hasten the trial—and to give credence to our agreement. Even though she asked for everything, she’ll be looking for the liquid assets. She knows real estate could never be managed within the time she’s allowed. That gives us room to negotiate.”
“So you fool Margot for a few hours. How does that help Mom? Actually, that’s a terrible plan. Not only do you not help her, you’ve pissed off everyone involved with any power to hurt her. Once Margot discovers the transfer is a sham, they’ll kill Mom for sure.” Kenna couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice.
Harrington looked uncomfortable. “The cloned banking site is just the first part of the plan. The second part is the incorporation of a geo-location trap within the cloned site.”
Kenna looked around. From the blank looks, no one knew what that was. “A geo-location trap?”
“The trap is similar to a virus. Once Margot accesses the dummy site, she triggers the trap and the virus spreads back into her system. If done correctly, it could tag the origin of any transaction, communication, or interface with other systems, working from the time of infection forward. Possibly stretching back a few days.”
Since Margot would have to contact the kidnappers after the money was transferred, that sounded like a solid start. But then, why did no one look particularly excited, including Harrington?
Looking at the varying levels of discomfort and unease in the group, Kenna decided someone needed to ask. “Okay. What’s the catch?”
Harrington straightened a few papers on his desk before answering. “Very few geo-locaters exist who can manage this type of magic. And the man I had in mind is…difficult.”
Jack looked intrigued. “Difficult to find? Difficult to persuade?”
“IPPC knows where he lives, but we can’t speak with him. It’s impossible to get inside his house, he rarely leaves, and he only lets in people with a standing appointment. People he’s reached out to.”
“How is that even possible?” What the fuck? Kenna had entered the Twilight Zone. “You know what, I don’t care. Can you get him to help?”
Max had been sitting quietly, but he’d shown significant interest when Harrington mentioned the geo-locater. Max answered the question for Harrington, and he sounded not at all happy. “Harrington is glossing over a major bump in the plan. What do we do once we know where your mom is?”
Kenna couldn’t keep the you-dumb-ass look off her face. “We go get her.”
Max looked even more pissed. “Right, a prison break. Our buddy Harrington is throwing the ball back in our court.” Face tight and eyes narrowed, he said, “Unless you’re planning on sending
Harrington seemed nonplussed by her request, but he dug around in his bottom drawer and produced two emergency candles, much like what she’d practiced on at home. With her mom.
As Harrington handed her the candles, he asked, “Do I want to know?”
Jack answered before she could. “No.”
“Whatever.” Giving Harrington the stink eye, she said, “Just in case you piss me off. Lizzie doesn’t think you’re Satan, and my mom needs you.” She saw he still didn’t get it. “Fire witch—I set things on fire when they piss me off.” It was a slight exaggeration, but she was okay with that. “Better the candle than you?”
Kenna could have sworn Harrington mumbled something less than complimentary about witches. Or not. His lips had barely twitched.
Harrington held up a hand to forestall any further comments. “I’ve got a plan. My tech people traced the account number Margot provided to her bank. They’re working on cloning the login portal now. Once the cloned login is available and she actually logs in, Margot will be seamlessly redirected to a dummy site, where she’ll observe what appears to be the transfer of funds into her account. Naturally, we’ll negotiate with her. Both to delay her—as you said, Kenna, we don’t want them to hasten the trial—and to give credence to our agreement. Even though she asked for everything, she’ll be looking for the liquid assets. She knows real estate could never be managed within the time she’s allowed. That gives us room to negotiate.”
“So you fool Margot for a few hours. How does that help Mom? Actually, that’s a terrible plan. Not only do you not help her, you’ve pissed off everyone involved with any power to hurt her. Once Margot discovers the transfer is a sham, they’ll kill Mom for sure.” Kenna couldn’t keep the incredulity out of her voice.
Harrington looked uncomfortable. “The cloned banking site is just the first part of the plan. The second part is the incorporation of a geo-location trap within the cloned site.”
Kenna looked around. From the blank looks, no one knew what that was. “A geo-location trap?”
“The trap is similar to a virus. Once Margot accesses the dummy site, she triggers the trap and the virus spreads back into her system. If done correctly, it could tag the origin of any transaction, communication, or interface with other systems, working from the time of infection forward. Possibly stretching back a few days.”
Since Margot would have to contact the kidnappers after the money was transferred, that sounded like a solid start. But then, why did no one look particularly excited, including Harrington?
Looking at the varying levels of discomfort and unease in the group, Kenna decided someone needed to ask. “Okay. What’s the catch?”
Harrington straightened a few papers on his desk before answering. “Very few geo-locaters exist who can manage this type of magic. And the man I had in mind is…difficult.”
Jack looked intrigued. “Difficult to find? Difficult to persuade?”
“IPPC knows where he lives, but we can’t speak with him. It’s impossible to get inside his house, he rarely leaves, and he only lets in people with a standing appointment. People he’s reached out to.”
“How is that even possible?” What the fuck? Kenna had entered the Twilight Zone. “You know what, I don’t care. Can you get him to help?”
Max had been sitting quietly, but he’d shown significant interest when Harrington mentioned the geo-locater. Max answered the question for Harrington, and he sounded not at all happy. “Harrington is glossing over a major bump in the plan. What do we do once we know where your mom is?”
Kenna couldn’t keep the you-dumb-ass look off her face. “We go get her.”
Max looked even more pissed. “Right, a prison break. Our buddy Harrington is throwing the ball back in our court.” Face tight and eyes narrowed, he said, “Unless you’re planning on sending
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