“And woman,” Burke mumbled.

“Right, and woman. We need to know everything, Mr. Loria. At this moment, you should be concerned with the lives of your employees and customers, not trade secrets.”

“The safety of our people is our top priority, of course. In answer to your question, we have several redundant systems in place. Including multiple sensors and scanners within the tunnel. And at the end of the shaft, the box passes through a sealed-off section that we call the hot box. No air. Heated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Nothing living can pass through.”

“Doesn’t that hurt the contents of the box?”

“All our boxes are airtight and insulated. They also have their own internal scanners to ensure that no unapproved substances are placed within the box. Plus, the moment the alarm was triggered, the vault would have been completely locked down. No one is accessing the vault. Trust me on that.”

Nic wanted to laugh at that comment. Ty Loria was descended from a powerful mafia family and now ran a company that seemed shady as hell and was inexplicably tied to the CIA. Nic would send his niece on a play date with Charlie Manson or Francis Ackerman before he’d trust her with Ty Loria.

He looked over at the CIA agent, Yoshida, who was leaning calmly against one of the metal tables, arms crossed and looking bored.

“Still no help from the agency on this?” he said.

Yoshida shrugged. “Your hostage takers are possible foreign nationals and suspected terrorists. I’m merely here to observe and be of assistance if required. We are called the Central Intelligence Agency. You may need some intel. After all, we are on the same team.”

“Did you practice that speech in the mirror?” Nic said.

Yoshida just smiled back and locked those cold, dead eyes onto his. But Nic wasn’t interested in getting into a staring match or a pissing contest. He turned his gaze to Burke, who had his back to one corner of the room as if trying to melt into the wall and become invisible. Nic had been watching the young doctor since they had entered the vault room. Burke had spent most of the time playing on his iPad—doing what looked like sketching of some kind—or twirling his fingers anxiously through his shaggy blond hair.

“Dr. Burke, do you have any thoughts on why Agent Yoshida would show up here?” Nic asked.

Burke looked up from his drawing, eyes wide with surprise, fear, or a combination of the two. Burke shot a cautious glance in Yoshida’s direction. “Like he said. Intelligence and stuff?”

Carter chuckled. “It’s okay, Burke. We’re all aware that Mr. Loria and Agent Yoshida are liars and bullshit artists.”

Loria looked like he’d been slapped. “You can’t speak to me that way. We have been nothing but—”

Carter ignored the GoBox executive. “And they know that they’re keeping us in the dark just as much as we do. What’s the chatter online involving the CIA and GoBox?”