“I spoke with two of the scientists. When I asked why they left, they reiterated the same thing Bec had. Walter was difficult to work with as a colleague. He disliked working long hours and spent more time at home than in the facility. They didn’t want to say more, but the overall vibe was that management was a problem.”
“I wonder why the board kept Walter on as their administrator when people were in and out like a revolving door.”
“I can’t say for certain, but I would bet none of them reported Walter’s inability to manage to be their reason for leaving. That would only reflect poorly on them in the industry, and let’s face it, everyone knows everyone in that community. Not to mention, I can’t imagine it would be easy to find well-qualified individuals who want to live isolated for years on end. If the—”
Mina paused and fell silent, but Iris knew her boss well enough not to hang up until she told her to. Either she was hot on the trail, or she would have more questions for her. Her mind returned to the woman downstairs, wondering if things would be awkward in the light of day. Something told her it wouldn’t be. What they had shared was pure, open and honest, and when you share open communication, there’s nothing left to feel awkward about.
“What?” Mina asked, and Iris snapped to attention.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“I know. I’m asking what because the source code control system tells me this malware was written on a computer connected to the service inside the facility.”
“That’s not possible, Mina. There has to be a mistake,” Iris said, leaning forward to peer at her screen as though it held all the answers.
“There has to be. Give me ten, and I’ll call you back.”
The line went dead. Iris held the phone as the back of her neck prickled. Unless it wasn’t impossible. Maybe the person who wrote the code was sleeping off their lovemaking just below her feet.
Chapter Twelve
Bec woke slowly, confused and disoriented by the bright light that had her squinting against it. She was on her stomach, her arms behind her back as someone tried to tie her wrists together.
“Help!” she screamed, unsure if the Secure One team could hear her from where they were. “Somebody help me!” She kicked and fought, finally getting the better of the person so she could flip over. Her lips froze on the next call for help when Iris was the person holding a computer cord in her hands with her eyes wild. “Iris, what are you doing?”
“I’m stopping you from hurting anyone!” she exclaimed, her eyes darting around the room. “I trusted you!”
Bec raised her hands in front of her and tried to speak calmly. “Iris, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why would I hurt someone?”
Iris reeled off a bunch of numbers and letters that only confused her more. “Does that ring a bell?”
“No, Iris. I don’t know what you’re talking about. What is going on?”
“We know, Dr. Roth,” she said, and Bec’s gut sank when she used her full name.
“Know what, Iris?”
“That the malware was written on a computer attached to the mainframe within the facility.”
Bec stood but kept her hands out in front of her to show she wasn’t being aggressive. She wanted to calm Iris down but not scare her. “I don’t know what a mainframe is. Is that a computer?”
“Everyone knows what a mainframe is!” Iris exclaimed and Bec shook her head slowly.
“I’ve heard the term, but I don’t do computers for a living. What was that other thing you said? All the numbers and letters.”
“That was a line of code from the malware I’m trying to patch. Mina said it originated here.”
“If that’s true,” Bec said softly in hopes she’d listen to her, “It didn’t come from me. I don’t know how to write code. I can perform the tasks I need to, but they don’t include that. If that were required for the job, I’d have to attend code-writing school.”
Iris snorted as she rolled her eyes. “Code-writing school. It’s called computer science. You must have taken that in college.”
“I took computer classes, sure, but never for coding,” Bec promised. “There are specific programs we use here for different aspects of the research, but none of them were written here. They’re available nationwide to any lab who purchases a license.”
Iris dropped the cord to her side and took a step toward her. “What’s Python?”
“A snake?”
“Java? PHP?” Iris asked and Bec grasped the other woman’s elbows.
