Jaw dropping, Maura shook her head. "Kennedy- wait. That's incredibly dangerous. It could blow our cover. It wouldn't take much for Holbrook to follow the code back to me."
Huffing as if she was wasting her time, Kennedy snarled, "This is your order from HQ and you will do it! They're trying to prod the Big Three and see if they can shake something loose. This mission is creeping up on nearly a year and a half, and I'm tired of treating gunshot wounds and sitting in that shitty office! When MI6 put you into this assignment with the Agency, they assured us you were good. Now do your job!"
Hanging up after hearing the dial tone, Maura muttered, "Arsehole..."
Her appetite ruined, she decided instead to go for another run. Maura was so angry and keyed up that she couldn't think. Her senior agents on this mission had little to no understanding of computers - much less how to delicately manipulate code. Going back in the Corporation's accounts to leave a fingerprint was all but suicide. At the very least, it would send alarms clanging all over the system. Why was HQ suddenly so impatient? This was the part of intelligence work that made her want to run screaming and find something in the private sector.
The sheer powerlessness of depending on her higher-ups in a blind placement was both infuriating and terrifying. Maybe one or two people in MI6 even knew she was alive, much less placed here in the Corporation doing the Queen's – and America’s - work.
What did they call it?she thought bitterly,Oh, yes. Plausible Deniability. A government can't be held responsible for an intelligence mission they knew nothing about, right? For hell’s sake, I could be earning ten times what I make from intelligence work. Risking my life, no friends, no family, and for what?She stopped running suddenly, pressing a hand hard into the knot twisting her ribs. Because she had a debt to pay. And by God, she would pay it.
Marching into work Monday in a shapeless cotton dress and ankle boots, Maura was a little early and alone in the computer lab, going through her movements in precise detail. She ran back through her echo tracker on the Masoud-Corporation transaction, adding the fingerprint Kennedy ordered. But Maura created a link back that would crash the file before leaving a footprint anyone could follow. There was a way to follow orders without being shot, after all.
It took less than an hour before the alerts started, then the angry calls into the Blood Room. Maura stood beside Nicholas, head down as he frantically explained that R&D had no idea what set the system off. Looking up and away from James as usual, her glance around the room hesitated for a moment on the Third in Command.
Fassell was staring at her, with a gloating smile he couldn't suppress. Refusing to shudder, she looked away. She and Nicholas worked until midnight, trying to trace the fingerprint. Pine and Kingston showed up around eleven, demanding a progress report.
"Ma’am, Sir I can't explain. I know the code was corrupted. I can't tell you how- yet!" Nicholas added frantically, seeing the dire expression on the First in Command.
James’s stern gaze went to Maura. "And you, MacLaren? What can you tell us?" Exhausted, she could barely meet the icy blue glare.
"We know the file accessed, the Masoud-Corporation transaction for ten million pounds. There's an echo file inserted into the transaction code, meant to alert the hacker in case of updates. There hasn't been, so any further activity by the Corporation remains secure. But every time we try to trace the fingerprint, the system tries to crash, so we've had to spend six hours just bolstering the banking files so they won't disappear on us." She pulled off the ugly smoked glasses, rubbing between her eyebrows. The pale vulnerability of her eyes pulled James out of his rage.
"So," he inquired calmly, "they can't access anything else in our systems, correct?"
"No Sir," Maura replied sleepily.
"And there's no breach anywhere else - no echo tracker on any other financial files - am I right, Holbrook?" growled Kingston, taking an angry sip of scotch.
"Nothing, Ma’am," Nicholas replied gratefully.
"How long will the final security scan take?"
"About forty-five minutes."
"Very well," James replied indifferently. "Finish your work and go home. Be ready to give us a report tomorrow on what you've found."
Walking out to the parking lot, Maura could barely keep her eyes open. Between devising the new, crash-able trigger and her anxiety, she hadn't slept for forty-eight hours. She barely suppressed a groan as Fassell strolled out beside her Land Rover. "You look exhausted," he soothed in a horribly unsympathetic tone. "Let me drive you home, kitten."
"No thank you, Mr. Fassell. I'm perfectly capable of driving myself. I wouldn't dream of putting you out." Maura answered.
He gave a soft, hateful chuckle. "Come on. Maura. No playing games with me. I know what a pretty little kitten you are. I'll take you home and,” he almost giggled, “tuck you in."
Her eyes narrowed, automatically searching for escape points as Fassell grinned, leaning closer still.
"MacLaren? What the hell are you still doing here?"
The irritated voice of Second in Command had never been more welcome. James strolled up behind them, expensive briefcase in hand and trailed by two bodyguards.
"Just saying goodnight to Mr. Fassell, here," she replied levelly. "I'll be back by nine, if not sooner, Mr. Pine."
His gaze never found hers, staring instead at his partner. "See that you do, MacLaren." She gladly escaped under the cover of the staring contest between the two powers of the Corporation.
Nonetheless, she was infuriated to see James had still made it to the marina before her. Looking resentfully at the Jaguar parked in her spot, Maura parked in a visitor's space, hoping she didn't get towed tomorrow. He was opening the door to the houseboat cabin with a key as she walked down the dock, which enraged Maura even more.
"You have a key?" she hissed. "Really? How dare you?"
James glared down at her haughtily. Angrily moving ahead of him and into the comfort of her houseboat, Maura headed for the fridge and her half-finished bottle of Riesling. Before she could get the wine glass to her lips, her boss took it from her and drank a healthy gulp first before giving it back. Maura smirked slightly.Nice to know I'm not the only one unsettled by this shitty day,she thought spitefully.
