Close the laptop. Finger taps the side of my earpiece.
Who the fuck is that?
25
Mary
My heart is still hammering from Stephanie’s little performance when I slip away from the front desk. The coffee run was just an excuse; everyone knows the break room is right next to Dave’s office. Perfect cover.
I check my watch. Eleven forty-seven. Anton said to check in at noon, but if I’m going to do this USB thing, it has to be now while Stephanie’s distracted with her latte and Janice is on her smoke break.
My palms are sweating as I walk down the hallway. The expensive silk blouse Anton bought me suddenly feels like a costume; too nice, too obvious, too much like I’m pretending to be someone I’m not. Which I am.
Fake it till you make it, right?
God, I hate how weak I sounded saying that.
The USB drive feels heavy in my pocket, even though it weighs nothing. Anton made it sound so simple this morning.Just plug it in. Download runs automatically. Two minutes.
Easy for him to say. He’s not the one about to commit what’s probably a felony.
Dave’s office door is closed but unlocked; it always is during business hours. I glance around once more, then slip my hand around the handle.
“Okay,” I whisper, so quietly I can barely hear myself. “Going into Dave’s office now. Gonna try the USB.”
The words feel strange leaving my mouth, knowing Anton’s listening. Knowing he can hear every breath, every heartbeat. It should make me feel safer.
Instead, it makes me feel exposed.
I turn the handle and slip inside, quietly shutting it behind me, and move toward the monitor.
But then—
Click.
The handle turns.
I freeze.
No. No, no, no, no—
My stomach drops so fast I nearly puke on Dave’s rug. What are the odds? What are the actual odds? I thought I had ten minutes. Five.Something.
The door swings open behind me.
I don’t turn around right away; my back is still to the door. My hand hovers over the mouse. My brain screamsrun, but my body? Nope. It’s gone full statue mode.
Then—
A voice. Smooth. Casual.Male.
“Mary Sullivan.”
I turn. Slowly.
And—
A stranger.
