As much as he wanted to watch Valerie at work, nothing on her screen made sense to him. He’d rather play bored-boyfriend-reading-a-book than feel like a simpleton watching her navigate through what she called the “dark web.” He’d heard of it. That was about it.
Not to mention, focusing on Valerie lowered his IQ by about thirty points. He was no more immune to her ample tits hugged tightly by a thin gray shirt than the next guy.
Including the forty-something man with receding brown hair browsing the magazine section who couldn’t keep his eyes off her.
Scott ignored the irritating burn in his chest that he had no right to and flipped another page of the Ken Follett novel he’d picked up when they arrived, keeping the man in his peripheral vision. White guy, medium build, trim but soft, black T-shirt, tan shorts, black Nikes with a red swoosh, oversized silver watch, no visible tattoos.
The man caught Scott’s eye and turned away, working his way toward the front of the store, picking up a magazine here and there, flipping through it.
A pretty Asian woman, pushing a red-faced toddler in a small stroller, set down two drinks and pastries on the table next to Valerie and settled her kid in a booster seat.
People came and went, couples of all ages, a group of thirty-something men with little kids, college-aged girls wearing yoga pants and fur-lined boots, old women debating politics and the best places for vacation, young professionals in blazers with laptops and cell phones. Scott catalogued them all.
“How’s it going?” he asked, leaning toward Valerie and inhaling deeply of her light flowery scent. It was different than before, probably from the travel bottle of shampoo she’d used after dying her hair, but still a tantalizing reminder of their lava-hot hands-on time in the back of the van.
“I sent an email with a document attachment to Duncan’s assistant. As soon as she opens the doc, I should have a backdoor into the system.”
His eyebrows rose against his will. “It’s that easy?”
“Not usually, but I have the advantage of knowing Aggressor’s employees and their email addresses. There’s a pattern to them, and I’ve emailed Meseret enough times to have hers memorized. I spoofed the email address from the head of HR, so when she sees the message, she won’t think twice about opening the file.”
“Like a Trojan horse. She welcomes it inside the gates without a clue.”
Valerie smiled and Scott couldn’t look away. “Exactly. It’s even called that.”
For a brief moment, his chest felt lighter. “If she mentions it to this HR guy, won’t they realize something’s up?”
“Yes, but it’s unlikely she’ll say anything. They don’t talk much, and the file is a mind-numbingly dull notification about new language in an obscure employment law.”
“Smart.” He pulled his gaze away from her face for a quick check of the area. “What’s next?”
“I’m going through the information I collected on Duncan before I located Jay.” She blinked rapidly a few times and took a deep breath, but soldiered on. “I spent most of my nights these last two weeks digging up everything I could find on my boss. Some of his info was in a database file that hackers snagged from the Veterans Administration a few years ago, so I have his social, birthdate, and address.”
Scott grimaced. “All my information is probably out there too.”
“Might be.” Valerie nodded, tracing the edge of her computer with one pink-tipped finger. “You get one free credit report a year from each of the reporting companies, so pick a different one every quarter and keep an eye on things.”
Good idea. He hadn’t taken the data theft too seriously until he started working for Steele and learned just how much damage someone with bad intentions could do to a person’s life without ever meeting them face to face.
“Does it bother you?” he asked. “Dealing with those guys?”
She looked up and waited a beat before answering. “Sometimes. On one hand, Iamone of ‘those guys.’ Or, I was. I understand them. I get the excitement of solving the puzzle. Hacking is like the intellectual equivalent of drag racing. You know it’s wrong, but the thrill is addictive.
“Not every hacker is trying to hurt individual people, though” she said. “Some want to make a statement, stick it to the big corporations, or damage a government’s reputation—”
“Never mind that innocent people get strafed in the process.”
Her lips compressed. “Kind of like your war.”
“It wasn’t mine.” But she had a point.
“Look, some of these guys are straight-up criminals, some fancy themselves crusaders, others like the challenge. Papá may have started out with some ideals and become addicted to the rush, but he forgot to draw a line. I want to fight guys like him, but if I’m going to help vulnerable companies and government organizations find their security holes so they can plug the leaks, I have to know the tools and tricks.”
“Like working undercover, except online.”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
Scott sighed and held up his hands. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to attack your career choice. I’m hardly one who should be throwing stones.”
