It would all be worth it in the end.
Once the heat died down, a week after my office stunt, it was finally time to start digging deeper into my thumb-drive findings. My fingers moved at lightning speed as I accessed the files. Simultaneously, I hacked into one of the government databases that would allow me to cross-reference the information I’d downloaded from Ricci Enterprises. As quickly as I entered the database, error pop-ups and warning messages took over the screen.
“No, no, no,” I whispered as I frantically typed. The final message showed ghost and crossbones emojis before my entire computer crashed. Why did this have to happen now?! Of course, somehow my nemesis Ghost had thwarted my efforts to find out more information about Ricci. Ghost was my match for hacking. We spent countless hours going up against one another in the hacking world. For the most part I beat him at his own game but that was not the case tonight.
“Fuck!” I yelled, slamming the laptop closed. As anger heated my skin, I threw my brown hair into a messy bun. Needing space to cool down my fury, I got up from my desk and headed to the kitchen for water. My mother's voice stopped me as I was halfway down the hallway.
“Evelyn, baby, can you come here, please?”
I walked into her room and tried to hide my sadness seeing her weak body in her bed. Her doctor had paid a house visit a few months ago, and whatever he’d prescribed made her constantly sleepy. The woman with the most vibrant personality was now dull.
She smiled as I approached. Her long, wavy chestnut hair lay over her shoulders, her bright-green eyes sparkled, accented from the flames that roared in the fireplace. Even without makeup, she was as beautiful as an angel.
I grabbed her too-thin hand.
“What’s up, Momma?” I returned her smile.
“How’s my girl today? I know you think you stay under the radar, but know that I see you, my sweet girl.”
I furrowed my brows. There was no way that she could know what I did in my spare time. “I’m alright, Mom, I swear. I just don’t like seeing you sick.”
Her eyes turned glassy at my response. “I know, baby. But I’m in good hands. Anthony is making sure of it. I’ll be back to being the momma you know in no time. Could you get me some water?”
Not responding to the Anthony comment, I returned with some water for both of us. I kissed her as she closed her eyes.
“I love you, my sweet girl,” she murmured.
“I love you too, Momma.”
As I pulled into work at Zack’s Crab Shack the following day, a tall man in a suit blocked me in with his black SUV. I’d seen enough action movies to know this was a government vehicle.
Eyes narrowed, I exited my car, and as I did, a deep velvety voice asked, “Are you Evelyn Myers?”
“Uh… yeah, that’s me,” I stammered while taking a cautious step back. “Can I help you?”
The man came closer to me and stuck out his hand. “I’m Agent Derrick Fleming.”
I tentatively shook his scar-marred hand. Although his demeanor was intense, his eyes were gentle. But somehow I knew he was military, he just gave off that vibe. Tattoos peeked from underneath his suit jacket. His hair was cut short on the sides and longer on the top. Gray was starting to speckle throughout his brown hair. His features were complex, but his gentle eyes held my gaze as he continued.
“I’d like to discuss a potential job opportunity.”
I stood there awkwardly, not sure what to say, or even what to think.
“Unless you would like to go to federal jail?”
My eyes went wide. “I’m… so…sorry?” I asked while my heart rate spiked at his words. I couldn’t go to jail. Not when I was so close to getting the information I needed to take down my stepfather.
Stay calm, Evelyn, remember what is at stake.
“Let’s skip the bullshit, shall we?” He smirked. “You were flagged for accessing top-secret government databases. At your age, that’s quite a feat. If your skills weren’t so impressive, you would be incarcerated.”
I nodded my head and took a moment to figure out how to handle this. “If my skills are impressive and if we are skipping the ‘bullshit’, what kind of job opportunity are we talking about?” I asked, biting my lower lip and shuffling my worn sneakers on the ground.
Agent Fleming smirked. “Join my team. I am part of a special operations team where your particular skill set would be a huge asset for the team and this country.”
“But I just turned eighteen. I’m supposed to be leaving for school in August,” I mustered out. My head was swimming from the shitstorm I’d gotten myself in.
“I know. I know everything about you, Ms. Myers. How about this? I’ll give you some time to think about it. Give me a call,” he said, giving me his business card. “Just think about it. I am sure twenty-five to life doesn’t sound too appealing right now. Don’t leave me waiting too long. Felonies are permanent and I can make everything go away in a blink of an eye.” Before he went into his vehicle, he turned and nodded to me. “I’ll be talking to you soon, Ms. Myers.”
