She received mumbled greetings and sideways glances as she made her way to Moor’s office. No one stopped her to chat. She worried that she might be doing something wrong, tipping off that something was not right about Moor. But the behavior was consistent with everyone. I’m getting the sense our informant isn’t the most popular kid on the block, she sent to Terryn.
She’s not making many friends here either, he replied.
Laura smiled at his response. Terryn’s humor tended to be dry and subtle, but lately it had been missing entirely. It was nice to hear him sound normal.
The windows in Moor’s office provided an impressive view of the Potomac and D.C. The river meandered below as if underlining the spread of the city’s iconic buildings. While it wasn’t the usual coveted corner office, Laura thought it interesting that Moor had achieved some level of importance within Legacy.
She sat at the desk, pulled the computer keyboard closer, and logged on to the network system. So far, so good, she thought. The user ID and password were correct, so Moor hadn’t played any petty games on that front. She searched the network, scrolling through directories to note where Moor had open access. Terryn wanted her to use the day for surveillance and not touch anything until they assessed what was interesting and available. Copying and transferring data might be noticed, maybe not right away; but they didn’t want to risk it until they had decided what they needed.
At the sound of knock, she lifted her head toward the door. She recognized the dark-haired man standing there as Adam DeWinter from the staff dossiers InterSec had for Legacy. He was listed as the firm’s director of technology and president, which was true. What was not on the company letterhead was that he was ex-CIA with extensive security experience.
With a friendly, chastising smile, he leaned against the doorjamb. “You didn’t return my phone calls.”
Feigning surprise, she picked up her cell phone and scrolled through the messages. Moor wasn’t in the habit of logging in her contact names. Few calls came in on the line anyway. The one number that appeared often was a disposable cell, which Laura assumed now must have been DeWinter. “Really? I’m sorry. I had some things to take care of and forgot to check my messages.”
DeWinter pushed himself with his shoulder off the doorjamb and sat on the edge of her desk. “More important than talking to me?”
His tone had an undercurrent of seduction. Cocky and self-assured. A little too self-assured. His familiar attitude wasn’t simple office banter. Laura twisted her lips in a playful smirk. “Are you feeling neglected?”
He chuckled. “Should I?”
I think Moor held back a relationship with DeWinter. Ask her the status, she sent to Terryn.
Laura leaned back and smiled at DeWinter. “Of course not. I think we both know where things stand.”
Amused, he dropped his eyelids half-closed. “I wasn’t thinking of standing.”
Lovers. We’re having a discussion about what else she might have neglected to mention, Terryn sent.
Laura mentally swore. She had no delusion that Moor was being fully cooperative, but risking exposing her like this was skating close to the edge of breaching their deal. She leaned forward and slowly drew her finger across the back of DeWinter’s palm. “You’d be surprised what I can do standing.”
He playfully tapped her on the nose. “Someone’s going to hear us.”
She affected an innocent air. “I didn’t say anything.”
Amused, he moved back to the front of the desk. “I want to go over some financial details before my meeting.”
Laura bit her lip and checked her watch. “Can you give me a few minutes? I need to get something out.”
A puzzled look came over DeWinter’s face. “Sure. I’ll be in my office.”
He hesitated at the door. Laura threw him a seductive glance as she turned her attention to the computer screen. DeWinter left a moment later. She checked the company calendar to see if his scheduled meeting might give her a clue as to what he wanted. Nothing but his name and a reserved conference room.
She ran through the rest of the network directories, tapping into her mnemonic memory skills as the files scrolled up the screen. Her recall was as much a skill as an ability, honed in her youth as part of her druid training. Nothing out of the ordinary jumped to her attention, typical corporate network setup. She hit a password-protected directory that she wasn’t automatically logged in to. She tried the user ID and password Moor had given her, but they were rejected. She didn’t try again.
Ask Moor for the password to the V directory, she sent to Terryn.
She glanced at the computer clock in the long pause waiting for response. DeWinter’s meeting time was getting near. She had no intention of attending without knowing what it was about, but she didn’t want him to come looking for her either.
She doesn’t know, he sent.
Laura pursed her lips. Without being present, she couldn’t test Moor’s truthfulness. I don’t believe her.
Neither do I, sent Terryn.
She didn’t dare guess the password. One failed attempt would be overlooked. Several would be noted—especially if Moor was supposed to have access.
I think we need this, Terryn. A password-protected directory is blood in the water for me, she sent.
He didn’t respond. She waited, not dwelling on what she had requested. Terryn was a powerful Inverni, if not the most powerful member of his species. She had seen him do things to wring information out of people that turned her stomach at first. He got results, though, and she had convinced herself the results were more important.
She’s going boggie, he sent.
“Dammit,” Laura said aloud.
“What’s wrong?” DeWinter asked.
She startled at the sound of his voice. I’ve got company, she sent.
She rubbed her forehead in annoyance. “What? Oh, nothing. I forgot a password.”
“For what?”
With an air of unconcern, she pushed the keyboard away and straightened papers on her desk. “V-drive stuff.”
“Are you nervous about something?”
She shrugged. “No. I wanted to review something. Speaking of which, you said you had something you wanted me to look at?”
“An interesting opportunity has come up that will ease our acquisition. It will cost, though,” he said.
She moved some paperwork on the desk. “Okay.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Okay?”
Situations like this made impersonating someone dicey. She didn’t know what he was talking about. Moor had said little about her interaction with DeWinter, an obvious attempt to trip her up. With a distracted air, Laura stood. “I’m sorry, Adam. I’ve got a lot on my mind. Let’s start over.”
“We need to move a substantial amount of funds,” he said.
“How much?”
“Nine, with three on reserve for contingencies.”
She arched an eyebrow. He meant millions of dollars. “That’s some ease of acquisition.”
He seemed pleased with himself. “It is. Do you think we can find a benefactor?”
She shrugged and took a gamble. “You might have better access to those kinds of benefactors.”
“I’ll need accounts access for transfers.”
She pursed her lips and stared out at the D.C. skyline. His comment seemed off. If he didn’t have access—and he was in charge—then Moor or whomever she worked for didn’t want to give it. He was testing her. “You find the benefactor, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
She didn’t look at him as he considered her response. “That’s fine.”
Relief swept over her. Truth. He was fine with her answers. She had bluffed her way through it. DeWinter came around the desk and kissed her on the temple. “You look particularly marvelous today.”
She slipped her hand into his. “Thank you. Now I need to get to work before you make me more distracted than I already am.”