24. Gunner #2
“It’s not a firewall problem,” Soph says.
“I see him moving in and out. I replace the files he wants with information I don’t mind if he has, I let him poke around.
The best way to find out who he is, is to study him, right?
He slides into Checkmate, into my dance school, into the gym accounts. He’s even trying to poke at Griffin.”
“At Griffin? How the fuck do you know he’s poking at Griffin?”
“Because I slid through your fancy pants firewalls in the three hours between you trying to buy me and our date. I am always the smartest person in the room, and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.”
“You can’t enter my fucking data, Solomon!”
“But you can slide into Checkmate?” She challenges me with a look. “I’m not there to cause harm, and we both know you can still walk in and out of Checkmate whenever you please. We both know you do, and have since our meet. You’re just looking, and so am I.”
“You’ve been in their accounts?” Lib squeezes my hand to pull me around. “When?”
“Three days ago,” Soph answers. “A week ago. Three weeks ago.”
“Gunner!”
So much for holding onto the Theo cover when it’s not just us.
“Why? We’re here on a damn honeymoon, and you’re sneaking into their accounts?”
Spence’s eyes widen. “Honeymoon?”
“I was just looking!” I protest.
“He was just looking. He’s auditing me, in a way.
” Soph turns her laptop back to face her.
“And I don’t even care. We have nothing to hide from you.
Just as I know you have your regular files at Griffin.
Your staff have level logins. Accountants have their own files, legal has theirs.
Your assistant has most, and you have sole access to the files at the top.
Our guy, the one with the clunky skills, is still trying to get to mid-level. He gets a peek sometimes at accounts.”
“How does he get those?”
“Oh,” smiling, she waves me off. “I put them there.”
“You p–” I can’t process… I can’t believe… “You’re so far into my files that you’re adding and taking files away? Solomon! Get the fuck outta my system!”
“I’m not messing anything up.” She rolls her eyes.
“I copied all of your legit shit, moved it, then replaced it with what I want in there. Your staff are still using the correct versions of everything. They won’t ever know things were moved.
I did it in the middle of the night a week ago.
Griffin staff would have gotten to work the next morning, signed in again, and moved on with their lives.
Meanwhile, your hacker only has access to dummy files, your data is safe, and now we get to watch what he’s looking for.
You’re welcome, by the way. That would normally cost folks tens of thousands of dollars in consultancy fees. ”
“She’s not for sale,” Jay growls before I can speak. He sits forward and pins me with a glare. “She will never be a Griffin employee, so let that thought wash straight back out of your brain.”
The worst thing is, beneath the shock that someone would dare touch my shit, I am impressed. Beyond words. She’s a fucking genius, and Griffin Industries will always have room for more of those.
“What about on a consult basis?”
Soph’s lips quirk up into a small smile, but Jay doesn’t find me funny in the least.
“Whoever the guy is,” she pats Jay’s hand and continues, “he’s leaving tracks all up and down from this state and the next. Digital and literal.”
Libby sits forward. Is she a cop right now? Is she our ally? Is she just curious for the sake of being curious? “How do you mean?”
“Well, his searches began in Griffin’s building.” Her glare comes to me. “Who the fuck has access to the computers at the plaza, Griffin? Because whoever this dude is, you know him on some level.”
“I know a lot of people, Soph. My company employs more than a hundred thousand people, many of them have walked through Griffin Plaza at least once.”
“Well this guy walked through a week ago. His digital footprint is moving, because he started there, but now he’s traveling.”
“Soph… I’ve been here with Lib. We’ve literally not gone anywhere further than down the mountain to get groceries once a week. We’re not leaving the house, we’re not communicating with anyone but the bare minimums.”
“Who are your bare minimums,” Jay asks. “Who knows you’re here?”
“The chief,” Lib says in a quiet voice. “And Theo’s top-level staff, so they can continue to run Griffin in his absence. The circle is really small.”
“Well, it just got smaller. We’re gonna sit here and run some names through my system, and then we’re packing up and heading out.”
“Where are you going?”
“Not just us,” Spence says. “You too. All of us. One big happy fuckin’ family.”
“Us? No, absolutely not.” I stand and pull Libby up. “You walk into my fucking home, you expect us to answer your shit, but you give nothing in return.”
“I gave you six hours of dedicated computer time.”
“You went through my files without my permission!”
“If you were as amazing as all the commercials imply, I never would have been able to get in.”
“Solid burn,” Spence chuckles. “She got you there. She wins, you lose, your tech is awesome, but your firewalls suck. Now you bow down like the rest of us and let her fix it. She’s the brains, and we’re the muscle that run ahead of her so she can work.
Pack your bags, because you are coming with us. ”
“But…” Libby looks from one set of eyes to the next in a kind of panic. “Why? You don’t need us.”
“Ever heard the saying keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?” Jay stands with a low grunt, fixes his beanie, then looks into my eyes with a glare.
“I haven’t decided which category you fall into.
Blood doesn’t equal loyalty. And even if we have the same jaw structure, according to my oh-so-fucking-astute girlfriend, that doesn’t mean I like you.
So we follow our trail, we find our guy, and we keep you close, just in case. ”
“Better the devil you know.”
He gives a tiny nod. “That’s it. Pack enough for a week or so.”
I sigh. How has it come about that I’m taking orders… like a regular Bishop soldier ?