Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
PEN
T he walls of my sanctuary are closing in, and I need to get out.
Why the hell am I talking to Elijah about my wish to start a family?
We aren’t close, haven’t been for years. But talking to him now. It’s like the years have melted away. A wave of sadness washes over me.
Elijah says nothing. He rises and follows me back up the stairs.
FIFTEEN YEARS AGO
“Penelope Dawson?”
I stare at the two men standing in the doorway to my room.
Fuck!
“Can I help you?” I ask, trying to hold my voice steady.
“Are you Penelope Dawson?”
The taller of the two asks again.
I nod my head but hold his gaze.
“Can I help you?” I repeat.
Don’t show any fear, play dumb. They’ve got nothing on you.
He and his partner hold up ID badges, which I step forward and look at.
Police.
Shit!
Act cool.
I wrinkle my forehead as if confused.
“You need to come with us, Miss Dawson.”
“May I ask why?” I say, my heartbeat pounding in my ears.
“We will explain everything down at the station.”
I sift through my memories.
What did I miss?
I move towards my desk.
“Please stay where you are, Miss Dawson,” the shorter of the two says.
“I’m just going to grab my phone,” I say, shooting him a smile over my shoulder.
“We’d rather you didn’t.”
I stop in my tracks.
“I’d like to know what I’m being detained about?” I say, turning to face them.
Isn’t that what an innocent person would ask? I know it will be better for me not to provoke these two men, at least until I know.
“They’ve traced an illegal hack to this address,” the shorter of the two says, earning him a look from his colleague. “We’re here to take you in for questioning and seize all the equipment.”
“Do you have a warrant? You can’t just take a person’s things. This is my personal property. I know my rights.”
Or at least those I’ve watched on police shows.
One of the men reaches into his pocket and pulls out some papers.
I raise an eyebrow.
“I’m not the only person who lives at this address.”
“And your housemates will also be questioned.”
Although the look he’s sending me and my equipment lets me know he thinks that’s a waste of their time.
I route it through that many places. Did I mess up?
The two men continue to stare at me.
This is like something out of a bad cop show. This is my life. Have I been careless? I know the rules…I wrote them. Stay alert, be observant. Most of all, be meticulous when covering your tracks. Fuck and double fuck!
I draw myself up and take a deep breath.
Damn it! I’ve worked all afternoon on my dissertation. But what the hell?
“Daphne,” I say to the room.
“Initiate shutdown protocol nine, one, seven, six, nine, six.”
“Initiating shutdown protocol nine,” an AI voice comes through my speakers.
I hold up my hands in surrender and drop to my knees as I’ve seen the crooks do in the movies. The two men in front of me move at speed, one coming for me, the other heading for my computer. Although he’ll be too late. Daphne’s program has wiped my hard drive and any evidence they would have hoped to have found.
He hits a few keys to try to stop what he knows is happening, but once the protocol starts, nothing and no one can stop it. It’s how I designed it. I may only be twenty-one, but I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’m good.
He turns to stare at me, but I shrug as his partner pulls my hands behind my back and secures them with handcuffs.
“Penelope Dawson, you are under arrest for unlawfully breaking into the systems of Redbourne Pharmaceuticals. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you don’t say anything when questioned...”
He continues on and on, and I nod when he asks if I have understood.
His partner makes a call.
“Get the IT guys in here. We need to bag up the electronics.”
They can bag up whatever they like. They won’t find a scrap of evidence. Not here at least, but I’ve been careless, which is not like me. I’m usually paranoid about security and ensuring I leave no trail. But then my mind was elsewhere, which is not surprising. It’s not every day your best friend announces he’s marrying his pregnant girlfriend and shatters your heart into a billion pieces. I should have known better.
The room I’m placed in is stark.
I sit back and take in my surroundings. Plain walls, a battered table, and a few chairs. A camera sits high on the wall, a light flashing, letting me know it’s recording my every move.
I’ve spoken to enough hackers online to know the drill. It’s a misconception that we’re loners. We’re a very close-knit community. At least, the ethical ones are. I stay away from the dark web as much as possible.
The rules of engagement with police. I know staying quiet is my best option. Being tripped up is everyone’s downfall, as in all the good detective shows. The criminal can’t help but mess up their story, and then the police have them. And I love a good detective show. I also like the silence of being in my head. I rerun the night in question, replaying every move, keystroke. What did I miss? One benefit of having a photographic memory is I can at least recall what I did. Then it hits me.
Fuck!
I can’t have been that careless.
Shit!
I led them straight to my door. A trickle of sweat runs down my spine. I need to get my story straight and fast. Convince the men and women I know are coming to question me that I’ve been busy working on my dissertation for weeks and weeks, end of story.
The door opens, and I look up. I draw in a deep breath as the last person I expect to see enters.
“That will be all, officer.”
The door shuts behind him and two minutes later, the light on the camera blinks off.
“Penelope Dawson, what have you done?”
My chest tightens, and my face, neck, and ears feel impossibly hot.
Robert Frazer pulls out a chair and takes a seat opposite me. The man, like his son, is a giant. The only person to rival Elijah on the height front. His presence is imposing.
I drop my gaze to the table in front of me, drawing circles with my nails on the surface.
Undeterred, Robert continues.
“You’re in deep trouble, young lady. Hacking into Redbourne Pharmaceuticals. What on earth possessed you?”
My eyes flick to the camera, which is still off.
As if sensing my unease, Robert sits back.
“It’s okay, we’re alone.”
“How?”
“How did I know you were here?” he asks.
“Yes. I haven’t made any calls.”
“No. I’m friends with a lot of important people. When the Police Commissioner saw your name, he called me.”
I choke on the air I’ve just drawn in.
“The Police Commissioner?” I stutter.
I lift my gaze to meet his. I’ve spent the past four summers at this man’s house. Built computers with his younger son, become close friends with his oldest daughter. I’m working on a business plan to set up a company with his eldest son.
Elijah!
“Does Elijah know?” I ask, my stomach sinking.
My best friend has enough on his plate. He’s still recovering from his broken ankle, and then with Darra announcing she’s pregnant.
“No, he doesn’t know, and I suggest you keep it that way. With everything that’s going on, he doesn’t need to worry about you, too.”
I drop my gaze once more, not being able to stand up to Frazer senior’s scrutiny.
I sigh, my stomach sinking, pressure building behind my eyes. I’ve let him down. A man I look up to, who’s welcomed me into his home.
“I was trying to prove or disprove the information in the press,” I say quietly.
Redbourne is being hounded for unethical and illegal practices. I worked for them during my placement year. They seemed legitimate, but I needed to know. It was on a whim, and that has clearly been my downfall. I never go in unprepared. It usually takes weeks of preparation, but that night was a one-off. Elijah had just told me about Darra.
“And? What did you find?”
“They’re clean from what I can see,” I tell him honestly. “If I could hedge my bets, it’s one of their competitors trying to libel them in the press.”
Robert sits back and stares at me, his gaze searching.
“How long, Pen? How long have you been hacking?”
My fingers go back to playing with the scratches on the table. I suck my lip ring into my mouth.
“Since I was about sixteen. Initially, it was laptops of teachers, then different devices, platforms, servers.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
He raises an eyebrow, his expression almost identical to Elijah’s.
I draw in a breath.
“It’s a challenge. Like overcoming a technical problem, you work around obstacles others have put in your way. It takes all your creative strategising…and then there’s the thrill of not getting caught,” I admit. “Although it looks like I messed up in that department right now.”
I flatten my hands against the table and look straight at his eyes. So familiar, yet older and wiser.
“I do nothing with it—the information I gain. I usually send a message letting the company know they have a weakness in their system and tell them how to fix it. Stop others going where I’ve been.” I shrug. “I do it for the thrill. Me against the machine. It tests my skills and knowledge. The ultimate puzzle to solve.”
“They’ve been hunting you for a while,” he says, making me sit up, my fingers stilling.
“Who?”
“Some people I know.”
I watch Robert run a hand through his hair, a movement so similar to my best friend.
“Fuck,” I say before slamming a hand over my mouth. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
Robert looks at me, a small smile on his mouth. He drops his head.
“I can’t stop what is going to happen next. I’ve tried,” he says, a sadness in his voice.
“Am I going to prison?”
My blood runs cold. Shit what will I say to Mum. She’ll be so disappointed in me. After everything she’s done, sacrificed.
“You’re in deep trouble. I’m not going to lie to you.”
“There are some people here who want to talk to you,” he says quietly. “Have you heard of ethical hackers?”
I nod. It’s what I’d class myself as. I’m certainly not an unethical hacker. I don’t abuse anyone with my skills. It’s more of the thrill of the experience, beating the system, or in the case of Redbourne, righting a potential wrong.
“There’s an agency that employs ethical hackers.”
It’s my turn to sit up.
“What sort of agency? You mean a government agency?”
He nods.
“Your skill set could be very useful to them.” He pinches his neck. “This is not what I wanted for you, but there’s only so much sway I have, and you, young lady, have developed quite the reputation.” He sighs. “This is the best I can offer. If not, it’s prison time, Pen. Your good deeds mean they can link you to several other hacks.”
“I destroyed all the evidence.”
“You may have done, but they’ll hound you. These people are powerful and relentless. You’ll never work in the computer industry, do what you dream of doing. It’s join them, or they’ll destroy any chance you have at building a secure future for you and your mother.”
“But Elijah and I are setting up our own company. I don’t need to be employed by anyone.”
He shakes his head, his expression in that one second letting me know how seriously I’ve messed up. My stomach knots, and I drop my head onto the table as I realise exactly what my getting caught means.
“There will be no business, no contracts. They’ll see to that. Your and Elijah’s business venture will be over before it even begins.”
I bang my forehead on the desk in front of me before sitting up and sinking back into my chair. The walls of the room close in around me. Elijah and I have worked for months and months on our business plan, produced a prototype of the security system we can offer. My skills have been useful in its development, not that Elijah understands or knows. He just knows my programming skills are off the charts.
“What do they want?” I whisper.
Robert leans forward and squeezes my hand before getting up and moving to the door, allowing two people to enter.
“It’s probably better if I let them explain.”
I drop back into my chair and watch as a man and a woman, both in dark suits, enter.
Shit just got real, and I know whatever they offer, I’m going to have to accept. I can’t go to prison. I can’t do that to Mum. Not after everything she’s given up for me.
“Miss Dawson, let us introduce ourselves. I’m The Seamstress,” the woman says, taking a seat opposite me. “This is Rooster.”
Welcome to my new future.