“He hasn’t used his card for a couple of days, but based on this information, I would put him in the southeast US. Probably Florida as it will have easy access to the Bahamas to get out of the country quick once the money comes in.”
The two of them beamed at me. Mr. King gave me the special smile that he only gave me when we were alone at his home and I basked in it. I suddenly frowned as a cold thought popped my sunshine bubble.
“So we have stopped the virus and can track it back to where he is, but how is this going to keep him from leaking the source code- if he hasn’t already?” The two of them surprised me with smiles. Mr. King motioned for Thayer to tell me the answer.
“The code he took is from last year- since he didn’t get to keep his work computer he had to use what was on his personal one. The sample he sent us is older code. It looks a lot like the current code, but as I looked at it I recognized it from the stuff Cirrus helped develop. When I was put in charge, we revamped much of the code. Most of the stuff made off of this source code would be stopped or easily patched in with the newer code I wrote.”
He tried to keep the pride out of his voice, but he knew that his innovations were saving the day. “It would still be pretty awful for the press to find out about this though, so we want to stop him before he can do any real damage. It isn’t quite all sunshine and roses- we need him to activate the virus but not the press.” He leaned back into the leather chair, his eyes still bright but some of the energy fading out of him.
“His version of the source code could still do some serious damage, especially in the PR department. We still have some serious work to do. Claire, see if you can’t pinpoint his location further and Thayer, I have a couple of ideas I want to run.” Mr. King’s smile was gone as he leaned back towards the computer, and started us back to work.
***
Wednesday arrived. The three of us had worked non-stop to prepare for the 5pm deadline; I never left the office during those three days. It was now 3pm and everything that could be in place was. I felt a nervous energy pouring through my system, and I couldn’t sit still or concentrate on my other work.
Unfortunately the crisis didn’t stop my other job responsibilities, and I had neglected them for the past couple of days. I filtered through my emails and to do list, trying to find something productive to do that could distract me from the tedium of waiting.
I found a note I had made towards the beginning of my career at King Enterprises. Some of the accounting numbers didn’t look right to me; I had worked with finances and bookkeeping for my entire adult career and as I looked at the books for King Enterprises something in my gut growled. I decided that this was as good a time as any to look for what was bothering me, as I couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything anyway, so I sat down at my desk and began loading the files up on my screen.
“Vanders.” A sharp female voice accosted me. “Why haven’t you emailed me the budget for next quarter? You missed the last two meetings and I need this done now. Good lord- what do we pay you for?” Olivia Robertson glared at me. I sighed and turned to her. She was always angry at me for some reason or another. The first time I had met her she had glared at me through my introduction to the board. I didn’t know what I had done to make her so angry then, and I still had no idea why she seemed to hate me so vehemently.
“The proposal will be in your box tomorrow- I emailed you the original options and Mr. King still hasn’t approved them. I can’t make him do this any faster.” I tried to stay calm and put what I hoped passed for cheery on my face. She rolled her eyes and stormed off, her blonde hair swishing as she walked. She was quite pretty, I thought. Pretty awful. I looked over at the clock to see it click to 4:30. Finally, time for something to happen. I closed my computer and headed up to Mr. King’s office.
Mr. Thayer was already there, tapping his foot nervously, but confidence plastered across his face. He grinned up at me as I entered the room, Mr. King’s smile following right behind. I sat at my spot at his desk and waited.
Mr. King’s email pinged as a new message hit.
Where is my money?
Mr. King calmly hit reply and typed, It’s not coming. Send.
Ping. Your funeral.
Mr. King nodded to Mr. Thayer, and we stared at his computer screen. The screen flicked as Cirrus attempted to activate the virus. Thayer’s tracking program initiated and dominated the screen.
“It found the IP address. It's part of a subnet that's licensed to a motel chain in Miami. In fact, only one motel in the chain doesn't require a credit card to rent a room.” He grinned, his excitement humming through the room at the success.
“Perfect. Inform our friends.” Mr. King relaxed into his chair, barely able to keep a grin off his face.
Within ten minutes the local police had the only room in the motel rented by a single man who paid cash under surveillance. I imagined what it must have looked like, in a dingy motel room in Miami, Florida. Cirrus bent over his computer, angrily triumphant and releasing his revenge on King Enterprises, when suddenly the door is beat down and men in black suits storm the room.
I tried not to giggle as I thought of the look on his face as the FBI Cyber Crime unit took him down. He was going to go to prison for a long time, and King Enterprises was safe. We had won. Mr. King stood behind me as a phone call from the FBI came in saying they had caught him with all the evidence they needed. His hands felt warm and perfect on my shoulders and he squeezed them in victory.
***
I played with the pearl necklace he had given me a few months ago as I sat, Mr. King across the table staring at me. We had just finished dessert, a Sacher Torte. It was at least 3 layers of dark chocolate fudge cake, with apricot jam & chocolate ganache between the layers, and dark chocolate glaze on top. I had never tasted anything so delicious and decadent. He smiled at me and filled my wine glass up, his eyes dark with desire. I craved him. I wanted him covered in a dark chocolate glaze.
He must have been able to read my thoughts, because he stood and held his hand out for me. His hand felt warm in mine, and I carried my wine glass with us as he led me to his bedroom. As we reached the door, he paused at the door, his hand lingering on the handle. With a smile, he pushed the door open to reveal the bedroom bathed in candlelight. Tea light candles adorned the furniture, dozens of candles flickering with a soft golden glow. It was beautiful. I set my glass down and kissed him passionately, our lips meeting with joy.
The door closed softly behind us, as he kissed me again, taking me into his arms and questing his tongue deep into my mouth. I moaned into his kisses, his hands sliding up and down on my satin dress. He found the zipper and undid the back, letting the dress slide off and onto the floor. A sweet smile crossed his face as his hand grazed my pearls, obviously happy I had worn them to dinner. With gentle kisses, he crept down my neck, down my shoulders and down my arm to my hand. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it like a gallant knight.