Fatal Transaction (Thriller & Suspense, Cyber Crime) Read online

  “Two weeks.” His voice boomed.

  Sara rubbed her mouth with one hand, and used her other arm to push herself upright.

  Levy glanced over at Kai. “How much do you know about this?”

  Wide-eyed, Kai rose to her feet. “Only my part.”

  “What do you know about hers?”

  Kai shifted her gaze between Sara and Levy. “Nothing really. It’s different than what—”

  Levy twisted back to Sara. “Three weeks, and that’s it. I don’t care if that means you’re here twenty-four hours a day, every day of the week. I want every part of this project fully tested and running in three weeks. Understood?”

  “Yes, sir.” Three weeks would give her the time she needed. She kept her focus on Levy.

  “You have something more?”

  She didn’t want to get hit again. “No. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to start field tests.”

  Just when she thought she was off the hook, Levy reached up behind her. Grabbing her hair and pulling down hard, he forced her into her chair. Leaning over her, he kept her head pinned back and glowered at her. “You do whatever you need to do. Get this done in time. If I learn this is all some trick of yours” —Levy leaned in and whispered in her ear, and she could smell his foul breath— “you’ll wish for the quick death I gave Steve.”

  ***

  “What are you looking at?” Sara’s head ached, and Kai staring at her was annoying.

  Kai glanced toward the door and back before responding. “You okay?”

  Sara could see from her seat that Levy and Mike had descended the stairs. Her lip stung when she touched it. “Yeah, I’ll live.”

  Kai rolled her chair over next to Sara’s.

  Other than having dark brown hair, the two women had little else in common. Kai was four years Sara’s senior. Her family was Hawaiian. She was tall, large-boned, with coffee brown skin. She presented a stark contrast to Sara’s small pale figure.

  Where Sara’s computer skills were mostly self-taught, Kai had over three years of college for computer security. The story around the office was that Kai’s father was some type of computer spy before he was murdered during Kai’s last year of college. Kai would never say how or who murdered him or even confirm that the story was true.

  The second floor of the building was split. One half contained Levy’s plush office with its own stairwell. The other half had several offices. Sara’s and Kai’s was ten by twelve, and sat at the end of the short, wide hall. The structure was one of many that Levy owned or leased around Denver. This one under Mike’s name.

  Both women had identical top-of-the-line, custom-built computers with two twenty-seven-inch monitors each, allowing them to run and monitor several programs at once. Levy supplied the computers, high-speed Internet and any software they needed to do his work.

  Kai lived on the ground floor below, and was happy to be there. Levy supplied her with a five hundred square foot apartment in the back of the building, rent-free.

  Leaning in, Kai whispered, “What was all that about?”

  Sara wished she could confide in Kai and tell her what she was planning, but the risk was too high. She had to watch out for herself first. “What do you mean?” Sara touched her lip again, finding it sticky.

  “The other day you said something about being close to finishing this project. Now you’re saying three more weeks?”

  “I found a problem. Why?”

  Kai cast a glance out the door then back. “It’s just—you need to be careful, that’s all.”

  “Look, I found a bug. It needs to be fixed. You think you could do better? Go ahead and take over, and I’ll go lie on the beach somewhere.”

  Kai placed a hand on Sara’s shoulder, giving it a slight squeeze. “It’s not that. It’s—” Kai stole another peek out the door. “Did you hear about Ryan?”

  “You mean the one who doesn’t have the brains to wipe tables at McDonald’s?”

  Kai’s face registered fear. “I heard Levy got mad at him and”—another quick glance out the door before twisting back—“killed him. Shot him in his office.”

  Sara was only a little surprised. “Who’d you hear that from?”

  “Mi— I just heard it. Last night.”

  “Mike told you?”

  No response, just a blank stare.

  “Well, for now, I’m still needed. Levy can’t afford to get rid of me.”

  “I hope so.” Kai lowered her hand, and moved her chair back toward her desk.

  “So, why are you still seeing Mike? You know he’s bad news.” Sara didn’t want to talk or think about Ryan.

  “He’s nice to me.”

  Was it a statement or a question?

  “You could do so much better.”

  “He’s safe.” Kai’s voice was soft.

  Did she really believe what she just said? “Safe? He works for Levy. He’ll do whatever Levy tells him to do.”

  “Look, I know you have trouble understanding this, but Mike’s a nice man. He’d never hurt me.”

  Sara wasn’t sure whether Kai was trying to convince herself or Sara.

  Raising her gaze to meet Sara’s, Kai added, “At least I’m not trying to pick a fight with the man who would kill me for getting out of line.”

  “Hey, I’m just trying to do my work. It’s not like I’m here by choice.”

  Before Levy had learned about Sara’s past, she had worked out of her apartment as an expert in encryption-decryption, a skill for which credit card companies were willing to pay good money.

  “And you think I am?”

  “I’m only here because I was forced into this job.” Was it the ache in Sara’s head that made her want to argue? It didn’t matter.

  “It’s better than being on the streets.” Kai shoved her chair against her desk and leaned back. She insisted she liked working for Levy. After living on the streets, Kai swore she’d never go back. Her eyes narrowed, “So what does he have on you?”

  “None of your business.” Levy’s knowledge gave him power over Sara. No one else needed that power.

  “What’d you do? Steal? Murder? What?”

  “I did what I had to do.”

  Kai’s voice became cold. “Yeah, well, so did I. Working for Levy is better than lying on my back.”

  Sara shot a hard look at Kai, “I never—”

  Kai’s face softened, “I didn’t mean you. I’m sorry. It’s just that so many of the other girls on the street made their money that way. I almost ended up that way. I’ll do whatever is necessary not to go back to the streets.”

  Chapter 5

  “You’re in early.”

  Derry noticed his boss, Doug, out of the corner of his eye. He shifted his attention away from his monitor. “Yeah, I need to cut out early tomorrow, if that’s okay.”

  “That’ll be fine.”

  Doug didn’t move. Derry waited. “Is there something else?”

  Doug hesitated, “Look, we’re a little short-handed on account managers, and we just landed a new client. I was hoping to send Robert, but the account you’re working on together is taking longer than scheduled.”

  “I’m sorry about that.” Was he accusing Derry of the slowdown?

  “So, what’s the hold-up?”

  Just how much should he say? “Robert insists on going over everything I do.” Great. That sounded like whining.

  “Has he found any problems with your work?” Doug stepped farther into the cubicle.

  “Nothing he’s told me about.”

  Doug peered over the walls at something Derry couldn’t see.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “No.” Doug’s gaze returned to Derry. “I want you to take on the new account.”

/>   This was good news.

  “Our site or theirs?”

  “You’ll be doing it at their office. It’s downtown, close to the Sixteenth Street Mall. It should take two to three weeks. Let me know what you think once you’ve had time to evaluate the workload.”

  Well, there go my chances of finding out where that lady works.

  “Sure, I’d be happy to.”

  “They’ll be ready for you to start the middle of next week. I’ll send you the details.” Doug pivoted to leave.

  “Does this mean I’m an account manager permanently?”

  Pulling up short, Doug glanced back. “Maybe. If you do a good job.”

  Before Derry could ask more, he was gone.

  ***

  It had only been a day since Sara told Levy about the change in the schedule, yet Mike was here bugging her about it. “Levy wants to know when you’ll be ready to set things up at Jasper’s.”

  Face full of scars, Mike stood over six feet four inches, and rumor had it he could bench press his own weight. He was an intimidating figure.

  She couldn’t understand why Kai was willing to date him. Sara loathed Mike. He and the others who worked for Levy weren’t worth her time. Even so, she surprised herself last night when she thought about her lack of pity for Ryan. He was better off dead than working for Levy.

  Sara focused on her monitor as her fingers moved across the keyboard.

  Mike approached and touched her shoulder.

  “Get your hands off me.”

  “I asked you a question.”

  “I heard you. Can’t you see I’m busy with real work?” Sara’s gaze never left her screen.

  Mike grabbed her chair and spun her around, forcing her to face him. “He wants an answer. Now.”

  Sara rotated her chair back toward the monitor. “He’ll get it in a minute. I’m in the middle of something.” Every word dripped with irritation.

  She heard Mike take a step back. Sara delayed answering, hoping to irritate him further. She knew he wouldn’t try anything in front of Kai—or at least she hoped he wouldn’t. She had no respect for Mike, and a small part of her enjoyed giving him a hard time. Better yet, she wished he’d just leave. She hated being in the same room with him.

  After several minutes, she stopped working and swiveled around to face him. Peering behind him, she inquired, “Where’s your leash?”

  “You think you’re funny, don’t you?” Not even a hint of a smile.

  “No, I’m dead serious.”

  “Soon, Levy will grow tired of your mouth.”

  “But not yet. He needs me too much.” She knew she was pushing her luck.

  Leaning down, Mike whispered, “Your days are numbered, and I hope I’m the one who straps you in.”

  The image of Mike strapping Steve into the chair sent chills creeping down Sara’s back. She shoved him away.

  He surveyed her body. “You won’t take nearly as much juice.”

  To hold her fears in check, she blurted out, “Unlike you. As dense as you are, he’ll have to—”

  Mike shoved her chair against the wall.

  “Answer the question.” Mike leaned in again. “When?”

  Knowing she’d pushed him as far as she could, Sara finally gave in. “I don’t think Jasper’s will work. I don’t trust the man, and I’m not sure he’s smart enough to pull off his end.”

  “You don’t think anyone is smart enough. Well, bad news, lady. It doesn’t matter what you think. Levy has too much invested in Jasper’s, and you’ll do as he tells you. How long?” Mike’s voice grew in intensity.

  “I went to that hole of a restaurant the other day. His equipment is outdated. It’s completely the wrong kind. Someone will need to give him a whole new setup.”

  “That someone will be you.”

  “You can’t tell me what to do. I write code. I don’t do hardware.”

  Mike pressed in further. “You are the only one who knows what he needs.”

  “But I don’t have time to go shopping. Not if your master wants this done in three weeks.”

  “Make a list, and we’ll make sure the stuff’s ready when you are.”

  “If I make a list, who’s going to read it? You?”

  “Do as you’re told. Send the list to Mr. Levy. Your equipment will be ready when you need it.”

  Stop pushing. “Levy will have the list today. I need the equipment in place the start of next week.”

  “So, you’re saying you’ll be ready to start testing on Monday?”

  “No. I’m saying I’ll be ready to set up the equipment on Monday.”

  Mike reached down and grabbed Sara’s left forearm, pinning it against the armrest. “You want to learn how to type with only one good arm?”

  Sara twisted her arm, freeing it from his grasp. “If the set-up is in place on Monday, I’ll start my test runs on Tuesday or Wednesday. If no big problems are found, and all the money transfers properly, we’ll be ready for a full testing the week after that. I’ll have six more cards ready by then. Tell your master I’ll need six runners, and make sure they’re all over twenty-one. We can’t have kids using credit cards and raising suspicions.”

  “Not a problem. And the test runs will be done at Jasper’s? Correct?”

  It only sounded like a question. Sara knew it was a command.

  She rubbed her arm. “At Jasper’s, the worst Greek food in town.”

  “Good.”

  Sara swiveled toward her computer, turning her back to Mike as he left the room.

  Once the footsteps disappeared down the stairs, Kai spoke up. “Mike’s not that stupid. Why do you push him like that?”

  Glancing over her shoulder, Sara couldn’t help but pity Kai. Such a beautiful girl liking someone like Mike. “He’s stupid enough to choose to work for Levy.”

  ***

  Hours later, Sara’s previous late night was catching up with her. She’d been up well past midnight working on some additional code, the code that would make Levy pay for what he’d done to her. Using a laptop she bought with cash, she had developed the code at home where Levy wouldn’t find out. The laptop wasn’t nearly as powerful as the computer she used at work, but it served the purpose. The code had to be in place and tested before she went to Jasper’s.

  Turning her head slightly and watching out the corner of her eye, she could see Kai pounding away on her keyboard. Would she ever go home? It was past seven, and neither of them had eaten since noon. Sara couldn’t think about food now, but she hoped Kai was hungry. She needed her to leave so she could tap into her computer.

  Kai leaned back in her chair to stretch. “You going to work all night?”

  “Oh! I didn’t realize the time. I’ve got a little more to do before I can leave.”

  “I was hoping we could get a bite together.” Kai turned toward Sara and leaned forward, stretching her hands out past her knees.

  For the most part, Kai was okay. This meant Sara could tolerate her company, and at times even enjoy it. “Oh, I’m not hungry. Maybe another time.”

  “Come on, you’re too skinny as it is. I can’t have Levy’s top programmer dying on me.” Kai reached for the keyboard and locked her computer.

  “Why not? Afraid you’ll have to finish my work?” Sara continued to type. She wasn’t paying much attention to what she was typing; she just needed to keep her fingers moving.

  “Yeah, that’s it alright.”

  Sara peeked over her shoulder to see Kai smiling at her. “Really?”

  “You bet.”

  “Well, in that case, I’d better stay and get it done so you won’t have to worry about it.” Sara returned to her work.

  “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

  “You h
eard Levy. I don’t have much choice.” She kept her gaze on her monitor.

  Standing, Kai grabbed her pack. “Well, I need to run to the store anyway. I’m out of food downstairs.” As she walked through the door, she added, “See you tomorrow.”

  “Later.”

  Waiting until she heard Kai going down the steps, Sara breathed a silent sigh of relief. She approached the door and listened. The building was strangely quiet, but she needed to make sure the floor was empty before she started her work. This half of the second floor held five offices, counting hers, as well as a common area at the top of the stairs.

  Sara made her way out to the common area where a small coffee pot sat, along with some two-day-old muffins. She picked up one of the muffins. Pulling off small pieces, she nibbled on them as she slowly walked down the hall. Glancing into each office, she found them all empty. She was alone, except for the cameras in the hall.

  She dropped the stale muffin into a trashcan and headed back to her computer. Stepping out of the camera’s view, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a jump drive. Making sure she was in the clear one more time, she inserted it into her computer.

  Sara remotely logged into Kai’s computer and installed one of the programs she had written at home. This program made sure her access into Kai’s computer was untraceable and undetectable. None of the files she accessed would change their timestamps, and none of her keystrokes would be logged.

  With this in place, she opened four of the files under Kai’s control. After searching the files for the right locations, she transferred several lines of her code into these program files.

  Kai will never find these. Step one down. Now for step two.

  Returning to her own computer, she repeated the process. Once done, Sara removed the jump drive and accessed the keystroke file that Levy hid on her system. She removed the last thirty minutes’ worth of entries and replaced them with work done the other day. After logging out and locking her computer, she grabbed her bag and stood.

  Sara smiled as she took one more peek at Kai’s computer.

  Levy thinks he’s so smart.

  Sara headed down the stairs and out the door. She needed to get some food before her blood sugar got any lower.