Cassandra caught a micro-expression of concern on Caldwell’s face. “We’ve signed the confidentiality agreements, Mr. Caldwell. I give you my word as well as that of James Security Agency that your information is safe with us.”
“Thank you Miss James. Your organization came highly recommended and I can see we were right in selecting it.”
Cassandra studied his face a moment—something in his tone raised her hackles, but, considering the delicate nature of the task at hand, it made sense that he would be that concerned for his company.
Escorting Cassandra and her team to the lobby, Caldwell thanked them and assured them that they’d receive the requested information within the hour.
****
Back at James Security’s data center, or War Room as they liked to call it, Cassandra, Jessica, and Matt dove into work. The room looked like a military operation was underway. Matt was scanning the Bristol and EXClinic servers looking for operational weaknesses in the processes and any technical countermeasures either company was using. Jessica sat across the room at another terminal, humming under her breath while she conducted background checks on Bristol employees whom the team earlier deemed needed a closer look. Drew Caldwell had also been included on the list since he had the highest security clearance in the company. Cassandra was simultaneously investigating EXClinic’s hosting server and their security protocols and running a series of scans, checking for any anomalies in the data files exchanged between the two companies. She knew in her gut that Bristol was vulnerable due to the value of the drug in question.
An anti-aging formula. Go figure.
She read through the details of the formula.
Why
would anyone want to use drugs to mess with their looks?
As she uncovered more details, she realized there was more than the cosmetic aspect to it. If it worked as anticipated, big bucks would be generated because of its high demand. The drug would offer respite for several age-related illnesses, and if the trials were successful, it would attract huge interest from governments around the world with its potential to help reduce their national healthcare costs.
Cassandra shrugged. With the information received from Caldwell, she began the login process to access EXClinic’s hosting server. Based on her experience with the CIA, she knew that for the right price a black hacker would jump at the challenge of stealing from a large Pharmaceutical company. It would be a feather in the hacker’s hat, adding to their reputation and giving them bragging rights.
Another risk was that an insider could be compromised. In the cutthroat pharmaceutical world, a rival company might look to secure the formula and results as their own by hiring a company’s scientist or employee on the down low with the promise of better pay in exchange for the retrieval of the entire project from the servers.
Cassandra’s bet was on an infiltration, and her team was in agreement. They knew that a hacker wouldn’t be able to resist such a job due to the adrenaline rush they would enjoy from exploiting the weaknesses of Bristol and EXClinic’s systems. She anticipated that their process of infiltration would be similar to routine surveillances that she had participated in while with the CIA: they’d look for weak spots using a variety of tools, including network password hacking programs and port scanners. If the port scanner showed them an unsecure open door, they would use it to sneak in, allowing them to access the system remotely as if they were physically in the building.
Cassandra had Matt relentlessly trying to break in to Bristol and EXClinic’s systems, using what they called ethical hacking. If the team could find any weaknesses first, they could fix them, preventing any potential server hack.
Finally logged into EXClinic’s server, Cassandra checked to be sure that all software updates had been downloaded and that their firewall was solid and running; routine elements that all good companies would have in place. Once the task was completed, she glanced up and noticed a frown on Matt’s face.
“What’s up Matt? Anything wrong?”
“No, nothing so far, Cass.”
Seeing the concentration on his face she cautioned, “Just be careful, okay? We don’t want any slips. Bob would have our asses for sure if anything happened.”
Matt clutched his heart in mock pain and moaned, “Damn, Cass…cut my heart out why don’t you—ye of little faith. They don’t call me Boy Wonder for nothing.”
She rolled her eyes back at him and heard Jessica snicker. “Whatever, I’ll make sure to tell Bob you were the one to blame if it goes south.”
Cassandra watched him return to his task with a big grin on his face. She turned toward Jessica who smirked, “Before you ask Cassie, the answer is no. So far all employees are clean but in desperate need of help. Apparently they all suffer sorely from an extreme case of dull-itis.”
Laughing, Cassandra turned back to her screen and the task at hand. “Too funny. Okay, Jessica. Just keep at it.”
****
A few hours later everyone congregated in the small huddle room across from Cassandra’s office.
“Well, that was a bust.” Matt grumbled kicking back in his chair.
Jessica grinned and nudged him. “Yeah, you’re just bummed you didn’t find any action on either of the two companies’ systems.”
Disappointment clouded his face and Matt pouted, “Damn straight, what’s the fun in that?”
Shaking her head, Cassandra watched their exchange. “Well, in this case, gang, it’s a good thing. I’ll summarize our findings and forward them to Caldwell. But we can’t assume anything. Matt, set up some routine scans to monitor both companies’ systems—the sooner the better, since we’re stuck being buddy-buddy with Caldwell through the next set of clinical tests they’re conducting.” She checked her watch and stood. “Okay. Great job, guys. We’re done here. I don’t know about you, but I’m starved and tired as hell.”
Matt headed for the door. “I’ll just get those scans set up and then I’m out of here. I have a date with a hot avatar on World of Warcraft.”
Cassandra and Jessica laughed at the wiggle of his eyebrows before he headed down the hall. Walking out together, Jessica reached for Cassandra’s arm and pulled on it slightly to catch her attention. “Hey, want to get a burger? Roscoe’s is open twenty-four hours.”
At that moment, Cassandra’s stomach rumbled in protest and the side of her mouth quirked. “Damn. It’s one a.m. No wonder I’m so hungry. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday morning.”
“So, is that a yes?”
“Sounds like a plan. Give me thirty. I need to get this update out and then we can go.”
“Perfect. That’ll give me time to add the last of the employee profiles to the project file,” Jessica commented as she took off in the direction of her office.
Cassandra waved her off and returned to her own office to type up her status report. At the thirty minute mark, she sent the report on its way. She also forwarded a copy to Bob, adding a quick note to let him know everything checked out and that they were set up to monitor the companies closely from there on. Her phone buzzed and she grabbed it. As expected, it was an incoming text from Jessica.
Chop-chop! Hungry here! If you don’t hurry I am going to chomp on your leg
.
Cassandra laughed out loud. She quickly typed a reply:
On my way zombie girl.
****
An hour later, Cassandra walked into her house, toed off her shoes, and groaned. Both she and Jessica had pigged out on burgers and fries, topping them off with chocolate milkshakes. She was about to burst. She changed into more comfortable clothes that could accommodate her extended belly and walked barefoot into her little office to catch up on her email and check for any updates from Matt before she headed to bed.
She sat and powered up the computer. Once logged in, she opened her email program and found ten unread messages. A few were spam emails which were immediately trashed, several were from Nathan Nelson, a former CIA team member and good friend, and the most recent one was from Matt.
She checked Matt’s first. His status update indicated there were still no changes since they had last talked. She turned her attention to the emails from Nathan, chewed on her lip, and debated whether to open them now or wait until morning.
Cassandra could still clearly picture the day she met Nathan Nelson. It had been her first day on the job with the CIA. In a rush and desperate to find the CIA Introduction Course classroom, she was lost in a maze of cubicles. Rounding the corner at the end of the row, when she’d thought she’d finally found her way out, she ran into a brick wall—the solid muscular chest of a man.
On impact, she had bounced off him and he had swiftly caught her arms to prevent her from falling on her ass. Once introductions were made, Nathan showed her where the classroom was. He had saved her from being late and, with his boyish charm, had convinced her to have dinner with him later that evening, all within a matter of minutes.
Any woman would have fallen for the all-American, six-foot-three, blond man with a cheeky grin and green eyes, but Cassandra, uninterested in any relationship, had maintained a friendly camaraderie, choosing to ignore any signs of attraction on Nathan’s part. Over time, she came to view him as a good friend and loved him like the brother she never had.
Eventually they ended up working together in the same unit on assignments that centered on the collection and analysis of security- and counterintelligence-related information. It was when they were on a special assignment involving a simple visual surveillance of a target that things had taken a weird turn between them.
The supposedly simple assignment went to hell in a hand basket when the target they were following spotted Nathan and, in a moment of panic, opened fire on him. Cassandra had watched it all go down from the other side of the street where she was shadowing the team. Dodging behind a parked car, Nathan pulled out his gun and could not seem to cock it to return fire. Cassandra immediately provided cover fire while cutting across the street to the parked car he was hiding behind and, reaching his side, had continued to return fire.
When she no longer heard shots, she took a deep breath, stood, and moved from behind the car. She quickly approached the target’s hiding place; when he popped his head around the corner, she nailed him with a precise shot to the shoulder.
Before she could take a step in the direction of the target, Nathan had grabbed her arm, jerked her around, and kissed her hard on the mouth. In the excitement of the moment, Cassandra had returned his kiss, but even before it ended, she had regretted it. Her reaction was driven by the adrenaline rush and thrill of the moment, not out of desire.
Later, Nathan confessed that he cared for her. Cassandra knew that if she ever entered into a relationship, it would be with someone she could trust, respect, and depend on in a pinch—someone who would appreciate her, love her for who she was, and treat her as an equal. As much as she cared for Nathan, he wasn’t that man. She didn’t love him and had told him as much, hoping he would accept it.
To complicate matters, she almost killed him later that evening back in the office when he had approached her and confided he had been neglecting cleaning his weapon—the reason the gun had misfired. The simple fact that Nathan had knowingly put their lives in danger almost destroyed their friendship. Although she did not want to see a good friend suspended, her military-influenced upbringing, the sense of honor instilled by her father, and her need to follow protocol spoke louder. She had included his digression in her report, which resulted in his suspension.
She knew that Nathan had been hurt by her rejection and for being reported; however, he understood that she couldn’t have done any different. It was who she was. Later, he had told her it had been a wakeup call and had saved his career. Eventually they came to terms and set the episode behind them. Their friendship had been strengthened by the incident; since then, he had never failed her or compromised it.
When she had left the CIA a year ago, she stayed in contact through email exchanges with a few close friends, including Nathan. It had just been recently that he’d been in contact more frequently and Cassandra worried he might still harbor romantic feelings for her after all that time.
She snapped out of her recollection and wondered about the reason for so many emails. It had been at least two days since their last correspondence, so the five consecutive emails were a bit of a surprise.
Cassandra opened the first of the five emails. She skimmed it and found it contained an update on how everyone had been.
Okay, not too bad,
she thought.
Next, she opened the one sent a few hours later,
Hey Cass! Heads up. Will be in your neck of the woods in the next week or so for a quick visit.
Frowning, she opened the following email:
Meant to ask, want to get together for dinner while I’m out there?
She narrowed her eyes at the monitor and wondered about Nathan’s sudden visit to the Bay Area.
This had better be a business trip and not an excuse to see me, s
he thought, opening the last one. The note let her know that he would be arriving next week and included his itinerary.
Well hell.
She didn’t want to commit to anything and responded simply,
When you get in and settled, call me
.
Cassandra yawned, looked at the clock on the computer, and realized she had to get up in two hours. The late-night dinner with Jessica and emails had taken longer than she expected. She logged off the computer and headed to bed. Lying in the dark she thought about Nathan
. That’s it. If we end up having dinner, Jessica is coming. Who knows? Maybe they’ll hit it off.
****
Cassandra sat in her office and stared at her computer as she considered the events of the last couple of weeks. The responsibilities of being lead on the Bristol job coupled with the fact that Nathan hadn’t left town yet from his “quick visit” made her wary. Jessica’s hints that he was trying to wear Cassandra down added to the sense of foreboding that something was about to go south.