Chapter 0054
By 6 pm, the office was a ghost town, just as I had hoped. Maria and Mike walked in from the direction of the elevators, both of them giggling and slightly disheveled.
I
Looked like they were on again, I thought with a shudder. I grabbed a memory stick from my desk drawer and walked over to them.
“We have to hurry,” I told Mike as I led him and Maria to Peter’s old office. “Logan always returns at precisely 6:30 from his evening run.”
I turned to look at Mike to make sure he understood. His face turned a light shade of green.
“Cool,” he said. “No pressure at all. This is great.”
“You’ve got this baby,” Maria kissed him on the cheek. She whispered something in his ear and they both giggled.
“Alright, enough of that,” I pushed open the door to Peter’s office.
We walked in. I started to turn the light on but thought it would be best to leave it off. Mike walked behind the desk and powered the computer up.
“I’m trying to find a fake email and a surveillance video, I explained. “I think if you can just figure out the pass….
“I’m in,” Mike said.
My mouth dropped. “Woah, Mike! That’s incredible!”
He started laughing. “I’m just kidding. I’ve always wanted to say that. Nah, this thing is still booting up, it’s ancient. But once it is on I can get in quickly, there’s a password we have that bypasses locked computers. You’d be amazed how often people get locked out because they’ve forgotten their login.” Maria leaned in close to me and whispered, “Look at him. Cute and smart and funny.”
“Yeah,” I said dryly. “He’s a real hoot.”
Mike clicked the mouse and typed on the keyboard. “Okay, now I’m in for real.”
He stepped away from the computer. Peter had a few folders on the desktop. I looked at the screen, unsure of where to start, Mike was watching my closely.
“Do you need help, or…?” He started.
“Just…give me a second.” I opened each of the folders one at a time, quickly scanning the contents of each.
“Because you said we’re on a tight deadline and you’re looking a little ‘deer in the headlights,” he said nervously.
I ignored him and clicked on the last, unnamed folder. It only contained two documents: the fake email and the video. I smiled.
“I’m in!” I said. I popped the memory stick into the computer to transfer the files over.
Chapter 0054
+25 BONUS
“Does that mean…” he started.
“I found what I’m looking for, thank you,” I said. I looked at my watch. 6:20. “You guys should go, I don’t want Logan to catch you here.”
“You sure you’ll be okay?” Maria said.
“Yeah, this should be done soon, I’ll be alright,” I smiled. “Thanks Mike.”
“Thank you, this was kind of a rush,” he smiled. “You’d be surprised how boring working in IT can be. The day just drones on and on and…”
“We’re going,” Maria said, pushing Mike towards the door. “Text me later, Haze.”
They left and closed the door behind them. I watched the computer screen. The video was only 78% uploaded.
“Come onnn,” I groaned.
I heard muffled voices from outside the door and turned. To my horror, Logan was standing out in the office area close to my desk, and he was talking to Maria and Mike. Mike looked like he was about to throw up. I watched Maria gesture towards my desk.
I ducked down behind Peter’s desk. I positioned myself so I could still see the screen. It was only 6:23, why was he back early?? I peeked from behind the desk. Maria and Mike were walking away, looking relieved. Logan was walking into his office.
I glanced back up at the screen. 98%. This was excruciating.
1 kept my eyes glued to the screen and as soon as it hit 100%, I hit the ‘eject media‘ button and yanked the memory stick out of the computer.
Before I could plan my next move, the light in the office came on. I froze in place.
