Kiss Kiss Bang (Iron-Clad Security)

by Sidney Halston

  Huh, was that what it was?

  “I can get her,” she said, sitting down and extending her arms.

  “Nah, I’m good.”

  “Okay,” she said, sipping her coffee. “What’s the plan today?”

  “I have to go to the office for a little bit. I left some searches running and I want to check in on the results.”

  “No problem. I have a ton of work to do anyway.”

  He’d seen her working endlessly, answering questions online, working on emails, spreadsheets with budgets laid out on his kitchen table, Skype sessions with Mark . . .

  The press were being relentless about interviewing her, but she refused. Mark had suggested she make a statement to appease them, but even that she refused. She didn’t want to be on television while Mathers was on the loose. She was keeping a low profile, using the fact that she’d been attacked and was recovering as an excuse.

  She was trailing in the polls, but not by much, she’d told him yesterday.

  He kissed the top of Sophie’s head and passed the sleepy girl to her mother. “I’m going to get going. Ben is doing rounds and I’m just a few minutes away if you need me.”

  “Don’t worry about us, we’re fine.”

  Since meeting these two, worry was all he could do.

  But it was worth it, because they were worth it. They were worth everything.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Governor McGregor refuses to comment about growing protests outside his Broward County home. Pressure to buy back land from the sugar farmers and use it to site a much-needed reservoir is mounting as environmentalists advise that building additional reservoirs is the only way to combat the algae that is creating unprecedented havoc on Florida’s water supply and coastline. People are demanding to know what happened to the money that was supposed to be used to build the reservoirs . . .

  The query Joey had ran last night didn’t give him much information. He needed to find Connor Mathers. It was driving him crazy knowing that a convicted felon was on the loose, and that the felon’s brother had attacked Olivia. There was a connection, he one hundred percent knew it in his heart.

  * * *

  He was squeezing the back of his neck. Think think think. What am I missing?

  There was a knock on his door.

  “Yes?”

  Charles, the new receptionist, opened the door. “There’s someone here to see you, Mr. Clad.”

  He looked up, eyebrows furrowed. “Without an appointment?”

  “Yes, and he says it’s urgent. It’s actually Governor Harry McGregor.”

  Joey stood up straighter. What? “Send him in.”

  Joey’s foot tapped up and down as he waited for McGregor to walk in. Had McGregor found out he’d been the one hacking him all these months? Joey really doubted it. But why else would he be there?

  “Mr. Clad, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Harry McGregor.”

  “I know who you are.”

  The governor’s eyebrows furrowed. “May I sit?”

  Joey gestured to a seat before sitting down across from him. “How may I help you, Mr. McGregor?”

  “I’m in need of your services.”

  “What exactly is it that you need?”

  “As you’ve probably read, I have a little nuisance that is starting to become a huge nuisance,” he began. “There’s a hacker who keeps getting into my computer. Personal and at work. I need it stopped. Even the FBI can’t figure out where it’s coming from. Last night I was blocked out of all my accounts. My bank accounts, emails, social media.”

  Ahhh . . . okay. Now it made sense. Joey sat back comfortably, feeling a little smug. He’d done that before leaving the office yesterday. It wasn’t a huge deal, he’d have to reset all his passwords, but it felt like a small victory. It was childish, he knew. But still, it felt great. “Harry’s Hacker.”

  “Yes. I want to find him and then prosecute him.”

  “Why ICS? Have you called the police?”

  “I need discretion. I don’t want too many people getting into my computer system. In fact, before I give you too much information, I would need you to sign an NDA.”

  A non-disclosure agreement? There was no way an NDA would do shit for something as shady as whatever this asshole was about to disclose. And he knew McGregor was up to no good. Too much money had gone missing from the federal funds provided to him to fix the reservoir in the Everglades.

  “I don’t know if I’m the right man for the job. And how is it that you think I can help?”

  “I need the best, and you are the best. I understand you’ve won Hak Con four years in a row.” Hak Con was a hobby of his. It was a world-renowned hacking convention with a prize of a million dollars from some of the world’s leading cybersecurity companies. They bet that no one could hack into their systems and if someone did, he’d win a million dollars and a contract of employment. Joey always declined the employment, but not the prize.

  “And all you need me to find out is who this hacker is?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why? What secrets are you hiding? It can’t all be over a silly Facebook joke or some locked-out accounts that you can reset in a few minutes.”

  “I don’t want anyone messing around in my personal database. It’s a violation and it’s illegal.”

  “Well, I think we have a conflict of interest, Mr. McGregor.”

  “Why is that?”

  “While you were doing your research on Hak Con, something that is usually underground and fairly unknown in the mainstream, you failed to check out who ICS’s latest client is. Specifically, my client.” Obviously it was confidential and other than pictures showing him in the background, there would be no way for him to know, but still . . . it felt good to fuck with him.

  “I was very thorough with your credentials, Mr. Clad. Who could possibly pose a conflict?”

  “I’m Olivia Russo’s bodyguard.”

  The smugness left his McGregor’s immediately and he paled. “What?” He stood and placed his hands on his desk.

  “Olivia Russo, your opponent?”

  “I . . . Oh. Well, yes. That is a conflict.” But was it, really? What was he hiding that he didn’t want Olivia to know? Was it his campaign strategy, or was there more? He’d bet his Ferrari there was more. He should have dug deeper than just fucking with McGregor. Unfortunately, now that he was dating Olivia he wasn’t sure how much he should dig. If he found something and told Olivia, Olivia would be upset at the method he’d used to uncover it. And also, how would she explain how she’d found it? It would be information that couldn’t be used.

  Harry stood abruptly. “What we’ve discussed, it’s confidential, correct?”

  Joey was cool and calm and was very much enjoying watching McGregor sweat. “I never signed your NDA, and I’m no doctor or lawyer, so no . . . nothing you’ve told me is confidential. And if we’re being completely honest, I find you and everything you stand to be repulsive. Even if I wasn’t representing Ms. Russo, I’d never help you out.”

  “I’ll double . . . no, triple whatever she’s paying you. You’ll get over your moral dilemma.”

  “No can do,” Joey repeated. “As you know, I’m a very rich man. I don’t sell out for money.” McGregor stood, his chair scraping against the floor. “And since you’re here, I’d like to ask you a question. Ms. Russo was recently attacked. Any idea on who would do something like that? Or why?”

  The man seemed flustered as he shook his head. “Politics is ugly business, Mr. Clad. I’ve received death threats on more than one occasion. Ms. Russo needs to be ready for it. I’ve been stuck in an elevator more than once, too.”

  “But you haven’t had a knife pierce your skin, have you Governor?”

  He shook his head and swallowed. “No. No, I haven’t.”

  “You can see your way out, McGregor.” Joey stood, his arms crossed over his body.

  “You’re a foolish man.”

  “Why? Because I have a heart? B
ecause I’m loyal? I think this conversation is finished.”

  Joey sat back down, fidgeting with a pencil in his hand and spinning his chair slowly in circles. What the hell was this guy hiding? There was something off. He had the same bad feeling about McGregor that he had about Connor.

  And then it hit him. He started searching over and over again and it came out blank, then he called Annie.

  “Annie, was there any news or reports about the elevator getting stuck last week?”

  “Not that I know of.” He sat back and looked up to the ceiling. “Why?”

  “Nothing. I’ll call you back.”

  How had McGregor known about the second elevator incident? That hadn’t made the news. Maybe somehow this was all connected. It had never occurred to him. He ran a new search changing the parameters, but this time he didn’t search Connor and Colin, this time he searched McGregor and he went deep. It wasn’t about fucking with him anymore. This time it was to see if there were any connections with him and the Mathers brothers.

  * * *

  “What do you think it is, Mark?” Olivia was talking on the phone in speaker when Joey walked in.

  “I don’t know, Livie. But McGregor’s camp is saying it’s big. Is there something I need to know?”

  Her hands came up in in the air in frustration. “No! You know everything there is to know about me. You, Neil, and now Joey are the only three people who know about my past. Other than that, there’s no skeletons in my closet.”

  “Well, I’m sure we’ll find out, whatever it is, soon. Don’t worry too much about it. Whatever it is, we’ll handle it.” He paused. “There’s one more thing, Livie. He wants a debate with you. He’s saying you’re scared and that’s why you haven’t accepted his offer.”

  “I am scared, damn it. Not of debating him. Of getting killed.”

  “He’s a sonofabitch, and he’s using that.”

  “Screw him. I’ll debate him. Set it up. I’ll talk to Joey and make sure security is tight.”

  “You sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Okay, Livie. Take care of yourself and give Sophie a big kiss from me.”

  “Will do, Mark. Bye.”

  There were so many emails it was going to take forever, so Joey had transferred everything onto a thumb drive and would go through it later that night.

  When he walked in, Olivia was on the phone in her home office. “What’s up? Who was that?”

  She swiveled her chair around and spun that fidget thing in her hand over and over. “It was Mark. Apparently McGregor has something on me. Something that will destroy me. At least that’s what was leaked from his camp.”

  “Destroy you? Like what?”

  She stopped spinning the contraption and slammed it down. “I don’t know!”

  He leaned across the desk and took her hand. “Calm down. Let’s think about it. What could it possibly be? Maybe they’re just trying to scare you and it’s actually nothing.”

  “Or they have something.”

  “But you haven’t done anything wrong, so why are you worrying?”

  “I don’t know. I just . . . ugh, I hate not knowing. Not being prepared.” She looked down at his hand. “What’s that? Did you find anything out today?”

  It was time he told her the truth.

  He stood and went around the desk, his arms on the sides of her chair, and kissed her. “I have to tell you something.” He sat on her desk.

  She sat up straighter. “Okay.”

  “It’s about me. Well, you too, but it’s . . .” He gripped the back of his neck. “I’m the hacker.” He blurted it out. Better to remove the Band-Aid in one single move.

  Her eyes bulged out of their sockets but she didn’t say a single word, so he continued. “I started it before I met you.” She still wasn’t talking. “Say something.”

  “I—what?”

  He hopped off the table and kneeled in front of her. “I’m the hacker. I should’ve told you sooner. I’m Harry’s Hacker.”

  She pushed her chair back and stood. “Oh. My God. You could ruin my entire career if we’re connected. What were you thinking!”

  He stood now too. “I told you, I started before I knew you and I just did it to fuck with him. Like a hobby.”

  Her eyes were now even wider. “A hobby? A hobby! You do understand that the issue is not when you started, right? It’s that you’re doing it. It is illegal. Hacking into someone’s computer, Joey, is very much fucking illegal. He’s a government employee.”

  She rarely cursed, and it felt like a blow to hear her that upset. She threw her hands up and continued to rant. “It was cute, the funny Facebook posts, but now we’re dating and it could . . . it’ll look like I put you up to it.”

  He walked to her and put his palms on her shoulder. “Listen to me. No one will know it was me. I didn’t steal anything or dig around his secret files. I’m good, Olivia. I’m the best, actually.” It was true, he was. He had millions of dollars and a Ferrari that made it official.

  “This is not the time to be arrogant. You can go to jail. And you can bring me down with you.”

  “I’m not being arrogant, Livie. I’m being truthful. That’s how I won my car and why I have millions in the bank.”

  “Millions? You’re rich?”

  “Very rich.”

  She shook her head side to side. “Okay fine, you’re good. It’s still wrong, Joey. Why are you telling me this now? What happened today?”

  He let out a breath. “McGregor came to see me today.”

  “What?” she yelled.

  “He wanted to hire me to find the person who’s hacking his computer. He has something in there he doesn’t want anyone to see. He said it was to handle the ‘nuisance,’ but it’s obviously more than that.”

  She looked like her head was literally going to explode.

  “He doesn’t know it was me, obviously. That’s why he came to see me. He wanted the best and he figured I could find out who was doing it. He offered me a ton of money to do it, too.”

  “What did you do? What did you tell him?”

  “What do you think I told him?” She was staring at him, her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. She looked gorgeous when she was all fired up. His phone began to ring and without even looking at the screen he silenced it.

  “I don’t know! I don’t know what’s what anymore. You said it yourself, I’m a terrible judge of character.”

  His phone rang again. This time he glanced at the screen and it was Annie. “I need to take this, Annie may have intel for us,” he said, a bit irritated himself. He didn’t like that she didn’t know without a doubt, that he would never help McGregor. “Hey, it’s not a good time. What’s going on?”

  “Please, tell me you’re not Harry’s Hacker.”

  He looked up at Olivia, who was watching him intently. If she knew what Annie was saying, she’d surely freak the fuck out. “Where are you calling me from?”

  “Secure line. Talk and make it fast because there are two feds in the server room right the fuck now.”

  “Shit,” he said. “McGregor was there earlier. Asked for my help. I didn’t give it to him. He probably put two and two together and is assuming I’m the hacker.” He didn’t want to look at Olivia because he was scared at what he would find. Hate. Loathing. Disgust. But he did, he looked at her, and her eyes were full of . . . concern?

  “You are, though,” Annie said.

  “Annie. Not the time. Listen, explain that to them. Tell them how McGregor came to see me today for a job, don’t give them too many specifics. Say that I couldn’t take it because it’s a conflict since I’m working for Olivia. There’s nothing there that will trace anything back to me or ICS. Don’t worry.” If anyone knew how skilled he was with a computer, it was Annie, and she was probably the only other person who could give him a run for his money. “They’re in ICS based merely on an assumption.”

  “Fuck, Joey. If Jax was here his head would explod
e.”

  “McGregor’s a dick.” It was the only reply he had.

  “Yeah, I know.” His sister’s tone softened. “You need to do your job and protect Olivia and let her do her job so that she wins. Stop fucking with McGregor. If this shit comes back to you and you and she are together, you will fuck up her election, Joey.” She said it softly, as if she knew this would hurt him. “You’ll also get ICS shut down. And you’ll go to jail and you’ll be no help to anyone when you’re someone’s bitch in prison.”

  “I know. I know.”

  “I’ll keep you posted. Need to deal with these suits.” She hung up and he sighed. But when he looked up, he had Olivia right in front of his face

  “Tell me.”

  “The FBI are at ICS looking into McGregor’s hacker.”

  “Joey.”

  He put his arms on her shoulder. “Relax. There’s no way they’ll tie this back to me.”

  “Anything else you’d like to tell me, Josef? This would be the time.”

  He blew out a breath and rubbed the top of his shaved head with his palm. “I was in jail. But it was a long time ago. Before I enlisted. It was for hacking, which is one of the reasons that the Marines were so motivated to take me on.”

  She stood there, just staring in confusion or maybe in shock. He wasn’t sure what she’d do but then she bent over and started to laugh somewhat hysterically. The fit of laughter was so intense she was holding her stomach and tears fell from her eyes. “I have a stalker or someone who’s trying to kill me, possibly a man who I once considered my best friend. I’m running for governor. I’m supposed to be clean and wholesome, but I’m also have crazy monkey sex,” she whispered, “out of wedlock, with a criminal.” Then she laughed again, a snort escaping her lips. “I’ve been caught making out in public. I’ve gotten stuck on two—two!—elevators in the last two months. And the icing on the cake—on the fucking crazy-ass cake—is that I’m falling in love for the first time in five years with a hacker. A hacker! A hacker who is hacking into my opponent. If all of the above didn’t ruin my career, this has to. It just has to. The universe can’t be that forgiving to me to let all this slide.” Then the laugh became strangled and her shoulders began to shake as she flopped down on her couch. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?”