No Biz Like Showbiz

by Julie Moffett

  “The hotel. I overslept.”

  “You’d better get down here.”

  I pushed my hair out of my face and tried to get my brain to focus. “Why? What happened?”

  “We’ve got another note. This one is for you specifically.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  It took me five minutes to get ready and five more to jog to the studio. When I got there, Kyle waved me into his office and closed the door once I got there.

  “What do you have?” I said dropping into a chair.

  “An email. It came to your account, but I was checking all incoming messages and I flagged it.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He warned you to let his votes stand or else.”

  “Or else what?”

  Kyle handed me a piece of paper.

  I admire your tenacity and persistence, Lexi. You are making an admirable effort. But you cannot and will not catch me. It’s elementary, my dear Watson. If you try to catch me again or alter the outcome I expect, be warned that I will not hesitate to show my displeasure. I am in full control of your destiny.

  “Sherlock Holmes.” I handed the paper back to Kyle. “Has Cartwright seen it?”

  “Not yet. Should I forward it to him?”

  “Yes, and tell him I’m on it.”

  Kyle shook his head. “Cartwright is going to crap his pants. Our cracker is escalating.”

  “Good.”

  “Aren’t you worried?”

  “I know what I’m doing, Kyle.”

  “Okay. I trust you.”

  “We just have to sit tight until the voting this evening. But let me give you one tip. No matter what happens tonight, you need to stay neutral. I might do things that don’t seem logical to you, but I’m doing them for a very specific reason. Don’t countermand me or draw attention to anything I do that may seem out of the ordinary. Most importantly, remember that appearances aren’t always what they seem.”

  “Wow. That couldn’t have been any more cryptic.”

  I smiled. “You’re an extraordinarily sharp guy, Kyle, so I just want to make sure I don’t underestimate you. Follow my lead, okay?”

  “Okay, Lexi. You can count on me.”

  * * *

  When the canned episode of Geeks Get Some finally began to air, the staff and I were locked up tight in the IT room. Everyone—myself excluded—was watching the show. Carlos and Noah were laughing hysterically and even Kyle and Melinda were giggling. I put earbuds in, cranked up my music, then turned my back to the screens, refusing to watch or hear myself on the television.

  About five minutes before the show ended and the voting opened, I glanced up at the television. Gregg was twitching on the floor with me bent over him. Carlos and Noah were howling. I winced. Even I had to admit it didn’t look good.

  I took my earbuds out and clapped my hands. “Okay, everyone, show time is over. I’m glad you’re all so amused. Get to work.”

  Carlos grinned. “Damn it, Lexi. It was just getting to the good part.”

  “There is no good part. Trust me, I was there. Now let’s get to work.”

  Chuckling, everyone headed toward their desks.

  I was just about to sit down at mine when Melinda put her hand on my arm.

  “Just to add my two cents. Lexi...I like Nelson the best.” She smiled shyly. “He’s not very attractive, but there’s something really sexy about him all the same. He’s got some kind of mysterious vibe to him.”

  “Really? You think so?”

  “Totally. There’s just something about him. I think he’d be your best choice.”

  “Thanks. I’ll keep it in mind.”

  Kyle monitored the countdown until the voting opened. “Three...two...one. And, we’re open. Incoming now.”

  The votes began to pour in. The sheer volume surprised me.

  Kyle walked back and forth between his monitors and mine. “Damn it, if he adds his votes now, we’ll never find him. We’ll have no surge evidence.”

  “We’ll get him. Don’t worry.”

  Carlos sounded agitated. “But the votes are pouring in. It’s unbelievable. We’ve never had this volume before. The show must be pulling in a record number of viewers.”

  Melinda’s fingers tapped on the keys. “But how do we find him? Lexi, he could be adding votes anywhere.”

  I kept my voice calm. “We’re going to get him.”

  Noah laughed. “Seriously? We’ve logged over four million votes in less than thirty minutes. The show hasn’t even opened yet for voting in the Midwest or the West Coast. Either our hacker is hiding, waiting, or blending perfectly. Or this show has suddenly become crazy popular.”

  I shrugged. “It could be a combination. Doesn’t matter. Either way, we’re covered.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing, girl boss. You seem pretty relaxed.”

  “I do and I am. Any obvious sign of our friend?”

  Kyle shook his head. “Not a thing.”

  Melinda leaned forward. “No anomalies on the network either. All seems in order.”

  “Hardware is secure,” Carlos added.

  “No blips on my end either.” Noah glanced my way. “Come on, Lexi, aren’t you going to share what traps you’ve set so we can keep a lookout?”

  “Not yet, but soon.”

  “Any reason you feel you have to be so damn cryptic?” Noah frowned.

  “Yeah, there’s a reason, but you’re just going to have to trust me for now.”

  “Okay, girl boss. Just hope you’ve got it under control.”

  “I do and I’m glad you’re on board. I’ll let you all know what I did when the time is right.”

  Four hours later the voting closed with no obvious sign that the cracker had come and gone. But I knew he had.

  The IT staff looked at me questioningly.

  “Now what?” Kyle asked.

  I stretched my arms over my head. “Now we nab the cracker.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Everyone’s mouth dropped open.

  Carlos snapped the pencil he was holding in two. “Huh? Is this some kind of joke?”

  Kyle frowned. “Just how are we going to do that?”

  “Yeah, and when?” asked Melinda. “Didn’t our window just pass?”

  I smiled. “Not really. Look, our cracker is an inside threat. He’s been inside all along. Truthfully, it didn’t matter how good any of our outward preparations were, he was never going to come at us that way. So, I only opened one door on the inside. My door. Everyone from SWM, or who is using SWM’s internal connection to vote, came through me. I tagged everyone who came in with a tracking device on their way out. Our cracker is toast now. We’ll be able to follow him from the inside out. His trail and actions are burned on those logs. But the best part is, we don’t even have to hurry to catch him.”

  “B-but how?” Noah stammered. “A tracking device? Girl boss, is that even possible?”

  I nodded, my smile widening. “Yep. It’s the latest and greatest in cybersecurity technology. I’ve got two personal friends who just finished the prototype. From the initial results, I would estimate it should take us about two hours or less to sort through the webserver logs and nail him.”

  Carlos’s mouth dropped open. “All of that from the webserver logs?”

  “Yep.” I glanced over at Kyle. “It’s pretty simple, actually. I could have done it instantaneously except it will take me a bit of time to sort through the...ah, how many votes did we get tonight, Kyle?”

  “One hundred and sixty-seven million.”

  “One hundred and sixty-seven million votes. But the bottom line is that the trail to our cracker is right in our very own webserver logs. It’s a done
deal.”

  Carlos plopped in his chair. “Wow. It almost feels anti-climactic.”

  I shrugged. “A lot of people don’t understand that cybersecurity is really a combination of patience and persistence. Our cracker was so worried about coming in undetected, he didn’t pay a lot of attention to how he got out. He never saw my tag or even knew it was possible, and therefore, I’ve nabbed him. So, tomorrow we end this standoff.”

  I stood up, did a full body stretch and then bent down to touch my toes. “We could examine the logs tonight, but we’re all tired and it doesn’t matter whether we tell Cartwright who the cracker is tonight or tomorrow. The server is shut down and locked up tight. No one in the company, except for us, can get in here. So tonight we rest, and tomorrow morning, after an hour or two, we celebrate and give Cartwright the good news.”

  Melinda yawned. “Fine with me.”

  Carlos gave a thumbs-up. “Whatever you say.”

  We gathered our stuff and Kyle locked up the room behind us. When we got in the car, Kyle turned to me.

  “Bullshit.”

  I grinned. “I knew you were sharp. But I also told you to trust me.”

  “I do trust you. I just don’t understand your game.”

  “It’s not a game. I’m deadly serious. But it’s okay to be skeptical. I’d be the same way if I was in your place.”

  “Look, I’m not a cybersecurity expert, but I’ve never heard of any such tracking device.”

  “Stay with me, Kyle. I’ve got him, okay? Just trust me.”

  He let out a sigh. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing.”

  “It’s already a done deal. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  After he dropped me off at the hotel, I took the elevator to my room—completely exhausted. I keyed open the door and literally jumped two feet in the air, my heart racing.

  Slash sat in the chair at my desk. He was no longer dressed like Nelson Soddenbag. Instead he wore a long-sleeved black T-shirt and jeans.

  “Aaagh! How did you get in here?”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  I pressed a hand to my chest. “Okay, never mind. I retract that question. How did it go at the mansion?”

  “Your plan went off without a hitch.”

  “Were all the guys in the mansion accounted for?”

  He stretched out his legs. “Si. Every single one. No one departed the premises. It was quite unfortunate too, as the electricity in the mansion went out for just over two hours. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves.”

  I grinned. “Wow, you are good. What about the wireless? Were you able to pull that off, too?”

  “What’s the point of being a gazillionaire if you don’t have access to a satellite or two?”

  “Way to go, Nelson. The guys were completely off the grid. You’re amazing. Well, that only confirms my suspicions.”

  Interest lit his eyes. “Which are?”

  “I know who did it. I think I’ve known all along.”

  “I take it the voting was compromised again.”

  “It sure was. He took my bait, hook, line and sinker.”

  “I had no doubt.”

  I walked over to my laptop, opened it up and logged on. “He’s going to come back tonight to try to wipe the webserver logs. He has to. But what he won’t know is that he’ll be wiping dummy logs and tripping an alarm that leads to my computer. Now, I just have to be patient.”

  My phone chirped. I unplugged it from the dock, checked who was calling, and then answered it. “Hey, Dad. What’s up? Why are you calling me so late?”

  “It’s not your father. I called on his phone because I knew you wouldn’t answer if I called you.”

  “Mom!”

  “Are you starring in a dating show? Don’t you dare lie to me.”

  My thoughts raced. What in the world could I say that would explain this in a way that would make sense to my mother? “Ah...”

  “Karen Culpepper just called. She said she saw you on a dating show and that you stunned a man.”

  “Mom, I did not stun him!”

  She gasped. “So, it’s true? Lexi, if you needed help with dating, why didn’t you just ask me? For the love of God, I’m your mother. You don’t know how deeply this wounds me.”

  I turned my back toward Slash and tried to speak softly. “Mom, look, I don’t need help with my love life.”

  “No, of course not.” Her voice raised to a near shriek. “That’s why you have to go on national television to meet men. Karen said you stunned one man and knocked out another. She said she’d never laughed so hard. Dare I even ask what happened to the rest of them?”

  “I did not knock anyone out. One guy tripped and hit his nose on the table. Another one accidentally stunned himself with my stun gun. The rest of the guys are fine. I think.”

  She moaned so loudly, I held my phone away from my ear. “I can’t believe this is happening. Karen’s daughter is two years younger than you and she’s already engaged. To an attorney. Why can’t you do that? What normal man is going to want to go out with you after this mockery? First you nearly get yourself killed in Rome and then you run off to Hollywood to meet men. Do you realize what you are doing to your reputation?”

  “Mom, I appreciate your concern, but I’ve got everything under control.”

  “You stunned a man. How is that under control?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Mom, you’re breaking up. It must be a bad connection. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.”

  I punched the button on my phone, tossed it on the desk and turned to face Slash. “That was my mom. Are you trying not to laugh?”

  “Guilty.” He chuckled. “She see the show tonight?”

  “Worse. Her best friend saw it.”

  “You okay?”

  “Not really. My mother always makes me feel like breaking something.”

  “Mothers. It can be a delicate relationship.”

  “You have no idea. She may look fragile, but she rolls over me like a steamroller.”

  “Sounds like you handled her just fine.”

  “I wish.”

  Slash stood. “Come sit next to me, cara.” He sat on the bed and patted the spot beside him.

  I stared at him. “You want me to sit with you on the bed?”

  “Unless you’d rather do something else. I’m open to suggestions.”

  “That was a sexual innuendo, right?”

  He smiled. “Right.”

  I considered it. Sex with Slash, that is. I was fairly confident that sex with him would be interesting, enlightening, and...fun. I’d read enough books, including those with illustrations, to realize that there was a high statistical probability of significant pleasure with him. I also knew from a biological standpoint that sex was good for relieving tension, reducing stress, and releasing relaxing hormones. It sounded like exactly what the doctor would order—except sex with Slash also carried an emotional component. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. Certainly not tonight when I was exhausted and needed to stay focused on catching my cracker.

  I decided to clarify. “We can just sit and relax without the sex, right? I need to keep sharp.”

  “Whatever feels right to you, cara. If you want to sit and relax, that’s what we’ll do.”

  I joined him and he put his arm around me.

  “Now, about your mother. She loves you. Love can bring out the best and worst in people.”

  “I guess. Maybe I’m just tired.”

  “Si, you need to rest.”

  “I wish. I have to concentrate on the matters at hand.”

  “Like the results of the vote, as skewed as they may be?”

  “Oh, I already know who will get voted off once I adjust the votes. But
that’s a moot point at this stage of the game.”

  “As one of the contestants vying for your heart, I take exception to the dismissive tone of your voice.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh, so that’s why you want to know? Okay, I’ll tell you. Nelson is still in. Strangely enough, you garnered the second most votes. You’re a popular guy. Even Melinda said you were sexy. Plus, I’ll throw in my vote for you. That should keep you safe.”

  “Lucky me, and I mean that sincerely. So, how am I doing really?”

  “At what?”

  “Winning the heart of the girl, of course.”

  I laughed. How was it that he usually knew just what to say?

  “Ah, well, truthfully, Nelson is light years ahead of the others.”

  “Excellent news. My plan is right on schedule then.”

  “You have a plan?”

  “Cara, I always have a plan. Not that things ever go according to plan with you, but I’m rarely without one.” He grinned. “So now we wait?”

  “Yes. He knows he has to destroy the evidence that will lead me to him. Even better, he has to physically go to the office to do it. Once he starts trying to wipe the dummy logs, he’ll trip my alarm. I should have plenty of time to go to the studio and confront him.”

  Slash held up a hand. “Stop right there. You’re going to confront him?”

  “Well, yes. How else would I do it?”

  “And you were planning on doing this alone?”

  “Well, we’re talking about a cracker, not a murderer. I sincerely doubt he’d get violent.”

  “He certainly will not with me around.”

  “Slash, you don’t have to come.”

  “Now you’re insulting me. What would you do if he did turn violent? Do you have a plan for that?”

  “I can handle myself.”

  “On a keyboard, yes. Now, you’re so physically exhausted, you’re about to drop. Which is why I’m excusing your apparent lapse of good judgment.”

  I sighed. “You’re not going to budge on this, are you?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, then you can come.”

  “Glad that’s settled.” He shook his head. “Now, Madame Chuck Norris, come and let’s have a rest.”