She rubbed her hands together nervously. They were sweating profusely. She was anxious, and knew that she'd have to compose herself in a hurry if she was going to help get Ryan out of trouble.
The cab pulled up in front of the main entrance to the plant.
“Here you are, Ma'am. That will be $31.50.”
“Here you go. Thank you.” Jessica handed him two twenty dollar bills, grabbed her envelope, and got out of the car. She pulled the photo badge out of the envelope and clipped it onto her jacket. She straighted out her skirt, adjusted her shoes, and opened the front door of the building.
She approached the receptionist, trying her best not to appear nervous. Inside, she felt as if she were about to explode. She didn't see how Ryan's plan could possibly work, but she loved him, and she was determined to do everything she could to get him out of this jam.
-------------------------------------------
Elaine Joseph returned to the room where Ryan was being held.
“I've looked over this flash drive and I can't find anything on it. Nevertheless, it's obvious that you were using the computer in that office for something. That office belongs to the Director of Manufacturing, and he's out of town for the entire month. You were seen coming out of the office. The computer was warm, so you'd obviously been using it.”
Ryan just stared at her blankly.
“You might as well come clean, Mr. Smith, if that's really your name. You might get a shorter prison sentence if you tell me what you're doing here.”
Ryan continued to sit in silence.
Just then, her cell phone rang.
“Elaine Joseph. What is it?” She listened for a moment. “Fine. I'll be there in a minute.”
She turned to Ryan. “If that's the way you want to do things, fine. I'm going to call the authorities, and you can tell your story to them. I'll be back shortly.”
Once again, she left him locked in the room. Ryan hoped that the phone call meant that Jessica had arrived.
-------------------------------------------
Jessica sat in the lobby, trying her best to look professional and not betray how much she was shaking inside. She attempted to reassure herself and remembered that Ryan does this sort of thing every day. She also trusted him, and he told her this would work.
A door opened and a Elaine Joseph came out. Jessica stood up and offered her hand.
“Ms. Joseph? My name is Robyn Holbrook. I'm an information security supervisor; I work at corporate in Schenectady.”
Jessica showed the woman her badge.
“How can I help you, Ms. Holbrook? I'm really very busy right now. I have a bit of a crisis at the moment.”
“That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Ms. Joseph. I want to talk to you about Ryan Smith.”
Ms. Joseph stared at her. “What do you know about Ryan Smith?”
“I'm aware that you have Mr. Smith in custody. That's why I'm here.”
“I don't understand.”
“Can we go somewhere and talk in private, rather than here in the reception area?”
“Of course. Please. Let's go to my office.”
They walked through the secured door and down the hall to Ms. Joseph's office.
“Have a seat, Ms. Holbrook. Could you tell me what this is all about?”
“We've been having some problems lately with industrial espionage at the corporate level. Nothing serious has been compromised, but we've had people try to hack our networks from the outside and we've had people try to steal information from the inside.”
“Go on...”
“Because of this, we're trying to test our security company-wide to see if there are any areas where we need to increase security. These tests include both external and internal penetration. Mr. Smith is part of that test. We hired him to see if he could discover what the company's most sensitive secrets are and to see if he could manage to steal them.”
“He was unsuccessful. We caught him.”
“Yes, you did, and as he set up an automatic text messaging alert system, I became aware of that shortly after you caught him.”
Ms. Joseph smiled with pride. “So we're doing OK on the security front, I guess?”
“It looks that way. Was he able to steal or download any information?”
“It doesn't look like it. We caught him with a flash drive, but it was empty. Apparently, he couldn't find what he was looking for.”
“Well done, Mr. Joseph. I commend you and your staff for being so alert. Unfortunately, we haven't been quite as successful elsewhere in the company. In our Peoria plant, one of our 'spies' was able to obtain some information internally, and in Schenectady, a couple of people that we hired to hack the system were able to get in successfully. We'll have to close those loopholes, but it looks like you're doing a great job here.”
“Thank you. So, what happens now?”
“Nothing, really. Mr. Smith and I will go back to Schenectady, and work up our reports on this matter. We'll add what happened here to the report and in another month or so, we'll have an idea as to what we need to do to improve security company-wide.”
Jessica rose to leave.
“If you don't mind, Ms. Joseph, Mr. Smith and I have a plane to catch.”
Ms. Joseph looked positively proud. “Of course, Ms. Holbrook. Thank you for filling me in. I'm glad we were successful in stopping Mr. Smith's attempts to compromise our project data.”
“You're doing a good job, Ms. Joseph. Keep it up, and give my best to your team.”
Ms. Joseph escorted Jessica to the room where Ryan was being held. She opened the door and addressed Ryan.
“Mr. Smith, Ms. Holbrook has explained everything to me. You are free to go.”
Ryan spoke his first words to Ms. Joseph. “Thank you.” He stood up and walked towards the door where Jessica was standing.
“By the way, Mr. Smith. We caught you rather easily, and you weren't able to steal anything. It's a good thing you're not trying to make a living as a spy,” she said with a smile.
“I suppose you're right,” he said. “Good thing I'm in the security business and not the spy business. Good day.”
Ms. Joseph escorted Ryan and Jessica to the reception area, and they saw themselves out of the building. They hopped into Ryan's rental car and drove away.
As they left, Elaine Joseph accessed the company's internal Website to look up Robyn Holbrook. All of the color drained from her face when she realized that the company employed no one by that name.
Chapter 9
Ryan and Jessica left the parking lot and drove towards the hotel. Jessica was visibly distraught.
“Are you OK, Jess?”
“No, I'm not. I had no idea what I was getting into in there, and if I'd said the wrong thing, that woman would have put us both in jail.”
Ryan laughed. “I told you to trust me. It all worked out. As near as I can tell, you did a great job.”
“But you didn't, Ryan. You were here to obtain come computer files, and you got nothing. It seems as if this entire trip was a waste of time, aside from turning me into a nervous wreck.”
“It's not a waste, Jess. I got exactly what I was looking for, and I'm walking out of there with about five gigabytes of production and patent documents.”
“How did you get them? She kept your flash drive, and it didn't have anything on it, anyway.”
“The drive I allowed her to find had nothing on it. That wasn't the only drive I had with me.”
“But they took everything you had on you, including your cell phone. Where was the drive?”
He pointed to his shirt sleeves. “I've got flash drives built into my cuff links. Have a look.”
He removed one of his cuff links and handed it to Jessica. The silver-plated unit was even engraved with Ryan's initials. She pulled it apart, and sure enough, it had a USB connector on it.
“That's amazing. I'd never have thought to ask you to remove your cuff links. Where did you get these?”
“You think I've got some sort of 'secret spy store', don't you? I hate to disappoint you, but I just did a Google search. I found them on the Web.”
“I had no idea this sort of thing was available. By the way, how did you get a text message to me without a phone?”
“There are services on the Web that let you schedule texts. I set up a series of them to go to your phone once an hour. I had to log into the Website once an hour to delete the next message if I wasn't in trouble. If I got caught, the message went out automatically. You'll keep receiving them once an hour until I log in and cancel the rest.”
“Clever. And how did you know that they'd believe me when I showed up and said that I was at corporate? And how did you know the Elaine Joseph's name?”
“I found her name on the company's Website. Peavy is a huge company, so I figured that she likely wouldn't know everyone at corporate. As long as you acted like you belonged there, she'd take you at your word.. I've found that if you show ID and act like you know what you're doing, people are going to believe you 99% of the time. The secret is just to act authoritative. I thought you could probably do that. Apparently, you did that.”
“Thanks. You have no idea how nervous I was. I thought she'd see me shaking. I didn't even know what I was supposed to do until I read your notes in the cab on the way there.”
“It took you longer than I thought it would to get there. What happened?”
“I wasn't thinking. I went on a riverboat ride. I was out in the middle of the Mississippi eating lunch. There was just no way to get there sooner. I should have thought this through before I bought my ticket. I'm so sorry it took me so long.”
“Good thing you got there. I was beginning to think I'd be spending the night in jail. Thanks again.”
“My pleasure.”
“I'll see to your pleasure when we get to the hotel, Jess.”
“I'm sure you will. You owe me at least that.”
“Why don't we get some dinner first? I spent lunch being a spy and didn't get to eat.”
“Fine by me. I hope you're buying,” she said with a smile.
They stopped by the hotel to freshen up and to change into some clothing that was more suitable for dinner. Ryan took Jessica to Arnaud's, another restaurant in the French Quarter that was a short walk from their hotel.
“Have you been to Arnaud's before, Jess?”
“No, but I've heard great things about it.”
“It's been here for nearly a century. They've got great creole food and a terrific atmosphere.”
Ryan spoke with hostess, who escorted them to an area on the second floor. There were just a few tables up there on a balcony that overlooked the main dining room.
“This area is called The Mezzanine. It's sort of private and out of the way.”
“It's beautiful up here, Ryan. Kind of romantic, too.”
They looked over the menu, which offered some rather adventurous items, as well as oysters prepared in every conceivable way.
“Look, Ryan. They've got alligator sausage on the menu. I'm not sure I'm bold enough to try that.”
“After what you did this afternoon, I'd think you were bold enough to try anything,” he said with a laugh. “If you're not brave enough for the alligator, you might try the Seafood Ponchartrain. It's delicious.”
Ryan ordered a nice wine and they had a delightful meal while chatting about their adventure and things to come.
So, Ryan. Are we done here? I could stay here for months.”
“We're not quite done. I have to meet with someone tomorrow; the same person I met for lunch the other day. You can come with me this time.”
“When are we doing that?”
“We can arrange to do it for breakfast, I imagine. After that, we're done here in New Orleans. I know you like it, but I don't think we can stay here indefinitely.”
“That's OK. I do like Denver, and I miss Amber. I guess we can fly home and see what happens next. Besides, I've got another book to write.”
They finished their delicious meal and returned to the hotel. Jessica changed into her favorite nightie and climbed into bed next to Ryan. He was already there, wearing only a pair of boxers.
“You did promise to attend to my pleasure, didn't you?” she asked Ryan, coyly.
“I did. Why don't you come over here and I'll see to that now.”
Jessica moved closer to Ryan and nestled herself in his arms. He pulled her to him and his lips met hers with fiery passion. His determined tongue entered her mouth and she greedily took it in. She was nearly exhausted from the stress of this afternoon; she really needed Ryan's attention now. Their kissing continued, their tongues playing with one another as though performing some ritual dance.
Ryan pulled away as Jessica gasped for air. “You are so beautiful, Jessica.” He pulled the straps of her nightie over her shoulders to expose her hardening nipples. “I just love your breasts.”
“My breasts? They're nothing special.”
“They are special. They're yours. And they're the perfect breasts for your figure.”
Jessica blushed. She'd never thought much of her figure and had always thought of her breasts as ordinary. But she did feel special when she was in Ryan's arms, and if he was happy with her figure, she wasn't going to argue. Certainly not now.
As he continued to kiss her on the cheek, the neck, and the shoulders, he teased her nipples with his fingers. Jessica felt herself becoming aroused, and wondered how Ryan would satisfy her this time. He never failed; it was merely a question of what he was going to do and how he was going to do it.
“I want to taste you, Jess,” he said. “Please roll over.”
Jessica got on her back, and spread her legs to invite Ryan inside. He pushed her thong to one side and buried his face in the wet folds of her most intimate place. He gently circled her clit with his tongue and then thrust his tongue inside of her vigorously.
Jessica moaned and thought she'd come in seconds if he kept this up. Ryan pulled away.
“Don't come yet. I'm just getting started.”
“How can I not come?”
“I'm serious, Jess. Don't come. Just try to enjoy it.”
He returned to licking her pussy with renewed passion. Every stroke of her tongue brought her closer and closer to orgasm, but she didn't want to come yet.
She also didn't want to ask Ryan to stop. The rolling waves of pleasure that were washing over her were delightful, but trying to not come was difficult.
“Please, Ryan. Let me come now.”
Ryan looked up for a second and then returned his attention to the space between her legs. He slowed his tongue down, slowly licking her entire slit from bottom to top, again and again. Jessica was holding her pillow with both hands in a death grip and squeezing her thighs tightly around Ryan's head.
Ryan was working her pussy like a pro; he knew exactly how to drive Jessica wild.
Suddenly, he inserted two fingers and Jessica lost all control. It didn't matter if Ryan wanted her to come or not, she was lost in an orgasm that hit her like an tidal wave. She shook so violently that the lamp on the nightstand was rattling.
At that moment, Ryan turned her on her side and entered her from behind, pushing his erect cock into her completely. As he began to thrust, Jessica came again and again, in an increasingly intense series of waves that washed over her like the surf at high tide. He thrust harder and faster, manipulating her breasts from behind as his cock rubbed against her rock-hard clit.
For the first time ever, Jessica screamed in ecstasy. She'd had some amazing orgasms before, but this one had her seeing stars. She was so out of breath that she nearly passed out. A second later, Ryan exploded within her, groaning loudly as he came. He continued with a series of smaller, shaking thrusts that felt like the aftershocks of an earthquake.
He pulled her closer to him and held her in his arms, his semi-erect cock still within her. Jessica was content to lie there that way forever, if the powers that
be would allow it. She was completely content. This was no longer about sex; this was about the pure joy of sharing herself with Ryan, their bodies joined as one.
They drifted off to sleep, and Jessica dreamed she was in heaven.
Seduction of Steel: The Complete Series Page 19