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THIRTEEN
Carson, would you please let Alex in? He’s at the front entrance.” Mackenzie was surprised Alex hadn’t found a way inside on his own.
Carson’s eyes flicked to Nora. Asking permission? Then back to Mackenzie. “Will do. And who is he?”
“A friend.” Maybe more. Protection. But Carson didn’t need to know that just yet, if ever.
While Carson headed in the opposite direction, Mackenzie caught up with her sister, who stood by the elevators at the end of the hall. Nora had been giving Mackenzie the grand tour. She stepped into the elevators with Nora, who used her keycard to access the button to the third floor, then continued her spiel right where she’d left off.
“At Hanstech, we’re very fortunate to have some of the sharpest minds working on emerging technologies. We encourage team players to work together through the design process. Our strong work ethic and creative techniques keep our company on the cutting edge of innovation.”
“Cut the pitch, Nora. I read the brochures. I was here at the start, but Rowan has expanded. You have way more programmers, scientists, and engineers. What aren’t you telling me?”
“I’ve told you everything.”
“Are you sure you don’t have a secret room where you’re conducting all sorts of mad scientist experiments?” She snorted.
Nora’s eyes widened a fraction, but her face remained emotionless, impassive, as the elevator slowly rose to the third floor. Her sister was definitely holding something back. Mackenzie had been joking about the secret room. Now she felt like she was in a weird sci-fi movie.
Nora turned to face her. Her sister was older and thought herself wiser. Understandable. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “You have a past, Mackenzie. If anyone finds out about that and what you’re doing here, then we could lose everything.”
“You sound like Rowan now.” She sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry, Nora. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Nora pressed a hand to her forehead and blew out a breath. “I don’t know. Maybe this isn’t a good idea, after all.”
Her heart jumped to her throat. Why was she trying so hard to help if her assistance wasn’t even wanted? But ... “You said you needed my help, Nora. And I’m here. I’m doing this. Your life could be in danger, don’t you get it? As for the company, you could lose everything anyway. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. If someone gets into your system and steals sensitive data, what happens then? And we could already be too late.”
The doors opened. Finally.
The entire floor was filled with cubicles and a few completely enclosed offices on the north side. But windows all around allowed the view of the forest to saturate the space—well, during the daytime. Right now, she saw her reflection and behind that, darkness. Nora unlocked an office and opened the door. Multiple computers along with four monitors mounted on the wall made Mackenzie smile.
Nora smiled too. “I thought you’d like it here. Better for you to have privacy than to work in a cubicle where someone might see what you’re up to. In the meantime, just use a different last name. How about Calhoun instead of Hanson, if anyone should ask?”
“Okay.”
“And try to blend in and don’t do anything to stand out or draw attention. We have people working on groundbreaking projects, some of which are disclosure projects, so—”
“I get it. Shrouded in secrecy.”
“Yes. They’re kept under wraps, so it’s unlikely anyone will ask you what you’re doing.”
“And if they do, I’ll just say it’s a tented project.”
“Yes. Good.”
“You don’t have to worry. I’m usually invisible to others, and I’ll be in this cave working for the most part.”
“Good. I’ll take care of human resources. Oh, and here’s a keycard for you.” She pulled another one out of her pocket and handed it over. “You’ll need it for the stairwells and elevators. I’ll need to get you a key for your office. This is a master key, so I’m keeping it. Oh, and you must leave your cell phone with security. They have assigned lockboxes up front. You log in the cell, and the front desk staff takes care of it.”
“To keep someone from inadvertently creating a Wi-Fi connection to the air-gapped system.”
“Right.” Nora tugged her shirt down and stood tall. Her smile was tenuous at best. “I imagine finding the issue won’t take too long.”
Oh. It could take weeks. But she would hope for the best. “That depends on what I find, and if you get me access to everything.” Otherwise, this could be a colossal waste of time.
Or she could be hunting someone who had already come and gone. Someone who could already be selling Hanstech secrets or proprietary software on the dark web. She needed more information from Julian, but he was gone now. A fist squeezed her heart. She wouldn’t let his death be for nothing.
Mackenzie dropped into the ergonomic chair and booted up the computers. Nora leaned over her and logged in. She scribbled the login information and password on a sticky note. “I’ll have HR come in to set up your biometrics tomorrow.”
