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“Just let me sit there. Okay? I told you I was a pretty good hacker.”
“And why and how did you learn to do that?”
She took a deep breath. “Well, I went to Vegas with a friend of mine. Jenny was a computer programmer and knew her way around computers. She was hired by a firm to keep hackers from infiltrating their secure information. She taught me what to look for.”
“How many other things do I not know about you?”
Her laughter filtered into the room. “Don’t worry. I didn’t steal anyone’s information or money if you’re curious. However, I’m a bit rusty. Since she moved away, I didn’t have the kind of computers she did. However, what I did learn is that there’s always a signature that most people overlook. If they are career hackers, people who place blame on others, they leave a calling card. It’s a way of proving their worth.”
“You might have to hire her, boss,” Stephen told me.
“Nope. She’ll be busy doing other things.”
He snorted and rolled his eyes, thinking I meant tied to my bed at all times. There would be some of that. We both watched as she moved through screens quickly, almost never blinking as she drifted into several pages of coding on the backside of information sent.
It took her less than ten minutes to discover something. “I think this is his or her calling card.”
“What is it?” I leaned over, studying the split screen.
“See? It’s right there. Three times. Two might be a code inserted; three and I think we’re onto something. HCAZ in all caps, which is also different than the rest of the string. Do those letters mean anything to you?” She tilted her head, studying me intently.
After a few seconds, I glanced at Stephen.
And both said the name at the same time. “Zach.”
The man who’d only been with me for basically a month. The one who’d almost begged me to give him a try. He had a stellar record, a man proven in security with several firms. There’d been no red flags. Not one. He’d been a plant, his security providing access to the computer system. Since he was a hacker, my personal information had been kid’s play to discover.
Including my personal addresses.
“Baby. You are a godsend. I have something to take care of, but I will be back.” I kissed the top of her head and she grabbed my wrist.
“Remember who you are.”
“I already told you that I do.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Stephen asked, although I could tell this wasn’t something he wanted to handle.
“No. This isn’t Powers Security business. Stay here. Find out everything you can about O’Rourke that maybe we haven’t found. I’ll take Francesco. Oh, and put something out there about my death on Pacific Coast Highway.”
While I wanted to handle Sean, if he believed I was dead, it could buy us a little time to get to New York.
“Clever,” he said. “Maybe I’ll let your protégé handle that.”
Grinning, I squeezed her shoulder. “Sounds perfect.”
I found Gio and Francesco together, both men eying me with a little more respect than before as I walked into the room.
“Gio. As soon as I return, we’re leaving for New York.”
“I’ll take care of letting the pilots know.”
I had a helicopter at the compound that would take us to a secure airport. That would cut some time.
“And Francesco. You’re coming with me,” I told the kid.
“What are we doing?”
Sighing, I checked my weapon, pulling out another magazine and slapping it in. “We’re exterminating a rat.”
