AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fuck it, Kragen,” I mutter to myself. “Bite the bullet and do it,” I continue placating the worry deep inside. “You need a steady paycheck, not a ceaseless orgasm.”
I turn around hastily, both hands landing gently on Reid’s dark mahogany desk. The screensaver on his monitor is reminiscent of that common three-dimensional screensaver which came with every personal computer prior to Windows Vista. A 3-D version of the Fairchild Hotel & Resorts logo bounces from corner to corner and side to side. When I move his cursor, a generic password dialog box pops up.
Assuming he’s a basic bitch techy, he might use the same password as what worked on his phone’s lock screen. Immediately, I type—mynani.To my surprise, Reid is an amateur where passwords are concerned. His desktop appears, displaying a wallpaper of him and his dog at a snowy cabin which must be somewhere far away from paradise. In the corner is an icon of an application with the same company logo.
This must be that same app on his phone with such an extra layer of security.Obviously, I don’t know the password to this. But knowing how easy he is to crack, there’s probably some piece of paper with his passwords written down. My vision dashed over towards his open office door, where all I hear is a multiple line phone ringing and a secretary holding down the fort. Since I’m still in the clear, I slide each side drawer open.
A drawer to the right has various supplies, certainly nothing of importance where things would be written down. His left drawer is filled to the brim with dog treats. As I raise my head, I can see a large, fluffy dog bed in the corner.Makes sense. He and Nani seem inseparable.If I weren’t hanging around, she’d likely be at his waist. If I’m being honest, I can appreciate the fact that he didn’t bring Nani with us to Oahu yesterday.
Well shit. Where do I check now?Scanning the room leaves me almost rising from his chair. No sooner do I feel a slight twinge in my lower back, when I’m captivated by a minor rainbow glinting at the corner of his crystal picture frame. It’s catching a ray of sunlight just perfectly from the window behind me. Yet the picture is the same exact image as his work computer wallpaper.This is odd as all fuck.
I reach for the frame, feeling the backside with my fingers. As they graze the particle board material, I come upon a small slip of paper sticking from the side.Bingo, man. This must be his stash of passwords.
Sure as shit, a larger piece of paper falls from the back, as I unscrew a final hinge which keeps the frame intact. Written in black ink, I see his sly attempt at encrypting the words.
FUCKW@DELE@RN123
It’s apparent this is a fresh password within the last year, as they parted ways less than twelve months ago. The rustling sounds of what seem to be a person’s footsteps emanate from out in the hallway.Oh fuck, oh fuck. He’s coming.No sooner do I reassemble the picture frame, when I hear a deeper male voice acknowledge the secretary as he passes by Reid’s office.That was a close call. I’d better fucking hurry the hell up.
His written password works like a charm, making me wonder where my head was just two nights ago. If only I’d have thought about his sentiments regarding a certain young actor, maybe I could’ve bypassed the company’s digital gatekeeper. Within the application, there are many panels with distinct options. The top three catch my eye first and foremost.
RECENTLY MODIFIED DOCUMENTS – HR PORTAL – REMOTE ACCESS
I’m not sure which option to choose first. But if I must put on my investigative hat, surely there’s something drawing me closer to theREMOTE ACCESStab. Clicking the button ushers me to a new screen with several folders, each categorized by country, and one labeled—Oahu Corporate Office.
The corporate option brings up another subsection of thumbnails. Each thumbnail appears to be moving videos, as if previewing some live feed access of sorts. Among the row of animated icons, is a video feed from what I can assume is located in the boardroom. The same place Reid is supposed to be right this very minute.
No time is wasted double clicking it, which immediately maximizes with a full-screen ratio and his speakers blare at the sound of somebody speaking. My hearing can make out Reid’s voice. However at this point, I’m deducing the camera placement is just above his seat.
“Moving onto matters regarding the ‘Turnkey Investments Group’ deal, it seems like we’ve all had enough time this weekend to arrive at a vote today. I’ve been a bit—preoccupied—you could say. But I did look over the proposal on Friday evening and it seems straightforward enough.”
Another younger guy within range of the camera pipes up shortly after Reid finishes. I figure if I’m going to find any other information worth reporting on, I’d guess it would be in the tab labeledRECENTLY MODIFIED DOCUMENTS.With his revelation thatTurnkey Investments Groupis the phony business name, it makes sense that there would be a file folder of the same name. I minimize the video feed, keeping any of its audio to continue propelling through his computer speakers.
In the tab of most recent documents, I scroll the cursor through a small list of files. Towards the very bottom, one folder displays with the label—Turnkey Portfolio 2021-2022.The male keeps blabbering about projected profits estimated to be in the ten-millions by this time next year. Meanwhile, I continue scanning this PDF file which explains a tree of tertiary investors, with blanks underneath their names.Does anyone in that room have a clue that this is clearly a Ponzi scheme? Would they care, or is it only about making shit-tons of money?
Just to ensure the coast is still clear, I maximize the feed yet again. The guy is about to wrap his spiel, leaving a woman the spitting image of Tilda Swinton to speak up as he sits down. She’s gathering everyone’s attention to prepare for their vote. Which tells me that I need to print these few pages of evidence quickly. I can’t just use my camera to snap a million photos like Jason Bourne or some shit. Not since I lost my phone yesterday, somewhere between The Palace restaurant and the party at Treat Cole’s estate.
The thought occurs to me that I don’t see a printer in Reid’s office.How does he print things? Do people still do that?Obviously, I work for a media outlet. Which let’s just say, wouldn’t operate without the invention of the printing press. That’s not to say most of our subscribers don’t already read via electronic means. But we still release each issue in paper form, and it’s as readily available as The New York Times is in Seattle.
A small group of printers display in a pop-up box when I locate theFILE > PRINToption at the top bar of this window. However, it seems the one Reid would utilize, has a nickname of—Kahlúa’s Desk.That must be the secretary’s name out front.Fuck, Kragen. Now what are you gonna do?
I suppose my last resort is logging into my Gmail account from his web browser. Not that this is an ideal scenario, because it’s exposing me to whomever oversees the company’s I.T. department. If discovered, I’d be implicated right away as the person responsible for bringing their company to ruins. Reid suspects I’m some fancy author hiding behind a pseudonym, even though I only told him I’m a writer.
The discussion heard through these speakers sounds as if they’re delaying a vote until someone returns from the bathroom. Though I’ve been so entrenched in the details of self-incrimination by retrieving the Gmail site, that I didn’t catch who left the room. Surely time is of the essence. So now I must save the PDF file to a local drive on Reid’s computer, before attaching it to a self-addressed email.
Another few clicks and a short note later, I’m precisely afforded a single moment to hit thesendbutton. I delete the file from Reid’s desktop immediately after closing out of his internet browser. No sooner do I maximize the live feed, when I’m startled by the clearing of a man’s throat. The sound sends my asshole inches up off this desktop chair, when I quickly glance towards the office door.
Reid stands peevishly with his arms crossed into each other. The tone emitting from his voice box takes a far deeper octave than anything he’s used all weekend. “What the fuck are you doing, Kragen?”
Panicked, I cower behind his desk with a hard gulp of air. “I can help you fix this,” I reply cautiously. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into, do you?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
REID
All which is keeping me from the verge of boredom, is the fact that little Banana Boy is in my office waiting for this damn board meeting to finish. Poor guy. Kragen’s a bit hungover and I don’t blame him. If my eagle eye tallied correctly, he downed about six Adios Motherfucker cocktails in total. That is, before Hunter’s shit-stain of a kid convinced him to try blow for the first time. Judging by my chosen cousin’s reaction to the whole ordeal, and Treat’s remark about a rehab on the big island, I honestly can’t say I’m terribly surprised.
Though the notion of anyone lingering around my office who isn’t my Nani, has me a bit on edge. And she’s a dog. The most she’s capable of doing is shredding a stack of paper. Humans on the other hand, are a completely different consideration. I suppose however, the riskiest thing someone would possibly find in there is Nani’s goodie drawer. Or a cup of fucking paperclips.
