“Okay, dad and I have a meeting on the docks with a guy from the union,” I said, standing in front of her desk, giving her a big smile. “Is there anything you need? Anything at all?”
“I think I’m fine,” she said. She tapped a fingernail to the stack of file folders that contained bills of lading that needed entering into the system. “I think I have enough to keep me busy for a while.”
“Okay,” I said, rubbing my hands together. “If you need anything, just ask one of The Stooges.”
She blinked at me. “The Stooges?”
I smiled and leaned in to lower my voice. “That’s my nickname for the three lugs who are always camped out in the breakroom. The Three Stooges.”
“Ah, that seems appropriate.”
“You have no idea just how appropriate it is,” I said. “Okay, I’ve gotta get going. Maybe we can grab lunch if I get back in time.”
“I’d like that,” she said, giving me a look that was full of heat and promise. “Now get out of here and let me do my job.”
Claire
I stood at the window and watched as Sean and Patsy O’Connor climbed into Patsy’s Cadillac and drove away. My heart was racing, knowing that what I was about to do could get Sean put in prison for a very long time.
The bugs and the USB stick were in my purse in the desk drawer. All I had to do was plant a bug in Sean’s office, one in Patsy’s office, and one each in the conference and break rooms. And insert the USB stick into a computer for a minute. It all seemed so easy.
So why was I hesitating?
Because I detested the thought of Sean going to prison just because he felt some twisted loyalty to his dad.
Ed would have argued that Sean crossed the line and the reason why didn’t matter. My heart would tell Ed he was wrong, but my head knew he was right.
Sean was a criminal.
He had broken the law.
And I had a job to do.
I sat back down at the desk and opened the drawer to get my purse. I took out the USB stick first along
with my burner phone. I had Robbie on speed dial. He was waiting for my call.
“Okay, I’m going to insert the USB stick,” I said. “Do I have to do it from Sean’s computer or just from the one at my desk.”
“Are they all networked together?” Robbie asked. He sounded completely bored. I said yes, Sean said they were all networked. “Okay, then stick the USB in your computer and tell me when the window pops up.”
I watched the door as I stuck the stick into the USB drive on the side of the computer. A little window popped up on the screen. I said, “Okay, give me the code.”
Robbie gave me a sixteen-digit code that I typed in with one finger. The computer thought about it for a moment, then a message box popped up.
“Okay,” I said. “See if you can connect.”
I heard fingers flying across keys for a second. Robbie said, “That’s it. I’m in. I can see all the computers and servers on the network.”
“Good,” I said, glancing at the doorway. One of the Stooges, I wasn’t sure which one, sauntered by the door with a newspaper in his hand, headed toward the washroom. I lowered my voice. “Is that it?”
“Yes, you can remove the stick now,” Robbie said. “Let me know when you have the bugs in place and I’ll activate them.”
“Okay.” I hung up and blew out the breath I’d been holding. I didn’t realize that my hand was shaking and my lip was sweating until I slid the phone back into my purse.
I knew I was shaking because there was no turning back.
Whatever feelings I had for Sean O’Connor no longer mattered. Robbie would spend the next few hours or days sifting through everything on the network. If there was anything incriminating there, he would find it.