Page 5 of Death Wish

She smiled. “Gives him access to every part of the building complex. Brilliant. Are you sure no one in the company will figure out we’re not who we pretend to be?”

“As long as you stick to your stories, you’ll be fine.” Brent paused. “Under no circumstances should you mention who you work for in real life. Fortress Security isn’t looked upon with favor in the Chihuahua province.”

“When will you tell her the rest?” Jesse said.

“The rest?” Simone’s eyes narrowed. “What does he mean, sir?”

“Our client is the US government.”

She groaned. “I should have known there’d be a catch. I’m not a fan of the government.”

Brent chuckled. “Neither are we. We appreciate their prompt payment of the bill, however.”

“That’s not all,” Jesse said wryly.

“More good news?” Simone asked. “I’m not sure I can stand anything more earth shattering than knowing I’m working for the government, my arch nemesis and frequent target.”

Brent pointed at her. “I did not hear that statement from you. While you work for Fortress to complete this government contract, if you and Jesse are caught and turned over to the Mexican authorities, our government won’t lift a finger to get you out of Mexico.”

Simone stared. “You’re saying I could go to a Mexican prison if I’m caught?”

He inclined his head. “You’ll either die in prison or disappear when they’re tired of feeding you.”

CHAPTER TWO

THE DOOR CLOSED behind them as Simone stumbled from the office, stunned beyond belief. Holy cow. An undercover assignment after a few weeks on the job, and she could end up in a prison or buried six feet under if she blew her cover.

She shook her head. She hadn’t signed up for this when she joined Fortress Security. This was insane. Who would take this on?

Simone sighed. Apparently, she would because she couldn’t stand the thought of their military personnel and contractors being targeted by enterprising blackmailers who were using a computer program. In her personal hacking code, the action was dead wrong. Who would put American patriots’ lives in harm’s way by selling information to the highest bidders, all of whom hated Americans and would love nothing better than to see masses dead in one strike?

Once they were in the elevator, Jesse said, “You okay?”

“Ask me again in a few hours. Talk about a hit and run.” She looked at the medic. “Does Brent do that kind of thing often?”

“If you mean blindside you, yeah, he does. I’m paid to deal with this kind of situation all the time. You aren’t. You’re a hacker, not an operative. Simone, you don’t have to do this. If you’re uncomfortable with this assignment, we can go back upstairs and tell Brent you’ve changed your mind about the job. He’ll find someone else to handle it.”

She’d love to do just that if not for her strict personal code. “You heard him, Jesse. We can’t turn him down. He doesn’t have another hacker who can do this at the speed required to stop the programmer. If the program is finished and sold, all we’ll be able to do is sell a patch for the computer systems affected by the virus. We won’t be able to stop them from selling the information without the target company paying millions for ransom to get their information.”

“And even then, there’s no guarantee they’ll honor the bargain.” Jesse’s expression was grim. “They could double dip.”

“Sell the information back to the company they stole it from and to the highest-paying interested party on the market? That’s a given, and it would be a disaster. We have to stop them, Jesse.”

They exited the elevator and turned toward the comm center. Jesse tapped on the door frame, and a dark-haired man in a wheelchair spun around to motion them inside the room.

“Just in time,” Zane Murphy said. “I finished your identification packets five minutes ago.” He zoomed across the office to one of several drawers. He opened the drawer and pulled out three packets. One he tossed to Jesse. The other two he handed to Simone.

She opened the first packet and peered inside. Multiple forms of identification, including credit cards with the name Simone Kenyon emblazoned on the front.

Nice. She’d always wished for a more exotic name than Kent. Simone ripped open the second packet and frowned. Jewelry? “What’s this?”

“Jewelry with GPS trackers embedded in them. You need every piece,” Zane said, giving her a hard stare. “No arguments, Kent. The trackers ensure we’ll know where you are at any time.”

“Just in case?”

“Exactly. Put them on right now and don’t take them off until you’re back on US soil. Hear me?”

“Yes, sir.” She emptied the contents of the packet onto a table and put on the jewelry.

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