Page 16 of Carler

The new day stretched ahead of him, and he knew that he needed to get a lot done, or he would end up getting behind. He should have made a date with Viv for breakfast, but he hadn't. Carler called her phone anyway to see if she was in the office,

“Viv here.”

“Have you had breakfast yet?” He asked.

“I was just about to go.”

“Where are you going? I'll meet you.”

“I was just going to the cafeteria.”

The cafeteria was mainly for employees and was not one of the fancy restaurants available to guests. He knew that Viv often ate there or grabbed something and took it to her office. The food was all right. It just wasn't gourmet or anything fancy. Employees could eat there for free without using up their food allowance. Carler didn't think that was why she went there. She probably went there to eat quickly and return to work. Viv was what they called a workaholic. That things weren't going well had nothing to do with her not putting 100% effort into it. Even his people, with all their skills and technology, had not done well either.

Carler hurried to meet her. He was sure she had intended to take the food tray to the office, but he thought she needed a more relaxed meal. The cafeteria had a nice atmosphere and was generally full of employees. There were many choices of food, most of which were self-service. Sometimes, they ran an omelet station or cooked other foods, like steak, at least once a week. They believed happy employees would do a good job and be loyal.

He headed to the cafeteria, and when he entered, he immediately saw her waiting for him. Carler was pleased she was there and had waited to get her food until he joined her. That way, they could go through the line together and pick whatever items they chose. It pleased him that they had the omelet station today because that was one of his favorite items. A double omelet was available for most management staff with large appetites. When omelets were available, that was what he always got to feed his dragon-sized appetite. Some humans also got double omelets because they had a big appetite, but that was usually all they got.

Carler ordered his meat eater double omelet and got a drink and other food items to fill his tray. Viv got a meat eater regular omelet and only added toast and OJ. She ate far less than half of what he did, but he was sure that once her dragon came alive, her appetite would as well. All he wanted was to mate and change her so she would have a dragon that could fly with him. Was that too much to ask? It seemed that it was, for now, at any rate. Once their trays were full, they moved to a table in the corner and sat down.

They didn't talk much at first because they were paying attention to their food. After they had eaten a bit and taken the edge off their appetite, they started to talk.

“I've received a report that people have been sneaking in the back door. No one seems to know what they are doing, but I want you to be careful. An alert is going out to the employees to watch for these people. We're not sure how they're getting in, but it's probably an inside job," he explained.

“Do you think Joe is behind this?”

“That's a very real possibility. Another group is causing damage, but they wouldn't just sneak in and do nothing.”

“If I see anything, I will report it to you.” Viv offered.

It made him feel better that she had agreed to do that. This whole thing still worried him because someone coming in meant they were planning something and trying to get the information they needed to carry it out. The problem was that he couldn't imagine what they would be planning, and he was fairly certain it would be difficult for them to get access to the floors management was on. Did they want to cause trouble with the guests? He hoped not because that was something they just didn't need

Chapter 5

Havoc

If Viv was honest, she would admit that she had thought Joe would be dealt with by now with all the support she had from Ranger’s people. Joe Senior was crazy like a fox, which had worked for him, helping him avoid anyone after him. It made her wonder how long the hunt would continue. The fact that he had traitors inside their organization greatly helped him. Maybe if they could find them, the tide of the investigation would turn. His knowing everything they were doing before they even began wasn't helping them.

There had to be a way to find the people working inside and help bring them down. Why would anyone help Joe in this way? He was holding something over their heads, but she had no idea what, and it probably wasn't the same thing in every case. Security here was pretty good, and they had taken the fingerprints of everyone who worked there. It seemed to her that their records should show any problems that could be traced back to Joe.

Since she was already on her computer and had some inside passwords, she took some of the names of employees and ran them through the FBI database. No, they would not be pleased if they realized it, but technically, since she still had the passwords, it was not illegal. Three names came back as people of interest. Viv added those names to the list she was starting. She ran another list of names through, but it contained no names of interest. She continued until she had run all the names of employees at the casino regardless of where they were. This gave her a list of twenty names. She was sure all of those would not interest her, but she had to find a way to narrow it down.

She took the first name on the list and ran through their background check. It was not hard to find a connection to Joe Senior, which made her wonder if someone in security should be on this list. This connection was so obvious that even a student and security guard should be able to recognize that they would be an issue. While she pondered who had let his name in there, Carler returned from wherever he'd been.

“I wondered how many people Joe had planted in the casino who were causing us problems. I'll admit I've just gotten started, but the first name I started to do a background check on came out with something that anyone in security should have flagged. I sent you the name in the background so you could give them a look," Viv explained.

“Are you sure it's not someone that we are aware of their background but have brought them here anyway?” Carler asked.

“Yes, because all those people are flagged, and there is an explanation about why they were brought here anyway, especially those being hunted by Old Joe.”

“I didn't realize that. It seems that someone in security is doing a great job, and someone else is doing a pitiful one. Did you try running the employees in security to see who in security might be a risk?”

“I tried, but my security clearance is apparently not high enough, and I couldn't get any names at all," Viv observed.

“Your clearance should be high enough to get a list and a background on all but the highest levels.”

“That's what I thought, but I was wrong. I can't get in their files, so maybe you can?”

“Let me see what I can do.” Carler seemed to be trying really hard and not having any luck either.

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