Page 3 of Critical Strike

Claire’s phone beeped with a text from Julia.

Bring a portable drive to my office ASAP. Get on video chat.

Snatching up a portable drive, Claire did as instructed. Julia’s office was at the other end of the open work space, nice and private, with windows and its own door—exactly the kind of isolated area Claire dreamed of having.

The office was empty, but the computer screen wasn’t. Julia was already on the video chatting app the two of them had used regularly when working on their filter software. Her dark hair hung limp and tangled while bags underlined her eyes.

Taking a seat at the computer, Claire frowned. Julia was usually so polished.

“Are...are you okay?” Claire hated the way her voice shook.

“Listen, we don’t have much time.” Julia leaned closer to the screen. It was then that Claire recognized the board table in the background. Julia was in one of Passage Digital’s executive offices.

Did that mean she’d been called in for a meeting with CEO Vance Ballard? Was Goudabeing green-lighted after all?

Julia licked her lips, seeming to not notice the hair falling in her face. “I don’t know who I can trust, but I believe you’re out of this entire mess. It’s gotten more dangerous than I thought.”

Claire’s stomach hardened. “What are you talking about?”

“Gouda. Ballard is using it to steal identification and money...from kids. He’s creating a database to utilize once these preteens become adults. He’ll be able to access their phones and bank accounts.”

They’d known this was a possibility with the camera software. Which was why they’d changed it—spent dozens of hours specifically designing it so the pictures that were taken weren’t stored.

Claire let out a shaky, disbelieving laugh. “No. We took all those sensitive fields out—”

Julia shot a look over her shoulder at the door behind her. “And Ballard put them back in. Hook up the drive. I’m sending you everything that proves Ballard has knowledge about what the camera filters do.”

Claire’s hands shook so much that she wasn’t sure if it was physically possible to connect the drive to the USB port.

“I don’t think this is a good idea. We don’t know what—”

“Claire, we don’t have time. Do it. Hurry.”

Gulping, Claire did as she was told. Oh yeah, she definitely wasn’t hero material.

“We’re going to have to go to law enforcement. Ballard doesn’t know that I know, so we should be able to—” Julia sucked in a breath and glanced over her shoulder again.

The box with Julia’s face went small on Claire’s computer. This meant Julia had turned off the picture on her screen—Claire could see Julia, but nobody on the other end could see Claire.

Vance Ballard strode in with two big security guys behind him. “Trespassing in my office, Julia? That’s a shame...it truly is.”

The Passage Digital CEO’s voice was smooth and calm—making it even more frightening. He patted his graying hair as he strolled closer to Julia and the camera. Claire had only spoken to the older man once, muttering an apology when she bumped into him in the hall.

“I just left some papers I needed to pick up. But you’re right, I shouldn’t have come in here without permission. I’m sorry.” Julia sounded nervous and high-pitched—the opposite of Ballard.

“You left papers on my laptop?” Ballard raised an eyebrow. “Convenient.”

Claire looked over at the drive. Whatever Julia was sending was still transferring.

It didn’t take long for Ballard to realize it, either.

“Oh, Julia, what have you done?” He shook his head and reached for his laptop.

The transfer to the drive stopped. Now Ballard’s face took up most of the screen as he typed. At the very edge of what the camera captured, Claire could see Julia backing up until one of the large guards stopped her, holding her arm.

“Looks like you were transferring some pretty important data to your office,” he tsked as he turned to glance at Julia.

“I’m not going to let you steal all these people’s identities.” Julia tried to jerk herself away from the guard, but he held her tight. “And these filters are mostly for children. There are even more laws against that.”

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