Page 22 of The Ranger
Otherwise, I will fuck this up, and my kid will be the one who suffers.
CHAPTER THREE
COLE
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Clang.
I release the weights and climb off the machine, grabbing my towel and wiping my forehead.I’ve already been running at the local park before heading to the BHS offices to do a one-hour workout when Josh walks in the door.
“You’re early,” he mumbles, ripping off his sweatshirt to reveal a black muscle tee underneath much like mine.
“Heading to QuantumCore today, remember.”I lift my water bottle and drain it.“Don’t know when I’ll get in for a workout this week so needed to sweat out all the beer I drank at Trina’s birthday.”
Josh lets out a short snigger and does a few stretches on the wall.
“I’ll be done in forty minutes.We’ll go over the brief before you head out.”
“Roger that.I’ll go iron my suit.”
Christ, a suit.
I’ve spent my life in fatigues and sweatpants.Knowing I’ve got to wear a shirt and tie for the week is not that appealing.It could be longer, depending on how long it takes to find out if QuantumCore—a cutting-edge quantum chip manufacturer—has a threat inside their organization.
I’ll be undercover as their Senior Process Engineering Manager, on the ground with my eyes and ears open while accessing sensitive information and the team.
Back at Black Hawke Security, our tech experts, led by Thomas, will be working in the background to see if they can track the potential perpetrator.
Or it could be a false alarm.
The number of stop/starts in the private security sector by executives concerned about espionage is insane.Los Angeles is ripe due to its concentration of tech start-ups and aerospace firms.Then again, between rival competition and foreign enemies, the threat of IP theft and hacking is very real.
It’s a far cry from my background as an Army Ranger, but I’m happy to remain on US soil, no longer concerned my parents will receive the letter I wrote themshouldsomething happen.
I tore that shit up the day I retired from the army.
