Page 37 of Konstantin
Konstantin
Keep calling me sir and I will have to give you a promotion.
Tessa
Are you really that easy to please?
Konstantin
You’ll have to wait and see.
I laugh to myself. He’d lose his mind if he ever knew how easily I was able to deceive him. Konstantin is the kind of man who prides himself on having the upper hand, but it’s men like him who fall the hardest.
Knowing I don’t have much time before Konstantin gets suspiciousabout why I’m still on his computer, I click through a few folders, feigning normal activity. One folder catches my eye.
Consulting.
It sounds innocent, but nothing about this man ever is. Inside are subfolders labeled in all caps.
VULTURE.
CINDER.
THORNHILL.
I click on one. Access denied.
Then another. Same result.
A message flashes.
Access requires secure authentication.
My heart skips. I grab my phone and snap a few photos of the file tree and the lockout screen. Then I text Riley under the desk, hoping the boss doesn’t see it on his cameras.
Emilia
Just found something. Sending now. Tell me what I’m looking at.
It takes less than a minute before my phone buzzes.
Riley
If I had to guess, it looks high-level military grade. Possibly custom-built, but I won’t be sure unless I’m in.
I glance over my shoulder. The office is still quiet. No sign of Konstantin.
Emilia
What do you need?
Riley
There’s a tool I can use to piggyback into his terminal so I can try to bypass this. Like a remote backdoor access. It’s government-developed, so it won’t trigger his security or show up in his logs.
But you have to install it manually. From his computer.
Shit. This better be quick. If he catches me, it’s goodbye Emilia.
