Edge of Control: An Edge Security Novel (Edge Security Series Book 1) (4 page)

Unfortunately, Mr. Knight wanted her full background and wouldn’t take her word for her abilities, even with Chuck vouching for her. She supposed she couldn’t really blame him for his caution.

She left Chuck on the sixth floor, where he had a meeting with the head of operations, and where her pass card didn’t grant access. Only field operators and the CEO could access the sixth floor. She made her way back down to the fifth. She hardly ever saw field operators in the elevators, she realized. Either they worked odd hours, or they had a private one somewhere else.

She could look up the building plans. That wasn’t illegal. She sighed. The thought of a puzzle usually distracted her, but the lead in her stomach stayed.

The elevator doors opened. Ashley stood near reception and Dani tensed. She really didn’t want to speak with her right now. It had always struck her as odd that Ashley was the only person in marketing and sales, since the company managed quite a number of clients. Even so, Ashley never seemed to have that much to do and spent too much of her time trying to order around the research people. Dani hoped being in IT would at least get her farther from Ashley.

She scooted by her nemesis and started to pack up her desk for the move. No more complaining for her, she decided. This job was way better than waitressing, which was what she’d been doing six months ago.

Ashley waltzed over. “Have my dreams finally been answered and you’ve been fired?” she asked.

Dani didn’t stop packing. She set her favorite mug with tiny computer code written all over it into a small box, along with a Mason jar full of pens. “I’ve been moved to IT.”

“What?” Ashley’s mouth dropped open. “No one told
me
.”

Dani shrugged. “Mr. Knight just made the decision.”

“You spoke with him?”

“I just came from his office.”

“
His office
?”

“What’s the big deal, Ashley?” Finished, Dani picked up her box and headed down the hall to the IT department.

Ashley followed her, sputtering. “No one sees Mr. Knight except the field operators.”

Now that was odd. “Not even you?” Dani asked.

Ashley stopped walking, but Dani didn’t. “Of course I see him, Danielle,” she called after her. “I report to him directly and you’d better remember that.”

Dani didn’t bother answering. Ashley had just lied. How was it that someone in a position such as Ashley’s never actually spoke with the CEO? The puzzle that was E.D.G.E. Securities just got a little more interesting.

She probably should be nicer to Ashley, in case she ever needed information from her. Dani snorted. That wasn’t going to happen. She’d never been good at sucking up to people, especially people who liked to power-trip.

Jake Harrison had the air of someone in charge of others, but he didn’t seem like the type to abuse his authority. She wondered what he did in the military—and why he was leaving it. You didn’t get that kind of hardness in the body and especially in the eyes by doing anything easy.

He’d seemed to see right through her disguise. No one really looked past her blah suits and boring bun. No one noticed that she wore a type of armor, but he had. She wondered if he’d be interested in what was underneath her suit.

She shoved the thought aside. She had no time in her life for complications, and Lieutenant Jake Harrison wore
complication
like another medal pinned to his chest. Hopefully he wouldn’t take the job with E.D.G.E.

Dani barely stopped her groan as she entered the IT department. The same size room as the research department, it held about ten desks with laptops, desktops, and the latest equipment. Her fingers itched to grab a keyboard and see what these servers held.

Most of the desks were occupied with intent men and women clicking keyboards. A few were people she’d never seen before. Operators, perhaps?

The cause of her almost-groan stood speaking with a tall Asian man in a
Doctor Who
t-shirt and faded jeans. Jake Harrison and his blond friend, Rhys, smiled and chatted with Mike, a guy from her MMA gym. Mike was a topnotch fighter, and his hard muscles showed people he wasn’t just your typical geek. She’d known he worked here, but she’d assumed he was a field operator because she hardly ever ran into him.

All three men stopped talking and looked over at her. None of them spoke.

“I’m Dani from Research,” she said to Mike. “I’ve been transferred to IT.”

“Really?” Mike asked. “I didn’t know you had the background.”

Dani shrugged, her face warming. She bet he knew she hadn’t gone past grade twelve. “I’m self-taught.”

“Ah,” Mike said. “Well, I’m the department supervisor. You can put your stuff down on that empty desk. I’ll be with you in a minute.”

He turned back to the men and Dani went to the desk indicated. Nearby was a reinforced metal door with deadbolts. It was the automatic-locking kind that needed a passkey to get through. She stared at the door a minute, wondering what could be behind it.

“Dani?”

She turned to Mike. Both Jake and Rhys still stood there. She shifted her feet, but smiled professionally. “Yes?”

“What’s your area of specialty?”

She bit her lip, her eyes drawn to Jake, who’d arched an eyebrow in anticipation.

Mike’s face fell a little when she didn’t answer right away. “Do you have a specialty?” he prompted. “Networks? Building software? Hardware?”

“Hacking,” Jake said, still watching her.

Mike’s eyebrows rose. “Hacking? Are you any good?”

She pulled her gaze from Jake’s. “The best. I’m a bit rusty, but Mr. Knight said you could probably use my skills.”

Mike didn’t say anything at first. She knew that the boxy suit she wore as camouflage didn’t scream hacker, but she prayed he’d give her a chance. “I recognize you from the gym,” he said finally.

Dani nodded.

“You’ve got good speed in the ring.” Out of the corner of her eye she could see Jake’s interest as he continued to study her.

“Okay,” Mike said. “Let’s see what you can do. Your computer isn’t on the E.D.G.E. network. I want you to hack our system. Tell me when you get in.” He turned back to Jake and Rhys and ushered them from the department, through the mysterious metal door. She couldn’t see what was behind it, and none of them looked back.

She shook off the dismissal and sat down at her new desk. A smile bloomed on her face. She’d just been given permission to break into a secure server. Maybe this job wouldn’t be so bad after all.

A little whoop of excitement left her when she finally cracked the network. She’d gotten into the main system hours ago, but had discovered a hidden network with multiple firewalls.

She stretched her arms over her head, cracking her back. Everyone else had gone home, but that didn’t bother her. She’d also missed scoping out Tassia’s date, but Tass was probably right and Dani needed to trust her friend’s judgment. She’d quiz Tassia tomorrow morning before work and find out more about this Vadim. Besides, the puzzle of E.D.G.E. was too big for Dani to resist. She delved back into the information now open to her.

She skimmed the files she found. One marked Operations, one marked New Developments, the document titles inside both raised her eyebrows, but it was the personnel files she delved deeper into. She found the backgrounds on all the field operators.

She whistled as she scanned them. No wonder they had firewalls galore. The field operators didn’t just have military training, most of them came from special operations. One woman was CIA and Dani recognized her from the gym. She kept skimming the info until Jake Harrison’s file came up. It made sense E.D.G.E. had it, if he was applying to be an operator.

She bit her lip, but it took only a microsecond before she made her decision and clicked on it.

“A Navy SEAL,” she murmured. She pulled up more of Lieutenant Jake Harrison’s file, intrigued despite herself. He’d taken a lot of specialty training courses, like second and third languages, unarmed combat, jump master, and demolitions, but there was very little on what his operational duties had been.

Or to be more precise, there was information of past operations, but so much of it was classified and blacked out, she could barely read it.

She leaned back in her chair and took a breath. That trail was blocked and she was pretty sure the U.S. Navy wouldn’t understand if she tried hacking their servers to satisfy her curiosity about a man she’d just met.

A thought had her tapping her fingers. Why would a security company have such specialized personnel? She needed to see E.D.G.E.’s main operations. She started clicking on files.

The inner locked door burst open, slamming against the wall. Mike, with a pistol in hand, stood in front of her before she even realized who’d come through the door. His hard stare surveyed the room before focusing on her like an angry predator. He didn’t lower his weapon, and neither did the two field operators following behind him.

“What the hell are you doing?” Mike asked.

Dani crossed her arms and lifted her chin, not wanting to show how freaked out she was by her supervisor pointing a gun at her. “Exactly what you asked me to do.”

His eyes widened. “I didn’t ask you to break into top-secret files. I asked you to infiltrate the network.” He took a deep breath and released it, lowering his weapon and sliding it into a holster under his arm. He turned to the other two, a man with massive muscles and dark skin, and a petite brunette with eyes a lot colder than those depicted in her CIA photo.

“Call Knight and Blackwell. Give them a sitrep,” Mike said.

“What should I say about her?” the woman asked in a monotone voice. She still hadn’t put her weapon up, even though the big guy had.

Mike focused on her, but at least he had a small smile on his face. “Tell them the newest IT recruit set off the alarm. Nothing to worry about.”

The female operator slid her pistol into a shoulder holster and opened the inner door again. Spiral stairs led up, most likely to the field operators’ floor, but the door shut before Dani could see anything else.

“You set off an alarm,” Mike said, “and we’re very careful about our information. Some of the clients we deal with require…extreme precautions.” He held her gaze and crossed his arms, placing his one hand very near the handle of his gun. “What did you find out?”

“Not much,” she lied. Thank god she’d had a lot of practice. “I’d only just gotten in.”

He studied her for a moment and then nodded. “Except for tripping an alarm, good work today. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Dani shut down her computer, disappointed that she hadn’t had a chance to more than glance at the operations file. She’d only seen a few country headings, ones like Iraq, Sudan, and Ukraine. Some of the world’s major hotspots for conflicts at the moment. Maybe that’s why the operators needed military backgrounds. She stood up to leave.

“Dani?” Mike said, waiting for her to look at him again. “Don’t ever hack anything at E.D.G.E. again, or you’re fired.”

The next morning, Dani stopped by Tassia’s apartment before heading to the gym. Her friend usually woke early, so Dani had no qualms about pounding on her door. Tass’s date with the mysterious Vadim had already happened and she wanted details.

She also wanted Tassia’s thoughts about what she’d found on E.D.G.E.’s computers—specifically, what kind of security company it was, and why it required highly trained armed guards in the middle of the night.

“Tassia?” she called. Why wasn’t she up yet? It was unusual enough that she tried the door.

Unlocked.

She frowned as she opened it and called for her friend again. A peek down the apartment’s short hall confirmed that Tass’s bedroom door was open and a quick glance inside showed the usually mess of clothes, knickknacks, and magazines. Though it looked like she’d actually made an effort to clear off her work desk; it usually had piles of folders on it. Tassia must have already left for work and forgotten to lock her door again. She was going to have to give her another lecture on security.

Heels and a discarded cocktail dress lay on the floor by the bed. Clothes she’d tried on for her date?

Dani stilled, not sure what kept her in the doorway. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Tassia was probably at work, bursting with details about her date. Dani shrugged off her uneasiness.
 

She’d call Tass on the way to the gym.

Jake parked his rental sedan in the MMA gym’s underground parking lot. With his kit in a small duffel slung over his shoulder, he headed for the glass doors leading to the stairs.

The early morning air cooled his skin. He wore shorts and a t-shirt with a faded logo of a snarling seal holding both a bayonet and a pistol. The shorts exposed the puckered scar running down the side of his thigh, but he refused to hide it. At least he still had a leg to run with.

The gym was in a building two blocks from E.D.G.E. headquarters. A few of the other operators had mentioned it to him and Rhys as a good place to train. It occupied half of the second floor of yet another high-rise in downtown Montreal. Even with the other operators’ recommendations, the wall of windows that greeted him made him wonder if this was just another frou-frou health club.

But past the small reception desk, he immediately approved of what he saw. This was no fancy club with spa treatments, smoothie bars, and aerobics classes. This was a gym he could feel at home in.

A full set of weights sat in one corner, with sparring mats in another. Heavy bags hung from the ceiling in another section, while a small stretching area lay just behind reception. This all surrounded a full-sized ring in the center of the room.

The smell of sweat, plastic mats, and disinfectant filled the air. Mostly men, though some women, boxed, jumped rope, wrestled, lifted, and hit bags. He saw more than a few of the operators he’d met yesterday. Rhys waved to him from the heavy bags.

Two people occupied the ring at the moment, both in sparring headgear, silky fight shorts, and hand wraps. A guy with muscles and tats fought a woman in a sports bra, her long dark braid hanging down her back. The woman’s muscles gleamed with sweat, but it was her graceful movements that told of her experience in the ring.