The voice came from behind me, dripping with the kind of false sympathy you usually find in a divorce lawyer’s foyer. The title was a joke. “Usually means the bill wasn’t paid or someone pressed the wrong button. ” “Escorted entry only.
” And if you enjoy watching a grown man try to intimidate a woman who knows exactly where the bodies are buried, literally and metaphorically, you might want to hit that subscribe button because this train wreck is just leaving the station. “We’ve decided your services are no longer required, effective immediately. ” I wanted to see who would twitch first. “Exactly,” I said.
“It’s not optional if you want the check, Angela. ” “I don’t want the check, Walter. No electronics. ” I reached into my pocket and touched the cold metal of my real badge, the one tucked deep inside my wallet, one with the silver sticker on the back.
Murphy was still there, arms crossed, looking proud. No cats, no live, laugh, love signs, no clutter, just mid-century modern furniture that looks uncomfortable because it is, and a stillness that would make a monk nervous. I kicked off my sensible heels, the ones I bought specifically because they make no noise on linoleum, and walked straight to the second bedroom. Not the compliance training I pretended to run, but the shadow audit I’d been conducting since the day Walter Brant first charged a $5,000 consulting fee to a company that didn’t exist.
I opened it to the most recent tab. I booted up my laptop, not the company-issued brick they confiscated, but a custom rig with encryption strong enough to give the NSA a migraine. Veridian Tactical Supplies was the only vendor in the system that was fully, 100% compliant with federal oversight regulation 44B. I dialed a number that didn’t appear in any contact list.
“No,” I said. Then we bring the hammer. For me, it’s usually the latter, especially when I’m wearing a wire. Hell no.
It’s not fraud if they sign the check. Tell these boys about the audit last year, the one with the labor hours. Brandt blinked, then roared with laughter. Not smart enough to ask questions, but organized enough to hide the answers.
Not smart enough. No ice. It was all so grotesque. These people were strip mining the country and calling it patriotism.
He had called me not smart enough. You should have looked at the resume, Walter, I said to the empty room. It was time to initiate phase two. Not the cleansing kind, but the gray, miserable state drizzle that turns the world into a smudge.
Me, tell him I used to eat flash drives for lunch. I still had access to the camera in the hallway outside the server room because they hadn’t changed the default factory password in 8 years. I could tell because the system performance dropped by 40%. Then Murphy walked into the frame.
I opened a terminal window and executed a small script I’d written weeks ago. They thought I was inside the system stealing data right now. He initiated a system-wide lockdown. And most importantly, they couldn’t process payments.
A simple manila envelope, no return address. Inside, a single sheet of paper. And highlighted in neon yellow, clause 44B, mandatory external data redundancy. Not yet.
Title, Midwest Contractor Linked to Ghost Vendors and Inflated Logistics Costs. Then a suit walked by, checked his Blackberry. Yes, some of them still use Blackberries, and stopped dead in his tracks. He was shouting at someone on the other end.
“The envelope must have arrived. ” I want them to turn on each other. “Angela, this is dangerous if they figure out you’re the source. ” If they knew that, they’d be running for the border, not calling PR.
Then I saw it, the first crack in the facade. Then she walked to her car and drove away. “Never sacrifice the secretary. ” I pulled out my phone and sent a text to a number I hadn’t used in years.
Now I needed to show them exactly who held the knife. It was still empty. Nobody had dared to take it yet, as if the ghost of my compliance audit still haunted the asphalt. You need to leave immediately or I will physically remove you.
“I’m here to return something,” I said. He looked up at me, then back at the badge. Asset, do not detain. You should know that by now, Murphy.
“Tell him he has one hour. ” Click-clack of my heels the only sound in the cavernous room. Phase four complete. We walked into the lobby.
Seize the servers first. He looked 20 years older than he had two days ago. I said, stepping into the room. Inside were stacks of files, hard drives, audio logs.
It’s not fraud if they sign the check, remember. He still couldn’t understand how the furniture had come to life and eaten him. “Why wait so long? ” “Because,” I said.
It all smelled of rot. No, I said. No, you’re one of our best assets. And I have 12 years of vacation time I never took because I was too busy bugging Brent’s office.
Miller looked at me for a long moment, then sighed. It was rotting from the inside out. Keep me as anonymous source. It’s true, Cindy, all of it.
And then you find a job at a company that doesn’t steal from veterans. I didn’t want to do the emotional labor of comforting them. My hang in there cat poster was still on the wall. And for the first time in a long time, I didn’t know what happened next.
And that was the most exciting feeling in the world. The lobby was empty of agents now, except for two guarding the front door. Tell him I left it for the file. He held it by the edges gingerly, as if it were burning hot, as if the truth inside it was too heavy for him to carry.
Two agents walked out, escorting Walter Brant. Then he looked at Murphy holding my badge. Then he looked back at me. You were never really here, were you?
I was the only thing in this building that was real, Walter. Everything else was a receipt for something you couldn’t afford. I didn’t wait for a response. No more invoices.
No more fake smiles. No more Director Brant. No one saw me coming. I was going anywhere but here.
Arrogance blinds the powerful every single time. Never mistake someone’s calm demeanor for weakness. Appreciate you all for joining us on this masterful tale.