"My fellow citizens; Your wealth is once again at risk. ProviBlue has broken your trust, violating your most basic of human rights: your ability to say no. Unbeknownst to the Better Business Bureau, ProviBlue has been illegally opening and approving rewards and credit programs in your name. Without your consent.
"Fake signatures and empty, filler accounts with no other purpose than to boost the company's numbers and stock prices. We like to call that 'Misleading the Shareholders.'
"Many of you have probably already seen mystery fees and charges on your bank statements that shouldn't be there. The time to protest these unlawful and unethical actions is now. Make those in charge aware of ProviBlue's deception, and seriously think about how you can better your financial security.
"DedSec has given you the truth. Do what you will."
Riley closed out of her Youtube app, pulling the headphone from her ear. She was only mildly shocked to see the newest DedSec video had come out a day after she'd given them the data. They sure worked quickly once they had what they needed. A part of her felt extremely satisfied to have been a part of the process that revealed this information to the public.
And the good thing was that there was basically no way they could tie the leak back to her. She hadn't been breaking into any systems to get the data. Not only that, but employees used USB's all the time, to store procedural and protocol data. If anyone had seen her with the USB in hand, it wouldn't have been suspicious.
In the cubicle beside her, she heard Dan answer a phone call on his cell phone and, despite his attempts to talk quietly, she could still hear every word he was saying.
"Hello?…Yeah, I saw it…What's there to worry about? We might lose a few accounts, but it's gonna take more than that to make the company go under…"
Riley knew he was right. Her contented mood deflated a tiny bit. This one video against ProviBlue wasn't going to do much more than take a small chunk of their accounts away, scaring some of the more sensible customers to take their money elsewhere. Others, perhaps those who weren't partial to change, would remain. Those whose interests ran deep with the company's would too.
"Of course I'm still gonna have a job…no, that's…no…I promise…DedSec is gonna get what's coming to them, I'm sure the FBI or police are gonna catch up to them soon. They can't keep this shit up forever…" Dan sounded so sure of himself, Riley knew he believed his words wholeheartedly.
Riley, however, was confident that they knew what they were doing. They'd lasted this long doing what they did. Obviously, Marcus and his group could navigate their way around the system with relative ease. She wasn't worried.
Plus, with her now being an ally of DedSec, Riley grinned to herself in mirth. "You keep thinking that." She mumbled low under her breath, too quiet for him to hear. Dan's call lasted for several more minutes, but the topic of DedSec faded and Riley tuned out the rest. She went on to finalize some reports for her current accounts' loans, emailing them to her superiors.
Mr. Hodge couldn't help but look around at the expansive office of the company's CEO. It was open and lavish, and much too spacious for his taste. Too much unusable and negative space. He much preferred his dimly-lit nook that was just barely too small to fit everything neatly without leaving a mess. All this…emptiness was intimidating. But he didn't get to look for much longer than that, as the tablet was slapped down onto the desk in front of it with much more force than was good for it. The IT chief winced at the loud sound, barely able to glance up at the angry CEO's face.
"How?" Sandra Jennings seethed, pointing accusatorially at the tablet she'd just slammed down. "How is it possible that this was leaked? Explain this to me!"
"I-" He tried starting, attempting to find the right words to calm her down. She was now pacing back and forth, her face pinched with barely contained anger. "Ma'am, we ran all the background checks. There wasn't any external breach of security, our systems were up-to-date, with no signs that a hack had been made-"
Sandra rounded back towards him, looking deadly in her pencil skirt and pinched face. "And yet this…this scandal is now out on display for the world to see! So somewhere in your damn system, something went wrong!"
It probably wasn't wise to debate this issue with her, but he also knew the system was as secure as it had always been. He was analytical, went by the facts instead of emotions, and the fact was that there was no sign of the system having been breached.
Folding his hands together, he spoke softer, hoping it would somehow cause her to do the same. "Look, Ma'am. I've run the numbers dozens of times. I've read back through every log I could think of to see where an intrusion could have come from. But there's nothing."
"Then how-"
"Please let me finish." He interrupted sternly, pleased to see her allow him to do so. Nodding, he pressed on. "Like I said, there's no evidence of someone from outside the company hacking into the system. It's highly unlikely DedSec themselves were the ones behind leaking the data. But that doesn't rule out other possible explanations for how this data got out."
Sandra pursed her lips, growing eerily quiet. Her pacing stopped, and she looked out the window at the view of the city. Below, cars and taxis and buses made their way through the streets, a throng of people traveling by sidewalk beside them. At this height, they were the size of ants.
"You're telling me," she started, slowly turning to face the IT chief, "that there may be a mole within our company?"
He tossed his head back and forth, not wanting to commit to an answer if it turned out to be wrong. However, given the circumstances, he couldn't see it being any other outcome. "Yeah, that's what I'm implying. I can't see any other way that this could have happened."
"I see."
He watched as she walked forward and delicately retrieved the tablet from the desk again, tapping at the screen and walking back towards the window without giving him a glance. He wasn't sure if he was being dismissed nonverbally, or-
"Mr. Hodge."
He nearly jumped at the sound of his name, not expecting her to use it. "Yes, Ma'am?"
Her cold eyes burned into his. "I want a full criminal and psychological profile done on all of our IT engineers, as well as possible employees who hold a grudge against the company. Speak to Mr. Davis in Security to coordinate. I want this kept quiet."
Mr. Hodge opened his mouth, about to inform her that it was illegal to evaluate their employees in such a way without their consent, but a moment later he realized that she was aware of this. Aware and unconcerned with the legal issues with it. He swallowed the warning and nodded slowly. "Of course."
"That will be all." She gestured him out with a dismissive wave, her eyes glued to the tablet. Mr. Hodge stood, escaping her office as quickly as he could without looking afraid. Rumor had it she could smell it on you anyway.
Riley frowned, noticing a company memo on her desk when she returned from lunch. They didn't often leave paper copies of memos anymore. Mostly it was done through email. She sat in her chair and brought it closer to read.
ATTN: ProviBlue Employees
Due to a suspected breach in data security, all information distribution processes and protocols will be reviewed and revised accordingly. Revisions will be issued in the format of an updated policy handbook, which all employees are encouraged to read and familiarize themselves with.
Please be aware: Our security and IT team will be reviewing policies over the next few days, and changes will take immediate effect. These will affect your day-to-day work responsibilities, so keep yourself informed and educated on updates regarding this matter.
Thank you.
She tucked the memo into one of her stacked file holders, wanting to keep the copy around just in case she needed to refer back to it. Riley placed her headset on her head, thinking over what may happen from here. No doubt, the higher-ups were concerned about a repeat incident, and were taking all the necessary precautions to prevent another hack of this kind. Apparently, she'd spooked them more than she'd anticipated.
Riley had a feeling things would get a bit more complicated from here on out.
Scrolling through the news headlines highlighting their most recent exposure of ProviBlue, Marcus chuckled to himself with each scathing remark he saw about the company. It was honestly funny how these things always went down. Wrench noticed his mirth and wandered over to the couch.
"Something funny you're not showing me? I'm hurt." The masked man placed a hand on his chest, feigning a wound.
"Nah, man. Come take a look for yourself." He waved him to the spot beside him on the couch, tilting the screen so he could see. "It never gets old, seeing all these companies turn on their own once they're targeted."
"Well, yeah." Wrench gestured casually with a shrug. "As soon as they're put under public scrutiny, suddenly all their support is gone. No one wants to be affiliated with someone caught in a scandal."
Marcus nodded, scrolling through a few more headlines, reading quotes from other company heads and business affiliates, stating how if they'd known about the transgressions they wouldn't have morally done business with ProviBlue in the first place. "Yeah, I know. There's something about being aware of how hypocritical they all are that gives me a good laugh."
"Um…" They heard from behind them. Wrench and Marcus turned in place, facing Josh who was looking slightly uncomfortable.
"What's on your mind, Josh-O?" Wrench asked, ignoring the glare of disapproval the hooded hacker sent his way.
"It's just…shouldn't we do something to make sure Riley isn't caught up in the aftermath? Considering she helped us get the data, it wouldn't be right if she lost her job for it." His hands repeatedly clenched and unclenched, a sure sign that he felt conflicted about something. "I mean, it's great that we hit ProviBlue. But-"
"It'll be fine, Josh." Sitara interrupted, approaching with a can of spray paint in hand. She looked like she was about to head off to do some graffiti. "I'm sure they won't figure out who was responsible for the leak. Plus, we can help if she's put in a tough spot."
"Riley's an investigative journalist. I'm sure she can handle a little risk." Marcus reasoned, and Wrench shrugged silently.
"If she can't, I'd be disappointed." He remarked, reaching over to grab the tv remote. The screen came to life with a touch of a button.
Josh still seemed unsure, but decided that if his team was confident, he should be too. He had confidence in his team, and that was enough. Riley was in good hands, after all.
Nodding, he went back to sifting through and categorizing the ProviBlue data to store for later. It was a time-consuming task, but he liked that. It gave him time to himself without interruption.
Riley came to a stop outside the motel, fingers gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter than she meant to. It wasn't that she was nervous about posing as the Financial Director of Zaferi Electronics' personal assistant but…ok yeah, she was nervous. A stuttered breath escaped her lips, and she looked over to check the briefcase she'd brought with her.
"Alright, Riley, don't fuck this up. In, out, then ice cream on the way back home." She mumbled to herself, shutting off the engine and stepping out into the night air. The door slammed shut beside her, and she smoothed down the pencil skirt so it didn't actually look like it was a size too small for her. Damn her for not shopping for better clothing beforehand. Hefting the briefcase in her hand, she let out another breath, heels clicking against the pavement as she walked up to the entrance.
The motel wasn't exactly five-star, but for the Financial Director's purposes, it would do. She'd been tracking this lead for a couple months, and came to discover he had a weekly rendezvous with his 'lady of the night' here. But Riley suspected that the woman was more than a simple mistress. From what she could gather, she was also a representative of a regulation business council that approved and denied companies their policies and procedures. Something felt fishy about this.
Tucking a few more strands of hair back into place to look neater, she pushed through the door with as disapproving an expression as she could manage. The glass door swung open before her, ushering her into the main lobby. The receptionist looked up with a bored expression, sitting up only because her superiors required it of her.
"How can I help you, Ma'am?" The blonde woman inquired, and Riley sighed.
"I need to know which room Mr. Yates will be staying in this evening."
The woman frowned, slowly shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't give that information out to just anyone."
Making it as apparent as possible that the receptionist was wasting her time, Riley sighed again. "I'm his personal assistant, and he requested I leave his…business materials…in his room before he arrives." The brunette honestly didn't have to fake the discomfort with those two words.
The receptionist looked conflicted, leaning forward to glance down at the briefcase she carried, finally nodding towards it. "Let's have a look then."
"Mr. Yates requested to keep his presence here as discreet as possible. That includes his…well, I can't-"
"Then I'm sorry, I can't help you." The blonde sat back in her chair.
Riley looked bitter. "The things I do for my job…" She mumbled, placing the briefcase on the counter and unlatching the locks. It popped open and, rather reluctantly, she turned it to show the blonde the contents.
Her eyes widened and the skin on her cheeks grew red from embarrassment. Riley felt it more so, having had to buy all of the sex toys, bondage equipment, whips, blindfolds, rubber dildos, and butt plugs just to sneak in here. She was nothing if not thorough, but it had been quite shaming to have to buy all of these.
"U-uh, right. Well…" The receptionist stuttered, clearing her throat and leaning away from the briefcase. "Mr. Yates is in room 1086. Here's the key. Just bring it back here when you're done."
Riley accepted the plastic keycard and closed the briefcase with a snap. "I trust you won't speak of this matter? Mr. Yates is adamant that his business here is not to be spoken of. Is that clear?"
"Yeah, sure." The blonde said, and Riley thankfully believed her. The slight disgust and alarm on her face was telling enough. Locking the briefcase up again, she straightened her collar with a huff and walked towards the hallway that the room was. This had to be the most embarrassing op she'd ever done.
Save for the distant and muffled bedsprings and feminine moans somewhere else in the motel, the hallway she was walking down was otherwise quiet. A housekeeper's cart was blocking one of the doors, but Riley passed it by, eyes scanning the room numbers for the right one.
She came upon his room and inserted the white card. The light turned green as she pulled it from the slot, and she pushed on the handle to open the door. The room she entered was dark, made neat by the housekeeping staff. There appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary in the room. All looked as any other motel room would. Good.
Flipping the lights on and walking over to the bed, she placed the briefcase down and opened it again. Normally, she'd worry about any cameras hidden in the room, but motels that hosted high-profile people's rarely had cameras for privacy reasons. She wasn't concerned about that.
This time when opening the case, she moved the dildos and bondage harnesses aside to clear the bottom. She pulled on a small latch, revealing a small audio recorder and video camera. She hesitated when reaching for the camera, debating whether she actually wanted to record any of what would occur in this room.
Deciding that it really wasn't worth it in the end, she forwent the camera and replaced all the objects in the case again. Taking the audio recorder, she started looking around for a place to hide it. Most of the surfaces were barren and just under eye level. Those wouldn't do. But placing in one of the cupboards would muffle any audio, and may end up being useless.
Her eyes scanned the room's contents, offhandedly determining that the wallpaper seriously needed an update, before finding the perfect spot. The windows had large drapes that hung all the way down to the floor. There was some overlap to either side of the window itself, giving her a perfect spot to attached the device without anyone noticing it. That is, as long as the curtains remained on the rod. She shuddered, rather not picturing how that scenario could even come about while two people had sex. Blegh, she felt dirty just thinking of the word in this circumstance. And she didn't even want to think about how much of this room would light up like a Christmas tree under a black light. Oh god. She just did. Dammit.
Riley suppressed a shudder. Dragging the chair from under the desk over to the window, she stood precariously on it to reach the top of the curtain rod. Brushing the curtain aside up top, she attached the recorder to the wall and let it fall back into place. Riley hopped back down, observing it from all angles. No matter how or where you looked from, it wasn't visible. She sighed a breath of relief, then returned the chair back to where it belonged.
Riley gave the room another glance-over, just to be sure everything was how she'd left it before. All looked normal. Nodding to herself, she exited the room, case in hand, and shut off the lights as she exited the room.
The hallway was still empty besides the cleaning cart further down. Riley began heading towards the direction she'd come, then paused mid-step. It would be suspicious if the receptionist saw Riley still had the briefcase while exiting. It would also be suspicious if she didn't exit out through the main lobby again soon. Thinking quick, Riley tossed the case into the trashcan of the cleaning cart as she passed by, not even giving it a glance. Her heels were muffled against the carpet as she left.
The receptionist was reading a magazine and effectively ignoring Riley when she reached the lobby. All the better. Schooling her features neutrally until she had left the building behind her, she climbed into her car and drove for home, wanting to get out of this stupid skirt as soon as possible.
But first: Ice cream.
Robert Yates didn't reach the motel room until 11:30 pm, by which time Riley was already dressed in her pajamas, halfway through her tub of ice cream. Pants was curled up on the couch by her feet, asleep and virtually dead to the world. Most cats woke easily at the slightest movement. Not Pants. He could probably sleep through a mariachi band stomping their way through the apartment, while a rocket simultaneously launched across the street. So she just let him be.
Of course, she was beyond mortified by the sounds and moans that came from her speakers for the first 45 minutes of the recording. She was learning way more about Mr. Yates' fetishes and kinks than Riley ever wanted to know. She'd never look at feet the same way again either.
Thankfully, the moaning and cursing eventually stopped. Riley was able to listen without cringing or wishing she were dead. The sheets shifted multiple times, and both people were silent as they sought their breaths. Riley hoped this was more than just a hookup as she suspected, but as time went on, neither spoke.
And then, it was like the information gates burst open.
"What?" Yates asked.
"You're looking at me like that again."
"Like what?"
"Like you can't stand the sight of me. You regretting our arrangement?" Somehow the woman didn't sound all that surprised.
"No, nothing like that. I just-"
"Feel guilty? I mean, I'm sure your wife is beginning to suspect, surely."
"No. She has no idea." He stuttered, trying to find the right words. "Besides, I…need…this. At least…Zaferi needs this."
"Yeah, well, it's not like I'm one to talk, but you're kind of a douchebag for choosing the company over your own family."
"You shut the hell up." Yates seethed suddenly, causing Riley to twitch in surprise. She didn't think he'd be yelling at the one woman who can have their illegal practices approved under the table. "You don't understand. You couldn't."
"Oh, I'm fairly certain I could. It's not like you're the only one in this city that needs something I can give them. You're not the only one trying to convince themselves that this is worth your pride, either." Riley heard the woman let out a contented sigh, probably stretching or something. "Or your family life. I've heard all the excuses imaginable."
There were several moments of silence, and Riley played with the brief idea that maybe they somehow, inexplicably, found the recorder. But then her heart returned to normal when Yates spoke again.
"Our…arrangement, isn't going to last forever. We need you to approve a few more policies that will get Zaferi the information it needs to gain access to customer habits and behavior patterns." Riley heard the shuffling of papers, and she imagined he was handing over the copies of the policies in question. "After that, I'm calling this off."
There were several more seconds of silence, before the woman spoke up. "Zaferi is stepping much further past the law than what I expected. This is a total invasion of privacy rights. It'll take an extra cost to put through."
"I came prepared. $100,000 should be enough, I hope?"
"Yes, that should be sufficient. And I also expect to see you here one last time next week. I've found myself enjoying our little visits. I'd hate to stop so soon."
Yates sighed heavily. "Fine, Samantha. Fine."
She chuckled lowly. It sounded like he started to get dressed, as usual leaving her with the room for the night while he returned home. It took several minutes, but Yates eventually left, leaving Samantha to herself. She sighed gently, and Riley began to pack up for the evening, knowing she was unlikely to get any more info from this excursion.
"Yes, it's me." Riley heard suddenly, causing her to pause and listen closely. She assumed Samantha had made a phone call, as there was no one else in the room.
"We'll need as much leeway as we can get with Zaferi's newest policy disclosure form. It'll take some work to get it approved…He paid upfront…I don't think so…He said he'd call off our arrangement after this policy passes, so please let the rep at Nudle know I have Friday's available…I'll bring the paperwork in tomorrow to look over with you…Of course, I'll talk to you in the morning."
Her hand was beginning to ache from the rapid notes she'd written down, trying to get all the information that had just been given to her. This was good news. Riley could connect at least two big companies to the services of this woman and her under-the-table approvals. At least she was turning out to be a fruitful lead, despite how unpleasant it was to actually follow through on it.
She waited another ten minutes before decided that that was it for the night. Riley disabled the feed from the recorder and shut her laptop off, bending her spine to pop her back. Sitting hunched over in one place for too long wasn't good for her. Thankfully she didn't have work the next day, which gave her some time to sleep in and recover.
"Come on, Pants. Let's go to bed." She said, looking over at the dead-to-the-world feline. She poked at his belly a few times but he didn't move other than to continue breathing evenly, so she shrugged and stood from the couch and placed the rest of her ice cream in the freezer for later. Then, she sauntered off to find her comfy bed.
ns 15.158.61.48da2
