A Better Life

by Liza O'Connor

  “And new ones took their place. If she hadn’t considered it before today, she has to realize now, her life and her children’s lives depend on your continued good graces, and that relationship is very fragile, and could break any time.”

  Hamilton sighed. “It disturbs me how close we came to falling into Max’s trap.”

  “He is a formidable opponent. Every time I thought I finally had gotten him figured out, he would surprise me. And this is one example. I expected he would send her in here with something we wouldn’t like, but I would never have thought he could so successfully get our participation in almost removing our best people.”

  Hamilton nodded. “What I find disturbing is how he used people other than the ones I suspected.”

  “You thought it would be me and Tom.”

  “The reason I initially allowed you two into my facility was because I thought giving Max such an easy conduit would contain my problems.”

  Davenport nodded. “A rational approach. However, the flaw to that approach was the two men you chose. I assure you my allegiance is to my country, and the man I report to. I believe Tom feels much the same.”

  “But he owes Max.”

  “From our talks, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t feel he owns Max a damn thing.”

  “He lived in the man’s house and enjoyed his wife on a daily basis.”

  “The house belongs to Angel and she was the one who invited him. And it has always been her say who she loves. All Max did was open up their marriage six months into the marriage. Tom thinks it was because he grew tired of pretending to love her.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I honestly don’t know. When she was in Max’s facility and he was near her, he truly seemed to care. But then he would plant bugs on her which resulted in excruciatingly painful searches.”

  “Typical sadist,” Hamilton grunted.

  He glanced at the monitor showing Braddock slamming his fist upon the table, scaring the shit out of the three which had shown fear today.

  “Think he’ll break them.”

  “If he doesn’t, then it’s not a carrot hanging over their head. Have we checked to verify their families and significant others are safe and sound?”

  “No, I don’t have the men to waste hunting about their motivation to obstruct my objectives. They can either play ball or rot in hell.” He smiled. “I don’t need them. Team Three is all I need to look like a God damn genius. The rest are expendable.”

  Davenport made no reply.

  Hamilton glanced at the monitor showing her spooning with Tom. “Angel is one hell of an asset. Did you notice how easily she turned Leon and Sinclair around today? Utterly remarkable.” He frowned and turned to Davenport. “Has she mesmerized me?”

  “Given your anger at her this morning, I’d say no. You just like assets that support your objectives.”

  He chuckled. “I do. And she is genuinely trying to teach a five and two eight-year-olds how to do her job. Can you imagine if we had five Angels working for us?”

  “Shall I tell Tom to allow her more time to create her program?”

  “No. Let her work it out. I was impressed how those guys helped her. And now I finally understand what that program Leon ran on her computer does.”

  Davenport nodded.

  “It would make life easier on me if those kids want to stay down here with their mom and work.”

  “It’s a real possibility if you can make this place interesting enough when they become teenagers.”

  Hamilton shook his head. “I’ll admit I have no clue about teenagers. I’ll leave it up to Angel to figure out how to keep her kids contented.”

  Davenport chuckled. “That’ll work.”

  Chapter 10

  When Davenport brought Angel to the conference room the next day, only Tom and Team Three was present.

  “I’ll make this fast. Since this team seemed to be the only one embracing the new changes, the other teams have been transferred to auditing.”

  “Do they get bonuses?” Sinclair asked.

  “No, they will be paid standard rates.”

  Sinclair burst into laughter and high-fived Scott.

  “I fail to see a need for celebration,” Tom snapped.

  Sinclair sobered up. “Then you didn’t realize what condescending dicks and thieves they were. And one of those jerks set up Leon to take the fall for their theft. So, am I happy they are gone? Yes. Am I happy they have been transferred to the worst place imaginable, other than hell itself?” He chuckled. “Hell, yes.”

  The others chuckled as well.

  “So, you guys plan to take up the slack?”

  Leon leaned forward and met Tom’s challenge. “I’m willing to share my backdoor program with these two. I would have never shared it with those jerks. And just so you know, Tyler was undermining you every chance he got.”

  “I was perfectly aware of Tyler’s desire to have his position as manager back,” Tom assured him.

  Scott glared at him. “Then cut the crap and celebrate. We’ve finally got a kickass team and the ability to actually get stuff done! We’ll do more good in a week, then we previously did in a year.”

  Tom rose. “Then let’s go prove that before the director decides to bring us new help.”

  That threat had all the men rushing to the door.

  Tom and Angel were the last two to enter the lab. The moment Tom entered Scott asked to break protocol. “We need permission to log into all these machines.”

  “Why?”

  “So, we can reduce the time it takes to get Angel and Sinclair inside the backdoor.”

  Tom looked at Angel.

  “It would speed things up,” she admitted.

  “Let’s try it.”

  By noon, Tom determined ‘all’ the computers was overkill, because Angel and Sinclair couldn’t work that fast. So, he had them shut down half the computers. He expected complaints, but not one person made a peep.

  He noticed both money movers shadowed everything Angel did. “You guys trying to learn a new skill?”

  Cole grimaced. “That may take a while. So far, her ability to see things that are ‘wrong’ just looks like magic to me. I’m just not seeing it.”

  She turned to them. “I’m sorry. I stopped talking when Sinclair went off on his own. I’ll return to explaining what I see, if you’d like that.”

  Both Bob and Cole nodded and sat down, flanking her. Whenever the hackers had a backlog, they all joined her mini-tutorial.

  At lunch, the team resisted leaving to eat, but Tom held firm. “I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I expect us to keep this level of productivity every day, so let’s start good habits right off. You’ll think better if you eat a healthy lunch.”

  “Note the word ‘healthy,’” Angel chided. “Avoid sugars and simple carbs.”

  “Yes, mom,” Cole teased.

  “She’s not my mom,” Scott murmured and shook his hand as if she was so hot as to burn him.

  Tom couldn’t fault his interest. Angel was sexy as hell with her new look, and honestly, she looked considerably younger than her true age of forty.

  ***

  When Angel opened the laptop to work on her kids’ program at lunch, Scott stopped her. “First tell us what they thought about this strange game.”

  “Did they like it at all?” Cole asked doubtfully.

  She looked to Tom. “You were there. What do you think?”

  Tom chuckled. “Those kids were devastated when they had to stop and go to bed.”

  Leon’s eyes rounded. “Really? I was afraid they’d be bored stiff.”

  “Nope. Even the five-year-old is dying for his shot as the leader.”

  “Tonight, they will learn how to break a password,” Angel added.

  They all stared at her in confusion.

  She held up her hands before anyone could protest. “I know, Black Hole does that for us. But I want them to appreciate the wonder of that program, so they are going to lear
n the basics of a password breaker.”

  “I’ll help you with that if you want,” Leon offered.

  “Actually, since I need a five-year-old to understand what’s happening, this is going to be really simple today. My password is going to be BAT and I’ll have them put together a program that will run through the alphabet. At each level of the game I’ll increase the difficulty.”

  “So you are teaching them programming code tonight?” Leon’s eyebrows rose to his hairline.

  “Not to write it yet, but to grasp what it’s doing. I’ll split the code into three pieces and all they will have to do is place them in the right order.”

  Leon’s eyes narrowed. “It’s been awhile since my boy was five, but I think he struggled putting together a three-part train at that age.”

  Angel chuckled and glanced at Tom. He did make wonderful children. His son’s Toby and little Tommy were both extraordinary boys. “Well, my kids are pretty amazing.”

  “No shock there?” Sinclair, seated to her left, muttered.

  “I’ll take that as a compliment,” she whispered and playfully bumped his arm.

  A half-smile appeared. “You take it right.”

  Angel really liked Sinclair, but oddly, physically she felt nothing for him. Hell, she was more attracted to scrappy old Leon. And while terribly thin, Sinclair wasn’t a bad looking fellow, and she figured close to her age. Her lack of attraction baffled her. She had never before liked someone so strongly without a sexual connection as well.

  Unable to explain that oddity, she returned to her program. She wasn’t surprised when Leon suggested changes to her code. What did surprise her was how much simpler his suggestion made it.

  She took his advice at once. It shortened the code by half and would make it easier to teach the kids. “Thank you, kind sir.”

  She bumped his arm. He returned the favor. “You are most welcome.”

  Yep, definitely an attraction there.

  ***

  Once she finished writing the night’s game, her team played it while she ate her lunch.

  “I still can’t believe a five-year-old can play this,” Leon muttered.

  “Well, to be fair, he’s a money mover for this round. But he seems fully engaged and contributed very well last night.”

  “So, who is running this section?” Cole asked.

  “The eight-year-olds: Stevie and Dare.”

  Tom spoke up. “Stevie is leading the team.”

  She nodded in agreement. Dare had been really quiet last night. She hoped he wasn’t falling behind. If so, soon he’d lose interest.

  When they returned to work, Leon asked Tom if he could try his hand at the forensic work. “I used to be a forensic auditor, but then the computer came out and that seemed more fun.”

  She gave Tom a slight nod of her head, hoping he’d agree.

  Tom’s brow furrowed. “That’s a protocol breech that I’m not comfortable giving. Let me get clearance first.”

  He picked up the phone and strangely he never said anything except ‘yes, sir and no, sir.’ When he hung up, he looked at Angel. “The director has approved setting aside the protocol to see if we can speed our process further. However, he wants Leon seated at the terminal next to you and expects you to provide occasional supervision.”

  Angel smiled at Leon. “Is that okay with you?”

  Leon smiled. “You may supervise me anytime you want.”

  Yep. Definite attraction going on here.

  She wasn’t surprised when Leon proved to have a natural gift for spotting trouble. In fact, he spotted a problem with what should have been just a supplier company.

  Angel rolled her chair over to his station and studied the anomaly he’d found. “That does look odd.”

  She checked the index and found the general ledger, located the transaction to see the other side, and smiled. “This is a pass through. They are moving money to someone further down the line. Mind if I take this over?”

  “Not at all. I’ll transfer it over now.”

  By the time she scooted back over to her station, the transfer was done. “Sinclair, you might want to watch me for a second.”

  That got all the guys attention and soon the entire team gathered around her station.

  “Leon noticed this huge sum of money going into the supplier’s revenue but not showing up in Accounts Receivable. Nor could he locate inventory going out to match it.”

  “By searching the sum on the same date in the general ledger, we find it labeled as a Royalty payment going to Revenue. The matched entry was the same amount going out to a Special Entity. So, I’m going to follow that line now.”

  An hour later she located the cash’s final resting place in a Congressman’s bank account.

  Everyone was deathly quiet.

  The phone rang.

  Tom picked it up, said “yes, sir” about seven times and hung up.

  “The director wants you to document this trail, then move on to another company.”

  The guys returned to their stations.

  Leon frowned. “Maybe I should just stick to hacking.”

  Angel gripped his arm. “No! That was good work. And even if the director does not have us remove the money, the knowledge may give him leverage to keep us better protected while we go after sites we can touch.”

  Leon shook his head. “You are the most optimistic person I’ve ever met.”

  Despite her pep talk, the men remained subdued for the remainder of the day. Still, with the extra help in auditing, they had evaluated nearly all of the suppliers for Fake Company One.

  At six, Tom ordered them all to log off their machines. “You did a terrific job today.”

  Just then Director Hamilton, Braddock, and Davenport entered the room.

  “Crap,” Leon muttered.

  Angel reached out and gripped his hand. She would do everything she could to protect him from the fall out.

  Hamilton’s stern face assured Angel that he wasn’t here to congratulate them on a job well done.

  The director breathed in and released it slowly as he made eye contact with each one of them. “I believe we were all shocked and disappointed to discover one of our own taking a kickback from a company. I know this senator. I do not believe he is aware this company has ties to terrorists. Given the supplier resides in his state, I suspect he believes the money he received to be quid pro quo for his efforts in congress to bring them work. Unfortunately, that is all too common within our Congress. I will have this investigated from the outside, using normal procedures. What I will not do is risk any of your careers in this matter.”

  He pointed to a station. “Finding terrorists and removing their funding is far more important to this country’s survival than trying to garner sufficient proof to bring charges against a well-connected senator, when his replacement will be no better. Let us stay focused on the big picture where we can truly make a difference.”

  “Here, here!” Sinclair stated.

  Angel smiled. “We will continue to do our best, sir.”

  Hamilton returned her smile. “Then we all will succeed. Enjoy your dinner. I asked the cook to prepare something special for you.” Then he and the silent brooding Braddock left.

  Curious about their dinner, they all hurried to the cafeteria.

  The room had been converted into a beach resort with straw huts, the sound of waves and island birds, large fake palm trees, and real smaller palm trees. Angel clapped with happiness when she saw her kids playing in the corner filled with pure white sand.

  The chef and his helpers brought out a roasted pig for the men, fish for the health conscious, and fried chicken for the kids.

  Angel eyed the fried chicken with suspicion. The chef leaned down and spoke in her ear. “The batter is made of egg white, whole wheat flour and crushed peanuts. The chicken breasts were fried in virgin olive oil.”

  Angel laughed. “Now, I want one.”

  “There is plenty. Enjoy!”

 
Before he could leave, Angel stood up and asked everyone to toast Chef Savoy.

  Following that toast, Tom toasted the team. “A manager couldn’t ask for a better team.”

  Leon then toasted Angel. “A team couldn’t have greater inspiration.”

  Since the laptop and kids were both present, the guys insisted they continue their game here.

  By the expressions of worry and concern on three of the kid’s faces, Angel turned down the request. “No, we’re going to head on home now. Otherwise, they’ll be too wound up after the game to go to bed.”

  Only Stevie was disappointed with her decision. He had wanted to wow and bedazzle the guys. She stroked her first son’s head. His father had been a bedazzler. Everyone noticed Steve the moment he entered a room. And Lord, how he loved the attention.

  She wondered what Steve thought of his brilliant little boy with all his confidence and charm. She used to be able to feel her first love’s spirit when she lived in his grandparent’s house. But she hadn’t felt him in a very long time. Perhaps he had returned to earth in a newborn baby and was right now charming and dazzling his mom.

  She recalled the joy motherhood had brought her with Stevie, and then Tommy. Her love and adoration for those babies had almost overwhelmed her. They were her whole life.

  Her brow furrowed in guilt. For some reason she’d never felt that with baby Johnny. Was it because the novelty had worn off by baby three? Or because Johnny was going to be a stern, somewhat morose child like his father, Max? For whatever reason, Johnny had disliked having his face covered with kisses, did not like to be tossed in the air, and preferred being left alone in his crib than being carried about.

  Thus, she had allowed Mrs. Adams to take over as Johnny’s primary caretaker. Truth was, her youngest son’s constant annoyance and rejection when Angel tried to love him, wounded her deeply. To all appearances, he did not need or love his mother at all.

  She rubbed her stomach. Please let this baby be Tom’s and not Max’s.

  ***

  Once they settled around the table at home, Angel restarted the computer and explained their objective tonight.

  “You must break the password.”