Free A Taste For Danger by K.K. Sterling Page A

what she said on the phone.”
    Jack leaned way back in his chair. His brain needed time to process this.
    “Did anyone see you?” asked Jack
    “No. Cheryl leaves late like I do. Hardly anyone else around. That’s not all. I broke into her office.”
    “What?” Jack’s mouth went agape.
    “Don’t worry, she was gone by then, and I left everything in place. Why are you looking at me funny?”
    Jack didn’t know how he looked. Stunned, he attempted to pull his rational mind back to the forefront. He retrieved more butterscotch candy. He gave Eddie another piece and popped one in his own mouth. By God he needed something. I guess butterscotch it is.
    “So no one is any the wiser for everything you’ve done, correct?”
    “Yes.” Eddie affirmed.
    Jack rubbed his eyes with two of his fingers then started again. “Okay, tell me what came out of all this.” He braced himself, determined to be ready for anything. Sucking at the candy between his teeth he closed his eyes for a second, hoping that everything hadn’t been blown.
    “Cheryl Wong is giving government secrets to the Chinese.”
    Again, Jack’s mouth seemed to go agape on its own. He stared at Eddie who sat animated and happy in front of him.
    Eddie’s story went something like this: Cheryl Wong had set up an entire team of spies at each level of the company contracting system. That way the contracts would go to the appropriate bidder, who then, privy to the project, sent the plans and details back to Cheryl. Cheryl had a contact who Eddie didn’t know, but he guessed was someone on the outside, that she delivered the plans to. Eddie heard her talking to the outside contact. When he broke in her office he found plans and details written in Chinese as well as what seemed like a communication to make a drop soon.
    “Okay, okay, hold on,” said Jack. Eddie had a tendency to talk fast when he did talk and Jack needed to catch up. He gave Eddie a series of questions in the way that worked last time. “One, how did you get into Cheryl’s office? Two, what kind of contracts are we talking about? Three, when and where is the next drop?”
    Eddie listened carefully then spoke. “One, all the doors have cipher locks. No one ever changed their combinations. They are all on the factory setting.”
    Jack interrupted, “You’re shitting me?”
    Eddie watched Jack and smiled. “No, I’m telling you a truth. We installed cipher locks on the suite and on every Head’s office and none of them were ever taken off the factory setting. To know one is to know them all. Actually, simply to know the type of lock is to know all. Not to mention that half the people don’t bother to close their doors at the end of the day.”
    “Some security,” Jack muttered.
    “I was not surprised,” said Eddie. Then he continued, “Two, DOD contracts. The Department of Defense is our biggest customer.”
    “Holy fuck.” Jack shook his head. He needed a drink. Case number three had just reached massive proportions.
    “Three,” Eddie went on, “I do not know where or when specifically, however from what she said on the phone I do know where and when generally.”
    Jack leaned back in his chair, already thinking of who he should bring in for this. Screw the embezzlement. This was serious stuff. He knew that no matter who he brought in, he’d have to have proof. More proof than Eddie’s word. He could picture the nightmare of having Eddie try to explain it to someone. Not to mention Eddie’s part in breaking and entering.
    “You said you know where and when generally,” said Jack.
    “Yes.”
    He sighed. “Okay, where and when is it happening, generally?”
    “When there is a drop, Cheryl goes to Atlantic City. She meets her contact somewhere there. It’s a different contact each time for safety. Cheryl does not know whom she will meet.
    “Then how do they work it out?”
    “Cheryl stays at Bally’s. She goes to one of the roulette wheels. A man tips his hat to her.