Chapter 9: The hack

Sarah spent the next thirty minutes making a large number of phone calls. The result was the same every time. She wasn't happy with the responses she was getting but she kept on trying. Finally her frustration got the better of her and she then slammed down her desk phone and with a foul look stared out off the office towards the Nerd Herd desk.

She pointed at Jill and ordered "You, stay in your chair."

Sarah left her office and found Chuck at the Nerd Herd desk with one of the other herders.

"I want to see you in my office." Then she turned around and returned to her office. Sarah had moved so fast that the sound of her heels going clickitty clack on the lino floor was as if a train was nearby. The breeze she had created, as vortex and a vacuum and that was going to suck Chuck out of his chair. Thirty seconds later Chuck knocked on the door and waited for permission to enter.

No words were spoken so he entered the office and stood against the internal wall. Neither Sarah nor Jill said a word at his presence. Chuck looked at both women with a little concern.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

Sarah stared at Jill, who sat there in silence and looking down not really focusing on anything. Sarah had taken a power position by leaning on her desk.

"Sarah?" Chuck asked with a worried look on his face.

"Do you care to explain why there are no outstanding warrants for Miss Roberts's arrest?

"What do you mean?" Chuck face suddenly lost all of its colour. It was a sure giveaway that he had been up to something. Even though his face had lost it colour, he felt very hot under the collar. Sarah raised more than an eyebrow at him. Oh Boy was he gonna be in trouble now. Chuck took a deep breath to steady himself; he knew that his tell was showing so he knew it was pointless to deny anything more. In an controlled manner Chuck spoke slowly and deliberately.

"I, as an agent of the United States government made a deal with a detainee of a US Federal prison that I would endeavour to get as many charges as possible dropped in return for her co-operation in the search for my father. The detainee had not gone to trial so we must presume the partition of innocence and seeing that most of the evidence was written statements by three Federal agents myself included. I was told to renege on the deal but I didn't think it was fair. She upheld her part of the bargain but the government had not. The fact that I may or may not know who got access to the US Justice Department computers and removed or redacted all records purporting to Jill Roberts may or may not have anything to do with me."

"So you hacked into the State Department computers system and removed all files relating to Miss Roberts?"

"I will neither admit or deny any such allegation."

When he finished talking he noticed a sour look on Sarah's face. He decided it was not wise to linger any longer in her office so he thought he could back out and retreated back to the relative safety of his Nerd Herd desk. That is until and razor sharp throwing knife became embedded in the door frame. Chuck froze on the spot.

There was a deathly silence then Jill was the first to speak,

"Well that settles it. I guess I'm free to go." She got out of her chair and started to make way to the door.

"Oh no, You're not going anywhere and you're not getting out of it."

Sarah looked at her and then looked at the boxes of invoices and slips.

"There are a million invoices here and I'm sure as heck am not going to the one imputing them." She then gave a crooked smile. "You need the work and there is plenty here! You're staying."

Jill looked a pleasing expression Sarah had on her face. It looked as if the cat got the cream.

"And what are you going to be doing while I'm doing the imputing?"

"Supervising, of course."

That seem to deflate Jill even further. Jill was quiet for a moment then she stated the obvious.

"Well I need a workstation and a computer. I need somewhere to do all this work."

Jill had a point, Sarah needed to have another desk and computer installed in her office. The fact that Jill Roberts would be working in close proximity was a factor she wished she could do without. Sarah didn't want to but she had to instruct Chuck to do the install.

"Chuck!" she said with authority. Chuck turned and looked up at her.

"Miss Roberts needs a desk and a computer. I want you to install her workstation in my office right away."

Chuck stood there like a stunned mullet.

"Now!"

Chuck moved into action right away and gave her a mock salute, he then shuffled out of her office door and into the main showroom. Looking around he spied on a couple of green shirts for the task he'd been set. He moved towards the DVD isles and gathered two green shirts who were standing around not doing much. Chuck told the duo what he wanted to do. The trio disappeared out the back to the storage area return minutes later with the furniture and equipment required.

It took about ten minutes for the desk to be recovered from the back storage room of the Buy More and then to have it carried in Sarah's office. The desk was placed against the side wall so Sarah could easily monitor what Jill was up to from her seat behind her desk. Chuck did the install, the computer was unpacked, assembled, software loaded, and logged into the store's operating system. Sarah and Jill watched the men do the work. Sarah will be watching Jill Roberts like a hawk. What was that saying about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer?