Blue by K. Nilsson

Author:K. Nilsson [Nilsson, K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kindle Direct Publishing
Published: 2018-09-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Max

Venice Beach

James scratched his matted hair. I swear he reminded me of a cartoon character, Shaggy, the owner of Scooby Doo, except he was not a slacker like Shaggy. He was a hard worker, loyal, and reliable.

James pushed his glasses up on his nose and blinked, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes. He'd been sleeping on the futon and hadn’t drunk his first cup of coffee.

"Get some high octane... and a shower while you're at it. I'll let you borrow one of my T-shirts." He smelled like someone who thought clean laundry was optional.

Rathmore's personality profile showed that nothing would keep Byron from getting what he wanted. He’d offered a big payout to anyone who could deliver the software. Stealing software was not an easy thing to do. Technology thieves used several methods to steal proprietary software, but KEY-BOLT was top secret software that had Agency fingerprints all over it, although I couldn’t say for sure.

James returned, hair plastered to his head from the shower and toothpaste in the corner of his mouth. He had a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a bowl of Frosted Flakes in the other. He settled himself in front of the computer and showed me the open tabs on Nathan Miller and his company, Tech-Key. We reviewed it together.

“Nathan Miller said KEY-BOLT was commissioned software. Can you find out who wanted them to create it and why?” I asked.

“The article I read said the company was ready to announce the launch of a new product. The details were top secret,” he said, sliding his glasses back up his nose.

I tilted my head back and looked at the ceiling.

“Someone let the cat out of the bag. Why would you announce something if it was a secret?” I said, thinking aloud.

“Yep,” said James.

“I wonder who it was,” I said.

James mimicked my gaze, rubbing a hand along his scruffy chin.

“I wonder who developed the software.”

James brainstormed with me. Opening his desk drawer, he got a handful of markers and started writing on the dry erase board we use for things like this:

Who made the product?

Are signed NDAs on file for examination?

When was the test phase?

Suspects: software designer, industrial spies, aka, contracted testers

I walked up to the board and picked up another marker, drew more arrows, wrote notes and then with a deep sigh, I made a guess of what could have happened.

“Tech-Key required non-disclosure agreements from anyone with whom they did business, from vendors to contractors. Even though the industrial spies got temporary employment, they signed the non-disclosures and mined company data. They offered the resulting information, reports, emails, and text documents to Byron for a price. No one would do it for free,” I said.

“You got that right,” said James, his arms crossed in front of him as he stepped back and looked at scribbled notes on the board.

“I’ll go through the list of employees, cross-check the NDAs, and see if I can find a suspect.”

“I need more coffee.” I strolled toward the kitchen, wishing I hadn't skipped my morning workout.

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