Fatal Transaction (Thriller & Suspense, Cyber Crime) by W. Richard Lawrence Page B

dirt. Her tongue felt fatter with each word. “The power monitor we added to your system a couple of months ago shows that someone turned on your computer around two in the morning and ran it for about forty minutes. They had to have done it from in here.” She nodded toward Levy’s desk.
    Levy looked around the room again. “Someone broke into my office this morning. What do the security tapes show?”
    “We don’t have a camera in your office, at your request. And I reviewed the videos from the halls and entry area. Nothing.”
    “Erased?”
    “No, they’re there. But whoever did this either somehow sidestepped the cameras or replaced the data stream.”
    “So all you have is the data from this device in the floor?”
    “Yes, but I ran some tests on it this morning. It’s working perfectly.”
    “How were they able to get past your security system, break into my office, and access my computer?” Levy took a step closer as he clinched his fist. “You are here to keep that from happening. How could you be so incompetent?”
    Kai took a step back as she raised her hands a little. “It’s not my fault.”
    “Then whose fault is it?”
    “Whoever did this knows our security.”
    Levy stopped and pulled back. “What files did they access?”
    “I don’t know. Your system’s—”
    “Find out. Now.”
    Levy twisted around and reached over the top of his desk to turn on his computer. “Do it from here, and be quick. “
    Kai carefully moved around Levy. “This shouldn’t take more than fifteen, twenty minutes tops.”
    Moving the keyboard to a usable location, she went to work. For the first several seconds, Levy and Mike scrutinized her movements. Finally, Levy repositioned himself where he had a good view of the screen. She felt his breath on her neck as she continued to scan each directory on the system.
    “You said fifteen minutes. How much longer?”
    Kai broke visual contact with the monitor. With only half the contents examined, she was coming up empty. “Halfway there, sir.”
    “And?”
    The skin of her neck tingled from Levy’s hot breath. “So far, nothing. The most recent dates are from yesterday morning.” Turning her head a little farther, she peered up at Levy as she quickly rubbed the back of her neck. “I need to check your encrypted directories.”
    He gave a nod.
    Kai ran a script to open the encrypted directories and check their dates. A few minutes later, she leaned back in the chair, deflated. Viewing the results, she said more to herself than to those in the room, “The most recent dates in here are over a week ago.”
    “So, nothing has been touched?”
    Kai felt the chair being pulled back. “I haven’t checked everything yet. I still might find something.”
    “No, you’ve told me all I need to know. You’re done here, and done securing my computer. Count yourself lucky that I have other need of you.”
    Obediently, she rose and made her way toward the door. Protecting Levy’s computer was a no-win situation. If she did it right, no one noticed or cared, but if she did it wrong, Levy could easily decide to kill her.
    “Could Sara have done this? Hacked in without a trace?”
    Levy’s question halted Kai’s exit. She wheeled around to face him. “Most definitely.”
    Mike jumped to his feet. “Sara went straight home last night, and stayed home.”
    Levy stared at Mike. “She evidently found a way out from under your nose.”
    Mike spoke faster than normal. “That’s impossible. I was outside her apartment all night.”
    “Where outside her apartment?” Levy’s face took on a sinister look.
    “In the parking lot. I could see both her stairwell and her car from where I parked.”
    “And her apartment door? You left it unguarded?”
    “No, I mean I could see most of it. It’s kind of blocked by her stairwell.”
    Kai noticed Mike rubbing his hands on his pant legs. Even he was afraid of Levy. Maybe Sara was right about Mike.
    Levy strolled back behind