“Since when do you call me sir in here?”
She grinned. “I almost slipped up outside with the general’s secretary. Thought I’d better practice.”
Josh grunted as he looked down at his desk again. “Someone’s been in here.”
Dana grin disappeared. “Seriously? It looks exactly like it did forty minutes ago.”
Sighing, Josh murmured, “Yes, Dana. I know, but it doesn’t to me. And someone tried to pick these locks. They did a neater job of riffling through the files in here, though.” He looked down at his paperwork, scanning the text, reassuring himself the files were of relatively little to no consequence. “Find out who.”
“Yes, sir. You want a background check on whoever it is?”
“Yeah. I want to know if they’re civilian or army. And go back ten years into their records either way. Top priority. Your other tasks can wait.”
She immediately retreated and went off to do as he’d asked. Twenty minutes later after he’d gone around his office like a sniffer dog on coke, she reappeared.
“Derek Graves.”
“Civilian or enlisted?”
“Veteran. Used to be in the same battalion as Harrison…who was, in fact, his buddy at West Point and his CO during Desert Storm.”
“So, he’s one of the old boys.” Josh nodded, slowly. “Still one of Harrison’s cronies?”
“No. Not as far as I can tell. Graves is a freelance photographer now.”
“What the hell was he doing in my office then?”
Dana shrugged. “Looking for something.”
“Master of the understatement.”
“Technically mistress.”
Sometimes having a civilian for a PA sucked. “Do you have the footage?”
“Yes. On my screen.”
That meant the one screen they didn’t have hooked up to the net. In his division, such secrecy was life or death to someone out in the sandbox.
“Good.” He strode out ahead of her and then took her seat. Eyeing the screen, he pressed Play and watched the black-and-white footage with a narrowed gaze.
Derek Graves strolled in without a care in the world, almost like it was his own goddamn office—he didn’t bother to look around, just went straight past Dana’s workstation. After heading for the desk, he sat in Josh’s chair, then retrieved a pack from his pocket. He rested the picks on the desk as he eyed the lock, then made his selection, but they gave him a hard time, Josh was pleased to note. The extra expense was worth it.
Unlike Josh’s prediction, he started on the middle drawer but failed to open it. A faint feeling of relief washed over him, but the files in his desk had little to nothing to do with Luke, so there was no issue there.
It wasn’t good for Graves, however. Josh had files that were a detriment to national security burrowed away in his desk. With proof of the other man’s perfidy, never mind actually breaking and entering an army compound—at top-level offices—Graves was in deep shit with the MPs the instant Josh handed over this footage.
As he watched Graves try and succeed in opening the top drawer, he thought about the man’s means of gaining entry to this part of the base.
“He must have had someone help him get in.”
“Another of Harrison’s old buddies?”
“Maybe. Check it out for me, would you?”
“Down low or in plain sight?”
“Plain sight. I’m reporting this breach.”
Dana hesitated. “The extra camera in these offices haven’t been cleared for use.”
“I don’t care. Jarvis knows I’m paranoid. And knowing where our specialties lie, no one will blame us for taking extra precaution.” He peered back at her while Graves flipped through some files, an act that would throw him behind bars thanks to the delicacy of their content. “Don’t worry, this won’t fall back on you.” He watched her shoulders slump in relief. “The shit hitting the fan won’t land on us, but on Graves here. Maybe eventually Jarvis will blackball me as punishment, but I’m used to that.”
He snorted at the idea and cocked a brow as
She grinned. “I almost slipped up outside with the general’s secretary. Thought I’d better practice.”
Josh grunted as he looked down at his desk again. “Someone’s been in here.”
Dana grin disappeared. “Seriously? It looks exactly like it did forty minutes ago.”
Sighing, Josh murmured, “Yes, Dana. I know, but it doesn’t to me. And someone tried to pick these locks. They did a neater job of riffling through the files in here, though.” He looked down at his paperwork, scanning the text, reassuring himself the files were of relatively little to no consequence. “Find out who.”
“Yes, sir. You want a background check on whoever it is?”
“Yeah. I want to know if they’re civilian or army. And go back ten years into their records either way. Top priority. Your other tasks can wait.”
She immediately retreated and went off to do as he’d asked. Twenty minutes later after he’d gone around his office like a sniffer dog on coke, she reappeared.
“Derek Graves.”
“Civilian or enlisted?”
“Veteran. Used to be in the same battalion as Harrison…who was, in fact, his buddy at West Point and his CO during Desert Storm.”
“So, he’s one of the old boys.” Josh nodded, slowly. “Still one of Harrison’s cronies?”
“No. Not as far as I can tell. Graves is a freelance photographer now.”
“What the hell was he doing in my office then?”
Dana shrugged. “Looking for something.”
“Master of the understatement.”
“Technically mistress.”
Sometimes having a civilian for a PA sucked. “Do you have the footage?”
“Yes. On my screen.”
That meant the one screen they didn’t have hooked up to the net. In his division, such secrecy was life or death to someone out in the sandbox.
“Good.” He strode out ahead of her and then took her seat. Eyeing the screen, he pressed Play and watched the black-and-white footage with a narrowed gaze.
Derek Graves strolled in without a care in the world, almost like it was his own goddamn office—he didn’t bother to look around, just went straight past Dana’s workstation. After heading for the desk, he sat in Josh’s chair, then retrieved a pack from his pocket. He rested the picks on the desk as he eyed the lock, then made his selection, but they gave him a hard time, Josh was pleased to note. The extra expense was worth it.
Unlike Josh’s prediction, he started on the middle drawer but failed to open it. A faint feeling of relief washed over him, but the files in his desk had little to nothing to do with Luke, so there was no issue there.
It wasn’t good for Graves, however. Josh had files that were a detriment to national security burrowed away in his desk. With proof of the other man’s perfidy, never mind actually breaking and entering an army compound—at top-level offices—Graves was in deep shit with the MPs the instant Josh handed over this footage.
As he watched Graves try and succeed in opening the top drawer, he thought about the man’s means of gaining entry to this part of the base.
“He must have had someone help him get in.”
“Another of Harrison’s old buddies?”
“Maybe. Check it out for me, would you?”
“Down low or in plain sight?”
“Plain sight. I’m reporting this breach.”
Dana hesitated. “The extra camera in these offices haven’t been cleared for use.”
“I don’t care. Jarvis knows I’m paranoid. And knowing where our specialties lie, no one will blame us for taking extra precaution.” He peered back at her while Graves flipped through some files, an act that would throw him behind bars thanks to the delicacy of their content. “Don’t worry, this won’t fall back on you.” He watched her shoulders slump in relief. “The shit hitting the fan won’t land on us, but on Graves here. Maybe eventually Jarvis will blackball me as punishment, but I’m used to that.”
He snorted at the idea and cocked a brow as
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