Master No (Masters and Mercenaries, #9)(9)

He, on the other hand, had learned to cook at a young age. Another way to please the people around him so they might keep him for a few months. Survival tactics. He was damn good at those.

He bet Faith hadn’t had a decent meal in months. Unless her father provided them with a personal chef during their quarantine.

“So we’re set in the Caymans. I wish we could have gotten someone in the actual house,” Ten mused.

Case shook his head. “That’s a no-go, boss. McDonald’s very careful about employees. Everyone’s local. I think he thinks he can buy their loyalty more easily. Guests are a different matter. Expect a few for the week you’ll be there. Faith’s sister will be invited. Likely a few of her friends.”

“And the senator?”

Tag was rocking back and forth in his seat. “He’ll show. He might not be there the entire time. Your best bet to get the data is before he shows. He’ll have staff and security with him. Have we had any luck doing that computer thing to him?”

Hutch rolled his eyes. “Seriously? Does anyone know what I do?”

“You eat a lot of candy and make sarcastic remarks. You’re a lot like all the other computer geeks,” Tag replied.

“Yeah, but I’m cuter.” Hutch grinned. “So I’ve been trying to infect the senator’s computer with a virus that will allow me to control his system.”

“Like Citadel?” Citadel was malicious software used by cyber criminals everywhere. Unlike Ian, Ten actually liked to try to keep up with his techs. They tended to speak a language he didn’t understand most of the time. He hated to feel like he was behind, so he read all the reports the Agency sent out on the latest ways technology could f*ck a person over. Well, he had before he’d gotten the boot.

“Citadel is child’s play compared to what Chelsea and I came up with. If we put this sweet piece of malware out on the Dark Web, we could charge at least twice what Citadel goes for,” Hutch bragged. “Not that we would because that would make us criminals. And I don’t do that anymore.”

Sure he didn’t.

“Could someone explain what Citadel is to those of us who don’t spend all our time in cyberspace?” Tag asked.

“Citadel is USDA prime malware,” Hutch began. “It’s basically a virus, but it doesn’t shut your computer down. It’s so much sweeter. It allows someone like me to take control of your system without you ever knowing I’m there. You move along like it’s just another ordinary day, but your computer is now a zombie, controlled by me.”

“Because you want to know what porn I watch?” Case looked at Hutch like what he was saying was no big deal.

“No, because he’ll steal every password you have and drain your accounts. He can make it look like he’s you,” Ten pointed out. It was exactly what he needed.

“Dude, I’m not stupid enough to click on the places where I’ll get infected,” Case groused.

Hutch leaned over and started typing. “Give me a sec, Little Tag.”

“Wait. When the hell did I become Little Tag?” There was the sound of a chime and Case pulled out his cell phone. His eyes widened as he looked at the screen. “What? What the f*ck? This is a banking alert. It says I pulled five hundred dollars out of my account.”

Hutch sat back, reaching for a licorice stick like a satisfied dude having a cigarette after sex. “You probably shouldn’t have gone to that monster truck site.”

“Son of a…” Case started to stand up.

“Sit down,” Tag barked. “He’s putting it back now. How many of us?”

Hutch was already playing on the keyboard again. “You’ll find it all detailed in the report I sent. I thought it would be a good way to probe the team’s weaknesses. Oddly enough, you and Charlie were among the ones I couldn’t get to bite. You’ve got some serious protections on your systems. Chelsea?”

Tag nodded. “Yes. Please tell me you got Adam. Please. It will do my soul good.”

“No can do, boss. Adam’s system is secure, but I managed to get both Jake and Li with puppy videos. I’m not kidding you. I tried porn on them but nothing worked until I came up with videos of baby animals. Porn totally worked on Erin. That girl likes some seriously nasty shit, if you know what I mean.”

If he allowed it, Hutch would go on all day. “Tell me you got Faith McDonald at least.”

“There’s your five hundred back. And you should really save more money than that. It’s pathetic.” He turned back to Ten. “Of course I got her. I’ve had her for days.”

“And you didn’t bother to mention this to me until now?” He was well aware he’d gone ice cold.

“She hasn’t done anything interesting yet. And her Internet is spotty. I’ll write a report when she does anything interesting.” If Hutch was put off by the chill in his tone, he didn’t show it.

Sometimes Ten thought he’d been too easy on his team. “I want to know everything. How did you get her?”

Hutch’s eyes came up, looking thoughtfully at Ten. “Shopping for cheap medical supplies. I took her to an actual website I’d already infected and forced her to download an app to order. Once the app was active on her system, I was in and she got cheap latex gloves and surgical tape. I’ve got copies of her e-mails. It looks like her last Dom dumped her for a more submissive thing. I wouldn’t ask Faith to mop your floors. I don’t think she’s that kind of sub.”