“Hey, that doesn’t include Ward Security, right?” Quinn asked.
Shane couldn’t hear Hollis’s reply, but Quinn didn’t look any grumpier than when he arrived, so Hollis must have let the guy off the hook. Shane shut the door behind Quinn and motioned for him to take a seat in front of his desk. When he’d realized that a computer genius would be needed for this case, he’d rearranged his office and crammed in a small second desk for the other person to work at. It made for cramped conditions, but they were short on space. There was only Ethan’s office, and he lived at his desk. If it became too uncomfortable, then Quinn could work from the conference room.
“Is this where you finally tell me what this case is?” Quinn asked. His sullen tone was back.
For whatever reason, Quinn didn’t fucking like him, and Shane couldn’t even begin to guess why. They’d never met before. As far as he knew, they’d never even set eyes on each other before meeting at Rowe’s.
“In one minute.” Shane stepped behind his desk and dropped into the leather chair. He grimaced as his gaze flicked across the red file folder before skimming over to another stack of files. Flipping open a file he’d prepared before Quinn’s arrival, he slid a single piece of paper across the surface along with a pen. “I just need your signature. It’s a standard confidentiality form. You agree to not share anything regarding this case with anyone who isn’t directly involved. No one besides myself or my business partner, Ethan, who you’ll meet a bit later. The Agency will provide any and all supplies you might need. The Agency pays a salary while you are working for us—plus a bonus should we meet the goal that I’ll tell you about in a bit.”
Quinn paused in the act of putting the pen to the paper and looked at Shane, disbelief filling his face. “Any and all supplies? You’re giving me a computer.”
“Yes, we bought a powerful laptop and…” Shane’s voice died off when Quinn closed his eyes, a pained look crossing his face.
“I’m gutting it. I don’t work on those pre-fabbed, Microsoft, spywared cookie-cutter machines.”
Shane forced a smile that was mostly clenched teeth, but Quinn didn’t notice as he read the confidentiality form. “That’s fine. It’s just a legal thing.”
With a resigned sigh, Quinn signed the form and dropped the pen with a clatter before sliding back in the chair.
Shane took a moment to tuck the form back into the file folder and square himself in front of Quinn before he finally announced, “We’ve been hired by the mayor.”
The only response from Quinn was a small quirk of one eyebrow in skepticism. Not exactly what he’d hoped for. “The mayor?” Quinn prompted when Shane sat silent for several seconds.
“Of Cincinnati,” Shane finished.
“That’s cool, I guess.”
Quinn sounded anything but impressed. This was a big case for Ethan and himself. The Agency was less than three years old and had established a solid reputation among several lawyers looking for reliable private investigators with skills in accounting forensics and fraud. Sure, it wasn’t the sexy “hunting down the bad guy” that was in the movies and on TV, but it was a steady paycheck and kept the company afloat. This was their first big case with a hacker, and Shane was even more excited that it involved someone with substantial standing within the community. If it went well, it could quietly open even more doors for them.
“Gerald Spring is up for reelection this year for his second term as mayor of Cincinnati,” Shane started again, letting go of his disappointment to jump into the case. “Election day is four weeks away, and he thinks that someone is trying to sabotage his chances for reelection.”
“Someone hacked him, trying to get dirt,” Quinn guessed and Shane allowed a small smile. It made sense.
“About two weeks ago, someone did hack into his office at City Hall. The cops have been called in and they are investigating. The preliminary report is that someone got into the networks and reviewed a lot of files, particularly those on the mayor’s computer, but it looks like nothing was modified or downloaded.”
“Must have been nothing good on the computers or…” Quinn’s voice faded and he frowned, staring at the top of Shane’s desk.
“Or what?” Shane prodded. He inched to the edge of his seat, leaning forward. Rowe had spent nearly an hour raving about Quinn’s skills when he first went to him with his request. He also hinted that Quinn had a somewhat less than clean past without going into any details. Shane didn’t care so long as he went by the rules now. Quinn’s skills were going to get them to this hacker.
“If this was me,” Quinn started slowly. His eyes darted up to Shane and he licked his lips before looking back down at the desk between them. “And I was looking to expose someone, I would make it obvious that I broke in and where I went so that investigators followed my trail to the exact files. A little B&E isn’t nearly as bad as stealing if you’re caught. And if everyone sees what I want them to see, I wouldn’t need to steal anything. He’s exposed. I win.”