Hide and Seek - Lara Adrian Page 0,54

for a rag to clean it up. Unfortunately, those few seconds of inattentiveness had caused her to disconnect much later than planned from the online trace she’d been running.

She replayed the incident in her mind once more. Was there any chance that the hacker she’d been trying to get a lock on had instead gotten the drop on her? Michelle shook her head. No. Nobody was better than her. Since she hadn’t been able to catch him, he wouldn’t have had enough time to catch her either. She’d taken ample precautions to remain hidden. Still, with all that had happened in her life lately, she was on edge and had started doubting herself and her abilities.

Nervously, she twisted her pendant between her fingers, an old habit that died hard. The little memento from her time as a member of Anonymous, the worldwide hacker cooperative, always lent her strength—and reminded her of what had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

Nevertheless, she would get through this, no matter what the shady Deep Throat character who’d requested this meeting threw at her now. Whether he was FBI, CIA, or NSA, she didn’t know. Nor did it really matter. Any of those government agencies had sufficient powers to lock her up for the rest of her life if she didn’t do their bidding. They held all the cards. She held none. She’d become a pawn in whatever game they were playing and would have to play along until she found a way out.

When she heard footsteps echo against the bare concrete walls, she made a motion to turn.

“You know the drill,” her handler said.

Michelle froze, facing away from him. “Mr. Smith.” It wasn’t his real name. When he’d first contacted her and she’d asked him who he was, he’d paused for a long while before saying, “How about Smith? Does that sound good to you?”

She’d never seen his face, though from his accent and speech pattern she assumed he was well-educated and middle-aged. There was a nasal quality to his voice that made her picture him as a short, balding guy with a beer belly and pale skin. Of course, she could be completely wrong, but didn’t everybody like to picture their enemies as ugly and unattractive?

“I’m very disappointed in you, Miss Andrews.”

Instinctively, she pulled up her shoulders, tensing.

“You’ve had a month now, and what have you got to show for yourself? Nothing. My employers are not very happy with you.” He sighed. “And neither am I.”

She contemplated his words and chose her own with care. “I’ve done what you’ve asked me to.” Asked was not exactly the right word. Coerced was more like it.

“Really, Miss Andrews? I have the feeling you haven’t given it your all yet. Or do I need to remind you of what will happen if you don’t comply?”

She needed no reminder. “Mr. Smith, I’ve used my skills—”

“When we caught you,” he interrupted, his voice sharp and cold, “your skills seemed to be much more refined. I find it odd that you can’t get a trace on a hacker when you yourself were immersed in that community for so long.”

“It would help if I knew what this guy is after, so I don’t have to keep wasting my time on hackers that you’re not interested in.”

A low growl came from behind her, and she realized that he’d come closer without her noticing. A cold chill raced down her spine and made her blood freeze in her veins.

“You know too much already, Miss Andrews.” He inhaled. “It’s dangerous to know too much. Haven’t you learned anything?”

She shivered, her palms beading with sweat.

“You were a very bad girl. Do you remember?”

Michelle didn’t answer, knowing he didn’t expect her to.

“Hacking into servers you had no business being in. And your friends at Anonymous, they couldn’t help you either, could they? Because now that we have you, nobody can help you. You work for us now, or you’ll go to prison. It would be a shame. A pretty girl like you. You know what they do with somebody like you in prison?”

She didn’t want to know. “I’m doing what you’ve asked me to do.”

“Do it faster. I’m getting impatient. How hard can it be to find a hacker who’s been trying to get into our servers, hmm? Aren’t you the best? Or was that a lie?”

“I am the best,” Michelle insisted, not because she was arrogant, but because admitting that she wasn’t would surely get her killed.

“Good, then prove it. Give