Although yet recovered from Melanie's oral treatment, I tried to focus on the data that was coming up on my monitor. The keywords that our sniffing algorithms were finding were significant, and included the names of our two top competitors, along with other pieces of information about an internal research project code-named "blue smoke". We had inserted logic to listen specifically for this keyword at the request of our executive team, but even I had been kept in the dark as to what "blue smoke" was all about. I only knew that it was receiving extra sensitive handling.
While the traces continued to run, I put an electronic tap on Melanie's email. I was not sure why, as I had no intention of bothering her in the future, but I felt a need to see if there would be any fallout from our encounter that I might find interesting. Tap in place, I returned to the more emergent situation.
I started running new traces and discovered the traffic was being sent over a common instant messaging protocol, and it was only a few seconds later that I was 'eavesdropping' on the chat, and recording everything. I soon discovered that Sean, a principal researcher on the "blue smoke" project, was in dialog to deal some information he had just obtained and was negotiating with a rival company. The person he was negotiating with was identified only by a pseudonym.
Disturbed by a lack of clear understanding about who the person was on the other end of the chat, I tracked backwards on their cross-routed packets and was stunned to find that the person on the other end was a actually someone in our building here at headquarters, using a VPN connection back to their home computer to make the traffic appear as if it were coming from an external source. Nice trick, but it also pointed out that they may be aware of our internal countermeasures and security systems, so I proceeded carefully to avoid them discovering that I was on their trail.
I quickly had an IP address for the sourced VPN, and Nancy Cooper was the offender. While I knew a little about Sean, the researcher that was vending the information, I had not even heard the name of Nancy Cooper, so I needed to track down her department, title, and location, to continue my trace on what she was up to. A few minutes looking through employee records online, I had the information I needed. Nancy Kay Cooper, age 39, was a new employee working in our legal office as a patent clerk. She had been with the company only a few weeks, had cleared all background checks and drug screens, and was supposedly working on patent searches for products that we were pursuing legal and trademark protection for.
I knew little else, but did find her work history interesting, as she had worked for a small company we had acquired just over a year ago. Our buyout of the company was simply a play to squash an upstart potential rival, and while we were able to mine several innovative research leads from their work, we had otherwise laid off most of their staff, around 50 people in all. I wondered if revenge might be part of what Nancy was seeking as she tried to extort information from Sean and the "blue smoke" project. Given the timing of her 'exit' from her prior employer, it would be assumed that she was part of the staff that was let go.
A few more pages scrolled by as I read her file and tried to determine where to go next in my investigation. I clicked back to the introductory page of her file and scrolled down to find her photo so that I would better the person I was dealing with. My reasoning became immediately distorted as the striking brunette appeared on my screen. It was only a shot from about the waist up, but it was enough to know my motivations were again being perverted.
Perhaps because my first sexual exploit of a coworker had come so easily, literally falling into my lap with little effort on my part, I felt overly confident in being more cunning this time around. If Melanie had not virtually delivered the goods without a shred of resistance, maybe I would have had second thoughts. Being as it was, I starred at the picture of Nancy and began plotting a meeting where I could better know who I was dealing with. It was apparent from the moment I saw her picture that I was going to make a play here.
I kept an online recording of traffic coming to and from Sean's computer, but felt he was not nearly alert enough to my tools and technique to know that he was getting into. I perceived little threat to the company via Sean, so I let him go about his business for the time being while I put enough virtual fences in place to make sure he did not get any wise ideas. From there, I turned my attention back to Nancy.
It was after 5:00pm, and I knew that little else would develop today. Instead I continued traces on Nancy's VPN connection throughout the night, and I could pick up the report in the morning. I also called the legal department and luckily found their administrative assistant still in the office. I informed her that I needed a meeting with Nancy the following day, around 10:30am if she could arrange it and in my office if possible. Once confirmed, I decided the day had been eventful enough and I headed home for the night.
The next morning I was anxious to get to work early and look over log files for both Nancy and Sean. Sean had no remarkable activity since the night before, but Nancy had kept her VPN connection to home, and I also was able to observe her fishing for interested parties in other departments of the company. She was eagerly trying to find information for sale, but I still did not know her motives. It really didn't matter, I realized, as I only needed to be concerned that her motives were of ill intent in order to have them suit my plans. At 10:00am I made a call to our executive team and the HR department head.
The call was quick and simple, and I had documented proof of the problem, and within 15 minutes of my call, Sean was being escorted out of the building. It was a quick and public spectacle, even more public than normal – likely due to the sensitive nature of the "blue smoke" project, an example was being made of Sean. When queried by the team as to where Sean was communicating, and with whom, I lied and told them I was still investigating.
I waited now for my meeting with Nancy, and took the time to read through some of the emails I had tapped from Melanie's account. Most were of no interest, but one caught my eye. She had sent it about 20 minutes after leaving my office the previous afternoon, and it was to Todd. It simply read:
"I can't wait for tonight. See you at 7:30, I will fix dinner, you just bring yourself and some movies. PS, I am really horny! Love, Mel. XOXOXOX! "
Well, I thought, her appetite was not easily satiated. Only 20 minutes after swallowing my load she was looking for more. At least she was not showing any signs of bitterness or vengeance. Reading her email I daydreamed about the night Todd must have had with her engine fully primed and her talented mouth at his disposal… but my daydream was interrupted when my assistant rang to inform me that Nancy was here for our meeting. I asked her to let Nancy in right away.
I did a quick visual inventory of Nancy as she walked towards my desk. 39 years had been kind to her, she could have passed for 30. Her breasts were clearly augmented, and not subtly. I wondered what she would have looked like without implants, as they were now such a prominent feature on her tall and slender frame. Her hair was longer than in the employee photo in her file, so I assumed it must have been pulled back at the time. She wore a pant suit with a white-silk top underneath the jacket, but without having the jacket buttons done up. I wondered if the buttons were even functional given the amount of cleavage they would have needed to wrap around. A white bra was showing thru her blouse, easily visible because of the strain it was under and the limitations of the blouse itself, being only just large enough to contain her tits. She looked taller than I had expected as well, but I noticed hi-heels that most women would not dare. She was a knockout. She was also married. A huge rock hung on her hand, no doubt a territorial marker from a protective husband that knew men would ogle her wherever she went.
From the moment Nancy walked into my office, it was clear that she knew what had happened to Sean. News like this spread fast around the office, as I knew it would, and Nancy was clearly worried, nervous, and completely confused about why I needed to see her. She likely had no idea who I was, let alone the agenda for our meeting. Perfect, I thought, things are working out just as I had hoped. But obviously, with Sean's firing and her being summoned to my office, she had to be worried that he had somehow indicted her, or that we had found the connection otherwise. I could only hope she was thinking that far down the path, as it would make my job easier.
I asked her to sit and I tried to be comforting and non-authoritative as we started talking. I did not waste time, however, jumping into the topic of our meeting.
"I guess you know about Sean Keller being fired this morning," I stated.
She nodded and replied, "Yeah, what was that all about?" she asked.
I wondered if she was playing dumb on purpose, or if she really did not know the details of his quick exit. I continued to fish.
"Well, Sean was trying to give away some company information to the highest bidder, but it turns out while he was a willing seller, he was not actively shopping it around, instead he was approached by some outsiders," I continued. "Which is why I have asked you to come see me this morning."
