“Malone tells me you have a hacker on your back. I need you to tell me everything you know about this guy.”
Darting her eyes between the two men sitting across from her, Milena didn't miss how Sebastian didn't call this guy a stalker like everyone else. He’d chosen the same label she’d given him.
“I'm assuming you’ve read my file,” tipping her chin at the red folder in front of Officer Malone.
“I have,” Bash agreed, shifting his position to rest his forearms on the table. “But it's my experience, the part of the iceberg you see is the smallest.”
Nodding, Milena shoved her hands in the pocket of her hoodie, “It started a few years ago when I noticed a post on my social network I didn't make. I changed my password and deleted the post, but it didn't stop until I deleted it all, including my email. A few months later my car was impounded for no apparent reason, when I went to retrieve it, the registration in their computer had someone else's name on it. Luckily I had the original title and the DMV said it must have been a glitch. Next was my bank account, entire paychecks transferred in a matter of minutes to untraceable accounts.”
Nothing is untraceable, Bash tossed back in his head, keeping his attention trained on Milena. The government spent a lot of money training him to read people, able to tell in a matter of seconds if someone was telling the truth or not, and this girl was as honest as a saint.
“I’ve lost two jobs, and my social security number has been wiped clean, twice. My high school transcripts don't exist anymore. My insurance has been cancelled more times than I can count, and my utilities shut off at least a dozen times. Every time I apply for a credit card, it’s cancelled within days. I don't get mail anymore because my address with the post office changes almost daily.”
Drumming his fingers on the table, a nasty habit he developed during BUDS training. “Yet you’ve only reported the money to the authorities, why?”
Shrugging, “Because computer glitches aren't illegal.”
“Glitches, no,” Bash agreed. “Straight up identity theft is.”
Tipping her head back in laughter, “Do you really think the government is going to admit to being hacked?”
“OPM had a data breach in twenty-fourteen. Over a million of their own files were stolen and the government owned it, paying out the nose to fix it.” Bash kept the part of his involvement with the solution to himself.
“Well, there's the difference; the government has money to hire people to fix it. I’m lucky to have paid my rent in cash this month or I’d be sleeping in my car.”
Pulling her hands from her pocket, Milena mimicked Bash’s position. “You know, I don't think you told me exactly what it is you do for Keystone Securities.”
Unable to resist, Bash allowed his cocky smile to shine, “I’m a cyber expert. My job is to track down hackers and expose them.”
“And you think you can find mine?”
“I have a perfect record, so,” Bash shrugged, allowing his unspoken words to speak volumes.
“Then allow me to help you keep your perfect record intact. I'm guessing, since my hacker is still harassing me, you haven't been given the details of my file.”
“Such as?”
“Such as, Mr. Kelly, the real reason none of the other so-called cyber-crime experts who’ve sat, just as you are now, with the confidence of a Grand Champion until they learned the one thing which sent the one before them hiding in the shadows. My last name.”
Curiosity fueled his fingers as Bash reached over, flipping open the file and reading the name at the top of the page. “Milena Rossi.”
“As in Frank Rossi’s estranged daughter. The one he forbids his men, and all those on his payroll, to lift one finger to help.”
Milena saw recognition flash in Sebastian’s eyes. Standing to her full height, “By the look in your eyes, there’s no need to ask if you’re familiar with the name. I’ll be sure and add you to the list of men who were too afraid of my father to help me.”
