The Billionaire's Assistant

Chapter 31

After all but running to the office, eager to make up for lost time and anxious to begin digging up real dirt, Kat finally settled into her desk chair. She booted up the computer, pulled up the digital handbook with an expertise born of repetitive practice, then scrolled the table of contents, her eyes scanning the page at lightning speed.

There. She clicked the security subheading and the page blinked to life, its groupings of unintelligible letters less a mystery and more of an encouragement. LGR, she recognized. Leftmost guard patrols counterclockwise. The majority of the symbols were still uninterpretable, and she grabbed her temporary work bag, a nondescript structured black tote with gold hardware Emma had borrowed from their sweet upstairs neighbor. Her briefcase was exactly where Jove had caused her to leave it the day before, leaning against the inner left leg of her desk, and she'd worried about it briefly that morning in her rush, wondering if the amount of papers she had crammed into two identical folders in her new bag was suspicious in any way.

If the guards take it out to look at it they'll recognize it, the fleeting thought warned. They'd never investigated the contents of her writing however, and today was no different, yet another guard she didn't recognize smiling at her and waving her through.

She began to flip through the pages, pulling some out as she searched. LRRLRP, that was the jumble she was looking for, nonsensically translating to schedule. She was also looking for HVA, PHVA, SGRS, all things that would tell her exactly what the security team's priorities were and exactly where their weakness might be. She began to copy down the code frantically, translating as she went so that she could understand her notes when she referenced them to explain what she'd learned to the group.

The process was arduous and time consuming, like translating a language she didn't speak word by word, but as the end of the day neared, she had a far clearer picture of how security operated in the building. More importantly, she now knew why. She'd gasped once she understood, copied down the letters exactly to confirm with Andy that the paper read what she thought it read.

The labs on the 24th floor did more than granulation testing. They housed the core computing processor of the manufacturing facilities' singular distributed energy system, allowing for easier, cheaper maintenance, but creating a huge security risk. There were 5 high guards on the floor at all times as well as a variable rotating schedule of regular patrols, all armed, all scoping in small oscillating circles. A high guard was also on the door itself, serving as a security identification checkpoint for the few scientists with the clearance to enter the room. The controls were supremely complicated from what she could determine, and she scrolled back and forth between the security and lab worker sections, translating painstakingly.

She finally leaned back, satisfied. Her notes, first a collection of seemingly unrelated information, had narrowed its focus to what she dared call a plan.