Masked

CHAPTER 2 | the summons

Portland, Oregon

Parker leaned back in her chair, pushed her glasses up, and pinched the bridge of her nose. While she enjoyed being busy, this was a little over the top, even for her. After a crick of her neck from side to side, she sighed and refocused on the monitors on her desk.

The latest round of ransomware sent chills down her clients' collective backs. It wasn't surprising, then, when demands for forensic security audits flooded in. No matter how much she tried to convince them they were protected, they insisted on the extra precaution. She even had a few offers to double her hourly rate to put them at the top of the pile. However, charging anyone eight hundred dollars an hour, even if they could afford it, did not sit well with her.

To top it off, she had spent the better part of the morning fielding calls from a raft of new clients who were in desperate need of bolstering their network security. As with the rest of corporate America, they had just received a huge wake-up call. Most were referred to her by one of her existing clients, or they heard her lecture at one of the many conferences where she was a guest speaker.

She had been so focused on the computer monitors flashing lines of code, and the files scattered across her desk, that she did not notice her personal assistant was standing in front of her until Beth cleared her throat. Parker leaped back in her chair and put a hand to her chest. "Jesus Christ, Beth. The way you just appear isn't natural. You need to wear a bell around your neck."

Beth tossed a stack of unopened mail on Parker's desk. "Well, if you'd answer your phone, I wouldn't need to interrupt you."

She shifted a mound of paper and files to reveal her office phone. Nothing on the display revealed any missed calls. "What do you mean?"

"No, not your landline. Your cell. That sexy cousin of yours called. He's been trying to reach you."

Parker fished her phone out of her over-sized handbag and groaned. She had missed eight calls from Bobby. "I forgot I put it on silent this morning."

Beth sifted through the remaining mail and headed to the door. "Well, you better call him back, he said it was urgent. And Marc wants to see you. He's found a problem with Blue Horizon's firewall."

Beth popped her head back around the corner with a wicked grin on her face. Her distinctive purple hair was hard to miss—no matter how much people tried. "If he is coming to visit, let him know I am more than happy to show him all that Portland has to offer." With a sly wink, she was gone.

Parker rolled her eyes and dialed Bobby's number. She did not know who to be more concerned for—her cousin or her PA.

"Hey, how's my favorite cuz?" Bobby said.

A broad smile spread across Parker's face, and she sat back in her chair. "I thought you'd be in New York. Hasn't that weirdo convention started already?"

"Nah, it starts this weekend—and that would be Awesomeness Con, to you. Parks, have some respect, you are speaking to the grand prize winner of an audience with Mr. Freaking Stan—the legend—Lee. Booyah!"

Her head dropped to rest on the palm of her hand, and she shook her head from side to side. Bobby's obsession with comics was a little extreme, but he could have worse hobbies.

"I head off tomorrow," Bobby said. "Hey, Parks, umm..."

He went quiet, as if struggling to find the right words. "We were wondering...that is, Alpha Morgan was wondering...if you would come to Brandenburg to meet with him."

"Sure, no problem, I was planning on driving up this weekend to catch up with Clara anyway. Didn't she tell you?"

The line was silent. Parker frowned and checked her phone, thinking they had been disconnected. "Are you still there?"