Firewall (2 page)

“
R
ight this way
, Mr. Leman,” Calder directed as he guided his client through a sea of photographers. As always, his every sense was sharp as he checked out his surroundings and did what he had to do. Dealing with paparazzi was always tricky, and his mission was to ensure that his billionaire client and the client’s wife were safe that night.

There wasn’t a moment Calder Lesley let his guard down at work. In Hollywood, and in Los Angeles in general, there was enough work for every decent bodyguard, and he was a particularly good one. The rich and famous—and wannabe–rich and famous—kept hiring him, so he knew he was doing something right.

Calder enjoyed his job, although it was both mentally and physically exhausting at times. He’d protected everyone from actors to billionaires. It paid a handsome salary, as long as he stuck to A-list clients. His work with a private security firm, Underwood, in the city, was steady.

Still, now and again Calder wished for a change of pace. The Los Angeles smog was starting to mess with his head after all these years, and he couldn’t get over the attitudes of everyone he seemed to run into at work. Whenever possible, he tried to get out of the city for day trips but those days seemed fewer and further apart now that he was in such high demand.

Thank God this was his last night working for Mr. Leman, a billionaire who ground his nerves. While Calder enjoyed working for most of his clients, Leman was a bag of dicks. He was married but Calder had had to stand watch outside more than one hotel room door. Mr. Leman told his wife it was because of work while Calder quietly stood in the background, the truth eating at his conscience.

Tonight, Mr. Leman had taken Mrs. Leman out for a fancy dinner. Mrs. Leman
had
to know that her husband wasn’t faithful but neither of them seemed willing to give up the charade. Calder had the impression that they were supposed to be a golden couple, and neither one of them wanted to let the world know otherwise.

While he would have jumped in the way of a bullet for most of his clients, Calder would sooner use
this
guy as a shield.

Calder’s eyes were sharp as he scanned the crowd around him while guiding the couple to their limo. Fortunately, most of the people there were only clamoring for photos and nothing more. Still, that could change in a second, and Calder had been thrown into dangerous situations before. Sometimes he still woke up in the middle of the night with cold sweats while remembering the time he had looked down the barrel of a gun.

Once the couple was safely in the limo, Calder closed the door behind them. “Okay, back up,” he ordered as photographers pressed close to try and get a glimpse through the window. The windows were tinted but the photographers were desperate for one last glimpse. “Show’s over.”

With a moan, the horde backed away. Calder climbed into the front passenger side of the limo and quickly closed the door behind him. “Evening, Joe,” he greeted the driver. He had seen the man around enough now, since he was Mr. Leman’s regular driver.

“Evening, Calder,” Joe greeted. “Are we good to go?”

“Yep, go ahead.”

Joe pulled away from the curb and rejoined the traffic on the street. It was only then that Calder was able to breathe a little.

Mere moments after Calder was settled, he received a text message from his best friend, Justin.

Calder smiled as he glanced to the text, which simply read:

Calder responded:

He put his phone away, not wanting to be distracted by texting on the job.

He loved getting texts from Justin, even if he couldn’t always answer them. With his job being so time-consuming, he didn’t get much chance to socialize outside of working with and for his clients. Even then, the acquaintances he had in the city were tiring. A lot of other security guys were full of themselves and led lavish lifestyles. While Calder was making decent money too, he preferred to store most of it away for a rainy day. That made him an outlier, especially in this city.

Calder knew how to handle fame. Justin was a hotshot, too, as far as the tech world went. He came off as cocky sometimes but Calder knew it was because of his Asperger’s. As a kid, Justin was always picked on because of that and his general social awkwardness. Even Calder had thought Justin to be weird until he really got to know him.

Calder remained focused on the job for the rest of the drive back to Mr. and Mrs. Leman’s luxurious home. As soon as they were in the drive, with the gates sliding closed behind them, Calder relaxed a little. Once they were parked, he stepped out of the limo and glanced around, making sure the coast was clear. The Lemans’ property was large but fairly open, so it was easy for Calder to keep an eye out for suspicious activity.

When he was satisfied, Calder opened the door for the couple and led them out. Now that the Lemans were away from the spotlight, the laughter and smiles had died down. No, now they were back to being a couple where it seemed like all the love was lost.

Mrs. Leman definitely knew her husband was being unfaithful. Calder wished that such a situation was unusual but he saw the ugly side of a lot of his clients. That made him lose some faith in humanity.

He guided the Lemans inside.

“We’re in for the night now, so that will be all,” Mr. Leman stated as he and his wife removed their outer clothes in the foyer.

“All right, sir.” Calder nodded, and left to go to the surveillance office. As soon as he was in the office, he blew out a breath while stealing a moment for himself. He brushed his hands back through his hair, loosened his shirt collar, then sat at his desk. Before him, several screens were set up that showed him various views of the property via cameras. Everything was quiet at the moment and the night had gone well.

Calder busied himself next with filling out some paperwork. He actually didn’t mind doing the paperwork since it was calming.

When he was finally done the paperwork and could relax a little, Calder removed the phone from his pocket. There was another message from Justin.

As soon as Calder read this message, his heart tightened. It had been eight years now since they’d seen each other, as they had grown absorbed in their futures. There had never seemed to be time for it. Still, they were every bit as much best friends as when they’d met on the first day of third grade. Phone calls, texts, emails, and social media were enough to keep in touch these days.

Calder responded.

It’d be nice to see Justin after all these years. Calder felt guilty that they had let so much time pass between them. There was really no need for it, but life was like that sometimes.

There was more to it than that as well—a certain attraction to Justin that he couldn’t deny.

No, no. Now wasn’t the time to think of Justin like that. Was there even a right time to think about it? Calder had thought about Justin over the years but had tried not to dwell on it. He’d never been interested in men in general.

But Justin was different.

Calder had always tried to dismiss his attraction as just being lonely for his best friend’s company. Honestly, Justin was the most important person in his life. He was always eager to hear about his day and share his own—as much as he could without broaching any privacy clauses.

Calder was pleased to learn this. Justin stuck to himself a lot, and the last thing Calder wanted was for Justin to be lonely.

Calder had to smile at the text. It didn’t surprise him at all that Justin’s coworkers were interested in geeky things, too.

Calder pocketed his phone and leaned back in his chair, staring at the still screens before him. With Justin getting out there and socializing, Calder was reminded of how much he needed to make some changes in his life as well.

Perhaps a trip to Portland to spend time with Justin was just the thing he needed.

A
t seven
, Justin arrived outside The Dragon’s Den. He was a little nervous about spending time with his coworkers outside work. He had only done so now and again when he felt particularly brave—today being one of those days.

He stepped inside the café and spotted his coworkers in a booth at the back. They already had a war strategy game out with the pieces all sorted. Wallace was chatting it up with a guy named Kyle, while another guy named Elliot was checking over the rules.

“Hey, look who’s made it!” Wallace grinned as Justin approached the table.

“I didn’t believe Wallace when he said that you actually agreed to come,” Kyle teased.

“I have my moments,” Justin lamely responded. Already, the anxiousness was creeping in. It made him more self-conscious than ever but he tried to hold it together.

“Take a seat. We’re just about ready to begin,” Wallace said, patting the seat next to him.

Now Justin was put on the spot again. He didn’t
want
to sit next to Wallace but he was obviously inviting him and it’d be rude to deny him, right?

Justin swallowed and sat down next to Wallace, although he sat as close to the edge of the seat as possible. He was thankful that they’d be playing the game soon since it was much easier for him to focus on that. He loved games of all kinds.

“I’ll get us a round of drinks,” Wallace announced as he raised his hand to get the waitress’s attention.

Justin didn’t care much for drinking, especially since he was such a lightweight, but the pressure to be sociable was there. He had to be in it to win it, right? It wasn’t every day that he went out with these guys, so he had to make it count.

But Justin
hated
beer. When he did drink, he preferred lighter, fruitier drinks.

Still, when the waitress returned with beers, Justin accepted his without complaint. He only intended to have the one.

Wallace, Elliot, and Kyle chatted up a storm as the game began. Justin listened intently to them talking about the latest superhero movies coming out. While Justin was also interested in superheroes, he wasn’t sure when to speak up and join the conversation. He mostly stayed quiet and tried to look attentive.

As the game went on, and the others had more drinks, the conversations veered away from movies and toward work. Work was definitely something Justin could talk about but he bit his tongue. He was damn good at his job and knew it, but everyone else knew that, too.

You can’t go on a rant about yourself. Let everyone else talk. Ask questions
, he told himself, going through the motions that exhausted him for nearly every conversation.

“I kind of want to try something new,” Kyle said as he made his move on the board.

“I know what you mean,” Elliot groaned. “I mean, I love working for Sybil’s but I kind of want something new.”

“It’s interesting that you say that because I’m thinking of starting work elsewhere,” Wallace spoke up. His posture was more slouched and relaxed now, clearly having drunk enough. It seemed like none of the guys there could hold their alcohol well.

“Oh, yeah?” Elliot prompted.

“Yeah. Mr. Huang’s interested in working with me.”

Justin’s eyes flickered as he furrowed his brow. Mr. Huang was a Chinese businessman that ran his own tech giant that specialized mostly in app development. There had been clashes between his company and Sybil Industries in the past. The fact that Wallace had mentioned working with Mr. Huang felt off to Justin. Sure, it wasn’t uncommon for pentesters to take freelance work wherever they could but this felt different.

“That
would
be a big change!” Elliot exclaimed, his own eyes wide. Kyle was also leaning forward and looking very interested in the sudden turn of events.

“Wouldn’t it? Maybe I can get you guys in on it, too. Justin, are you interested?”

Justin shook his head so sharply his neck cracked. “No, thanks.” He had no intention of working with a competitor as big as Mr. Huang. It didn’t feel right to him. Besides, he had it good at Sybil Industries and he had no desire to move on anytime soon.

Wallace seemed almost relieved when Justin declined his offer. What had that been about? Justin tried not to think too hard about it as he focused on taking his next turn. Now, though, the conversation about the new possible job abruptly ended, which made Justin all the more curious.

He tried not to think about it too much. He wanted to have fun that night and get some socializing out of the way.

The group continued playing for another hour or so, the conversation gradually returning to more casual topics. Finally, it was time to head home. When everyone else toddled outside, Justin followed after them. A taxi was already waiting outside for them.

“Wanna ride with us?” Wallace asked as they approached the car with Kyle and Elliot climbing in first.

“No, I’ll walk home,” Justin responded.

“Look, about earlier, you don’t need to tell anyone else about that,” Wallace murmured lowly. It seemed like he was trying to be casual about it but Wallace’s eyes were too hard for that. Justin was sure he wasn’t misreading the wariness there.

“Have you already been working with him?” Justin asked with a frown. “It sounds like it.”

Wallace shifted, rolling his head from side to side. It was clear that Wallace was drunker than he thought he was. “There’s no harm in keeping your options open.”

“It just doesn’t feel right.”

Wallace laughed sharply and clapped Justin solidly on the shoulder. “So loyal. There’s nothing to worry about!” Even as Wallace said that, though, his grip on Justin’s shoulder tightened. It made Justin’s skin crawl.

“Just don’t put Sybil Industries at risk. We all work too hard keeping it safe.”

“
Now
you’re concerned about others?” Wallace smirked. “For once it’s not all about you?”

Justin’s cheeks burned as he tried to pull away. Wallace’s fingers dug into his shoulder, holding him in place for a second too long. Alarm bells rang in Justin’s head as he jerked out of Wallace’s grip and eyed him. What the hell was this guy playing at?

Wallace looked offended but then shrugged it off as he headed for the taxi. “See you tomorrow.”

Justin didn’t say a word as Wallace stepped into the taxi. Within moments, the taxi had pulled out onto the street and disappeared into the night.

As Justin headed home, his mind was wild with thoughts. It seemed like there was a possibility that Wallace might ‘have been selling out Sybil Industries. Should he talk to Pat about it? No, without evidence it’d be a huge risk.

Perhaps it’d be time to do some snooping around. After all, if Wallace did pose a risk to Sybil Industries, then it was Justin’s job to catch him.