7:45 am
Nikki’s Townhouse Dumfries, VA
Nikki’s phone alerted her to an email and when she opened her email app, she saw it was a reply from Simon. Nikki’s heart rate shot up immediately and her breathing quickened as she opened the email:
“Hello Nikki, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Thank you for being honest with me, I would not have replied had you been anything less and you should remember that moving forward. I have reviewed your file at the FBI and I am impressed. Not only are you incredibly beautiful, you are by the way, but you have an impressive close record on some very interesting cases. I think you might just prove a worthy adversary. I know you have questions so go ahead and ask and I will do the same. Until we speak again.
Yours
Simon”
Nikki read the email again, and then a third time, trying to draw every innuendo and nuance out of the words. She was in and she couldn’t keep the grin off her face as the excitement of the chase took hold of her soul. She also felt something else, he was flirting with her and if she had been on a date in the last year it might not have mattered, but it was nice having someone pay her a compliment. Which reminded her, she needed to check and see which personnel photo was in her file in HR. Hey, a girl wants to look good on any occasion, another lesson her grandmother taught her.
What to ask, Nikki had a thousand questions flying around her mind but she had to play the game and play it properly if she wanted to find Simon. The first thing Nikki wanted to know was if Simon was as good at hacking as he claimed and from what she had seen so far, she was sure he probably was but it was worth a test, a show of faith on his part. Nikki typed:
“Thank you for the compliment, it was a nice thing to say although you have me at a significant disadvantage as you know pretty much everything about me, including what I look like, and I only know what little you have shared so far about yourself. I don’t even know how old you are and if I should blush at a compliment or run the other way. I understand your need for anonymity though. Can you really do all the things you claim you can with computers? Breaking into the FBI’s system can’t be easy and if you are able to go into people’s accounts and move their money around that would give you unlimited funds, is that part of why you do what you do? I hope you can share a little of yourself with me. Looking forward to knowing you better.
Nikki”
“Here goes nothing”, Nikki hit send and grabbed her purse and keys and headed out to do something, not sure what, but her heart was still pounding away as she was lost in thought about Simon and what exposing herself to that kind of threat could mean.