Because then I would be proving I was good at my job.

“That was my initial thought as well. Everything we’ve known of Freedom Overdrive up to this point is that he works alone. But things have changed. It’s all right here. In the conversation they make reference to the DDoS attack on Ryan Law. Some basic self-congratulation. A bit of ego stroking, but it’s there. It seems they collaborated on the attack. Freedom Overdrive may even have a personal interest in taking the law firm down.”

I finally had Agent Sanders’s full attention. “A personal interest? What makes you say that?”

I glanced down at the chat record. “They don’t spell it out per se. But there’s insinuation here that they chose their targets based on personal connections.” I pointed to the paper in my hand. “Here they mention a publicly traded mutual holding company called Bradfield Financial. This other hacker writes that it follows the code. The code is referenced several more times. So clearly these two have some sort of criteria that their targets have to meet.”

“But that doesn’t necessarily point to a personal connection. It could be like Anonymous. They’re going after companies and individuals they deem corrupt,” Chaz argued, clearly enjoying the chance to try to tear down my idea.

“It’s what Freedom Overdrive says here,” Perry piped up, grabbing the paper from my hand and scanning it. “He writes, ‘Let them burn for hurting those they think can’t retaliate. They messed with me once. It will be the only time they get away with it.’ Mason and I both believe that shows a personal vendetta.”

I nodded my head encouragingly and Perry’s chest puffed out in satisfaction. I was proud of the guy. He was able to speak to the room without tripping over his words.

“I think you may be reaching a bit,” Chaz scoffed. He was still smarting from our confrontation weeks ago. He had never liked me. Now, after I had thrown his wife’s infidelity in his face, he downright hated me. And he would do anything to make me look stupid.

“I don’t know, I think this may have some merit,” Derek said, surprising me and shocking the hell out of Chaz. “I think it’s something to look into. Is there anything more?”

Here was my shining moment and I reveled in it. “There is. I think this could be a break in the case we’ve been waiting for. They mention Bradfield Financial multiple times. I did some research, and Bradfield Financial is a successful company hovering around the billion-dollar mark in annual revenue. They’ve also been accused of ethics violations in regards to some possible insider trading. They aren’t currently being investigated, but they’re on the radar.” I cleared my throat, forcing myself to slow down. I was too excited. Ready for my shining moment. “Freedom Overdrive and his partner spend some time discussing plans for a data breach. There are references to a data spill to go down later this week.”

The room began to buzz.

“Have you notified Bradfield Financial about the possible attack?” Derek instantly demanded.

Perry nodded. “I spoke with their CIT this morning. They had noticed some pings on their firewall in the early hours of Saturday morning. They have been occurring with regular frequency for a few days. Obviously the hackers are looking for vulnerabilities. Bradfield’s IT group is sending over the data for us to look at. We’re hoping to reverse-trace the attack and isolate the host.”

Agent Sanders cleared his throat. “Good. That’s good. I guess that’s some progress,” he remarked grudgingly.

Chaz looked like he was chewing on broken glass, which was pretty awesome.

“Perry and I are also trying to decode Freedom Overdrive’s signature. There’s a significance to the sequence of numbers and letters.”

Perry gave me a wide-eyed look that clearly said, You didn’t tell me that’s what we’re working on. I frowned and he went back to looking pseudoserious.

Agent Sanders nodded. “That would make sense. Well, keep on it and let me know if anything more comes up. And good job, agents.” He looked away, as if barely able to stomach giving me a compliment.

But I’d take it.

Finally Agent Sanders was seeing my worth.

It felt good.

—

“That’s unacceptable, Mason,” Dad spat out.

I dropped my voice so that I wouldn’t be overheard by the other agents in the room. “Dad, I’m a grown man with a job and responsibilities. I can’t always drop everything and drive three hours to see you and Mom because you want me to. Is Mom sick?”

“No. Not physically. But you know that’s not the issue—”

“Look, I know you feel alone up there. That it hasn’t been easy since Dillon died and I moved away, but I have things here that need my attention. I need you to be understanding, Dad.”

My father was quiet for a while. It had been a long time since I had stood up to him. For the past year I had willingly taken on the role of emotional punching bag, taking whatever my parents wanted to dish out.

But it wasn’t right. I couldn’t be that person for them anymore. It wasn’t healthy for any of us.

“Your mother will be upset,” Dad said finally, sounding tired and defeated. It was more concerning than the anger.

“I know. Just explain I’ll come up when I can. And Dad, maybe you should think about having her go to a new therapist. I’m not sure the one she’s seeing is really helping her.”

“They wanted to admit her to the hospital for thirty days after this last episode,” Dad admitted.

“Maybe that would have done her some good,” I ventured.

“That is the last thing your mother needs, Mason. Have some compassion!” Dad barked, returning to his usual fury.

I sighed. “Okay, sorry. I just think that she needs something more—”

“What she needs is her son to be more available. She sacrificed so much for you and your brother. And yet when she needs you, you’re nowhere around.”

We were talking in circles. My father was so mired in his grief and rage that he couldn’t see what his words did to his only living son.

“Dad, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you over the weekend.”

I hung up before he could respond.

I dropped the phone on my desk and rubbed my temples. Talking to my parents left me drained.

I flipped open my wallet and found the picture I always kept there, tucked behind my credit cards.