He wants more about Black Hat

Rick had Amy go into the office, pick up a coffee mug she'd left there, and return. Wearing black jeans, a black long-sleeved shirt, and a black cowboy hat he hoped would hide his face from any cameras, he waited until the door had almost closed behind her, then, when her back was turned, slunk inside.

He knew he was putting Amy at risk, but he felt he'd exhausted all of his other options. He needed to get inside bio-DNA headquarters and see what he could learn. Obviously the police weren't interested in pursuing his suggestions if he didn't have any evidence to back them up. Whether they'd have any interest in going after a major corporation even if he did find evidence was another question.

The office felt strange. He'd only been laid off for a bit over a week, but it felt like he was visiting another world as he strolled through empty offices and cubicle farms.

His own office was completely redone, with feminine touches, cutesy cutouts of amusing cats pasted on the wall, and a shiny new computer where his aging Dell had been. He checked it without much hope and was surprised to see it opened without a password. Hadn't anyone talked to Misty Storm about security?

After five minutes, he'd learned that Misty was as in the dark as he'd thought. She had highlighted some sections of his final report but her Word notes were along the lines of 'have to ask Dan what this means,' rather than anything constructive.

Speaking of Dan, Misty had saved a series of e-mails from him, including some with dick pictures and her college-girl-crush responses, some with boob or pussy shots in exchange. He downloaded the mass to a flash drive... although he didn't think the police would care. After all, in Texas, successful men were pretty much expected to get nookie from their subordinates. Not a lot of point in having subordinates if you can't fuck them. He suspected that Texas wasn't especially unique in that regard.

He tried Dan's office next.

Dan's office was locked but Dan's admin had a key to his office in her unlocked desk. In seconds, Rick was inside.

Dan had always had a family picture on his desk... with himself in a business suit and Olivia and Nicki in bikinis. That was gone, replaced with one photo of Nicki, in a different bikini draping himself over him while he wore what looked like a speedo... one that showed he was very happy with her affection. The other photo showed Dan with Misty... she in a business suit that just happened to be open to the waist, showing she wore nothing underneath the suit jacked.

"Way to be subtle, Dan," Rick murmured. "Now let's see how subtle you are on the computer."