Hoyte examined his computer, monitoring program and frowned at the signs of an outside assault on his files. He went into the firewall database and saw that the hacker was interested in the Trasker file and had actually breached part of it. Not good. He dialed a number and drummed his fingers on the table as he waited for an answer.

"Hughes?"

"Graeme-Hughes."

"Yeah, okay. Listen, I've been checking my system and we've had a hacker who found his way into the Trasker file."

"What could he see?"

"The memo we sent through to management."

"Shit!"

"He might not know that it's fake. They didn't."

"He wouldn't be prowling around in there if they weren't suspicious."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Save onto discs and erase the lot from your system. You can do a clean purge, right?"

"I'll get right on it. Maybe I can back track our nosy parker and do a little hacking of my own."

"Let me know how it goes." Wilfred hung up and sat staring at the phone.

"What's up?" Jeantrine came and sat on the arm of the chair and put her arm around his shoulder. He explained Hoyte's call and expressed a little concern over the possibility of a counter attack by JGD&S.

"I have to get down to work," she said. "Don't worry we've got all the ducks aligned.

"I don't think I'll come down tonight, love. Mind?"

"Not at all. Maybe Terry can sit in instead."

"I'll tell him. He'll be down."

*****

Elora pulled into the hotel parking and let the valet take her car away. Inside she asked if a reservation was necessary for dinner and then asked for the room number for Terrance Aldridge.

"I'm sorry, madam, we don't have a Mr. Aldridge listed as a guest here."

Elora asked about Graeme-Hughes and hit pay dirt. She used the guest phone to call up and Terrance answered.

"Who?"

"Elora George from JGD&S. We were introduced at yesterday's meeting. I'd like tae ask ye tae join me for dinner at yure hotel here."

"Uh- I uh- why...?"

"Well we were gi'n two weeks to do research. I'd like tae start now."

"Uhmm... hang on a sec." Terry called Wilfred and told him what was happening.

"What do you think?"

"They have a right to check on us. Odd that it would be her and not one of the lawyers though. Go ahead, maybe you can learn something, old son. I told Jeantrine you would take in her set tonight anyway. She'll be right there if you think there's any trouble. Just stick to exactly what you talked about at the meeting. Don't volunteer anything else. I have some things to do."

Terry went back to the phone. "Sorry uh- uh, yeah okay. Dinner sounds good. When?"

"I'm downstairs now. We could have a drink, talk a little and then have a nice dinner."

"Now. Uhmm, I'll need about thirty minutes. I'll meet you in the lounge."

Fred answered with his usual cocky demeanor and assured Terry that all his concerns were covered and everything would work exactly as he told him. All he had to do was follow the instructions he given him and Bob would be his uncle.

He teased that maybe Terry and his friend could double date with Fred and his partner before hanging up, laughing.

*****

Darcy read the data streaming down his screen and shook his head in admiration. WGH was a registered company name but there was no record of a company. The stationery Elora had given him held an address that was that of a little printing company in the suburbs. A phone call had convinced him that it was a front and that the printer was paid to deflect any inquiries.

He read the screen data and realized that in spite of the content there was nothing that couldn't be explained away quite logically. Graeme-Hughes was a very clever gentleman indeed. He ran a search on the Aldridges and found that they were solid citizens with a bulletproof background. They were the foster parents of Terrance Aldridge and had come by him exactly as described. Elora would be disappointed and ultimately, so would he.

Darcy checked his wormhole into Hoyte's system and discovered that he'd been shut out. Not only that, Hoyte had returned the favour and raided Darcy's system. He didn't wait for Elora's call. He shut down and closed up his office. This was not good news. Not good at all.

*****

Jeantrine finished her first number to a smattering of applause from the few early diners in the room. The spot turned to a warm pink and she played an intro to, Save the Last Dance For Me then began the lyrics in a slow, gravelly alto. Her range was her most notable asset and the room hushed to listen. Elora chose a banquette out of Jeantrine's sightline but kept the singer in her own and ordered a martini while she studied the menu. Terry came in and stood in the entry gazing about. He caught Jeantrine's small wave and nodded then moved through the tables to the banquette Elora had selected.

"Welcome, Mr. Aldridge, I hope this seat is alright." Elora offered her hand, forcing Terry to come to her side of the table and take a seat beside her.

"It's fine." He settled a little uncomfortably close because he wanted to be able to see Jeantrine and there was a large potted plant in his way. She smiled and handed him the menu.

"Would yew like a drink fairst?"

"Uh, I- well okay." Elora waved the waiter over and Terry ordered.

"I didn't realize yure representative was also an entertainer." She sipped her drink and watched his reaction.

"Uhmm- Graeme-Hughes is actually my representative. Jeantrine is his friend and associate. She... assists him."

"I see." Terry's drink came and she offered to clink glasses. "To a mutually successful conclusion to our dealings then."

He smiled shortly.

"So, tell me, Terry, how did all this come about, yure learning about the trust and all?"

He remembered Wilfred's warning to stick right to the truth insofar as it was the truth. "I don't know, I saw something on TV about people hunting down their birth parents and I just became curious I suppose. Mom and dad were against it but they understood I think. I always kind of wondered... you know."

"But how did you begin? It must be difficult tae find a starting place." Jeantrine's voice provided an unsettling background and he forced himself to concentrate. The drink disappeared faster than it should have and before he could object, another appeared.

"Mom gave me most of what I needed to start. A lot of it was less than encouraging though." He smiled and tasted the fresh drink. "Finding out she was a pole dancer at one point didn't thrill me but she worked hard and made something of herself."

"Yes, didn't she." He caught the sardonic tone and considered ending the topic. "She certainly gi' her all to Carleton Trasker."

"I don't think that was called for." Terry sat back and frowned.

"Please, Terry. We both know she was hunting his fortune."

"That's a lie! You don't have any grounds for that."

"The trust, Terry. Wad more could she want?"

"I think this conversation is over." He made to leave and she put her hand on his arm.

"Okay. I apologize. Let's just enjoy a dinner as friends."

"You're only here because you want to find a hole in my claim, you don't fool me for a minute."

"It's my job, Terry. I ca' nea just take for granted everyone who tries tae br-r-each our defenses."

"So by buying me dinner and filling me with alcohol you think that'll do your job?"

She rubbed his arm before removing her hand and opened her serviette, placing it on her lap. "I was nae gonna fill you with alcohol, Terry. I admit tho' I had a mind to see how yew responded to a little seduction." His mouth fell and it stayed that way when the waiter arrived to take their orders.

"I think we'd like yure oyster appetizer and two strip loins rare and we'll share a Caesar salad." Terry closed his mouth slowly as the waiter glanced at him with amusement. "Oh, and a bottle of '78 Bandoli." She added as he bowed away from the table.

Jeantrine finished her set and stood to take her bow, her eyes scanning the room for Terry and when she saw him in the banquette with Elora she felt a small rush of panic. She nodded to the applause and left the platform, making her way through the room to their table.

"Terry, what a surprise!"

"Uh Jeantrine... you remember Miss George... from the meeting."

"I do, and I'm curious as to why you're having dinner together."

"I was simply askin' Terry here how he managed to tae find out his connection tae the Trasker trust." Elora showed a white-toothed smile. "Forgive me, would yew care tae join us?"

"Thankyou, I have thirty minutes before my next set." Jeantrine didn't hesitate and slid into the banquette on the other side of Terry. She accepted a glass when the waiter returned with the bottle of wine and offered a toast to success without identifying whose.

Terry was feeling the heat from both women and he tried pulling his shoulders together as he listened to the subtle sniping between them. The meal arrived and he set his drink down and opened his serviette, turning slightly to get it on his lap. He backed into Elora's hip and his fingers tapped Jeantrine's thigh.

Both women smiled and Jeantrine patted his arm. "You must feel like an Oreo cookie, Terry, sitting here between us."

Elora laughed aloud and nodded appreciatively while Terry turned a dark crimson. Jeantrine kept her hand on his arm and leaned toward him.

"Best part of Oreos is pulling the cookie apart and licking the icing." She breathed her warm breath in his ear and Terry grabbed for his drink.

"I think I should- I think I..."

"Enjoy yure meal fairst, Terry. Plenty of time to talk after." Elora cut a slice from her steak and slid it into her mouth. "Mmmm... delicious."

"I guess I should get back to the piano." Jeantrine let her hand drop to his leg and she squeezed it as she slipped out of the banquette. "Thankyou for the wine, Miss George. I hope you enjoy your meal. Oh... do you have any requests?" She stared boldly at Elora and let a smile just tease the corner of her mouth.

Elora finished chewing and swallowed a mouthful of wine. "As a matter of fact. Do yew know, The Look of Love?"

"When I see it." Jeantrine's smile widened and she nodded. "The Look of Love it is." She strode back through the dining room to the piano pedestal and began to play and sing in a long, slow, sultry tempo.

"I like yure friend, Terry."

"Uh-huh. Listen I uh- I think I've said about all there is on the subject of the trust-"

"Aye, I think so too. Let's leave it then shall we and just enjoy our meal."

"Oh- okay. Fine."

"What can ye tell me aboot Jeantrine Twilly?"

******

Hoyte waited in the lobby of the old building and watched as the employees of the different small companies swarmed out at the end of the day. When he saw the stained Panama hat and the slumped shoulders of the middle-aged man, he knew it was Darcy Wiggens. He looked sad and beaten and Hoyte wondered if it was the shock of being hacked by someone better than him or if his well-known lifestyle was catching up.

"Darcy Wiggens?"

Darcy paused and stared at the squat man rolling toward him. He knew right away who it was, he'd seen up photos when he was trolling the net.

"Do I know you?" He tried.

"Damn right, Darcy. And you're gonna know me better pretty soon."

"I'll call the police," he suddenly said, backing away.

"Police? What the hell for? I'm asking you to join me for a drink."

"A drink?" Darcy considered the offer and decided it would be a very good idea. "Sure. Okay then."

They walked a few blocks from Darcy's office and found a quiet watering hole that boasted HD sports on the TV. They took a booth and both ordered beer then after sampling the product, Hoyte got to the point.

"You hacked me."

"I'm not sure-"

"Oh give it up, Darcy. We both know it was you and if you had any doubt, it was me that hacked you back."

"That was nice work." Darcy remarked absently.

"It's what I do. Now how about you? Who did you do it for?"

He sipped from his beer and wiped a hand across his mouth. "One of my clients wanted to know about an employee... you... and why you were looking at closed files."

"And you told her what I'd done."

"I never said it was a woman."

"I know who it was."

"Well she knew you sent a memo into their system; she wanted to know why and if you were doing it for somebody else."

"That's it?"

Darcy sipped some more beer. "I uh- I ran a search on a guy named Graeme-Hughes. I think those phone calls I couldn't trace were to him."

Hoyte made patterns on the table with the wet bottom of his glass. "Did you tell her that?"

"Her?"

"I know who your client is for Christ's sake; she's my boss."

"Oh, right. No. Not yet anyway." He held out a hand. "Actually, when I found out I'd been hacked I just shut everything down. I haven't decided what to do yet."

"What did you find out about Graeme-Hughes?"

"He's a clever bastard," Darcy grinned. "I discovered the printing company that did the stationery and the address of his company. It was the print shop. I figure Mr. Graeme-Hughes is running a con on your company." He looked at Hoyte. "And I think you're part of it."

"Okay, Darcy, here's the deal. I have downloaded your files to discs and I have left a tiny little spy in your system-which you will never find in a million years-that will turn your drives to mush if you try to do the same thing while you reformat. So, your options number just one. You quit your searches and tell your client that it is all a dead end beyond what they already know and I won't send a message to my spy and one day if you are honest and obedient, I will give you the discs. Remember, all your business is on those drives. One key tap and you have no record of anything."

"Jesus, I don't believe it." Hoyte thought he might cry.

"Try a reformat or try a file transfer or copy, you'll believe it then my friend." Hoyte swallowed a mouthful of beer and leaned back in the booth. "And another thing, I now know all your business-public and private-and even if my little spy didn't work for some reason, I can make your life a disaster with those files."

Darcy's face sagged. "So if I lay off and tell her all's well you'll kill your little spy and give me my files back?"

"I'll do one or the other. Not both. It doesn't pay for me to have people like you out there that know how to breach my firewalls."

Darcy pouted; his free wheeling days were over. From now on business would be plain vanilla. Exposure of his personal life wouldn't bother him so much, it was pretty common knowledge anyway-it was his partner. "I don't suppose you'd consider a joint venture, say sixty, forty?"

"What you mean partners?"

Darcy paused. "Sure. Why not. We both have... specialties that could compliment one another."

Hoyte turned his glass on the table and thought about the inference, dismissing it as his personal bias. The sixty was his, that was a given. Darcy may just have an idea there. He could steal any time he needed without giving up his current job and Darcy already has all the fixtures for a private, self-employed business. There might even be a way to jump the line in front of Graeme-Hughes.

"Can I trust you on a handshake?"

"You can. And not because you have me by the balls either." Darcy smiled and blushed then held a hand out and they shook on their new arrangement.

"Okay, partner. First order of business. " Hoyte leaned forward and pushed his drink aside. "Let's find out what all the ramifications are about this trust business. I sense there may be more opportunities available than are currently apparent."

"Could this become illegal?" He centred his hat on his head.

"Let's see, we don't have to act on anything we find out. Information first. Action later."