Page 29 of The Ranger
CHAPTER FIVE
COLE
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“Cole Reynolds,” I say, shaking Dr.Nathan Whitaker’s hand.
“Cole, come in.”Nathan leads me into his office.When the door closes, we both drop the act.His smile vanishes, and the stress is shown by the lines on his forehead.“Thank you for coming.And please call me Nathan.”
He sits behind his desk and waves at the seat near me.
“No problem.Josh has given me a brief rundown on what you are dealing with, but the more you can tell me, the better.”
Nathan lifts a pen and starts tapping it on the desk in front of him nervously.“Of course.Did you sign the NDA?”
“Yes.”I loosen my tie, which is starting to aggravate me, then reach down and pull the document out of my satchel.
I slide it across the desk.
Nathan nods several times, checking my signature.His company is worth billions of dollars, so I don’t blame him for being careful.But he’s hired us to do a job, and because of the nature of the potential crime, he’ll need to share all his most sensitive information.
“Black Hawke Security is one of the top private security companies in the country, Dr.Whitaker.If someone is trying to steal from QuantumCore, we will find out and intercept it.”
A bold statement, but one we all stand behind.
“Someone is.The data breach happened just days ago, and my guess is it’s the Chinese or North Koreans,” Nathan replies.
A foreign enemy.
Which means that what QuantumCore is producing is very valuable to both them and us.
“Dealt with a few of those in my time.”I grin to get him to relax and open up.“Former Army Ranger.Decorated.You’ve spoken to Josh, who is a Navy SEAL, and I’m sure he’s told you we have a broad skill level in BHS, including high-level tech experts.”
That’s my elevator pitch.
Some people like hearing all the titles, knowing they are hiring the best.
They are.
“Which is why you’re here.”Nathan leans back in his chair, letting out a sigh and relaxing as I’d hoped.“The highly classified quantum chip we’re designing is military grade and for the US government.No matter the cost, we can’t let it get into enemy hands.”
Jesus.
This is more serious than any of us knew.
“Have you advised your contact at the military?”
“Not yet.As far as we know, the data did not get past our security.In other words, it worked.However, we couldn’t trace the person responsible.”
Shit.
So they are still working here.
