Page 61 of Slap Shot
"The question is what Kai offered him that was worth throwing his career away."
"And whether anyone else is involved."
“No time like the present,” she said and powered up her laptop. The thumb drive contained dozens of folders, organized with meticulous care.
"Encrypted," Heather muttered, running her decryption tools. "But not sophisticated. Probably kept simple so Travis could access everything."
The files unlocked quickly, revealing the scope of their conspiracy. Personnel files, contract negotiations, ownership communications, medical records. But it was the communication logs between Travis and HexAngel that revealed the true nature of their partnership.
"Oliver, look at this." She pulled up the message thread. "Travis reached out to Kai first."
Oliver leaned closer as she scrolled through the early exchanges. "How did Travis even know about Kai?"
"His brother. Louis Dane, serving time at the same facility where Kai was housed." Heather found the relevant messages."Travis visited regularly, heard about Kai's skills, decided to make contact when Kai got released."
The messages painted a clear picture. Travis had approached Kai with a specific agenda: eliminate what he called "diversity hires" that were changing the organization's culture. Kai had agreed to provide technical expertise in exchange for payment and the chance to rebuild his criminal reputation.
"Look at this," Heather said, reading from Travis's initial proposal. "'The female coach is the main problem. She's setting precedents that make ownership uncomfortable. Create enough controversy around her competence, and they'll have justification to return to traditional hiring.'"
"Bastard," Oliver said.
Heather scrolled through more exchanges, watching their conspiracy evolve from general concepts to specific attack strategies. Travis provided inside knowledge about vulnerabilities, key personnel, organizational pressure points. Kai developed the technical methods to exploit that information.
"Here's where it gets interesting," she said, opening a folder labeled "Access Documentation." Inside were detailed logs of every system Travis had legitimate access to, along with Kai's instructions for expanding that access without detection.
"Kai taught him how to move through our network," Oliver realized, reading over her shoulder. "Travis wasn't just leaking information. He was actively stealing it under Kai's guidance."
"And Kai was hiding the evidence." Heather pulled up network logs that showed how Kai had masked Travis's unauthorized access, making it appear routine rather than suspicious. "Every time Travis accessed sensitive files, Kai made sure the digital footprints looked legitimate."
"We've got him," Oliver said. "This evidence is ironclad. Conspiracy, computer fraud, extortion. Travis is going to prison."
"Yeah, but that doesn't solve our problem with HR." Heather leaned back against the couch cushions, anxiety creeping back in. "Ivy made it clear that workplace relationships between players and staff are forbidden. Once this investigation goes public, everyone will know we've been working against direct orders."
Oliver was quiet for a moment. "Maybe I should request a trade. That way you can keep your job, and there's no policy violation to worry about."
"Absolutely not." The response came out sharper than she'd intended. "You love this team. You love playing here. I'm not letting you give that up because we fell in love."
"Then what?”
"I should be the one to leave," Heather said, hating the words even as she spoke them. "I can find another cybersecurity position. But there are only thirty teams in the league. If you leave under questionable circumstances, it could hurt your career permanently."
"Like hell you're leaving. You’re the best at what you do. You saved this organization from complete destruction. I'm not letting you walk away because some bureaucrat values policy compliance over actual results."
"Then what do we do?"
Oliver was quiet for a moment, considering their options. "We tell Jack everything. The conspiracy, the evidence, how we caught them. We make the case that results matter more than bureaucratic policies."
"And if he fires us both?"
"Then we deal with it. But we don't make that decision for him." Oliver's hand found hers. "Jack's not stupid. He knows what we accomplished. Maybe he'll surprise us."
"You really think he'll choose us over HR policies?"
"I think he'll choose the people who saved his organization over the policies that nearly let it be destroyed." Oliver squeezed her hand. "It's worth the risk, Heather."
The conviction in his voice made something settle in her chest. Tomorrow would bring difficult conversations and uncertain outcomes, but they'd face them with the truth and evidence that proved their value.
"Okay," she said. "We take this to Jack first thing tomorrow. All of it."
