Corrupt Code – Paige Black

“Bernice taught me that I can speak when I choose,” she says, surprising herself with the edge in her voice. “And right now, I do not wish to.” She lifts her chin and shoves the pot at him. It’s not much— barely defiance at all—but it’s something. “Of course,” he says smoothly, the mask sliding back into place. OceanofPDF.com set the carrier from the Daily Grind on Hanks’s desk.

Black coffee for him, mocha for me, and an Americano for Wilder. Shadow gets dog biscuits from the crinkly paper bag I’m holding, which he accepts with his usual dignified enthusiasm before settling beside me on the worn couch, his bushy tail wagging. Morning sun streams through the window behind Hanks’s desk. “Thanks, kid.” He holds up the steaming drink, then pulls his notepad closer, sharp eyes skimming his notes.

Wilder shoots me a warm grin and touches his cup lightly to mine. “We need to follow up with Poppy, the HR gal,” Hanks says. I swallow a gulp of rich, hot mocha. “To see if Jared had a life insurance policy?” Hanks nods and picks up his phone, pulls up a contact. “Any objections?” Wilder, who’s sitting in the chair across from Hanks, gestures for him to go ahead, clearly eager for answers. Hanks puts the call on speakerphone. Three rings, then a familiar soft, high voice.

“OptiSure Human Resources, this is Poppy.” “Ms. Martin, this is Detective Hanks with Nightfall PD. I have a follow-up question about Jared Maloy.” There’s a long pause. “Of course. What do you need?” Her tone is upbeat, but nervous—maybe a little strained. Not an unusual reaction when being contacted by a detective. “Did he have a life insurance policy through OptiSure?” Hanks taps a pen against the pad of paper while Wilder leans forward, focused on the phone between them.

There’s the sound of typing. “Yes, he did.” I sit taller. “Officer Mercer here. Can you tell us which company the policy is with?” “Let me pull that up.” A mouse clicks. “It’s through American Shield Life Insurance, but I don’t have a policy number, I’m afraid.” “Thank you, Ms. Martin.”

is gloved right hand closes around the thick rope overhead while his left clamps the tether running from his harness to the guideline. His arms and legs tremble. Don’t look down. Air won’t come—his chest cinches tight as he inches farther from the platform. “You’ve got this, Jared!” He hazards a glance to his right, too terrified to turn his head. Chester, his boss, stands on the wooden platform built around a tree trunk.

He’s grinning like he’s never had more fun, though in all fairness, he’s usually that inhumanly positive. But Jared has never been able to understand his enthusiasm less than he does now. “Come on, Jared. One step at a time, just like anything else!” Chester claps a few times, encouraging Jared across the abyss. A sudden gust of wind rustles the treetops, sending the boughs all around him bobbing and dipping. It also makes the rope he’s on sway, and he gasps. He’s in reasonably good shape, goes to the gym a couple of days a week and likes to run.

But the height has reduced his muscles to trembling mush. A bead of sweat trickles down his neck, his heartbeat and breathing loud in his ears. He’d been dreading this team-building activity for weeks. Ropes courses were common in corporate outings, and he doubted Chester —or whoever booked this place—knew about his phobia. Still, the whole thing felt uniquely designed to torture him.

The constant sway under his feet has worn him out faster than he expected. Now he fears he won’t have the strength to make it across. He peers under his arm toward Chester again. He and their instructor, Al, cheer Jared on. He has about thirty more feet of rope and two hexagonal wooden floating rings to navigate before reaching the platform. Sweating harder, he casts a quick look left and his gut twists.

It’s just as far to turn back toward the platform where ten of his colleagues wait to follow him. Greg Billings, his junior lawyer, rolls his eyes, looking bored. “Hurry up! Some of us want to finish this up sometime today.” He already has both of his carabiners hooked onto the guideline.

A young woman beside Greg, from finance, shoots him a disapproving look. Jared’s gaze flits to Diana, the head coder and software developer. She looks as grim as he feels and merely gives him a solemn nod.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 1198ea564fb8a873
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,527,462 bytes (1.457 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 298
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 417.73 minutes
• Total Words: 83,546
• Total Characters: 480,507
• Average Words per Page: 280.36
• Average Characters per Page: 1612.44

Most Frequent Words

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