[Contributor 02] - Infiltrator (2013) by Nicole Ciacchella Page A

of her being.

Chapter 15

    The next week was mostly uneventful. Andersen didn’t ambush her with any other surprise encounters with Jonathan, and he was so busy that he didn’t have much time to make her life miserable. He worked her as hard as he always had, but it was far more bearable because he either left her alone to get done what she needed to get done, or she only had to sit next to him at meetings, taking notes.
    As his meeting with Creator Hartley drew nearer, though, Andersen became nastier.
    “Care to explain to me why Head of Logistics Gonzales was unaware of the change in scheduling of the conference call?” he demanded, his frigid voice cutting through the air, drawing the attention of several engineering staff.
    Confused, Dara sorted through her messages, finding the one she sought. “I don’t know, sir. This is the message I sent him.” She pointed at it, but Andersen didn’t so much as spare it a glance.
    “Because of your incompetence, the head of logistics wasted an hour of his time.”
    She bit back a protest. “I’m sorry, sir. It won’t happen again.”
    “I advise you to make certain it doesn’t.”
    He stalked away, his words sending a chill through her. She hunched over her terminal, trying to ignore the staring eyes of her colleagues. Much as she hated being berated by Andersen, his reaction told her there was more to this whole project, and it increased her determination to find out what was going on.
    She spent several evenings poring over the many notes she had from the presentation, as well as what project paperwork she had access to, but nothing stood out. Using her burner memory stick, she made notes and drew up flow charts, trying to determine who might benefit the most if Magnum approved the project. It was obvious that both Andersen and Magnum stood to gain a lot, but something nagged at her, some detail she knew was missing. Despite her exhaustive search, nothing in the materials she had helped her tease out what it was. She told herself to be patient. Andersen might tip his hand in a way that would give her a better idea of what was going on. In the meantime, all she could do was continue to observe and gather whatever information she could.
    It didn’t surprise her when Creator Hartley summoned Andersen up to the Creator level for a closed-door meeting. Every pair of eyes in engineering seemed to follow him as he strolled to the Creator lift. His face betrayed nothing, but she saw a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes as he basked in the attention.
    Rumors flew around engineering, and the grapevine spread to other departments as well. Joshua told her that accounting was abuzz with whispers about a revolutionary new project that would provide Magnum with an unbeatable edge, though no one seemed to have any details.
    “It’s strange that people know so much,” Dara said to Letizia at their next covert meeting.
    “It’s intentional,” Letizia said, the words crisp. “No one knows enough for it to be dangerous, but they have a hint of something to keep them talking. Don’t forget, the Creators like the Contributors to think they’re on the cutting edge at all times, and rumors like these are good for morale without any expense to Magnum.”
    “What if they spread outside of the dome, though?”
    “They will. They always do. Haven’t you ever noticed how rumors about other Creators and their domes are constant hot topics of conversation? Part of the game is making the competition nervous.”
    Dara nodded. Letizia was right. Magnum had nothing to lose by letting it slip that they had something big in the works, provided that no important details followed. It gave Magnum a psychological edge over its competition and created a sense of anticipation in the Creators that depended on Magnum, instilling confidence that Magnum was pulling its weight and giving them an edge as well.
    “Heard any more about Jasmine Shah?” Letizia asked.
    “No. She seems to have gone to