HAZEL

By the next morning, I’d finally come up with a safer place to hide the thumb drive. I couldn’t keep it on me any longer, so I stashed it after the meeting.

The thing was burning a hole in my pocket, and I didn’t want to be caught with it by someone I shouldn’t. I didn’t want the thing anywhere near me. This went beyond plausible deniability. I needed just plain deniability.

Our team secretary called to let me know about my boss’s ...