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17
Ariston’s
12:20 p.m.
Sophie knew they had to hurry. She slammed the door to the office, threw the deadbolt, and ran to the circular stairs. When they were safely belowground, she faced him.
He’d grown some more, at least a couple inches. Now she had to look up at him. But right now she was so mad at seeing him, so afraid for him, that she didn’t know whether to hug him or hit him.
“You’re supposed to be in California. Caltech wasn’t to your liking? Did the brains there catch on to who you really are? Tell me the truth now, why are you here?”
“You know why I’m here, Sophie. We have a major problem. Someone in the Order has betrayed us.”
She slammed her fist into his shoulder. “The grand search again? Adam, when will you and Dad give that up?” Her voice caught. She looked stricken. “Oh, no, no, Dad’s dead.”
Adam Pearce ran a hand through his too-long hair. “I know, I’m sorry, Sophie. But this is so important, the most important thing in Dad’s life. And now that they killed him, I’ve got to keep on with it.
“Sophie, listen to me, I found it, I found the sub. I called Dad last night and told him, and he was going to share the news with a few members of the Order. And today he’s dead. Either the Order has a traitor or there’s something even worse going on.”
“Really? You actually found the sub, after all this time? Nearly a hundred years? You actually found the Victoria?”
Adam nodded. “I’m ninety-nine percent sure this is it. But now, Dad . . .” His voice trailed off and he simply stood there, looking at her helplessly, tears trickling down his cheeks.
Sophie pulled her brother against her and held him, crying with him, and let the pain come.
Their lifelong search for the lost World War I U-boat was really over? She said, “Was it worth Dad’s life?”
He shook his head against hers. “No, no.”
She said against his neck, “The FBI agents asked me if I knew who EP was. I didn’t tell them anything.” She slowly pulled back, took her brother’s young face between her palms. “You did it, Adam, if anyone could find it, you could. I’m so proud of you. Dad was, too, wasn’t he?”
“Oh, yes. But you know Dad, he said something like, ‘Well, it’s about time.’” Their father had known his son would find the sub when Adam’s genius had burst forth at the age of eight, and he’d hacked into their bank’s checking-accounts system. He’d been caught that one time and everyone had marveled and laughed and given the little genius a pat on the shoulder. It was the last time he got caught. Soon he’d been able to dig deep into computer networks, circumvent firewalls and other security measures. At fifteen, their father had given him the mission: find the Victoria.
She tried to smile, seeing her father speaking, but she couldn’t. “The FBI agent said Dad had some satellite specs on his computer that were classified. I take it you know how he got those?”
He swiped away the drying tears on his face, waved his hand. “That’s irrelevant.”
“Adam, it is not irrelevant. The FBI are pissed, and looking in to who sent the info to Dad. I think they knew I was holding back. Those two, they’re not going to go away. I know they’ll keep after me. And they want Adam Pearce very badly. And they saw a photo of us as kids, you know, the one in Dad’s bedroom.”
“I look different. Don’t worry, I’m Kevin Brown—quick thinking, sis. I’ve put hundreds of layers in to protect us both.” He grabbed her shoulders, made her look him in the eye. “I narrowed down the location of the sub last week. Last night I took command of a private satellite that was passing over Scotland to take a look. Dad and I always thought the Victoria was lodged deep somewhere, under an outcrop of rock or land. It’s only been in the last year that the satellite technology is to the point where it can see past underwater shelves. I mean, it can see right through the land under the water. And that’s where I found it, nestled up under a huge rock ledge in northern Scotland. Like I said, I told Dad last night, and we were supposed to meet today so I could show him. I couldn’t tell him where it was over the phone, it was too dangerous.”
“Why didn’t you show him last night?”
“Because I was still in California. I took the red-eye from L.A. I got here as quickly as I could. And then this morning, when I got the text, I headed straight from JFK to meet him here.”
Sophie sat down on the floor, taking it all in, trying to make sense of the story. “You’re telling me Dad was killed because you found the sub? Why? Isn’t that what the Order wanted? I thought they’d be thrilled at the news, not homicidal. They’re supposed to be united on this matter.”
Adam’s lean face was etched in misery. “They are. That’s why I need Dad’s phone, so I can see who he called last night. At least we can narrow it down. But there’s more, Sophie. I told you Dad texted me this morning and told me to meet him down at Wall Street. I did, even though I thought it was weird. But when I got there, he was already dead. So—I knew before you told me upstairs.” His throat clogged with tears. “I knew.”
“Why Wall Street?” she asked. “Why there? It makes no sense.”
“Because it’s away from Dad’s territory. I think the man who killed Dad sent a text to me from Dad’s phone, and one to Dad from mine. To draw us together.”
“So the murderer was after both of you.”
Adam nodded, chewing on his lip. “Yeah. Maybe. The minute I saw what was happening, I got out of there, headed up here. I was careful, took a couple of cabs, the train, to make sure I wasn’t followed.”
“You weren’t followed. At least not by the man who killed Dad. The FBI got him, he’s dead.”
