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“I don’t know you anymore. I mea
n, lots of girls screw guys. So Vanessa played you, Matthew. She played all of us. She was really good and she hurt your feelings. You shot her, killed her dead, paid her back, so don’t take it out on me.”
Matthew saw the blood flowing into her hair, turning it stiff and black. He couldn’t help it, couldn’t stop it this time. He struck out with his right fist and punched Andy in the jaw. Andy’s head snapped against the window with a crack.
Andy yelled, “You bastard, you hit me, you hurt me. Without me, you’d be back in Belfast jerking around with Ian.” He began to rock back and forth as he held his jaw.
Matthew whispered through clenched teeth, “Listen to me, you moron. You will do as I say or I will cut out your tongue and leave you bleeding next to the bombs with a sign nailed to your chest saying you planned the whole thing. Then I will drive to your mother’s house and do the same to her. Do you understand?”
Andy didn’t say a word. He turned to stare out the window. Matthew thought he might be crying.
“Answer me,” Matthew repeated quietly. “Do you understand?”
Andy put up his hands to ward off another blow, drew his legs up to his chest. “Yes, yes, of course. I’ll do it. Stop threatening me.”
“Then stop trying my patience, Andy. Stop your whining, your mouthing off. There’s too much at stake. We’ve got to focus.”
He pulled the truck to a stop. A man in a black suit hurried over. “Don’t screw it up,” Matthew whispered between clenched teeth. He got out of the cab and said, in a thick Virginian accent, “Hiya.”
“Papers, please. We’ll need to check the truck, too.”
“No worries.” He handed over the clipboard with the bill of lading on it. “Droppin’ the load off.” Matthew cocked his head a bit so the baseball cap hid his face.
I’m a good old boy doing my job. Don’t make me kill you.
The agent was thorough. After five minutes, though, he waved them through.
Matthew got back into the rig, slammed the door, and slapped the rig in gear. He drove toward their spot, careful not to pop the air brakes as they went down a slight hill.
Andy said, “I’m setting the timer, Matthew. I’ll be ready to drop the code.”
55
ROOK TO E1
FBI Headquarters
The attack was deep, moving fast, overloading the grids as they watched, threatening to take down even more power. Nicholas had five guys working on each leg of the code, but no one was making any progress.
Martin said, “We’re not getting it done. Do you have any more ideas how to stop the code from spreading, Nicholas?”
Think. Think. Be the code.
The code was everything. Gunther was the architect. He’d built something new, so new Nicholas had never seen it before, but there was a key to unlock every code. He simply needed to find the way in. Think, think. And then an idea sparked. “I need to get into Gunther’s server, look at his code from the inside out.”
Savich said, “Nicholas, doesn’t Menard have Gunther’s computers? You can access them remotely.”
“Savich, you’ve nailed it. That’s it. Mike, get me Menard. Right now.”
Mike was fast. “It’s on speaker. What else can I do?”
“You can cross all your fingers.”
Menard said, “Nicholas, I have no more news for you. I—”
“Pierre, forgive me for interrupting. I need access to Gunther Ansell’s computers. Can you get me in?”
He blew out a breath and Nicholas could picture his Gallic shrug. “I can try, but it will be trés difficile. Give me some time.”
