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“What were you even there for?”
My brow puckered as a thought occurred to me. “I can’t believe I didn’t put two and two together, to be honest. I’m not a part of this Jorgmundgander BS, but the US clearly has its own program.I’min it. That’s why I didn’t go to jail for all the shit I did as a kid.
“And, when I got to Langley, I met a bunch of coders who were working on this top-secret messaging platform for the Secret Service.”
“Under the same restrictions as you?”
“Indentured servants for the state, yeah,” I grumbled.
“I don’t know how you kept any of this from your family,” she muttered.
“I never left the US anyway. It isn’t like we get to vacation often, Star. Plus, the government facilitated the secrecy of it all. I don’t think they wanted my family to know either.”
“Why?”
“Because I could have been viewed as a traitor and everyone knew what Da’s reaction would have been to that. So, it was either protect me and keep me alive or throw me to the wolves and let me be eaten.”
Her brow puckered. “I hate that you were in danger.”
“You think I don’t feel the same way about you?”
Her gaze dropped to her half-eaten sandwich. “True. They wanted to see if you could crack the platform?”
“Yeah. It was so fucking easy. I swear, working with you has streamlined my work. I tore it to shreds without your worm—”
“Maverick’s worm,” she corrected.
“—and did it in record time. According to Temper, however, the plan was for menotto crack it then for me to be killed to keep it under wraps.”
“Sounds like a plan the Sparrows would concoct.”
“Well, Reinierisa Sparrow. So it’s on brand for him.”
She snickered. “Fair. Wonder if the other coders were under threat, too.”
I shrugged. “Maybe. Apparently, they wanted another coder to take my place.”
“Why?”
“Temperance didn’t say.”
“How did you leave Langley?”
“By helicopter. I don’t think I’m cut out for espionage.”
“That’s not a bad thing. It’s a fucking awful line of work.”
“Why get into it then?”
“You know why. Mom.”
“Why follow in her footsteps when it killed her?”
“Do you know the story of how my parents met?”
“Of course.” I rolled my eyes. “It’s like you choose not to understand how dedicated I was to the band. Anyway,noxxiouswas in Madrid, weren’t they? For a festival, right?” At her faintly amused nod, I continued, “The band got into a fight and were arrested. Because they were VIPs, the US ambassador green-lit them out of jail and took them to the embassy so they were ‘on US soil.’”
“Biggest load of bull crap going. The injustice was unreal. Marc broke someone’s jaw,” she grumbled. “And he didn’t even get arrested for aggravated assault or anything.”
