Chapter 30 #2
“That’s not what my algorithm was designed for! I was trying to make safer cars, for heaven’s sake.”
“I didn’t hear about you resigning in protest or anything when your company got awarded the contract for WEDGE. C’mon, Lindy.”
“So, I’m a hypocrite? That’s why you don’t want to be my friend anymore?”
I groan. I recognize my own hypocrisy. I don’t have any business lecturing Lindy on his.
“I don’t want to be your friend anymore because I can’t trust you.”
“Give me a chance to regain your trust?” Lindy asks quietly.
“Lindy, Jesus.”
De Leon snorts. “Soft touch.”
“Fuck. Off.”
De Leon doesn’t understand. The things Lindy said about being my friend, speaking my language, he may have been trying to goad me at the time, but he wasn’t wrong. I love Logan, Manny, and Mac, but they don’t understand what I do, how I think. Lindy does.
“You swear to me these are clean targets,” I say after a long silence. “Swear it, Lindy. On your mother’s life. The hack exposes the weaknesses in WEDGE and that’s all. No one gets hurt.”
“I swear. Targets are on my laptop in a folder called Targets. Access is biometric. I’ll open it for you as long as you promise not to look in the folder called NYU. That’s got your exams in it.”
“Are you for fucking real?”
“Yeah. That’s cheating.”
Knowing he can’t see it, I shake my head at him.
I unpack his bag until I find his laptop.
He lifts a finger for me and I hold the laptop’s sensor to it.
A second password screen opens and Lindy holds up a different finger.
Another password screen; another finger.
That’s smart. Almost impossible to hack.
Someone would have to get all his fingerprints and figure out the order.
I’m betting he’s got a self-destruct on it after too many failed attempts, as well, same as I do.
Once we’re through all his security, I set his laptop next to mine and as tempting as it is to clone the damn thing, I just navigate the surprisingly tidy desktop until I find the Targets folder, copy it onto a pen drive, move it to my rig, upload it to Snarlzilla, and send it to Squid.
Then I close his laptop and return it to his bag.
Lindy’s quiet as I work through the information on the two targets.
One’s in Texas. The other’s in Canada. Neither are military.
Both are companies. Reading on, I find they’re labs that do cosmetics testing on rodents and reptiles.
There’s been some uproar about them from PETA and other organizations because they don’t have veterinary care for the animals.
Lindy’s already primed three radical-looking animal rights organizations, who have been protesting at both sites.
They’re ready to go in and “liberate” the animals as soon as WEDGE is disabled.
Sasha’s at one site, organizing the protestors; Jo’s at the other.
Squid must be reviewing the target information at the same time I am, despite the time difference. A chat box pops up on my screen.
Squid: If we turn off the fire-suppression systems along with the door locks and the labs burn down, that would be too bad.
No, I message back. Without being there, we can’t guarantee any humans or animals wouldn’t be caught in a fire. We do this clean. Door locks. Cage locks if they’re electronic. CCTV so the protestors don’t get prosecuted for trespassing. In and out.
Squid sends me back a line of frowning emojis but ends it with a thumbs up.
“Okay,” I say to Lindy. “I admit these are good targets. You think they’re high-profile enough to accomplish your goals?”
Lindy nods. “And if I’m wrong, I swear this is it. I won’t go after Orelo anymore.”
“No?”
“No.” He clears his throat. “Your friendship is more important.”
I rock back in my chair. Then I shake myself, reminding myself that he’s a liar.
My phone buzzes.
De Leon: Give it up, Max. You’re going to forgive him.
Since Lindy can’t see it and I’m confident De Leon’s watching me somehow, I stick my hand in the air and give him the middle finger.
“Yeah, okay. I’m good with these. Any idea what version of WEDGE they’re running?”
Lindy shakes his head.
“You done any preliminary work on either site?”
Lindy nods. “There’s a document in that folder titled Acquisition.
That’s all the research I’ve done on the company structures, users who might have administrative access to the systems, that kind of thing.
I didn’t take a trial run because I didn’t want to leave any footprints, but that Lumpstone one in Canada looks like it’s going to be harder to crack. ”
“Okay.” I find the file and read through the information he’s gathered. It’s good. Thorough. It’s what I’d do if I was gathering intel on a target. “I’ll take Lumpstone. You take Bluett.”
“You’re giving me the easier target. Why?”
“If I crack Lumpstone, you give me an A on the exam I missed.”
Lindy chuckles beneath the hood. “Fair enough.”
De Leon: Check Lindy’s restraints and then strap in. We’ll be landing in 5.
I do, making sure Lindy’s fingers and toes are pink and warm. As I’m putting his socks back on, Lindy murmurs, “You don’t really hate me, do you?”
“I’m just being responsible. Don’t ask me for forgiveness yet. It’s too soon after I realized you were a psycho stalker blackhat.”
“Your friendship really does mean more to me now than revenge.”
Grumbling, I lace up his sneakers. “Still too soon.”
“You’ll tell me when it’s not too soon?”
“When the nachos are on me again, you’ll know.”
Lindy makes a happy humming noise beneath the hood.
I take my seat, strap in, and text Cynnie before turning off my phone for the descent.
Miss you, baby. Wish I was still snuggled up with you. Lindy’s trying to get me to forgive him. It’s weird. Text me one good thing to see when I land.
When I turn the phone back on after a smooth landing at a small airstrip in the middle of heavy woods that could be anywhere on the East Coast, Cynnie’s sent me a series of chibis: heart-eyes, cuddles, good-girl. And a text.
Bumble: Miss you, too, Oppa! One good thing is that I’ll see you tomorrow! And I’ll wear my pretty dress for you and dance the night away with you. I can’t wait!
I can’t wait, either, baby. Did you talk to your grandmother?
Bumble: Yes, I apologized and she accepted my apology. I haven’t talked to Jun. I don’t want to.
You don’t have to. Are you going to get lots done today so we can play all weekend?
Bumble: Yes! Lots and lots!
Good girl.
Bumble: I text you after lunch so you know I missing you?
Yes, please, baby.
She sends me back a screenful of kisses and I tuck away my phone with a smile.
After doing whatever he does to “park” the plane, De Leon releases Lindy’s bindings but doesn’t take the hood off him.
I grab our bags and follow him off the plane.
Like the small airstrip where Mac met us, there’s a SUV with blacked-out windows parked near the hangar where De Leon leaves his plane.
No one greets us. De Leon opens the back door, helps Lindy into the seat, and climbs in after him.
I get in on the other side. There’s a black privacy screen separating us from the driver and I can’t see the driver.
The car starts with a deep purr and rolls away from the airport.
After he straps Lindy in and zip-ties his hands again, De Leon takes out his phone and waves it at me. I nod and take out the one he gave me.
Where are we?
De Leon: Mansfield, Ohio. I’ve rented a safe room from some bikers, so don’t freak out when we get there. They’re rough guys, but they’re solid. This is a business for them. As long as they get paid, they don’t care what we’re doing.
Okay. What’s the set up at the safe room?
De Leon: They advertise an untraceable, anonymous, internet connection, but I don’t have any technical specs beyond that. The room’s sealed from when we go in until we signal to be let out. They’ll provide food. No one will bother us.
Sounds good. How much do I owe you?
De Leon: 2k including your trip back to NYC. Bikers will drive you to Columbus so you can take a commercial flight. I’ve left an open ticket to La Guardia with American. Text Manny which flight. He knows where to pick you up.
I nod at him and put the phone away. He waves his at me again. I take the phone back out and read his text.
De Leon: We both know you’re going to forgive him. Just don’t do it today. Stay focused. I’m not good enough on the tech side to know if he’s fucking us.
Jury’s still out on forgiveness. I’ll have multiple eyes on him.
De Leon lifts his chin and tucks his phone away.
The SUV leaves smooth pavement and bumps over gravel road to a stop.
All I see around us are trees until I climb out.
There’s a squat, cinder block building painted a dull green directly in front of the car.
To the side of the building, a man-sized satellite dish is mounted on a platform, with a camouflage net hanging above it, strung between the trees.
I whistle silently. If they’re on satellite K-band, I might not need Snarlzilla.
As soon as I pull the bags out of the car and De Leon helps Lindy out, the car reverses and bumps away through the trees. De Leon guides Lindy to the building, knocks sharply on the green-painted door, and steps back when it swings open.
A bearded man wearing sunglasses despite the dimness inside the building beckons us in with two fingers. Inside the door, there’s a bare, windowless room with two doors leading off it.