CHAPTER THIRTY
Marilyn was panicked. Cain was arrested, her buyer had backed out, and now she couldn’t get into the systems at all. Her computers were stalled, at a standstill. The program she’d written, spent so many nights on, was no longer effective. It was done.
She counted the cash she had remaining and frowned. It would buy a plane ticket to Mexico or Cuba, maybe somewhere in South America but what she really wanted was Europe. The problem with going there was that their extradition was too easy.
“No,” she whispered to herself, “no, that’s not a good option. Maybe Asia. India. India is big in technology, so is Japan. Maybe I can go there.”
Without much to pack, she was able to pull her things together quickly and get them to her car. With any luck, she’d be in Miami by tomorrow and find a way to head out of the country. She’d need a fake passport, driver’s license and other identification.
The slew of stolen credit cards would keep her going for a short time but eventually someone would trace those directly back to her location. She didn’t need that.
A disguise. That’s what she needed. Wigs. Blonde, red, and black. Something to cover her brunette hair. Maybe colored contact lenses.
“I can do this,” she said to herself. “I can do this.”
By tonight she would be in Charleston and tomorrow she’d drive non-stop until she could see Miami. There she’d find someone to make her new identifications and she’d leave.
Her father could rot in jail. She didn’t care anymore. Survival came first.
“I think she’s leaving the house in Nags Head,” said AJ. “The computer is moving and it’s moving quickly. She’s not walking around with it.”
“She has it open? In the car?” asked Tanner.
“Yes. She must be hoping to get additional communications.”
“We need to convince her to stay where she is,” said Hiro. “Send her a message that we know who killed her mother and they will be punished. Give her something that will turn her around and head back to D.C.”
“He’s right,” said Kiel. “We’re at least two or three hours behind her. We’re guessing at her next destination but if we can get her to come to us, we can stop her.”
“Okay. Let me see what I can do,” said AJ. He was still pissed about her killing the young sergeant but he couldn’t let that cloud his judgment now. “Her mic is open.”
“Do it,” said Hiro. AJ hit the call button and heard a soft hello.
“Please don’t hang up, Marilyn. I’m with Legacy Security”
“I know who you are. Leave me alone. My father is the guilty one in this. He killed my mother, he bribed me to stay and do these things for him, with him. It’s all him!”
“We both know that’s not the entire truth. Cain is not innocent but he didn’t kill your mother.”
“Wh-what? What are you talking about? I know he did!”
“Listen, Marilyn. His wife killed Ellen. Your mother tried to speak with her about asking for a loan to buy a house, for you. She got angry and told her no, then told her to meet with her at the park on the river. That’s where she killed your mother.
Not Cain. He might have known about it but he didn’t pull the trigger. ”
There was silence and they wondered if she’d disconnected but they could hear the sounds of the car moving, then suddenly, silence.
“Marilyn?”
“I’m here,” she said softly. “He’s responsible for all of this. I was doing what he asked me to do. I was proving that our government is inept, unable to control the downfall happening around them. I built this system. I did this!”
“And it’s genius,” said AJ. “I mean that sincerely. My friends and I built the system that stopped yours. We should know. Your work was good but not for good. Those things never end well. Turn around, Marilyn. Turn around and testify to what your father did and the courts will take that into consideration.”
Again they were met with silence.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. He has to pay.”
The line went dead and then the computer disappeared from AJ’s screen.
“Get her back,” said Ben.
“I’m working on it. Drive. Drive back to D.C.,” he told them.
“AJ? Back to D.C.? Why?” asked Kiel.
“Because she’s going to kill her father.”