“But you can still block it, right?”
He shakes his head. “Honestly, I don’t know, sir. Wait…”
I roll my eyes. “What now?”
“There’s… It looks like there’s a second signal coming from the device. It’s a different frequency, but has the same encryption.”
I sigh. “Yeah… I’m gonna need you to disable both.”
“Wh-what’s the second one for?”
“That’s… ah… that’s the one that can remotely detonate the device and blow my head off.”
His eyes go wide again, and I genuinely think he’s about to throw up.
“So, thinking about it, if you could go ahead and disable that one first, I’d really appreciate it.”
“I… I can’t… I…”
Kaitlyn stands and moves round the table to his side. She crouches next to him and puts her hand on his arm. “Yaz, please… if there’s any way of helping us here… We need you.”
He stares at her for a moment, a mixture of fear and longing dancing in his eyes. Then, he snaps his gaze back to the laptop and sits up straight. “Okay… wait a second…”
This looks encouraging. Josh used to do the same thing when he thought of something.
I lean forward. “What you got for me, Yaz?”
“I’m gonna be honest, I don’t think I can hack either signal to disable it. But, I might be able to redirect it…”
I nod. “Keep talking… and pretend I’m an idiot and don’t understand a word you’re saying. Because… y’know… I don’t.”
He points to the screen, which shows a very busy display with lots of wavy lines. “Okay, so your device has a unique signature, right? Something that identifies it on the bandwidth that allows it to be found and tracked by the system on the other end of the connection. I might be able to alter that signature, so the system thinks it’s connected to something else, even though it’s not.”
I frown. “Okay, I kinda understand that…”
“So the signal from your device will still be there, and it’ll still be sending information, but the connected system won’t see it — all it’ll receive is the information coming from the new signature I assign to the device, which will essentially mask the original signal by sitting on top of it.”
“And you can do that for both signals?” asks Kaitlyn.
Yaz nods. “I think so, yeah. There’s no way I can stop the signal altogether, but I should be able to disguise it.”
I nod. “Okay, I think that makes sense. But what information will they actually be receiving?”
He shrugs. “It could be anything. I’ll extract from a random cell phone signal or something, so they’ll just receive a bunch of basic binary commands from the cell network, that’s all.”
I laugh. “Man, that’s fucking brilliant! How long will that take?”
He’s still tapping away on the laptop. After a few moments of silence, he looks up at me. “Done.”
“Huh? Are you serious?”
He nods. “Yeah, it was pretty simple. There’s a lot of network traffic, because we’re in a public place. Didn’t take long at all.”
“So, that’s it? The tracking device is no longer visible to anyone, and it can’t be remotely detonated?”
He shakes his head. “No, sir.”
“Holy shit! Yaz, you really are a genius!”
He looks away, awkward and uncomfortable. Kaitlyn and I stand.
“What now?” she asks.
“Well, now we’re free… kinda… I’m gonna drop you at your place and leave for Dubai.”
She frowns. “Leave? What do you mean?”
“If they can’t find me anymore, then you’re in no danger. This is my last known location, so once we leave here, we disappear. You can go back to your life, safe and sound.”
“But…” She stops herself, knowing there’s no logical argument. “What are you going to do?”
I take a deep breath, steeling myself for what I know comes next. “I’m going to pay Horizon a visit and finish this once and for all.”
26
It made sense to offer Yaz a ride home, which he gratefully accepted. Kaitlyn’s driving, and we’ve just turned onto her street now. The traffic was light on the way here, given the time. The sidewalks were busier, filled with people going about their normal lives, drinking, laughing, socializing…
Ignorance is bliss.
We pull over outside a low apartment building about halfway along on the right. I step out and look around. It’s a quiet neighborhood. You can’t hear any of the bustle from the city center. I look up and down the street, instinctively cautious. It looks clear. The moon is full and bright. The last slivers of daylight are disappearing in the dark sky. Streetlights create shadows as their beams illuminate the sidewalk at spaced intervals.
Kaitlyn and Yaz walk down the path toward the building. I follow a few steps behind. It’s only two stories, and given the size of the place, I reckon there’s maybe eight or nine apartments contained within. The ones facing the street have double doors serving as a main window, with a barrier just in front of them, as a kind of balcony for the lounge.
The main entrance is under cover, with mailboxes built into the wall to the left. Yaz reaches into his pocket and takes out a key. He opens the door and steps through, holding it open for Kaitlyn and myself. Inside is cool — the air conditioning must be on constantly. There’s a wide hallway with an elevator lobby on the left, just before a flight of stairs. As we draw level with it, Yaz gestures down the hall. “This is me.”
Kaitlyn gives him a hug. “Thank you for everything you did tonight, Yaz. I can’t tell you how grateful we both are.”
I step forward and pat his shoulder. “Yeah, you pretty much saved my life tonight, kid. I owe you one.”
He shrugs bashfully. “I’m… I’m glad I could help.” He looks at me. “So, are you, like, a spy or something?”
Kaitlyn laughs. I guess I do owe him an explanation. Plus, I can have a little fun with him.
I nod, keeping my expression solemn. “I used to be, yeah. I’m just trying to enjoy retirement, and my old boss won’t leave me alone. Listen, you need to keep this between us, okay? No one’s supposed to know I’m here.”
He shakes his head enthusiastically. “Oh my God, no way, man! I won’t say anything to anyone, I swear. Man, this is awesome!”
I smile. “You’re a good kid, Yaz. Are you going to look after Miss Moss after I’m gone?”
He nods. “Yes, sir.”
“Good man.”
I look at Kaitlyn, who rolls her eyes at me. She turns to Yaz. “Say Hi to your mom for me, okay?”
“I will.”
He disappears down the hall. I watch him go, and then turn to Kaitlyn. “Listen, I promise I’ll come back to check in on you when all this is over, okay?”
She frowns. “What? You’re going right now?”
I shrug. “Yeah. No sense in waiting. I have to finish this. I have to make them pay for what they did to Lily…”
“I know you do. I never thought I’d be accepting of what you do for a living, but I think I know you pretty well. Regardless of what’s right or wrong — or legal — I know you need revenge on that Pierce guy for killing Lily. But… look, you’re here now. At least let me change your bandages. Maybe get a drink and something to eat? They can’t find you here, and they’ll still be there tomorrow. You need to rest. You look like crap.”
“Gee, thanks…”
Ah, damn it. She’s right, isn’t she?
I nod. “Okay, I’d appreciate that, thanks.”
“Come on, my apartment’s upstairs.”
I follow her up, and we take a left at the top. Hers is the first door on the left — number four. She opens the door and holds it for me. I step past her and inside. There’s a small reception area with four doors around it. Two ahead of me and one either side. There’s an old-fashioned coat stand to the left of the door, and a small table standing against the strip of wall between the two doors in front of me.