“What’s this about?” Lancaster asked.
“Must be payback time,” Gar said.
“You did something to the Outlaws that warranted payback?”
“The last time Dexter was here, he threatened to beat me up if I talked to anyone about this,” Gar said. “It bothered me, so I decided to file a police report. Since I didn’t know Dexter’s last name, I filed the report against his company, which is called One Percent Solutions. Those guys must be his partners.”
“We need to get out of here,” Daniels said. “You’re not coming back, so grab whatever belongings you want to keep.”
Gar scooped his laptop off the desk. From a desk drawer he grabbed several personal belongings and shoved them in his pockets.
“Ready when you are,” the programmer said.
They took the stairwell to the floor directly below, went into the hallway, and stood by the elevators. The LED display showed that one of the cars was coming up.
Lancaster drew his SIG and aimed at the door, in case the bikers decided to stop at this floor for some reason. Daniels drew her sidearm as well.
“Jesus Christ,” Gar said. “Are you going to shoot them?”
Lancaster nearly said, Yes, I’m going to put a bullet into each one of their hearts as payback for the pain and suffering they’ve caused, but bit his lip instead.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come down to that,” Daniels said.
The elevator didn’t stop, but instead went to the next floor. After a few moments, Daniels pressed the down button, and the car descended to their level. It was empty, and they put their weapons away. Reaching the lobby, they got out.
“We need to blow out of here,” Daniels said. “Once your friends see that you’re gone, they’ll come downstairs. We don’t want to be here when that happens.”
“One second,” Gar said. “I want to ask the guard why he let those guys come up. He’s supposed to call with every visitor.”
The guard was not at his post. A quick search revealed him inside a storage room with a bump on his forehead. The guard was awake, and in the act of dialing 911.
“Those goons attacked me,” the guard said.
“Sorry to hear that,” Daniels said. “We need to get this gentleman to a safe place. Lock this door behind you when we leave, and don’t come out until the police arrive.”
“I’ll do that,” the guard said.
The door clicked behind them. Crossing the lobby, Lancaster glanced at the elevators, and saw that a car was descending and would soon be in the lobby. Drawing his SIG, he backed out of the building with Daniels and Gar by his side. He didn’t want the bikers running them down, and he went to where their motorcycles were parked and gave the one on the end a good kick, toppling it over, and taking the others down with it.
“Aren’t we clever,” Daniels said.
Chapter 34
They drove to Gar’s apartment so he could pack a suitcase and then drove to the Marriott on State Road 54, where Daniels arranged for Gar to be put into a room on the same floor that her team was staying on. The hotel was nearly sold out, and the manager had to shuffle some reservations to see if he could accommodate her.
Gar was looking pale as the reality of his situation sank in, and Lancaster asked if he wanted a drink. His offer was received with an enthusiastic yes, and Lancaster told Daniels that he was going to take Gar across the street and buy him a beer.
“Make sure nothing happens to him,” she said.
“Not on my watch,” he said.
There were several options to get a drink, and he picked Glory Days because of its dark interior. It was quiet, and he chose a booth near the bar.
“What’s your pleasure?” Lancaster asked.
“I’d like an IPA on draft, and a glass of water,” Gar said. “That scene at work was scary. I’m glad you guys showed up.”
“So am I. I’ll be right back.”
Happy hour ran all afternoon, and Lancaster delivered four pints of beer to their table, along with two tall glasses of water, which required three trips to the bar. When he was done, he slid into the booth, and they clinked glasses. Gar polished off his beer and went to work on his second pint. It relaxed him, and when he spoke, his voice was subdued. “Do you know what the most difficult part of being a programmer is?”
Lancaster had not expected this to become a confession. He sipped his beer and said, “I have no idea. Staying up to date on new technology?”
“The most difficult part is not breaking the law. The ability to monitor people is so refined that there isn’t any privacy anymore. None. Zero. Zip.”
“But people can turn off their devices if they want to,” he said. “No one’s forcing them to leave them on.”
“You’re right, no one is forcing them. Yet the average cell phone user keeps their phone within five feet of their body, twenty-four hours a day. And that allows people like me to monitor their behavior and location all the time.”
Lancaster thought about his own cell phone habits. He didn’t have a landline where he lived, and relied on his cell phone for business and personal calls. He kept the phone powered up all day, and carried it in his pocket. At night, his cell phone sat on his night table getting charged and wasn’t turned off. He didn’t think of his behavior as being predictable, yet obviously it was.
“It sounds like an addiction,” he said.
“It is an addiction. And you can blame the designers. They created phones that used intermittent reinforcement to keep their users hooked. Just like slot machines.”
“My cell phone isn’t a slot machine. There’s no payout.”
“Yes, there is. Your cell phone can receive emails, texts, and voice messages. If it rings, you look at the screen. If it makes a doorbell sound, you check your email. If it vibrates, you look to see who texted you.”
“But I don’t have to do any of those things. I can just leave it in my pocket.”
“But you don’t. If your phone makes a noise, you look, because you’re hoping that the caller or message is important, or a person you care about. That’s the payout.”
Lancaster wasn’t sure that he bought into what Gar was saying. Then his cell phone rang. He wanted to leave it in his pocket, just to prove Gar wrong, but there was a chance that it was Beth calling with some piece of news.
It was her. He said, “Hey. We’re across the street at Glory Days.”
“And I’m still trying to get our friend a room on the same floor with my team,” she said. “I had no idea this was going to take an Act of Congress to get done.”
“Want me to come over, and straighten them out?”
“Very funny. I’ll join you once I’m done.”
He put his cell phone away. Gar had polished off his second pint and was smiling. IPAs were popular because of their unique taste and high alcohol content, and it took only a couple to get a buzz. Lancaster sensed that Gar had something he wanted to get off his chest, and he slid one of his beers across the table.
“Drink up,” he said.
“Thanks. I’m telling you this stuff for a reason,” Gar said. “You may not believe this, but I have ethics. Violating a person’s privacy is wrong, and I’ve never intentionally done that.”
“Then what were all those dots on your computer screen?”