Simon grinned. “Oh, please do.”
Andrew scrawled a number on an empty page and made a flourish “pound” sign in front of it. Then he ripped the page free and handed it facedown to his colleague. Simon tried to keep a straight face as he took it and turned it over.
It was pathetically low. He could actually have covered it out of his savings with barely a dent. I had no idea how low on the hog he was living, he said. He even felt a little guilty about it.
“I think I can work with that,” he said dryly and tucked the paper in his pocket.
“Great. Only one other condition, then.”
“Oh, really?”
“I’m coming with.”
Simon didn’t even have to think about that one. He shook his head firmly. “No,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Andrew, no. Do I even have to tell you that there might be danger involved? Physical danger, as well as danger from the authorities that could ruin your career or put you in prison?”
“No, in fact, you do not have to mention that. I was assuming.” He plopped down and hunched his shoulders, thinking furiously. “Look, I know I can write my own ticket, work for any company or government in the world, and make more money than God. I get that. But…I don’t want to. I don’t want to work in some super clean facility for the rest of my life, or sit behind a desk and guide some other team of researchers who are having the real fun. I’m twenty-six years old, Simon. This is when I’m supposed to take risks. Besides, the level of invisibility you’re looking for? Can’t do it remotely. The whole point is that you can’t be detected remotely, so how could I possibly rig it that way?”
Simon glared at him. “I’m not prepared to put you at risk.”
Andrew looked to the side and gave him an elaborate shrug. “Then I guess you’re prepared to stay at home and get listened to. Forever.”
Simon kept glaring. Andrew did the same…for a moment. Then he broke away with a laugh and hopped up again. Simon looked away and tried not to smile. Damn jumping jack, Simon thought, amused despite his annoyance.
“Look,” Andrew said. “Here. A lovely parting gift or two.” He opened his backpack and pulled out a set of unusual-looking cell phones-big, bulky devices compared to the paper-thin phones that were popular before voice threads replaced the entire tech. They looked like something from the turn of the century, covered with buttons and speakers and a tiny little screen. Simon thought they were almost…quaint.
“You need to use these from now on,” Andrew said. “You and anyone else you will consider in your plan-which, by the way, now includes me.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Right. These are shielded. No one can track your whereabouts or the number you are calling from. The number is different each time.”
“But what about incoming info?”
“No one will be able to call you from a regular phone, except for the other two phones like it that are in my office. I can reach you, but a stranger can’t. If you end up calling someone, their conversation may be picked up, but yours will be scrambled.”
Simon shook his head in disappointment that it had to go this far. He reached over and took the two devices from Andrew. “I appreciate everything you’re doing. Can you make more of these?”
“As many as you need, included in the price.”
“Thanks.”
Andrew suddenly brightened. “Oh! And check this out!” He dug into his backpack and pulled out another item: an old-fashioned diving wristwatch with a rather heavy, oval face. “Looks like a twentieth-century watch, right? No. Totally secure communicator, only two other watches just like it. For like private short-range communication between team members. Waterproof, shockproof, heat- and cold-proof, a battery that will last a lifetime. You couldn’t break these babies if you tried.”
Simon couldn’t help but smile at his sheer enthusiasm. “Interesting,” he said. “I suppose I could use half a dozen of those as well.”
“Cool!”
But then Andrew must have seen something in his friend’s face. His own expression suddenly softened. “Listen,” he said. “I know you think you’re protecting me, and I appreciate it. But even I can tell that whatever is going on is way above your head. You need help.”
Simon shook his head. “Andrew, I-”
“Professor. Simon. You need to trust somebody. I can see that. And you can trust me.”
Simon nodded. “Let me think about it,” he said. “And let me make one more call on this old, bad phone. Then you can dispose of it for me.”
“All right, then,” Andrew said.
Simon dialed the number from memory. It was answered immediately.
“Hey,” he said to the voice on the other end. “It’s me. Are you free this evening? Seven o’clock or so?” He paused for a moment, nodding into the phone. “Yeah, I’d rather talk about it face-to-face. Just a little project of mine you might be interested in.”
The voice on the other end was Ryan. “Nice to hear from you stranger-didn’t recognize the number…you alone or should I expect a guest?”
“Maybe a few…” said Simon.
“A few? Well then, a few for dinner,” Ryan said.
“Dinner it is,” said Simon, ending the call.
“Was that Ryan?” Andrew asked.
Simon nodded. Their colleague, Ryan, was one of the foremost experts when it came to Remote Access Intervention.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Andrew said, “Because not too many people can manipulate remote satellites like he can.”
Simon looked at the beaming college student one last time. “Okay,” he said and handed him the phone. “I’ll think about it. I’ll think about you coming along.”
Andrew spread his hands. “What more could I ask?” he said. “I’ll be waiting for your call. On that phone, of course.” He grinned again. “I mean, you can’t be too careful.”
WASHINGTON, DC
Capitol South Metro Station
Jonathan Weiss stood under the main surveillance camera in the Capitol South Metro Station and waited for the train that would take him to the airport. It was one of the least photographed spots on the subway platform, and he found himself there more out of force of habit than anything else. He knew he was still visible in half a dozen ways, including the cams in the kiosks, the ones mounted on the train, and any personal imagers on commuters who wandered by, but it made him feel better, somehow. Inconspicuous. Out of sight.
Jonathan looked up at the arching concrete waffle-pattern of the station’s ceiling and took a deep breath. Even fifty feet underground, even looking at a concrete overhang, even trapped in a tunnel with a hundred other people, for the first time in a very long time, he felt…free. His boss had given him some well-deserved time off. He-and his superior-believed he was off on a hedonistic trip to the Cayman Islands, where he would be doing unspeakable things for the next ten days. And by the time they noticed his absence-from the Cayman Islands, Washington and the world at large-he would be far, far away, in London or beyond, deeply enmeshed in a brand new, entirely fictional life and off the radar forever.
Forever.
“Enough,” he heard himself say.
It had simply become too much for him. Everything he had done, everything he had learned-and not just in Antarctica, but everywhere: in the UNED headquarters, at Langley, in nameless facilities in anonymous countries all across the globe…no, he couldn’t do it anymore. He didn’t want to.
“Hello, Jon.”
Jonathan stopped moving. Stopped breathing. He turned on his heel to his right, very slowly.
His body froze for an instant-he had to realize what he was seeing. He had only heard of the woman through conversation and had seen her photo. It was Takara, an Asian beauty and one of the most efficiently trained assassins in all of UNED.
Takara was standing five feet from him, looking him straight in the eye.
How did I let her get so close? he asked himself. A rookie mistake. I was just feeling…good. I let my guard down.