Page 143 of Broken Wheels

“They are, sir. They’re at CrossBow,” Chalmers told him.

“Good. I owe them for getting everyone out safely.”

“You could pay us back now, sir,” Josh said quickly.

“You Malone?”

“Yes, sir.”

There was a pause. “Tell me what you need.” His voice was ragged and cracked at the last word.

Josh wished he could let the man rest and recuperate, but with Dixon’s news, things had moved to DEFCON 1. He went through the story again, speaking in a slow, concise tone. “Did you ever deal directly with Spencer?”

“No, I never saw him, but I did hear his name. And that’s not enough to arrest him.”

“But we have his assistant, and God knows how many files of his.” That had to be enough to convince someone in authority, right?

He paused. “You say he’s going to attack Chicago? Ballsy move.”

“We’re expecting a press conference tomorrow.”

“Then we don’t have a lot of time. Chalmers, call Brady over at the Times. He owes me big, and it’s time to collect.”

“On it, sir.”

Carson’s racking cough filled the air. “We’re going to take this fucker down.”

Josh’s heart sank. “Easier said than done. I’ve been through the files you sent, but there’s one I can’t access.”

Carson gave a husky chuckle. “The password-protected one? Try Rosebud91941. That should let you in.”

Josh frowned. “Rosebud? That’s a sled, right? From Citizen Kane?”

“And 91941 is the month and year it came out. I’m an old movie buff, much to my wife’s chagrin.”

“I used to watch them with my grandma,” Josh said. “I miss those times. If you ever need someone to sit with you, I’d be down.”

“You have yourself a deal.”

Josh turned to his laptop and typed in what Carson had said. He could have wept for joy when the file opened. “Sir, you are a lifesaver.”

“And you call yourself a hacker,” Carson teased.

Josh’s cheeks were on fire. “Sorry, I’m out of practice by more than a few years.”

“Yeah, that would be a problem. Shit changes so quickly. Once we get through this, we’ll see about bringing your skills up to snuff.”

It heartened Josh that he said when, not if. And as forgetting his skills back to par? That would work perfectly for what he’d said to Gary about a new direction for him. “Thank you again.”

“No, thank you all. My family means everything to me. They were threatened, and I had no one I could turn to. You all saved us, and I will never be able to repay that debt.”

Josh could understand that. “Sir, you help us take down Spencer and I promise, it’ll be us who owes you. Besides, I think I also owe you for the fact that the FBI hasn’t been breaking down CrossBow’s door to drag me away. This ‘taskforce’ Spencer said had been organized to find me and take me in?”

Carson huffed. “Nothing to do with me,” he replied. “I’ve been… out of the loop since they grabbed me and forced me to decrypt FBI files for them. Of course, I was having so many problems, none of them got done. That’s why they were so pissed at me. Anyway, Chalmers will have to bring me up to speed. If I had to guess, I don’t think Spencer wants to bring you in just yet. He wants it to be a public spectacle, probably as they wheel your body into the hospital, so he can tell people they removed the threat. I don’t buy it, and I’m sure others don’t. You may be many things, Dr. Malone, but a mass murderer you are not.”

“And now that you have access, I’m gonna get off the line and let you do your stuff,” Dixon told him.

“But if—when—you find something, let us know?” Carson added. “Because for what I have in mind, we’re going to need ammunition, as much as you can give me.”

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