Page 63 of Insidious Threats
“He’d better be sober.”
“He will be. And if I need to, I can fly this thing myself. What’s going on?”
“Rosen lied to me.”
Uh-oh.
“Oh? About the programmer?”
“Right. The guy—his name is Garwood March—uncovered the algorithm hidden in Mjölnir’s DNA. He thought it was a bug. He called Pinpoint Partners to ask about it, and freaking Rosen told him to send over the final product and pretend he never found the criminality prediction.”
“But he didn’t?”
“No, he did. He uploaded the program to the FTP site, and then he took off. We’ve tracked him as far as Nevada.”
“So, you want me to get rid of March?”
“No. Rosen assured me there’s no way Garwood March could tie the work he did back to me, and I think that’s likely correct. Besides, at this point, he’s had a big head start.”
“I assure you I can find him, Leith.”
“I have no doubt. But you have other priorities.”
“Let me guess. You want me to deal with Rosen.”
“Yes, eventually. But first I need you to make sure March didn’t tell anyone else at his company what he found. Rosen is sure March didn’t tell his supervisor, and he swears the guy wouldn’t have told anyone else either. But—”
“But Brian Rosen’s proved that you can’t trust him anymore.”
“Precisely. So you’re going to go to Idaho and confirm that nobody else knows what Mjölnir is capable of.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Idaho?”
“Yes. Raquel will send you the address.”
“And you’re sure Rosen won’t skip out on you, the way ATJ tried to?”
Leith’s voice was tight. “He knows better. Besides, he thinks that by coming clean after the fact he’s stayed in my good graces. He doesn’t know what’s coming.”
Stasia wasn’t so sure about that. She’d met Brian Rosen. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew what Amanda had known and what this developer seemed to know, too: Once Leith Delone determined you were a threat (no matter how remote), or disloyal, or incompetent, you became expendable. If she were in Rosen’s shoes, she would run.
But there was no point in arguing with Leith when he was in a mood—or any time, really. He wanted her to go to Idaho, so she’d go to Idaho. She said goodbye, retrieved the text from Raquel, filed the flight plan to Sun Valley, then called Bruce, the pilot, and instructed him to return to the airport and prepare to be wheels up as soon as they got clearance.
Then she poured a large glass of wine, popped two melatonin tablets, and removed her dress again. She crawled into the bed, pulled the heavy comforter up over her, and fell into a deep sleep. Once Bruce had the Airbus in the air, they would be airborne for four hours and ten minutes. She would sleep through the flight and stay asleep until morning. She would wake naturally, work out, and begin her day with a sharp mind and a rested body. Her discipline and adherence to routine had served her well thus far. She trusted they would see her through whatever lay ahead.
33
Cinco was shaking. While Sasha closed and locked the door to the small cabin, Ellie pulled her father out of the closet, settled him in the sole chair, and draped a blanket over his knees. Then she crouched in front of him and looked up into his pale, blank face.
“Dad, are you okay?”
Cinco didn’t react.
Sasha walked back to the closet and surveyed the pile of wrappers that littered the floor. She stooped and picked one up.
“Have you been living on packaged peanut butter on wheat crackers for an entire month?” she asked.
From the chair, Cinco blinked. “I don’t know. What’s today’s date?”
