Page 74 of Insidious Threats
He nodded.
“I’m Rock.”
The barista slid a ceramic mug down the counter, and Leo grabbed it. He inhaled deeply, letting the aroma tickle his brain before the first sip even hit his bloodstream. He stuffed a handful of dollars into the tip jar, then followed the woman to a table in the corner across from a small bookshelf labeled “Leave a Book, Take a Book” that sagged under the weight of airport hardbacks and dog-eared paperbacks.
The hacker took her seat and picked up a mug of tea, then gestured for him to sit, too. Leo sat across from her and gathered his thoughts.
“So, I should call you Rock?”
“You shouldn’t call me anything,” she told him, shrugging out of her plaid fleece shirt to reveal a black ribbed tank top and well-defined arms.
“Okay. Well, thanks for meeting me. I’m not sure how much Au—my friend—told you.”
“Enough to know that you work for the feds.”
“This isn’t related to my work.”
She sipped her tea and pressed a button on her watch. “You have three minutes to convince me to help you. Go.”
Leo pushed back the irritation that bloomed to life in his chest. It went against his nature to beg, hat in hand, for help. But the truth was he needed this woman. So, he exhaled slowly and modulated his voice. “Several months ago, I received this flash drive.”
He removed Landon’s drive from his duffle bag’s zippered inner pocket and placed it on the table between them. He noted the spark of interest in her eyes.
“This is military-grade protection,” she said.
He nodded. “The information was secured by a PIN and, of course, the epoxy provided a physical barrier to accessing it without the PIN.”
“But you got in?”
“Finally figured out the PIN.”
She raised one eyebrow. “Impressive.”
“Don’t be too impressed. I got in, but I can’t get any further without help. The virus on this drive is a worm. It’s designed to destroy an algorithm.”
“What kind of algorithm?”
He sighed. “Here’s the thing. I can’t tell you unless you’re going to help me.”
She made a clucking sound with her tongue. “Here’s my thing, though. I’m not going to agree to help you unless I know what I’m helping you do. I believe this is called an impasse.”
“It’s a dangerous program that has the capacity to destroy society.”
“Melodramatic much?”
“I’m serious,” he told her. He lowered his voice. “The program is some sort of commercial consumer behavior predictor. I know, I know, that sounds crassly capitalistic but not particularly frightening. But, it is. I don’t know enough to understand the details, but the program is built on an artificial intelligence program that predicts whether someone will commit a crime. It’s a flawed, problematic program to begin with. The Justice Department got a consent decree to prevent it from being used for law enforcement purposes, but by masking it with this other program, this private company is going to be able to spread it everywhere. I need to destroy it. That’s where you come in. If you agree to help me, I’ll give you all the details. I promise.”
He sat back and looked at her with a level gaze.
She shook her head no. A rapid, decisive motion. “No way, dude. I don’t know who you really are or how you know about Mjölnir. But this is a setup. I’m out of here.”
She grabbed her shirt and pushed back her chair with a metallic screech.
“Wait. Did you just say Mjölnir?” He leaped to his feet and grabbed her arm.
“Get off me,” she hissed from between clenched teeth.
He relaxed his grip but didn’t release her arm. “Please, just don’t go. You know about Mjölnir? You have to help me.”
