“We want Red Trident’s fraud detection bots crawling all over the school’s network,” Avi said.
It was 5:30 a.m. in California, and John Darsie, drenched with sweat, leaned on the handlebars of his Peloton bicycle.
“Yes, I can do it,” he said. The screen mounted to the handlebars no longer played a Peloton trainer in a New York City studio, but the face of Avi Amit. “My team will need at least fifteen minutes to trace the IP address. Avi is right, there’s no doubt Encyte will send this thing all over the earth and beyond.” Darsie dabbed his brow. “We’ll be able to find the point of origination, but like I said, we need time.”
“So she’ll have to be inside for fifteen minutes?” Avi asked.
“Yes,” Darsie said. “It’s like finding the first stitch in a sweater. You would need to pull each thread, slowly tracking back to its point of origin, being careful not to break it. That’s what we’re trying to do here, with one wrinkle. To truly understand who Encyte is, we need to have somebody physically in his environment.”
“We don’t know where Encyte is,” Elaine said. “He told Leigh Ann his daughter was killed in that school shooting in Florida, but he could literally be anywhere—one of the seven and a half billion people on earth.”
“Well, at Red Trident, we have some key suspects,” Darsie said.
“You have suspects?” Ken Carl yelled through the Peloton screen. “You’re an IT contractor. You’re not supposed to have suspects. What are you doing spying on the American people?”
“With all due respect, Kenny boy,” Darsie said. “There’s a killer in this world, and I’m one of the only people capable of finding him.”
“I’m not sure we’re not looking at one of the suspects,” Ken muttered and pointed at Darsie’s face on his screen.
“I don’t have time for fools,” Darsie said. “So who’s going to be on the ground? If it’s Ken, I’m not making promises.”
“Screw you!” Ken shouted.
“Ease down, everyone. I’ve temporarily reinstated Camp Valor,” the SecDef said. “Eldon has assembled a team of campers, and they’ll be en route to D.C. within the hour.”
“When’s the rehearsal?” Darsie said, again starting to pedal the stationary bike, grinding out his thoughts.
“Tomorrow,” Elaine said, “4 p.m.”
“To me, our biggest concern is if you can get this woman mentally prepared to go through with it. One thing that may help—change the timing.”
“What?” Elaine said.
“Aren’t we worried Encyte will spook if she changes the plan?” Avi asked.
“No, he’s right,” Eldon chimed in. “We have no idea what Encyte might do. If Encyte has planned this attack, don’t you think he has a fallback if Leigh Ann doesn’t go through with it? He could be there. He could have another shooter. He could have five other shooters. A guy like this is not going to all this trouble without a contingency, so we should switch it up.”
“So he might have to shuffle to put a Plan B in place?” SecDef said.
“Exactly,” Darsie said. “It’s an aggressive chess move, and we must get him on his heels. A show of force. Otherwise, he controls everything. Let’s have the school change the schedule, so it doesn’t look like Leigh Ann is calling the shots. Have them move the rehearsal to today at 4 p.m.”
“Today?” Ken balked. “How can we assemble a mission of this scale in one day? I mean, it’s…” Ken looked down at his wrist, realizing he’d rustled out of bed without his watch.
“It’s eight thirty on the East Coast. We have seven and a half hours. That’s two hours more than you put in in a work day, Ken.” Darsie saw the SecDef had to stop herself from snickering. “I’m ready. Always ready. Eldon, can the team from Valor be in place and ready by 4 p.m.?”
“Yes,” Eldon said without a moment’s thought.
“Okay,” said Darsie, “I suggest we get the school to publish the change online before 9 a.m. Leigh Ann needs to contact GrievingDad_12, and then we set the trap.”
“I might not like to admit it, but Darsie’s right,” Eldon said. “Elaine, what’s your decision?”
The Sec Def sighed and sat back, propping her head in her hands.
“If I may—” Ken Carl leaned in behind her.
“Hush,” the SecDef snapped. She took a few deep breaths. “Let’s do it,” she said, and the screens went to black.
In the shadow of the Washington Monument, Ken sat down on a bench and called up Tui, who didn’t answer until the third ring.
“What are you doing?” Ken snapped. “Shit’s getting serious over here.”
“What do you mean what am I doing?” Tui said. “I’ve been following these kids all over San Francisco. They went bike riding for five hours yesterday—do you have any idea how hard that was to track? Hang on—” Tui paused and then ordered, “Yeah, five soft tacos and five bean burritos … and a large Mountain Dew.”
“Taco Bell?” Ken scoffed. “It’s breakfast! Listen up. It’s going down, and I mean now.”
“I’m listening.”
“You were right—the Ole Broad is all in with this guy Darsie. He’s hiding something, and she’s too close to see it. There’s another attack coming today. Find John Darsie and don’t leave his side.”
“You understand what you’re asking, right? The guy has his own security detail and a Tesla outfitted like the damn Batmobile.”
“I don’t think you’re hearing me. Today!” Ken screamed, spooking some geese into flight. He lowered his voice. “Everything we’ve waited for … is happening … today. Now, do you want this or not?”
“Yes.”
“Lose the kids. Find Darsie. Whatever you have to do, just do it.”
“Okay, I’ll figure it out.”