Ben stood guard while Cassy took a quick hot shower when they got back to the motel. Chip had found an all-night grocery store where he picked up some coffee and sweet rolls, which was all she’d said her stomach could handle for the moment.
Although she had to get dressed in dirty clothes, she insisted that Chip show her what he had downloaded to his computer from the flash drive. And as soon as it had come up she’d sat back, a deeply disappointed look on her face.
“What is it?” Ben asked.
“I’ve got some work to do before this can be used.”
“Did I screw it up?” Chip asked.
“There was a onetime-use Burnham Pike security marker embedded in the program. If the flash drive had been downloaded to a BP computer it would have been recognized as being legitimate. Downloaded into a foreign computer—your laptop—the markers were erased.”
“Your flash drive and my computer talked with each other?” Chip asked.
Cassy nodded.
“You need to show me how you did that.”
“Later,” Cassy said, bringing up the first page of the program. “I need to fix this before we can load it into BP’s system to neutralize Abacus.”
“How long will it take once you’ve downloaded the thing?” Chip asked.
“I don’t know. Twenty, maybe thirty minutes.”
“But it has to be done at the firm?”
Cassy nodded, but her fingers were flying over the keyboard and she didn’t look up.
“It’s one-thirty now, and it’ll take maybe a half hour or more to get downtown, which leaves you six hours or so with a margin to get it done before opening bell,” Chip said. “Plenty of time.”
This time Cassy did look up. “You don’t understand. The markers are embedded on every page of the program. And there are more than one thousand pages. So let me get to it.”
“I’ll get some more coffee and something else to eat,” Chip said.
Ben took Chip aside. “That’s not the only problem,” he said. “We’ll still have to get her inside the building.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Under ordinary circumstances, I’d tell you to take the plane back to Washington.”
“But these aren’t ordinary circumstances.”
“I think that it’s a safe bet we’re going to get stopped trying to get in. We might get arrested again, and I’ll need you to call the admiral.”
“He’s not going to be real happy about that, especially if it’s in the middle of the night. Admirals tend to get cranky when someone interrupts their beauty sleep.”
“Tell him if he springs me, I’ll gladly come back and finish W for him.”
“That, he’ll understand,” Chip said. “I’m going on another chow run. Want anything?”
“Something not sweet.”
“I’ll see if there’s a McDonald’s open somewhere.”
“Watch your six,” Ben said.
“Will do.”