Part 30 (2/2)

Switching the Berretta to his left hand, hegroped for the banister with his right. He figured he was probablyjust as bad a shot with his left, and he needed his right forsupport. Falling down this particular set of stairs could cripplesomeone for life, and Strathmore's dreams for his retirementdid not involve a wheelchair.

Susan, blinded by the blackness of the Crypto dome, descendedwith a hand on Strathmore's shoulder. Even at the distance oftwo feet, she could not see the commander's outline. As shestepped onto each metal tread, she shuffled her toes forwardlooking for the edge.

Susan began having second thoughts about risking a visit to Node3 to get Hale's pa.s.s- key. The commander insisted Halewouldn't have the guts to touch them, but Susan wasn't sosure. Hale was desperate. He had two options: Escape Crypto or goto jail.

A voice kept telling Susan they should wait for David'scall and use his pa.s.s-key, but she knew there was noguarantee he would even find it. She wondered what was taking Davidso long. Susan swallowed her apprehension and kept going.

Strathmore descended silently. There was no need to alert Halethey were coming. As they neared the bottom, Strathmore slowed,feeling for the final step. When he found it, the heel of hisloafer clicked on hard black tile. Susan felt his shoulder tense.They'd entered the danger zone. Hale could be anywhere.

In the distance, now hidden behind TRANSLTR, was theirdestination-Node 3.

Susan prayed Hale was still there, lyingon the floor, whimpering in pain like the dog he was.

Strathmore let go of the railing and switched the gun back tohis right hand. Without a word, he moved out into the darkness.Susan held tight to his shoulder. If she lost him, the only wayshe'd find him again was to speak. Hale might hear them. Asthey moved away from the safety of the stairs, Susan recalledlate-night games of tag as a kid- she'd left home base,she was in the open. She was vulnerable.

TRANSLTR was the only island in the vast black sea. Every fewsteps Strathmore stopped, gun poised, and listened. The only soundwas the faint hum from below.

Susan wanted to pull him back, backto safety, back to home base. There seemed to be faces in the darkall around her.

Halfway to TRANSLTR, the silence of Crypto was broken. Somewherein the darkness, seemingly right on top of them, a high-pitchedbeeping pierced the night.

Strathmore spun, and Susan lost him.Fearful, Susan shot her arm out, groping for him.

But the commanderwas gone. The s.p.a.ce where his shoulder had been was now just emptyair. She staggered forward into the emptiness.

The beeping noise continued. It was nearby. Susan wheeled in thedarkness. There was a rustle of clothing, and suddenly the beepingstopped. Susan froze. An instant later, as if from one of her worstchildhood nightmares, a vision appeared. A face materializeddirectly in front of her. It was ghostly and green. It was the faceof a demon, sharp shadows jutting upward across deformed features.She jumped back. She turned to run, but it grabbed her arm.

”Don't move!” it commanded.

For an instant, she thought she saw Hale in those two burningeyes. But the voice was not Hale's. And the touch was toosoft. It was Strathmore. He was lit from beneath by a glowingobject that he'd just pulled from his pocket. Her body saggedwith relief. She felt herself start breathing again. The object inStrathmore's hand had some sort of electronic LED that wasgiving off a greenish glow.

”d.a.m.n,” Strathmore cursed under his breath. ”Mynew pager.” He stared in disgust at the SkyPager in his palm.He'd forgotten to engage the silent-ring feature.

Ironically,he'd gone to a local electronics store to buy the device.He'd paid cash to keep it anonymous; n.o.body knew better thanStrathmore how closely the NSA watched their own-and thedigital messages sent and received from this pager were somethingStrathmore definitely needed to keep private.

Susan looked around uneasily. If Hale hadn't known theywere coming, he knew now.

Strathmore pressed a few b.u.t.tons and read the incoming message.He groaned quietly.

It was more bad news from Spain-not fromDavid Becker, but from the other party Strathmore had sentto Seville.

Three thousand miles away, a mobile surveillance van sped alongthe darkened Seville streets. It had been commissioned by the NSAunder ”Umbra” secrecy from a military base in Rota. Thetwo men inside were tense. It was not the first time they'dreceived emergency orders from Fort Meade, but the ordersdidn't usually come from so high up. The agent at the wheel called over his shoulder. ”Any signof our man?”

The eyes of his partner never left the feed from the wide-anglevideo monitor on the roof. ”No. Keep driving.”

CHAPTER 78

Underneath the twisting ma.s.s of cables, Jabba was sweating. Hewas still on his back with a penlight clenched in his teeth.He'd gotten used to working late on weekends; the less hecticNSA hours were often the only times he could perform hardwaremaintenance. As he maneuvered the red-hot soldering iron throughthe maze of wires above him, he moved with exceptional care;singeing any of the dangling sheathes would be disaster.

Just another few inches, he thought. The job was takingfar longer than he'd imagined.

Just as he brought the tip of the iron against the final threadof raw solder, his cellular phone rang sharply. Jabba startled, hisarm twitched, and a large glob of sizzling, liquefied lead fell onhis arm.

”s.h.i.+t!” He dropped the iron and practicallyswallowed his penlight. ”s.h.i.+t! s.h.i.+t! s.h.i.+t!”

He scrubbed furiously at the drop of cooling solder. It rolledoff, leaving an impressive welt. The chip he was trying to solderin place fell out and hit him in the head.

”G.o.dd.a.m.n it!”

Jabba's phone summoned him again. He ignored it.

”Midge,” he cursed under his breath. d.a.m.n you!Crypto's fine! The phone rang on.

Jabba went back to workreseating the new chip. A minute later the chip was in place, buthis phone was still ringing. For Christ's sake, Midge! Giveit up!

The phone rang another fifteen seconds and finally stopped.Jabba breathed a sigh of relief.

Sixty seconds later the intercom overhead crackled. ”Wouldthe chief Sys-Sec please contact the main switchboard for amessage.”

Jabba rolled his eyes in disbelief. She just doesn'tgive up, does she? He ignored the page.

CHAPTER 79

Strathmore replaced his Skypager in his pocket and peeredthrough the darkness toward Node 3.

He reached for Susan's hand. ”Come on.”

But their fingers never touched.

There was a long guttural cry from out of the darkness. Athundering figure loomed- a Mack truck bearing down with noheadlights. An instant later, there was a collision and Strathmorewas skidding across the floor.

It was Hale. The pager had given them away.

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