第 21 页

　Brinkerhoff gazed up at the array of closed-caption video monitors on her wall, their screens all freeze frames of the NSA seal. "You're gonna snoop Crypto?" he asked nervously.

　"Nope," Midge replied. "Wish I could, but Crypto's a sealed deal. It's got no video. No sound. No nothing. Strathmore's orders. All I've got is approach stats and basic TRANSLTR stuff. We're lucky we've even got that. Strathmore wanted total isolation, but Fontaine insisted on the basics."

　Brinkerhoff looked puzzled. "Crypto hasn't got video?"

　"Why?" she asked, without turning from her monitor. "You and Carmen looking for a little more privacy?"

　Brinkerhoff grumbled something inaudible.

　Midge typed some more keys. "I'm pulling Strathmore's elevator log." She studied her monitor a moment and then rapped her knuckle on the desk. "He's here," she said matter-of-factly. "He's in Crypto right now. Look at this. Talk about long hours--he went in yesterday morning bright and early, and his elevator hasn't budged since. I'm showing no magno-card use for him on the main door. So he's definitely in there."

　Brinkerhoff breathed a slight sigh of relief. "So, if Strathmore's in there, everything's okay, right?"

　Midge thought a moment. "Maybe," she finally decided.

　"Maybe?"

　"We should call him and double-check."

　Brinkerhoff groaned. "Midge, he's the deputy director. I'm sure he has everything under control. Let's not second-guess--"

　"Oh, come on, Chad--don't be such a child. We're just doing our job. We've got a snag in the stats, and we're following up. Besides," she added, "I'd like to remind Strathmore that Big Brother's watching. Make him think twice before planning any more of his hare-brained stunts to save the world." Midge picked up the phone and began dialing.

　Brinkerhoff looked uneasy. "You really think you should bother him?"

　"I'm not bothering him," Midge said, tossing him the receiver. "You are."

　CHAPTER?48

　"What?" Midge sputtered in disbelief. "Strathmore claims our data is wrong?"

　Brinkerhoff nodded and hung up the phone.

　"Strathmore denied that TRANSLTR's been stuck on one file for eighteen hours?"

　"He was quite pleasant about the whole thing." Brinkerhoff beamed, pleased with himself for surviving the phone call. "He assured me TRANSLTR was working fine. Said it was breaking codes every six minutes even as we speak. Thanked me for checking up on him."

　"He's lying," Midge snapped. "I've been running these Crypto stats for two years. The data is never wrong."

　"First time for everything," he said casually.

　She shot him a disapproving look. "I run all data twice."

　"Well... you know what they say about computers. When they screw up, at least they're consistent about it."

　Midge spun and faced him. "This isn't funny, Chad! The DDO just told a blatant lie to the director's office. I want to know why!"

　Brinkerhoff suddenly wished he hadn't called her back in. Strathmore's phone call had set her off. Ever since Skipjack, whenever Midge had a sense that something suspicious was going on, she made an eerie transition from flirt to fiend. There was no stopping her until she sorted it out.

　"Midge, it is possible our data is off," Brinkerhoff said firmly. "I mean, think about it--a file that ties up TRANSLTR for eighteen hours? It's unheard of. Go home. It's late."

　She gave him a haughty look and tossed the report on the counter. "I trust the data. Instinct says it's right."

　Brinkerhoff frowned. Not even the director questioned Midge Milken's instincts anymore--she had an uncanny habit of always being right.

　"Something's up," she declared. "And I intend to find out what it is."

　CHAPTER?49

　Becker dragged himself off the floor of the bus and collapsed in an empty seat.

　"Nice move, dipshit." The kid with the three spikes sneered. Becker squinted in the stark lighting. It was the kid he'd chased onto the bus. He glumly surveyed the sea of red, white, and blue coiffures.

　"What's with the hair?" Becker moaned, motioning to the others. "It's all..."

　"Red, white, and blue?" the kid offered.

　Becker nodded, trying not to stare at the infected perforation in the kid's upper lip.

　"Judas Taboo," the kid said matter-of-factly.

　Becker looked bewildered.

　The punk spit in the aisle, obviously disgusted with Becker's ignorance. "Judas Taboo? Greatest punk since Sid Vicious? Blew his head off here a year ago today. It's his anniversary."

　Becker nodded vaguely, obviously missing the connection.

　"Taboo did his hair this way the day he signed off." The kid spit again. "Every fan worth his weight in piss has got red, white, and blue hair today."

　For a long moment, Becker said nothing. Slowly, as if he had been shot with a tranquilizer, he turned and faced front. Becker surveyed the group on the bus. Every last one was a punk. Most were staring at him.

　Every fan has red, white, and blue hair today.

　Becker reached up and pulled the driver-alert cord on the wall. It was time to get off. He pulled again. Nothing happened. He pulled a third time, more frantically. Nothing.

　"They disconnect 'em on bus 27." The kid spat again. "So we don't fuck with 'em."

　Becker turned. "You mean, I can't get off?"

　The kid laughed. "Not till the end of the line."

　Five minutes later, the bus was barreling along an unlit Spanish country road. Becker turned to the kid behind him. "Is this thing ever going to stop?"

　The kid nodded. "Few more miles."

　"Where are we going?"

　He broke into a sudden wide grin. "You mean you don't know?"

　Becker shrugged.

　The kid started laughing hysterically. "Oh, shit. You're gonna love it."

　CHAPTER?50

　Only yards from TRANSLTR's hull, Phil Chartrukian stood over a patch of white lettering on the Crypto floor.

　CRYPTO SUBLEVELS

　AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY

　He knew he was definitely not authorized personnel. He shot a quick glance up at Strathmore's office. The curtains were still pulled. Chartrukian had seen Susan Fletcher go into the bathrooms, so he knew she wasn't a problem. The only other question was Hale. He glanced toward Node 3, wondering if the cryptographer were watching.

　"Fuck it," he grumbled.

　Below his feet the outline of a recessed trapdoor was barely visible in the floor. Chartrukian palmed the key he'd just taken from the Sys-Sec lab.

　He knelt down, inserted the key in the floor, and turned. The bolt beneath clicked. Then he unscrewed the large external butterfly latch and freed the door. Checking once again over his shoulder, he squatted down and pulled. The panel was small, only three feet by three feet, but it was heavy. When it finally opened, the Sys-Sec stumbled back.

　A blast of hot air hit him in the face. It carried with it the sharp bite of freon gas. Billows of steam swirled out of the opening, illuminated by the red utility lighting below. The distant hum of the generators became a rumble. Chartrukian stood up and peered into the opening. It looked more like the gateway to hell than a service entrance for a computer. A narrow ladder led to a platform under the floor. Beyond that, there were stairs, but all he could see was swirling red mist.

　* * *

　Greg Hale stood behind the one-way glass of Node 3. He watched as Phil Chartrukian eased himself down the ladder toward the sublevels. From where Hale was standing, the Sys-Sec's head appeared to have been severed from his body and left out on the Crypto floor. Then, slowly, it sank into the swirling mist.

　"Gutsy move," Hale muttered. He knew where Chartrukian was headed. An emergency manual abort of TRANSLTR was a logical action if he thought the computer had a virus. Unfortunately, it was also a sure way to have Crypto crawling with Sys-Secs in about ten minutes. Emergency actions raised alert flags at the main switchboard. A Sys-Sec investigation of Crypto was something Hale could not afford. Hale left Node 3 and headed for the trapdoor. Chartrukian had to be stopped.

　CHAPTER?51

　Jabba resembled a giant tadpole. Like the cinematic creature for whom he was nicknamed, the man was a hairless spheroid. As resident guardian angel of all NSA computer systems, Jabba marched from department to department, tweaking, soldering, and reaffirming his credo that prevention was the best medicine. No NSA computer had ever been infected under Jabba's reign; he intended to keep it that way.

　Jabba's home base was a raised workstation overlooking the NSA's underground, ultra-secret databank. It was there that a virus would do the most damage and there that he spent the majority of his time. At the moment, however, Jabba was taking a break and enjoying pepperoni calzones in the NSA's all-night commissary. He was about to dig into his third when his cellular phone rang.

　"Go," he said, coughing as he swallowed a mouthful.

　"Jabba," a woman's voice cooed. "It's Midge."

　"Data Queen!" the huge man gushed. He'd always had a soft spot for Midge Milken. She was sharp, and she was also the only woman Jabba had ever met who flirted with him. "How the hell are you?"

　"No complaints."

　Jabba wiped his mouth. "You on site?"

　"Yup."

　"Care to join me for a calzone?"

　"Love to Jabba, but I'm watching these hips."

　"Really?" He snickered. "Mind if I join you?"

　"You're bad."

　"You have no idea...."

　"Glad I caught you in," she said. "I need some advice."

　He took a long swallow of Dr Pepper. "Shoot."

　"It might be nothing," Midge said, "but my Crypto stats turned up something odd. I was hoping you could shed some light."

　"What ya got?" He took another sip.

　"I've got a report saying TRANSLTR's been running the same file for eighteen hours and hasn't cracked it."

　Jabba sprayed Dr Pepper all over his calzone. "You what?"

　"Any ideas?"

　He dabbed at his calzone with a napkin. "What report is this?"

　"Production report. Basic cost analysis stuff." Midge quickly explained what she and Brinkerhoff had found.

　"Have you called Strathmore?"

　"Yes. He said everything's fine in Crypto. Said TRANSLTR's running full speed ahead. Said our data's wrong."

　Jabba furrowed his bulbous forehead. "So what's the problem? Your report glitched." Midge did not respond. Jabba caught her drift. He frowned. "You don't think your report glitched?"

　"Correct."

　"So you think Strathmore's lying?"

　"It's not that," Midge said diplomatically, knowing she was on fragile ground. "It's just that my stats have never been wrong in the past. I thought I'd get a second opinion."

　"Well," Jabba said, "I hate to be the one to break it to you, but your data's fried."

　"You think so?"

　"I'd bet my job on it." Jabba took a big bite of soggy calzone and spoke with his mouth full. "Longest a file has ever lasted inside TRANSLTR is three hours. That includes diagnostics, boundary probes, everything. Only thing that could lock it down for eighteen hours would have to be viral. Nothing else could do it."

　"Viral?"

　"Yeah, some kind of redundant cycle. Something that got into the processors, created a loop, and basically gummed up the works."

　"Well," she ventured, "Strathmore's been in Crypto for about thirty-six hours straight. Any chance he's fighting a virus?"

　Jabba laughed. "Strathmore's been in there for thirty-six hours? Poor bastard. His wife probably said he can't come home. I hear she's bagging his ass."

　Midge thought a moment. She'd heard that too. She wondered if maybe she was being paranoid.

　"Midge." Jabba wheezed and took another long drink. "If Strathmore's toy had a virus, he would have called me. Strathmore's sharp, but he doesn't know shit about viruses. TRANSLTR's all he's got. First sign of trouble, he would have pressed the panic button--and around here, that means me." Jabba sucked in a long strand of mozzarella. "Besides, there's no way in hell TRANSLTR has a virus. Gauntlet's the best set of package filters I've ever written. Nothing gets through."

　After a long silence, Midge sighed. "Any other thoughts?"

　"Yup. Your data's fried."

　"You already said that."

　"Exactly."

　She frowned. "You haven't caught wind of anything? Anything at all?"

　Jabba laughed harshly. "Midge... listen up. Skipjack sucked. Strathmore blew it. But move on--it's over." There was a long silence on the line, and Jabba realized he'd gone too far. "Sorry, Midge. I know you took heat over that whole mess. Strathmore was wrong. I know how you feel about him."

　"This has nothing to do with Skipjack," she said firmly.

　Yeah, sure, Jabba thought. "Listen, Midge, I don't have feelings for Strathmore one way or another. I mean, the guy's a cryptographer. They're basically all self-centered assholes. They need their data yesterday. Every damn file is the one that could save the world."

　"So what are you saying?"

　Jabba sighed. "I'm saying Strathmore's a psycho like the rest of them. But I'm also saying he loves TRANSLTR more than his own goddamn wife. If there were a problem, he would have called me."

　Midge was quiet a long time. Finally she let out a reluctant sigh. "So you're saying my data's fried?"

　Jabba chuckled. "Is there an echo in here?"

　She laughed.

　"Look, Midge. Drop me a work order. I'll be up on Monday to double-check your machine. In the meantime, get the hell out of here. It's Saturday night. Go get yourself laid or something."