The hand was removed. “What? What would make you say such a thing?”

  It wasn’t a denial. “I could see it in your eyes. You’re tempted.”

  “Only because of the money! You know we’re heading into the slow season. A commission such as this, three times what was already extremely generous, means we don’t have to worry about feeding our children.”

  He faced her. “Three times?”

  She looked up at him. “Of course, three times. You didn’t think I wanted to, well, you know, take up his offer of five times.”

  A relieved sigh escaped as every muscle in his body relaxed. He embraced her, squeezing her against him. “Oh, thank God! I thought you were one of them.”

  She laughed, hugging him back. “No, my husband, you are the only man for me. But I am willing to suffer witnessing the debauchery of Canaan and his friends if it means our daughters are fed and clothed for months to come.” He kissed the top of her head and she gently pushed away. “Well, if we’re going to take him up on his offer, then I better get to work recreating his last party.”

  He smiled at her. “Just leave us out of it, all right?”

  She laughed. “Very well. But when I’m done working, why don’t you join me and we’ll reenact some of the scenes as husband and wife.”

  His robe stirred at the filthy proposition. He grinned. “Why wait?”

  7 |

  Acton/Palmer Residence, Overlook Village Gated Community

  St. Paul, Maryland

  Present Day

  Laura had fainted with her husband’s words. When she had recovered, they had both examined the photo six ways from Sunday, searching for any anomalies, any indication it was a fake, but their inexpert eyes found nothing. A call had been placed and Tommy had answered, their guests returning immediately. Laura now sat at the dining room table as Tommy set up several laptops, bringing up the photo.

  His head shook. “I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on that. I saw this photo. I looked directly at it, but I didn’t make the connection. It just never occurred to me to think that he’d still be alive.”

  James held up a finger. “Might still be alive. Let’s not get any hopes up here or jump to any conclusions. Right now, we have a photo that doesn’t fit the facts, and there are only three possibilities I can think of. One, is that this is a fake. Two, that this is genuine and Charles is still alive, or three, this is genuine and we’re misinterpreting what we’re seeing.”

  Laura’s eyes narrowed. “How could we misinterpret it?”

  “Well, for one, the marquee has ‘Terminator’ and then the word ‘Genisys’ underneath. Was there a movie called Genisys out at the same time as the original Terminator, or was there ever a rerunning of the movie, along with a movie called Genisys, and he just happened to be there and got his photo taken? I realize it’s a long shot, but is it any more of a long shot than him actually being alive?”

  Tommy pursed his lips. “No, I suppose not.” He went to work and Laura folded her arms, leaning back, a jumble of emotions. She was excited at the prospect that her brother might still be alive but confused as to why he kept that fact hidden from her. Could he have somehow survived but lost his memory and was wandering the world, not knowing who he was? But if that were the case, why was he at a Terminator sequel? If he remembered his love for that franchise, surely he would have remembered his love for her.

  Why would he make her think he was dead these past ten years? It made no sense. It had to be a fake, but if it were a fake, why? Who would create such an image then put it out on the Internet? The only person it could possibly hurt was her, and surely they would have approached her, demanding payment for further information as to where he was, then once they received it, disappeared into the ether.

  James watched Tommy intently working. “Will you be able to prove conclusively whether it’s a fake?”

  Tommy shrugged. “If I find evidence it’s a fake, I can prove that it definitely is a fake. But if I can’t find any evidence, it could still mean it’s a fake, but something expertly done. We’re not talking Oswald here in the backyard with the shadows not matching. Fakes today can be as clumsily done as that or done so well, it’s impossible to tell.” He leaned back, throwing his hands up and clasping them behind his head. “I can’t tell.”

  Laura leaned forward. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I’m seeing no evidence of this being a fake. There’s no odd pixelization around him in the background, no evidence he’s been superimposed on another image, all the lighting seems to match. As far as I can tell, it’s real.”

  “But it can’t be! He can’t be alive! There’s no way he would hide that from me! It would mean he survived! There’s no way he survived and didn’t tell me!” She burst into tears, her chest aching. “He wouldn’t do that to me,” she murmured.

  James rushed around the table and held her tight as her body was racked with sobs.

  “He couldn’t do that to me, James. He could never be so cruel.”

  James patted her head gently and addressed Tommy. “Is there any way to know for sure?”

  Tommy shook his head. “Not with my equipment. The CIA might be able to tell, but even then, they might be able to determine if it’s a fake, but there’s no way to really know one hundred percent.”

  “It has to be fake,” mumbled Laura, her face still pressed into James’ chest. “He wouldn’t do that to me.”

  James kissed the top of her head. “Make the call.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Tommy.

  8 |

  Leroux/White Residence, Fairfax Towers

  Falls Church, Virginia

  CIA Analyst Supervisor Chris Leroux tossed his controller on the table, ET dead yet again. He turned to his best friend, CIA Operations Officer Dylan Kane, sitting on the couch beside him in Leroux’s apartment. “I can see why they buried all these in a landfill. I think that truly is the worst game ever made.”

  Kane agreed. “It definitely does have suck written all over it. I just can’t believe you got your hands on it.”

  Leroux shrugged. “It’s amazing what you can find on the Dark Web.”

  “I hope you didn’t use government funds.”

  “Nooo, I didn’t. I just found the seller, made contact, then told Randy Child about it and he took over and used his own computers to hack the guy. Less than twenty-four hours later and he’s handing me a prerelease beta of one of the biggest disasters in video gaming history.”

  “Too bad, too. The movie was great. Before my time, of course, but I’ve seen it since. My parents showed it to me when I was a kid and I loved it.”

  “Same here. Probably one of my all-time favorites.” Leroux leaned back. “Man, I can’t remember the last time I actually went to a movie theater.”

  Kane grunted and took a swig of his beer. “Me too, except to kill someone.”

  Leroux chuckled. “What was playing?”

  “Eternals.”

  “Then he was probably hoping someone would kill him.”

  Kane laughed. “You’re probably right.” He picked up his controller. “Call of Duty?”

  “Sounds good to me.” Leroux’s phone rang. He leaned forward to see the call display. “Tommy Granger.”

  Kane put down the controller. “Are you two friends?”

  Leroux picked up his phone from the table. “No.”

  “Then it must be an emergency. Where are the professors?”

  Leroux chuckled then accepted the call. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Mr. Leroux. This is Tommy Granger. Sorry for calling this late.”

  Leroux glanced at the time, his eyebrows shooting up. His girlfriend, CIA Operations Officer Sherrie White, and Kane’s girlfriend, ex-Chinese Special Forces Operator Lee Fang, were on an overnight trip to a spa where they were being pampered and spoiled. It meant beer, pizza, and video games for their partners. “No problem, I’m awake. What’s going on?”

  “A weird one, sir. I’m here with Professors Acton and Palmer.”

  Leroux’s eyebrows shot up and he put the call on speaker. “You said you’re with them?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, they haven’t got themselves knee-deep in some shit somewhere in the world?”

  “No, sir, it’s not like that this time. You are aware that Professor Palmer’s brother, Charles Palmer, died ten years ago at a dig site in Jordan?”

  Leroux remembered reading the file, though few of the details. “Yes, I’m aware of it.”

  “Well, sir, I’ve come across a photograph taken of him years after his death. It has to be a fake, but I can’t find any evidence that it is. Can I send it to you so you can use your tools to examine it?”

  Kane leaned forward. “Wait a minute. Tommy, this is Dylan. Did you call on an open line, or did you use the encrypted network?”

  “Open line. I didn’t think there was anything classified about this.”

  Kane cursed. “Send the file through the encrypted network, then whatever you do, don’t talk about what you found, don’t even mention his name on any open line or any non-encrypted form of communication. Understood?”

  Tommy’s response dripped with fear. “Y-yes, sir. Why? What’s going on?”

  “I’ll tell you when I see you in person.” Kane reached forward and ended the call. “This isn’t good.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Leroux, confused.

  “I’ve read the classified file. You obviously haven’t.”

  “I’ve read the file on him. He was a remarkable man, but I don’t remember there being anything worth getting excited about ten years later.”

  Kane shook his head. “You don’t understand. This guy has a top-secret dossier that not a lot of people have seen. The Chief showed it to me when we started dealing with the professors, just in case something odd ever came up.”

  “Odd?”

  “Charles Palmer is supposed to be dead, but they never found his body, so that means he could still be alive. In his classified file, he’s not listed as dead, he’s listed as missing.”

  “Why would they do that? I seem to remember the witness accounts being pretty clear.”

  “Oh, according to all the witnesses, he’s absolutely dead. He died in a tunnel collapse, but the Jordanians shut everything down almost immediately and nobody’s been allowed back since to recover the body. If it were anybody else, our government would have simply closed the file on him. After all, he’s a British citizen, not American, but what most people don’t realize, and I’m willing to bet that includes his sister, is that he was working on a project using quantum computing technology that was way ahead of its time. The CIA got someone inside his private lab just before he died, and our analysts who examined what they found came to the conclusion that he was about to make a breakthrough that could change everything.”

  Leroux’s eyes narrowed. “In what way?”

  “You know how most people think that once we have a functioning quantum computer, because it would be so fast, it would be able to brute force attack any computer system and break people’s passwords?”

  “Yes, I’m aware of most people’s misconception.”

  “Good. Then you understand it’s not actually passwords that are the issue. It’s encryption.”

  “Of course. With quantum computing’s speed combined with its use of qubits, it could quickly break any encryption. And once that’s broken, you don’t need passwords. You can read anything they send or receive.”

  “Exactly. All encryption protocols, government, banking, anything, could be broken with little effort. Whoever gets their hands on this first could gain access to everything, and there’s no way we would know it until it was too late. Whoever has that technology first will have an incredible advantage. There’s not a government on this planet nor a criminal organization that wouldn’t kill to get that tech.”

  Leroux regarded his friend, his pulse ticking up rapidly. “You’re not saying that he invented it?”

  Kane shrugged. “The analysts said that if he hadn’t invented it, he was about to, and then a few weeks later he was dead.” He pointed at the phone. “If Tommy’s right and they’ve found proof that he’s alive, then I’m willing to bet that in the past ten years he’s not only finished it, he’s perfected it.”

  Leroux’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit! Are you saying he faked his death so that he could finish his work without anyone knowing?”

  Kane held up his hands. “No idea. But if there’s even the slightest chance he’s alive, we need to find him first, because God help us all if the Chinese or Russians get their hands on him. What he was working on could change the balance of power. Permanently.”

  9 |

  Acton/Palmer Residence, Overlook Village Gated Community

  St. Paul, Maryland

  Tommy put his phone down on the table and pushed away from it as if it were dangerous.

  Acton eyed him. “What’s wrong?”

  “Dylan was there. He asked if I called on an open line or an encrypted line, and then wasn’t happy when he heard it was open.”

  Laura eyed him, puzzled. “Why would he care about that?”

  “I’m not sure, but it has to do with your brother. He said we shouldn’t make any mention of him on any open line or open form of communication.”

  Mai leaned closer to Tommy, taking his hand. “What do you think is going on? You’ve worked with them before.”

  “I’m not sure, but we’ve been looking at this from the perspective of Laura’s brother being alive and how that’s a great thing. We haven’t really been looking at it from the perspective of what are the implications.”

  Acton had to agree with his young friend. They had been blinded by the mystery, the intrigue, the possibility of a loved one lost actually being alive. But no one was questioning why or, more importantly, what it meant. “You’re right. Let’s think about this logically and not emotionally. Let’s assume he is alive.”

  Tommy jerked forward. “Oops. They wanted me to send them the photo through the encrypted network.”

  “Do it.”

  Tommy went to work as Acton continued his train of thought. “Let’s assume he’s alive and ignore the remote possibility that this is all innocent, he somehow lost his memory, yada, yada, yada. If he’s alive, then he faked his own death.”

  “But he wouldn’t do that to me,” repeated Laura.

  Acton reached out and took his wife’s hand, squeezing it gently. “He would if it meant not doing so would put you in danger.”

  “In danger?”

  “Yes. You don’t fake your own death for trivial reasons. You fake it because you want other people to think you’re dead so that they stop pursuing you. Creditors, ex-wives, government, law enforcement, whatever. You only fake your death to get away. So, we know he wasn’t in trouble with the law. He didn’t owe people money. He had no ex-wives or family that he wanted to escape. That leaves governments and criminal organizations. And Tommy, you said he was working on quantum computing. That deals with encryption, right?”

  “Well, it can, yes. The theory is that the very nature of quantum computing and the pure horsepower behind it could render modern encryption obsolete.”

  “Could he have created a device that could do such a thing?”

  Tommy smirked. “What? Like in Sneakers?”

  Acton ignored the attitude. “Exactly.”

  “Well, no. Well, I guess that’s not right. Let’s just put it this way, if he’s invented a machine that’s the size of an old-style answering machine, no, I don’t think so, though if he has, that would be unbelievably incredible. More likely, if he has invented something, it’s either a methodology that could be built using quantum computing, or if he has been working on it for the past ten years, he could have actually built a quantum computer capable of doing what we’re talking about, though I doubt it’s fitting inside of anyone’s briefcase anytime soon.”

  “But the size of it doesn’t matter, right?”

  “No. As long as it can connect to the Internet, it can tap any feed anywhere in the world, crack its encryption, potentially in a matter of hours, at most days, then read any of the traffic it wants.”

  Laura, working her phone the entire time, wagged it. “But it says here that the whole idea of quantum computing rendering passwords obsolete is nonsense. Any type of brute force attack would be detected and most password systems lock you out after five tries. So how would my brother’s system deal with that?”

  “That’s a common misconception. People are confusing passwords for encryption. A password prevents you from getting past a certain point in a computer system. Encryption scrambles the data from point A to point B so that nobody can read it. You need the key to unscramble the data. Those keys are based on mathematical formulas. Crack the formula with quantum computing, you don’t need the password. You break a company’s encryption, you have access to everything. And then here’s the beauty part, once you have access to their system, you have access to all their passwords. You can pull those passwords even if they’re hashed, brute-force those on your own computer with nobody detecting it, and then you have full access as if you’re the user. Then not only can you monitor all their data, you can enter their system through the front door and do whatever you want. Read information, insert information, transfer money, whatever.”

  Tommy leaned back, folding his arms. “Man, I tell you, if I had something like this back in my hacking days, I could have created havoc. If this exists, if the wrong people get their hands on it…” He didn’t finish his thought and instead just shook his head. But he didn’t need to. It was obvious what he was saying. This was extremely dangerous technology and if Charles Palmer had indeed invented it, they were all in danger.

 

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