Chapter 40
Sterling
Mr. Potter
The Art Director
Sphinx
Marvel
The Wolf
The cover names sounded harmless, but the men behind them weren’t. During one session, Potter had nicknamed the group Monsters Inc. as a joke, and that was an accurate description. They were monsters, all of them. They were freaks; they were deviates and worse.
And then there was the Wolf, who was in a whole other class.
They met on a secure Web site that was inaccessible to outsiders. All messages were encrypted and required a pair of keys: One key garbled the information; the second key was needed to recover it. More important, a hand scan was necessary to get onto the site. They were considering using a retinal scan or possibly an anal probe.
The subject under discussion was the Couple and what to do about them.
“What the hell does that mean—what to do about them?” asked the Art Director, who was jokingly called Mr. Softee because he could get very emotional, the only one of them who ever did.
“It means just what it sounds like,” answered Sterling. “There’s been a serious breach of security. Now we have to decide what to do about it. There’s been sloppiness, stupidity, and maybe worse than that. They were seen. It’s put us all in danger.”
“What are our options?” Art Director continued. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”
Sterling responded instantly. “Have you read the newspapers lately? Do you have a TV? A team of two took a woman in a mall in Atlanta, Georgia. They were spotted. A team of two abducted a woman in Pennsylvania—and they were seen. Our options? Do absolutely nothing—or do something extreme. An object lesson is needed—for the other teams.”
“So what are we doing about the problem?” asked Marvel, who was usually spookily quiet but could be nasty when he was aroused.
“For one thing, I’ve shut down all deliveries for the moment,” said Sterling.
“Nobody told me about that!” Sphinx erupted. “I’m expecting a delivery. As all of you know, I paid a price for it. Why wasn’t I informed before now?”
No one said anything to Sphinx for several seconds. No one liked him. Besides, each of them was a sadist. They enjoyed torturing Sphinx, or anyone else in the group who showed weakness.
“I expect my delivery!” Sphinx insisted. “I deserve it. You bastards! Fuck you all.” Then he went off-line. In a huff. Typical Sphinx. Laughable, really, except none of them was laughing right now.
“The Sphinxter has left the building,” Potter finally said.
Then Wolf took over. “I think that’s enough idle chat for tonight, enough fun and games. I’m concerned about the news stories. We need to deal with the Couple in some decisive manner that satisfies me. What I propose is that we have another team pay them a visit. Is there any disagreement?”
There was none, which wasn’t unusual when the Wolf had the floor. All of them were petrified of the Russian.
“There is some good news, though,” Potter said then. “This fuss and attention . . . it is exciting, isn’t it? Gets the blood boiling. It’s a hoot, right?”
“You’re crazy, Potter. You’re mad.”
“Don’t you just love it?”
The well-protected chat room was not protected enough.
Suddenly, the Wolf said, “Don’t say another word. Not a word! I think someone else is on with us. Wait. They’re off now. Someone broke into the den and now they’re gone. Who could have gotten in here? Who let them in? Whoever it is, they’re dead.”
Chapter 41
LILI OLSEN WAS fourteen and a half years old, going on twenty-four, and she honestly believed she’d heard everything until she hacked into the Wolf’s Den.