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she needed Lansik s password for Russ to be able to download all those coded files that were stored on the network server. In his notebook he said he d left it back in his office in plain sight for any true scientist to discover. Russ insisted it would be at least six to eight characters. What if it was part of the degrees and certificates that had been removed? It was possible. All of them were scientific degrees of some sort. The small bulletin board behind Lansik s desk contained the usual stuff that most people put on their office cubicles or bulletin boards, with the exception that Lansik s had a WHITEWASH 395 scientific flavor. There were several New Yorker cartoons, a newspaper article on EchoEnergy that included quotes from Lansik, and a small strip of paper that looked like it had come from a fortune cookie: You will be rich and famous one day. At the bottom was a series of lucky numbers. It couldn t be that easy. Are you ready to try one? she asked. Ready, came his quick reply. Okay. 43590. That s only five numbers. I know, she told him. It probably isn t it, but you said it might be something overly simple. Silence. While she waited she kept examining the room. There wasn t much here. Lansik kept decorating to a minimum. On one wall was a small periodic table, one of those ancient eleven-by-seven laminated posters like the ones found in high-school science classrooms. On the opposite wall was a small clock. Nada, Russ said. I tried it backward and forward. She glanced at her watch. She was taking too much time. In plain sight, she repeated to herself, for a true sci- entist. She stared at the periodic table. Could it be some combination? Some joke like oil and water? Something made her look back at the bulletin board. There were two quotes from Albert Einstein. The first: One must divide one s time between politics and equations. But our equations are much more impor- tant to me. The other was one she hadn t seen or heard before: 396 ALEX KAVA If A is success in life, then A equals x plus y plus z. Work is x; y is play; and z is keeping your mouth shut. She stared at both for what seemed much too long then finally she said, Russ, try this, AAxyzxyz. She waited again, but not long. That s it! I m in. Come on back. Sabrina smiled and let out a sigh of relief. In a matter of minutes they would have copies of every process the hurricane debris had gone through, including dates and times that they could connect to the satellite photos Russ had copied. You have a lot of balls coming back here. It took Sabrina a second to realize the voice wasn t Russ in her ear. It came from behind her. She spun to find O Hearn standing in the doorway. It s all been a mistake, Sabrina said. Certainly he d understand as soon as she told him that she was right about Reactor #5 and about the hurricane debris. That s right. A huge mistake. You were the one who should be dead. That s when she saw the gun in his hand. 105 Tallahassee Regional Airport Jason sat in front of another TV at the airport. Everything appeared in a haze. Sounds were jumbled together. His reflexes felt delayed. Maybe it was still the effects of the Bloody Marys. Several times he bumped into people, not even noticing them. He had moved three times to different passenger waiting areas so he wouldn t draw attention to himself. He d lost track of how many flights he d watched board, how many he had seen arrive. He d lost all track of time. He toted his carry-on and briefcase from one end of the terminal to the next. He turned on his cell phone long enough to panic at the full queue of missed calls and voice messages. It started ringing, startling him so much he almost dropped it. He didn t recognize the number on the caller ID. He shut the phone off and slipped it into his pocket. CNN s crawl added new information in bits and pieces. Jason had seen most of it often enough that he had it mem- 398 ALEX KAVA orized, so he immediately noticed anything new that came across the bottom of the screen. He thought he d seen the worst of it. He was wrong. The newest information read, The senator s chief of staff, Jason Brill, is wanted for questioning. Brill is believed to have left Washington, D.C. Anyone with information as to his whereabouts has been asked to call 1-800-555-0700. Jason sat up at the edge of the chair. This was crazy. Of course he d left D.C., for the energy summit. It had nothing to do with Zach s murder. How could they believe he had anything to do with Zach s murder? He glanced around. There were more lines waiting to board flights. Regular airport personnel picked up trash and drove trams with handicapped passengers. Once or twice a security guard passed through the area. No one seemed to notice him. No one looked like they were watching him. That s when it occurred to Jason that there might be someone waiting down in baggage claim or at the rental- car counter. Jesus! They had to know he had taken the morning flight here and that he had arrived. They d be able to check that out. He couldn t just take another flight some- where else. They might be watching for that, too. He hadn t picked up his checked garment bag. In his [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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