The two of us sat close together, Taylor in cuffs, in an operation room on the fifth floor of the Hoover. The professor was nervous, and I guessed that he was having second thoughts about our arrangement with respect to the Wolf. ‘Don’t think that he won’t get to you. He’s relentless. He’s crazy,’ he warned me again.
‘I’ve avoided crazy men before,’ I said. ‘We still have a deal?’
‘We do. What choice do I have? But you’ll regret it. So will I, I’m afraid.’
‘We’re going to protect you.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘So you say.’
The night had been a busy one already. The top computer experts at the Bureau had tried password-cracking software to get into the Wolf’s Den. So far, everything had failed. So had a ‘brute force’ attack that can often decode encrypted data by feeding in combinations of letters and numbers. Nothing had worked. We needed Mr Potter to get inside. We needed his eyes. The blood-vessel patterns of the retina and the pattern of flecks on the iris offered unique methods of identification. Scanning involved a low-intensity light source and an optical coupler.
Potter set one eye up to the device and then focused on a red dot. An impression was taken and then sent on. Seconds later, we had access.
This is Potter, I typed as Taylor was led out of the operations room. He would be transferred to Lorton Federal Prison for the night, then taken back to New England. I put him out of my mind, but I wouldn’t be able to forget his warning about the Wolf.
We were just talking about you, said someone with the username Master Trekr.
I wondered why my ears were buzzing, I typed, and wondered if I was communicating with the Wolf for the first time. Was he on-line? If so, where was he? What city?
I was center stage in the operation room used by SIOC. More than a dozen agents and technicians were gathered around me. Most were on computers too. The scene looked like a very high-tech classroom.
Master Trekr: Weren’t really talking about you, Potter. UR paranoid. Same as it ever was.
I looked at the other user names.
Sphinx 3000.
ToscaBella.
Louis XV.
Sterling 66.
No Wolf. Did that mean he wasn’t on-line in the Den? Or was he Master Trekr? Was he observing me now? Was I passing his test?
I need a replacement for ‘Worcester’, I typed. Potter had told me that Francis Deegan’s code name was ‘Worcester’.
Sphinx 3000: Take a number. We were talking about my package, my delivery. It’s my turn. You know that, you fruitcake.
I didn’t respond at first. This was my first test. Would Potter apologize to Sphinx 3000? I didn’t think he would. More likely, he’d come back with a caustic reply. Or would he? I chose to say nothing for now.
Sphinx 3000: Fuck U too. I know what UR thinking. U kinky bastard. As I was saying before I was interrupted. I want a Southern belle, the more hung up on herself, the more self-absorbed she is, the better. I want an ice goddess, who I plan to shatter. Totally into herself. She wears Chanel and Miu Miu and Bulgari Jewelry. Even to the shopping mall. Heels of course. I don’t care if she’s tall or short. Beautiful face. Pert tits.
ToscaBella: How orignal.
Sphinx 3000: Fuck original, and sorry to repeat myself, but fuck U. Give me that old-time rock-and-roll music. I want what I want, and I’ve earned it.
Sterling 66: Anything else? This Southern belle of yours? In her twenties? Thirties?
Sphinx 3000: That’d be good. All or any of the above.
Louis XV: Teens?
Sphinx 3000: That’d be good too.
Sterling 66: How long do you plan to keep her around?
Sphinx 3000: One glorious night of ecstasy and wild abandon… Just one night.
Sterling 66: And then?
Sphinx 3000: I’m going to dispose of her. Now, do I get my goddess?
There was a pause.
No answer came from anyone.
What was going on? I wondered.
Of course U do, answered Wolf. Just be careful, Sphinx. Be very careful. We’re being watched.
Chapter Eighty-Two
I wasn’t sure how to react to the Wolf, or his message to Sphinx. Should I speak now? Did he know we were on to him? How could he?
Sterling 66: Now what’s your problem, Mr Potter?
This was my chance. I wanted to try and draw out Wolf if I could. But could I pull it off? I was aware that everyone was watching me in the operation room.
I don’t have a problem, I typed. I’m just ready for another boy. U know I’m good for it. Haven’t I always been?
Sterling 66: UR ready for another boy? U just recently received ‘Worcester’. Less than a week ago.
I typed: Yes, but he’s left us.
Sphinx 3000: That’s very funny. UR so cute, Potter. Such a cute psycho-killer.
Sphinx didn’t like Potter, did he? I had to assume the feeling was mutual. I typed, I love u too. We should get together and bond in person.
Sterling 66: When U say ‘he’s left us’, I assume U mean that he’s dead?
Potter: Yes, the dear boy passed. I’m over my grieving though. Ready to move on.
Sphinx 3000: Hilarious.
This bickering was starting to get on my nerves. Who the hell were these sick bastards? Where were they? Besides cyberspace?
I have someone in mind. I’ve been watching him for a while, I typed
Sphinx 3000: I’ll bet he’s gorgeous.
I typed: Oh, he is. One of a kind. The love of my life.
Sterling 66: U said that about Worcester. What city?
I typed: Boston. Cambridge, actually. He’s a student at Harvard. Working for his doctorate. Argentinian, I believe. Rides polo ponies in the summer.
Sterling 66: Where did U bump into this one, Potter?
The next tidbit I’d gotten from Homer Taylor himself. Actually, I did bump into him. He’s so firm.
Sphinx 3000: Where did you meet him? Tell, tell.
I typed: I was at Harvard for a symposium.
Sterling 66: On?
I typed: Milton. Of course.
Sterling 66: He was attending?
I typed: No – I literally bumped into him. In the men’s room. I watched him for the rest of the day. Found out where he lived. Been studying him for three months.
Sterling 66: So why did U purchase Worcester?
I knew the question was coming. Impulse, I typed. Then, But this boy in Cambridge, that’s true love. Not a casual thing.
Sterling 66: So U have a name? An address?
I typed: I do. And I have my checkbook.
Sterling 66: Worcester won’t be found? UR certain?