Sue looks her in the eye. “Well, did you?”
Sanjay lets out a snort. “How the hell would I do that? If I’d tried anything suspicious the system would’ve picked it up and thrown me out. We both know that.”
“Yes. In theory, the system should pick up any attempt to interfere with the scenario, and there’s no way anyone can manipulate its rules. But—”
“But nothing!” Sanjay cuts in. “I beat your squad fair and square and you can’t stand it. You’re a sore loser, Sue. And it’s pathetic. Just like this stupid, phony boardroom.” Sanjay stands up quickly, pushing her chair out behind her so it scrapes noisily across the polished wooden floor. “I came to you because I thought you’d understand. You know how tough it is to get this good. I’ve earned a place in the program and you know it. I deserve it. And I can’t believe you’re knocking me back.”
Sue holds up her hands and gestures Sanjay to sit down. “Stay calm, Sanjay. I know this is important to you, but we have to be careful. So sit down and we’ll talk, all right?”
Sanjay fights down the surge of anger rising in her chest. She glares at Sue for a long second, then she breaks eye contact and stares instead at the table’s gleaming surface.
“Please,” Sue says calmly, “sit down and we’ll finish our discussion.”
Sanjay looks up. “All right. But I want you to admit I didn’t cheat. I want you to apologize.”
“Fair enough.” Sue forces a strained smile. “I’m sure you did nothing wrong, Sanjay, and I’m sorry if it sounded like I was accusing you.”
“I should damn well think so,” Sanjay says. She sits back down but she doesn’t pull the chair up to the table. “So am I on the program or not?”
“That depends on Marcus.”
Sanjay’s heart lurches in her chest. She shakes her head. “Who?”
“You know, Marcus Holst. He’s in your year at Northridge. You must know him.”
“Yeah, right. I know who you mean. But what’s this got to do with Marcus? You’re in charge, aren’t you?”
Sue smiles. “Marcus has a special role in the program. He was one of the first members. He’s been on the program since it started, and he still helps to run it.”
“Right. I didn’t know that.”
“Maybe that’s because Marcus takes a back seat on the program these days. He needs to focus on his research. In fact, we’re working on a project together, developing the next generation of headsets, so he spends a lot of time testing in the cybersecurity lab, but he’s building the gear with Kwan.” She makes a show of pressing her fingers to her lips. “To be honest, I’m not really allowed to tell you about it. You know, national security.”
Sanjay frowns, her mind racing. She’s underestimated Marcus, and there’s a chance he’s played her for a fool. But surely Marcus must have told the truth when he confessed that someone gave him the AGILE mod; he couldn’t have invented his tale about the mysterious Scarlett character on the spur of the moment. But perhaps Kwan has something to do with it. Shen Kwan is the quiet man who runs the courses on hardware and coding, but if what Sue says is true, and he really has been working with Marcus, could Kwan be the one who developed AGILE? Could he be passing himself off as Scarlett and using Marcus to take the mod into the scenario?
Sanjay runs a hand across her brow. Sue is staring at her, a suspicious glint in her eyes, so Sanjay makes a show of shrugging her shoulders. “I’m sorry, Sue. You’ve lost me. If Marcus is too busy with his work to take part in the program, why are we even talking about him?”
“Because Marcus is my second in command,” Sue says slowly. “These days, he doesn’t log in with the rest of the team very often, but he still plays a very important part in the program, so I need to talk to him before I can take on a new member.”
“Oh. I understand.” Sanjay makes her expression blank. “So, when do you think you’ll be seeing him? Marcus I mean. I guess you two must meet pretty regularly, huh?”
Sue nods. “Yeah—when we can make the time.” Her expression clouds. “I tried to talk to him just now—before I came to meet you. That’s why I was late.”
“Couldn’t you find him?”
“I couldn’t get a response. It’s weird. He’s usually very quick to reply.”
Sanjay wrinkles her nose. “You know what guys are like. I’ll bet he’s working and lost track of the time. I’ve seen him with Kwan—they’re thick as thieves.”
“No. I checked with Kwan. He says Marcus hasn’t been to see him for a while. He thought that maybe he’d gone off the campus, on a trip or something. But Marcus never mentioned anything about a trip. Not to me.”
“Right. Never mind. I expect he’ll turn up sooner or later.” Sanjay stands up. “I guess I’d better go. I’ve taken up enough of your time.” She hesitates. “Sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to lose my temper. It’s just…I can’t explain it properly. This program—it’s very important to me. I really want to make something of myself, you know?”
Sue sighs. “Yes. I understand. I was the same way in the beginning.” She laughs, and to Sanjay’s ears, it sounds false, brittle. “We all do what we’ve got to do. Am I right?”
“You’re right,” Sanjay says. “One hundred percent.” She hesitates. “Thanks for putting me straight, Sue. I’ll see you around.” Then she focuses on her UI, and before Sue can say anything else, Sanjay logs off.
CHAPTER 19
THE JUNGLE FADES AWAY, and when the room shimmers back into focus, Hank rips off his headset and pushes himself up out of the chair. Sondra is staring at him, her hand on her breastbone. “Is everything…all right?”
“Yeah, fine,” Hank says. He looks down at the floor for a moment, then he raises his eyes to meets Sondra’s gaze. “Can you see what goes on in the game? Do you record it or anything?”
Sondra hesitates. “I can’t see it personally, but all participant activity is monitored—for testing purposes. Everything is logged so it can be evaluated and used to improve the scenario. And some records are sent to Agrippine because they build the hardware, but the data is all anonymized first.”
“I thought as much,” Hank says. He glares at Sondra. Typical Agrippine, he thinks, snooping on every damned thing anyone does. “Listen, Sondra—” he starts, but he’s interrupted by Garrick’s voice: “Man, that was cool.”
The others scramble from their chairs. Garrick and Osborne beam at each other, and Alise looks happy enough. But Georgie’s face is like thunder, and Ellen scowls at Garrick, her fists clenched. “Are you ready to face me in the real world, Garrick? Are you going to try pushing me around in front of all these people? Or do you think you can hide behind an avatar and do anything you damned well please?”
Garrick pushes his hands in the pockets of his jeans and smiles. “Relax, girl, it’s just a game.”
“People like you make me sick!” Georgie snaps. “You’re pathetic!”
Garrick lets out a snort. “Perhaps you and your boyfriend just aren’t up to the demands of this place. Seems like you’re not cut out for it. You’re just not tough enough.”
Ellen squares up to him. “I’ll show you tough, you—”
“Guys, keep it down!” Sondra steps forward and puts a hand on Ellen’s shoulder. “That’s not how we do things. If you can’t calm down, I’ll have to ask you to leave.”
Ellen shakes her head, her mouth set in a grim line. “I’m calm. But someone needs to tell this guy he’s out of line.”
“The only one out of line is you,” Garrick sneers. “Just face it. You and your low-rent, little buddies just don’t belong here. You don’t have what it takes.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” Georgie blurts out. “Hank’s already been offered a place at Northridge. So what do you say to that, you jumped up jerk?”
Garrick raises an eyebrow and looks Hank up and down. “Seriously? You? I don’t think so.”
Hank takes a breath, flaring his nostrils, then he steps close to Garrick, looks h
im in the eye. “Yeah, Garrick. I got a place. Guaranteed.”
“He heard it straight from Angela Rosalyn,” Georgie says.
“Won’t that be nice,” Garrick says with an evil grin. “I’m headed to Northridge myself, so I guess we’ll be running into each other.”
“You can count on it,” Hank says, then he looks away from Garrick, dismissing him from his mind. “Come on, Georgie, let’s go and see Angela. I’ve got a couple of things I want to ask. And maybe you can pitch in too.”
“Sure,” Georgie says. She flashes Garrick a smile then stands at Hank’s side. “Nice to meet you, Ellen, Alise. I’ll see you around.”
Hank says, “Thanks, Sondra.” And when he heads across the room, Georgie holds onto his arm.
“Did you mean it?” Georgie asks. “Are you really going to go to England?”
“Is it as good as you say it is?”
“Better,” Georgie says.
“All right then. Sounds like I’d be stupid to turn it down.”
Georgie stops walking. “That’s not enough, Hank.”
Hank stops and turns to face her. “What?”
“You’ve got to want it. You can’t just do this to get even with that asshole Garrick.”
Hank hesitates. “I know. But all my life I’ve seen jerks like Garrick step over people like me. And maybe I don’t live in the right neighborhood or go to the right school with the right friends, but you know what? The Trust picked me. How crazy is that, right? They saw what I can do, and they picked me. They offered me a chance. So if you think I’m going to stand by and let some entitled, over-privileged jerk like Garrick steal that chance out from under my nose, you’re dead wrong. This is mine. I want it, and I’m damn well going to take it.”
Georgie stares up at him, her brown eyes wide. “Then you go for it, Hank. You show them what you’ve got.”
“Oh, I intend to.” He looks at Georgie and a rush of pride swells in his chest. “You can count on it. I’m going all the way.” And together, they head toward the curved screen. Hank slips on his headset, and the hologram of Angela Rosalyn appears, a mug in her hand. She takes a sip of her drink, and as she looks around the room, her eyes fix on Hank. She studies his expression for a second, and then she smiles. “Hank,” she calls out. “I see you’ve made a decision. Let’s talk.”
And Hank returns her smile. “Yeah. Let’s do that. That will be just great.”
CHAPTER 20
STEWART SNATCHES UP HIS PHONE, then he paces his office, waiting for Brunner to answer the call. “Come on, come on,” he mutters, and in his mind, he runs through the list of things he’s done since the restraints opened, releasing him from Eileen’s lab. So far, he’s instructed the security team to lock the campus down, initiated the hunt for Eileen Barber, and searched through Eileen’s apartment, looking for any clue as to her whereabouts. But all of it useless, he tells himself. It’s time to bite the bullet—I need to pass this up the chain.
Finally, his call is answered. “Stradford,” Stewart blurts out. “I need to speak with you. It’s urgent. And confidential. Can you talk?”
Someone on the other end of the line clears his throat. “I’m sorry, Colonel. This is Peter, Mr. Brunner’s assistant. How can I help you today?”
Stewart grinds his teeth together and fights down the whirl of frustration seething in his stomach. “Peter, put me through to Mr. Brunner. I need to speak with him right now, and I can’t go into the details with you—you don’t have the clearance. Just put him on, now. Whatever else he’s doing, tell him to cancel it. Everything else can wait, but I can’t. All right?”
“I’ll see what I can do, Colonel,” Peter says, and his tone is calm and professional. “Please hold the line.” There’s a slight pause. “I’ve just been informed that Mr. Brunner will be with you momentarily. Please hold.”
Like I’ve got any choice, Stewart thinks. He crosses to his desk and leans against its edge, then he pinches the bridge of his nose. He closes his eyes, preparing himself for the storm that’s sure to follow his next sentence.
There’s a quiet beep on the line and Stewart stands up as Brunner speaks: “Stewart, what the hell’s going on that can’t wait? Have you got any closer to our mutual friend?”
“We’ve come a step closer to flushing Grimwood out, and I’m certain I’m on the right track. But there’s been an incident, and it changes everything. So we need to keep calm and decide our next move.”
“Cut to the chase, Stewart. What’s happened?”
“It’s Eileen Barber. She was involved in the security breach, and now she’s absconded. We can’t find her anywhere on the site, and there’s no record of her leaving. She must’ve had an escape route ready and waiting because we can’t find a trace of her. It’s as if she’s disappeared.”
“Eileen? How is she involved? And why did she run? Did she find out you were on to her?”
Stewart tries to swallow, but his mouth is dry. “I’m afraid that I inadvertently caused her to become suspicious.”
“What? How is that possible? Stewart, I gave you explicit instructions. You were to tell no one on the staff about the breach, and I specifically told you not to breathe a word to Eileen.”
Stewart holds his phone a little farther away from his ear. “I take full responsibility, but I had no intention of acting outside of the parameters you laid down. I simply asked Eileen an innocent question, and somehow she put two and two together.”
“Bullshit, Stewart! You can’t talk your way out of this one. You’ve made a big mistake. And frankly, I’m astonished at your incompetence. Or is it outright insubordination?”
“I…I know this is a difficult situation, Stradford. But please hear me out. I need to tell you what happ—”
But Brunner doesn’t let Stewart finish his sentence. “No, Stewart. You can put it in your report, which I want to see in the next three hours. In the meantime, you need to shake that place down until you find where she’s gone. And you need to assess the damage and strengthen our defenses. Northridge has to be bullet-proof, Stewart.”
“Of course. I’ll see to it. But…”
“But what? You have more bad news? Jesus Christ, Stewart, I gave you a goddamned job, and you’ve screwed it up from start to finish. What more can there be?”
Stewart grimaces at the sneer in Brunner’s tone. “I want to bring Angela Rosalyn up to speed, and I should probably inform Cameron too. Do I have your permission?”
“No, not Cameron. Leave him to me. I’ll spin him a line to keep him out the way. But you’re going to need Angela. There’s a whole side to this situation that’s bothering me a great deal, and Angela is almost certainly the only one who can help you through it.”
Stewart’s frown deepens. “What do you mean?”
“Think about it,” Brunner says. “We don’t know how long Eileen’s been working against us. All this time, she’s had access to the best cyberwarfare tech in the world, and she has the skills to put an attack together. But it gets worse, Stewart. We have to assume Eileen and Grimwood aren’t the only ones involved. Eileen was in a position of trust. It would’ve been easy for her to drag others into her scheme.”
“You think someone else on the staff might be compromised?”
There’s a pause before Brunner replies. “No. I doubt she’d risk confiding in a member of staff.”
Stewart’s hand goes to his stomach. “Are you…are you suggesting that she might have used some of the students?”
“Yes. I’m afraid so. And assuming that Grimwood is behind all this, then it fits his MO. From what you said at the meeting, Grimwood picks on susceptible people and uses them as proxies. Of course, they won’t know what they’re really doing, so it’s going to be hard to unravel Eileen’s plans. But that’s exactly what we’ve got to do. And you’re on the front line for this one, Stewart. I need you to step up to the plate.”
“Naturally. I’ll do everything I can. But it’s looking like we’ll have to close Nort
hridge down and send everyone home. It’s the only way to stop this thing in its tracks.”
“I disagree,” Brunner says firmly. “I assume you have the place locked down?”
“Yes. No one can go anywhere, but even so—”
“Then we carry on as normal,” Brunner cuts in. “With Eileen out of the way, any ongoing risk to the students is minimized. And with a lockdown in place, we’ll have the breathing room we need to get to the root of the problem. There’s still a chance the trail will lead us to Grimwood. As you said yourself, Eileen’s departure might flush him out.”
Stewart runs a hand across his forehead. “Stradford, I accept the logic of what you’re saying. But I’m pretty sure Angela won’t stand for it. You heard her at the meeting. She’ll go over your head and take this to the board.”
“Let me handle Angela. I’ll smooth things over. She may talk tough, but she’ll keep a level head. And I’ll make it worth her while.”
“All right. If anyone can talk her around, it’s you. But you’re forgetting something.” Stewart takes a breath. “The new intake is due to arrive very soon, and I don’t think Angela will stand by and see them put in harm’s way. And I’m not too keen on the idea either.”
“I don’t see the problem,” Brunner says. “The new students are all thoroughly screened during selection. And it’s unlikely that Eileen could make contact with them before they arrive. I think we can assume they’re clean.”
“With respect, Stradford, I don’t think that covers it. We just don’t know the extent of Eileen’s contacts—not yet. She could be part of a much bigger network.”
“All right, Stewart. I’ll take that under advisement. But I still say we go ahead.”
Stewart shakes his head. “What’s the point of a lockdown if we have a bunch of new people marching in?”
There’s a pause before Brunner answers. “Stewart, I’ve made my position clear. The recruitment goes ahead as planned. Everything goes on as normal at Northridge. Grimwood is still out there somewhere, and I won’t let him slip away.”
The Trust (The Downlode Heroes Book 2) Page 15