Palm Sunday

by William R. Vitanyi Jr.

  “That’s too late! Pascua will start its attack by then.”

  “The tweaking I mentioned will involve the targeting ranges of Pascua.”

  Sharon shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  “The United States and its allies will be protected.”

  Sharon’s eyes grew wide. “You’re going to let this thing loose on the rest of the world?”

  “Not the rest. Like I said, the U.S. and its allies will be protected.”

  “Damn you. You don’t understand what you’re dealing with. Justin is wrong!”

  “Justin knows a lot more than you give him credit for. Look, Sharon, this decision was made at the highest levels.” Roberts seemed to need to make Sharon understand. “We’re losing our technological edge–not because we’re slowing down, but our enemies are learning faster, catching up quicker. This will put things right again. You can see that, can’t you?”

  Sharon had to struggle to suppress the urge to hit Roberts. But he needed time to think, time to plan. “I don’t know. Surely there must be another way.”

  “Don’t you want to be part of the new order?”

  Sharon folded his arms, seeming to consider. “What’s in it for me?”

  “What do you want?” asked Roberts.

  “I don’t know. Give me some time to think it over?”

  “Sure. But don’t wait too long. The time to get in on the ground floor is now.”

  “What are you going to do with them?” Sharon indicated Stanley and the others.

  “Nothing. They got me what I needed. They’ve been sent on their way. Why?”

  “I promised I’d get them out of some trouble they were in at work. I’d like to keep my word.”

  “Fine by me. Just let me know how you want to fit into the picture.”

  Sharon nodded and left. He had bought some time, now he just needed a miracle.

  ***

  After being unceremoniously ejected from the data center, Stanley and the others stood outside on the sidewalk, debating what to do next. Walthrop had already left.

  “We can go to my house,” said Stanley. “I’m glad this is over, and I’m really looking forward to going home.”

  “I’m going to my apartment,” said Norbert. “I’m beat, and it looks like I’ll be looking for a new job tomorrow.”

  Stanley gestured to Slocum and Kayoko. “You guys are welcome to crash at my place. You, too, Katherine.” His expression hinted that he was ready to resume their courtship.

  “Why, Mr. Whipple. I do declare.” Her southern accent left much to be desired.

  “Dad, can we just get going?” For Bobby, enough was enough.

  Stanley nodded, and looked at the others. “Well?” They accepted Stanley’s offer, and when Norbert saw that Kayoko was going too, he changed his mind and tagged along. Slocum said he had some things to take care of, but he might stop by later. Taxis were summoned, and by the time Sharon emerged from the building, they had all left. He went back to his office to look up an address.

  ***

  Stanley’s living room was exactly as he had left it, and everyone had just started to relax when there was a knock at the door. The tension in the room immediately surged. Stanley held his hand out in a calming gesture as he went to see who it was. He was surprised at who he saw standing in the doorway.

  “Agent Sharon! Come on in and join the party.”

  He nodded his thanks and stepped inside. “Hello, everyone. I think we’ve met.” This drew chuckles.

  “Can I take your coat?”

  Sharon slipped his jacket off and handed it to Stanley. “I’m sorry to barge in on you like this, but I have some bad news.” He looked at the now familiar faces, and knew he had no right to involve them again. He also had no choice.

  “What is it?” asked Katherine.

  “You remember the man who took over the computer center and had you removed?” They all nodded. “That was my boss, Dave Roberts. He made a decision concerning Pascua.”

  “You told him about the program we developed, right?” asked Stanley.

  “He knows about it, and about a lot of other things. He and Justin are going to modify it so that not everyone is inoculated.” For a moment there was only silence.

  “That’s ridiculous,” said Katherine. “It doesn’t work that way.”

  “I know,” said Sharon. “I tried to explain that to him, but I knew if I was too firm he might arrest me. Instead, he thinks I want to join his crusade. I really want to destroy it.”

  “Good luck with that,” said Kayoko. “We know what it’s like taking on a giant. Not fun.”

  Stanley looked uneasily from Kayoko to Sharon. “I don’t think he’s here just to tell us what he’s going to do.”

  Sharon nodded. “That’s right. I’m going to need your help.” At the looks of consternation he added, “I have a plan.”

  “No,” said Stanley. “We won’t go through that again. The government knows about the agency, and Pascua, and the antidote. Let them deal with it.”

  Katherine walked up beside Stanley and took his arm. “Stanley, we have to. Otherwise everything else was for nothing. What Roberts is doing is worse than the agency, because he represents the government.” They were tired, worn out from the many twists and turns of the last weeks, and from the marathon session to develop the antidote. But Stanley nodded, realizing they had to go on.

  “Okay. What do you want us to do?”

  “How about you guys?” Sharon looked at Norbert and Kayoko.

  “Sure, why not?” said Norbert. “It’s not like I have a job to worry about.” Kayoko nodded.

  “Excellent,” said Sharon. “I figure that all we have to do is hack into my data center’s system, take control of the antidote, and deliver it as we originally intended.”

  “Why do we have to hack in?” asked Stanley. “You’re still on good terms with Roberts, right?”

  “Good enough for now, but he’s quarantined the lab. That means I’m locked out, probably until after he’s done his thing with Pascua.”

  Stanley shook his head. “Then we have nothing to work with.”

  “That’s not quite true,” said Sharon. “The Alpha is still at Slocum’s apartment, and from what you told me about ScanDat there might be equipment there that we could make use of.”

  Stanley nodded. “The interface. But it’s unlikely that Klugman would let us use it.”

  Sharon smiled. “Do you think he might feel more generous if it meant getting his Alpha back?”

  Stanley looked at Katherine. “I had forgotten all about that. I wonder if he told Naomi Johnstone?”

  Katherine laughed. “Not if he values his manhood.”

  Sharon didn’t know who Naomi was, but it sounded like Klugman might be desperate. “So that’s a yes?”

  “Definitely,” said Stanley. “But we don’t have the palm unit now. That was a critical part of getting into the data stream.”

  “I can get another palmtop,” said Norbert. “I didn’t say anything to Mason before I left the agency, so I should still have access to the locker where they keep them. Should be no sweat.”

  “And I can help get into my center’s computer,” said Sharon.

  “Then maybe we have a chance,” said Stanley. “But we’ll have to move fast. Very fast.”

  “Can I use your phone?” asked Sharon. Stanley pointed towards the kitchen. With a single call, Sharon arranged to have the Alpha and other equipment from Slocum’s apartment delivered to ScanDat the following morning, Palm Sunday.

  “No one will be at ScanDat on Sunday morning,” said Stanley.

  “After I call Klugman there will be.”

  ***

  Klugman was bewildered at how fast things happened. First had come the call in the middle of the night with the strange offer to return the Alpha in exchange for half a day’s use of the ScanDat facilities on Sunday. Early Sunday. Then there was the appearance of Stanley and Katherine in the company of the FBI ag
ent, along with the Asian woman and the peculiar redheaded kid. It was overwhelming, but when he saw the Alpha being wheeled in, he was overjoyed.

  “You two–I knew something must have happened to you,” said Klugman. He was intrigued by the appearance of his former workers, especially in the company of the FBI. Explanations were not forthcoming.

  “We can’t talk right now,” said Katherine. “Perhaps after we’re done here.” She looked at him apologetically.

  “Of course,” said Klugman.

  Katherine went to join the others in the computer room. Bobby stood next to his father, saying nothing as he took in his surroundings.

  “They haven’t replaced much of what we took, have they?” Stanley whispered to Katherine.

  “No. That must be why Klugman agreed. He’s desperate to get the Alpha back.”

  Sharon walked up to them. “It’s your ballgame. Show us how you did it.”

  Katherine reversed the flow through ScanDat’s interface, while Stanley prepared the Alpha. It took a half hour to get everything functioning properly. Then Katherine attached the wires that connected the network analyzer, and started to take the palmtop apart.

  Norbert was fascinated. “Impressive,” he said.

  “The thing that impresses me is the palmtop itself,” said Katherine. “You’ll have to tell me how it works.”

  “We took the basic commercial design and enhanced it,” said Norbert. “But even I didn’t have access to the final design specs.”

  Katherine nodded, and the next ten minutes passed in silence as she and Stanley completed their preparations. Finally they indicated that they were ready.

  “Remember, we might only get one shot,” said Stanley. “This setup is notoriously unstable.”

  “Make the connection to this IP address,” said Sharon, handing him a slip of paper. “You should be able to directly access the secure port on our main server. I’ll give you the password when you get to that level.”

  Stanley nodded, and pointed at Katherine. “Threshold output,” he said.

  She set the frequency generator to initiate a connection to the data stream, and they waited expectantly. Nothing happened.

  “I don’t understand,” said Katherine. “This is the one thing that’s been constant.”

  “Ratchet it up a bit,” said Stanley. “Maybe our setup isn’t exactly the same.”

  “That’s it!” said Norbert. “It’s a different palm unit.”

  “Would it require a different frequency to initiate a connection?” asked Stanley.

  “Beats me. They aren’t supposed to be able to do this at all.”

  Sharon looked at his watch. “I don’t want to rush you guys, but we need to get this done soon. Real soon.”

  “Why isn’t this working?” Stanley asked the question of no one in particular.

  “You know,” said Norbert. “When we first detected the use of the palmtop, we theorized that it was only possible because of damage it had suffered.”

  “We’re running out of time,” said Sharon.

  “This one is in perfect condition,” said Stanley. Everyone looked at the device. Suddenly Katherine pulled the wires off it, picked it up, and threw it against the floor.

  “Do you think that was enough?” she asked.

  Stanley and Norbert looked at each other. Neither had a clue.

  “Dad, don’t you remember–you took it apart.” Everyone looked at Bobby.

  “He’s right!” said Stanley. “I’ll bet when I put it back together I didn’t properly reseat the transceiver module.” He looked at Bobby. “The square black thing.” Bobby nodded, and Stanley wiggled the black module, loosening it slightly. He gently pushed it most of the way back in, and Katherine replaced the wires.

  “Let’s try again,” said Katherine. This time the menu on the palmtop fired up as expected, and a stable connection to the data stream was established.

  “We’re in,” said Stanley. He input the appropriate IP address, and within seconds they were presented with the data center’s logon screen. Sharon got them past this, and the keyboard was turned over to Norbert. His fingers danced as he called the program that would seek out and destroy his own creation. The irony was not lost on him.

  At the data center, no one noticed as Walthrop’s system was silently activated, and the center’s computer launched the sequence that would deliver the anti-Pascua program, now reset to its original configuration.

  “That should do it,” said Norbert. “The antidote has been administered. Little baby Pascuas should be shriveling up and dying all over the world right about now.”

  Agent Sharon patted him on the back. “Good job, everyone. But there’s one final detail we still need to take care of.”

  “What’s that?” asked Stanley.

  “Give them a taste of their own medicine.”

  “You want to target the data center?”

  Sharon nodded. “Yes; and also the agency. Norbert, can you access Pascua itself?”

  “Sure, but since it’s stored on the data center’s system it will be destroyed along with everything else.”

  “Perfect. Target both facilities, and set the activation date for right now. Fire when ready.”

  Norbert made the necessary adjustments and ran the program. “Both targets have been engaged by Pascua. As soon as the data center goes down, we’ll probably lose our connection.” As soon as he spoke the words, the cursor on the palmtop stopped blinking. He turned to Agent Sharon, beaming. “Bingo.”

  “Looks like it got through,” said Sharon. He turned and looked at the others, smiling. “You folks all deserve a reward. I’m sorry I have nothing to offer.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” said Stanley. “Our reward is knowing this thing is over.”

  Katherine stood next to him and took his hand, leaning her head on his shoulder. “Ya, man.” Everyone laughed at her woefully inadequate effort.

  Suddenly Sharon turned serious. “Damn.”

  Katherine looked at him questioningly. “What?”

  Sharon shook his head. Something was really bothering him. “A buddy of mine was killed in a Philadelphia substation. He was checking on some equipment related to this whole mess when he was shot. This is crazy.”

  “What are you talking about?” asked Stanley.

  Sharon continued. “Roberts said Justin kept him informed about everything. He also said he knew that my friend was investigating National Communications–your agency. But he wasn’t. He was checking out some equipment that was being serviced by Digicomm United Technologies.”

  “We own them,” said Norbert.

  “Who?” asked Sharon.

  “Digicomm. The agency owns them. They installed some of our equipment.”

  “So why did Roberts say ‘National Communications’?” asked Sharon. “Where’d he get that? He might have known about Digicomm from Justin, and putting two and two together they could have guessed at my involvement with the substation. But Justin didn’t know about National Communications, so who mentioned them to Roberts?”

  “What do you think?” asked Stanley.

  “That’s what worries me,” said Sharon. “He must have had a contact at the agency.”

  “It had to be Mason himself,” said Kayoko. “Without his approval no one would share that information.”

  “Mason did ask me about the vulnerability of external messages,” said Norbert.

  It was a sobering thought, the notion that Mason and Roberts had joined forces. As Sharon considered the implications of this unholy alliance, a shadowy movement near the glass entranceway doors attracted his attention. He just caught a glimpse of a leg pulling back out of sight.

  “Everybody out, now!” His whispered command was met with confused stares. “Damn it, they’re here.” He pulled out his pistol. “I’ll hold them off as long as I can, then join you at Stanley’s.” Still they just looked at him. “Move!”

  Finally they grasped the urgency of the situation, and rushed
for the back exit. Sharon took up a position that gave him a clear view of the glass doors. First contact was not what he expected.

  “You’ve been locked up in your lab far too long. Drop your gun.”

  The barrel of a pistol was pressed against the base of his skull. How had they gotten behind him? He dropped his gun and slightly turned his head, just enough to glimpse his assailant.

  “You. I would have expected you to leave the unpleasant work for someone else,” said Sharon.

  Roberts shrugged. “I don’t mind getting my hands dirty. It makes me feel in touch.” The grin on Robert’s face was evil. He would take pleasure, Sharon knew, in pulling the trigger.

  “Before you do this, answer one question for me,” said Sharon.

  “What’s tha…”

  The movement was unexpected. Even at that, as Sharon swung his arm back he felt the sting of the bullet against his head as Robert’s gun went off. But luck was with him, as his elbow hit Roberts in the hand, knocking his pistol from his grip. The gun went skidding across the floor.

  Sharon bent down and scooped up his weapon, then quickly turned. Roberts was diving for his gun, grabbed it, and turned, ready to fire. But his target was already gone.

  When Sharon bolted out the back door of the ScanDat building, Stanley and the others had just piled into Katherine’s car. She gunned the engine and raced over to meet Sharon, who jumped in as Kayoko opened the door. As they pulled away, Sharon looked back, in time to see Roberts emerge from the rear exit.

  “We heard the shot and thought you were dead,” said Stanley.

  “Pretty nearly. He winged me, I think.” He put his hand to his head, and it came away bloody.

  “You’ve been shot!” said Kayoko.

  Sharon nodded, and placed a handkerchief against his head. “I’ll clean it up when we get to Stanley’s house.”

  “Will we be safe there?” asked Kayoko.

  “I think so. Roberts probably traced our signal back to ScanDat when we hacked into their system, but I doubt he would have linked me to the Whipples.”

  “But we were at your office,” said Stanley.

  “On my invite. I didn’t tell Roberts who you were, or why you were there. The only time he saw you was when he threw you out of the computer center. I don’t think he’ll put it together.” No one argued. “By the way, where’d your boss go?”