“I lost mine. It doesn’t matter. Take me in, and I’ll sue for false arrest.”
Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose. “False imprisonment,” he muttered.
“What?” Wilcox glared.
“You’d sue me for false imprisonment or kidnapping. I’m not arresting you.”
“Whatever, but I’ll still sue you.”
“Hold on. Walk with me to my car.”
“I will not—”
“It’s right there,” Jack snapped as he pointed to the Charger.
“I’ll give you two minutes. Take these off first.” Wilcox held out his hands.
Jack undid the handcuffs.
Wilcox begrudgingly turned and started to move.
Jack led Wilcox over to the Charger, popped open the door, and pulled out the folder. Four pages into the paperwork was a warning page in red. Jack quickly scanned the details. Twin brother, identical, matching tattoos, lawyer contacted office…
Damn.
Wilcox watched Jack’s changing expression. “Your time’s up.” Wilcox’s arms flapped up his sides like a chicken squawking. “If you bother me again, I’ll sue.” He spun on his heels and marched down the sidewalk.
“Do you know where your brother is?” Jack called after him.
Wilcox didn’t turn around. He did, however, hold up his middle finger as he scurried away.
Jack tossed the folder onto the seat and closed the door. He watched as Wilcox blended in with the other pedestrians.
“I’m going to nail your brother to the wall,” Jack grumbled before he got into the car.
Chapter 16
~
Clunky
Replacement stood up straighter as Pierce looked directly into her eyes. She nervously rubbed her thumb and index finger together. Normally she was either moving or talking, or both at the same time. Standing there and waiting for him to ask her the big question he’d been leading up to seemed to take forever.
“I was wondering,” Pierce began, “do you use VE-Life?”
She waited for a moment to see whether there was more before she answered. “Doesn’t everybody?” She smiled.
“What’s your favorite part?”
Replacement felt the color rising to the back of her neck. She bit her bottom lip.
Pierce’s grin faded. “Wait a second. Do you use it?”
“I…did.” Her shoulders crept up and her hands turned out.
Pierce’s mouth fell open. “Did? You stopped using it?”
“I really liked it but it’s sort of for newer users, that’s all. It’s great. People love it.”
“But you don’t?”
“It’s great. I just don’t use it anymore.”
“This is humbling.” Pierce stuck his tongue in his cheek.
“I’m sorry, but you asked.” Replacement shook her head back and forth and her ponytail danced.
“I did say I wanted to find someone to tell me the truth. I guess I wasn’t expecting that. It’s a little like a kick in the gut.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m kidding.” Pierce smiled. “Sort of. It’s more like getting hit a little lower.”
Replacement chuckled.
“I guess I have people around who ‘yes’ me to death.”
“Well, you want honesty, right?”
“Actually, I kinda like being told it’s great,” he joked. “Seriously, I’ve had a lot on my plate lately. A lot of pressure.” Pierce took out his e-cigarette case. He looked down at it. “Figures. It’s not charged.” He plugged the case into the laptop and then turned toward her. “What don’t you like about VE-Life? Give it to me straight. Brutally honest.”
Replacement shook her head. “Most people think my being brutally honest is more brutal than honest. They end up with hurt feelings.”
Pierce laughed. “I can take it. Hit me with your best shot.”
“It’s a little clunky.”
“Clunky?” Pierce straightened and cleared his throat. “High Tech Magazine called it elegant in its simplicity.”
“Their articles are always junk.” Replacement rolled her eyes. “Simplicity is the main word. From what I can remember, you had a menu for everything but no shortcuts. It was like going bowling with bumpers in the gutter.”
“We just added a shortcut menu.”
“One? Is there a shortcut menu shortage?”
Pierce chuckled. “I see what you mean about brutal.”
“Sorry…” She looked down.
“Keep going.” Pierce waved her off. “Wait. If you’re not using my software, what’re you using?”
“I use a few things. Gate-Keeper, My Sched, Go-Go 5—”
“They’re open source.”
“They’re free.”
“You still need ten of them to do what VE-Life does.”
“I use Organize Me, too.” Replacement grinned. “That bundles them. And you can tweak them.”
“Then you modded them. Regular users can’t do that.”
Replacement shrugged. “That’s part of your problem. Even a mid-level user can download and install a mod. You aimed for the lowest user level and didn’t think about the more advanced users.”
“The lowest user is the biggest market base.”
Replacement pulled out her phone. “Look at this.” The screen flashed, and she held it up. “Look at all these downloads.”
“They’re downloads for competitor’s programs.”
“That’s one way to look at it, but you could turn that on its head. Geeks like to mod. If you share some modules, geeks can mod, and they’ll use VE-Life for the base. Then everyone will need to buy it in order to use the mod.”
“Shared code raises too many security concerns.”
Replacement blew a raspberry. “That sounds like something a guy in a suit would say. You’re telling me you couldn’t figure out a way to share some modules and keep it secure?”
Pierce’s lips pressed together. “I could take a look at it.”
“Check this out.” Replacement pressed a couple of buttons and VE-Life flashed up.
Pierce’s eyes went wide. “You’re using a cracked version?”
Replacement inhaled sharply. “Well, I said I’m not really using it.”
He stared at her, and his head slowly shook from side to side. “Okay. I’ll forget about you pirating my software, but you know you only get half the features with that crack anyway.”
“I was going to show you an example.”
“Then can we use my full legal copy?” Pierce pulled out his phone. “Clunky?” He smiled as he shook his head.
“Yeah, look at this…”
Replacement stepped in close as she pointed at the screen. Pierce moved a little closer too. As the two began to go through the program, they quickly lost track of time.
Chapter 17
~
Patience
Luka walked over to the apartment window and looked down into the street. A few cars drove past and even fewer people strolled down the sidewalk. He envied them right now. They looked as if they didn’t have a care in the world, and he felt as if he could barely breathe. Luka checked his phone for the umpteenth time—nothing.
“You’re worse than an old woman,” Savin muttered from the kitchen, where he sat at a round table.
“Sit there, Savin. Do what you do best. Nothing,” Luka said.
“Stop.” Nicholai turned around with a large knife in his hands. “I don’t want to hear you two fighting again.” He sliced up an onion. “Call Tolyan. Tell him to pick up more wine.”
“We have wine.” Luka typed into his phone.
“We only have red. I want white. Two bottles, no more.”
“There’re five of us.” Luka turned his hands out. “Only two?”
Nicholai didn’t turn around as he diced the onion in seconds.
“Can we at least get vodka?” Luka held out his hands.
“No.” Nicholai’s response was a rumbled order.
<
br /> Luka frowned and held down the backspace key. He looked out the window. “Can I have him pick up some meat for breakfast? Sausages?”
“Finally you have a good idea.” Savin nodded.
Luka glared. He was about to say something when his phone played a cheery tune.
Everyone froze.
Luka stared down at the phone. A giant exclamation point displayed on the screen. The cheery tune played again.
Nicholai stepped over. “Did it work?”
Luka nodded.
“He must have plugged it in!” Nicholai’s fist vibrated as he held his hand triumphantly out.
“Yes! It worked!” Savin’s deep voice boomed, and he pounded the table.
Nicholai looked at Luka. “How long will it take to copy the data?”
“Fast. Less than half an hour.”
Savin grabbed his jacket off the chair.
“Sit down.” Nicholai turned back to another onion. “The mole will retrieve it and bring it to us.”
“Looks like we may not even need you, Savin.” Luka grinned.
“You shut up, too.” Nicholai pushed the chopped onions into a pan.
“When will you know it is finished?” Savin followed Luka.
“We will get another call.”
“This could be finished tonight?” Savin placed his hands above his head. At six seven, he could almost touch the ceiling while sitting down. “Good. I want to get back to Volgograd.”
“Stop rushing.” Nicholai stirred the soup. “Patience. Tonight will be a good evening.” Nicholai smiled, picked up a spoon, and sipped his soup.
Chapter 18
~
A Sense of Humor
Jack drove down Long Meadow Avenue and made one last pass as he looked for his prey. Wilcox had gotten under his skin. He still had plenty of time to first take Lady out and then get dressed for dinner with Replacement. He took a right and headed over to Grant Street and Kayden’s address. Glancing at the clock, he sped up. He wanted to take a long shower before he met Replacement.
He stopped at the light to turn onto Grant Street and watched people stroll down the sidewalk. Jack did his second double take of the day. Kayden Wilcox looked right at him as he came out of a little convenience store.
What’re the odds?
Jack pulled over to the curb and hopped out of the car.
“Kayden Wilcox.” Jack’s voice was low as he ran in front of the man and held up his hand. “You skipped bail—”
“Wait!” Wilcox held up his hand. “You touch me, and I’ll sue. I’m Jayden Wilcox. Kayden’s brother.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “Save it. Your brother just gave me that line.”
“Then you’re an idiot for believing him. You let Kayden go, and now you try hassling me? I’m done with this. I’m going to sue you for false arrest.” Wilcox stuck his finger in Jack’s face.
Jack scowled.
Wilcox put his hand down.
“Let’s get something straight.” Jack took a step forward. “I don’t have any money so your threat’s a little weak right now. Show me your ID.”
“This is harassment.” Wilcox pulled out his wallet and held his license up in front of Jack.
“It’s a dupe too.”
“So? It’s a legal license, and what you’re doing is illegal. I’m calling my lawyer.” Wilcox took out his phone and started to walk away.
Jack stepped in front of him.
“Move or I sue,” Wilcox shouted.
People on the sidewalk began to stare.
I’ve only got a fifty-fifty chance of this being the right guy. Do I roll the dice…?
“Keep being easy to find,” Jack growled as he stepped aside.
“Keep being a loser,” Wilcox scoffed and stomped down the sidewalk.
Jack cracked his neck. He watched as Wilcox blended back in with the crowd.
How the heck do I figure out who’s who?
Jack looked up. “You sure have a sense of humor,” he muttered as he opened the door of the Charger.
Chapter 19
~
That’s Not a Thruway
Replacement shook the phone and jokingly choked it. “NO!” She stretched the word out as the battery light on Pierce’s phone flashed three times and the screen went blank. “But I was right.” She tapped the blank screen and looked at Pierce. “See how clunky that was?”
Pierce laughed. “There’s that word again—clunky. I’m going to have to start an anti-clunky department to go through all of our software.”
Replacement grinned, arched her back, and stretched.
“You know we have that. It’s not called anti-clunky, but we have a group that goes over the flow of everything.”
“Maybe you need better beta-testers. That was fun. Thanks.”
“I can’t thank you enough.” Pierce leaned against the desk. “You were wrong, though.” Replacement raised an eyebrow and Pierce continued, “You were much more honest than brutal.”
“I do like it but…wow. If you put half of the stuff in you talked about, it would be unbelievable.”
Pierce smiled.
Replacement grabbed her left elbow with her right hand and looked down at her feet.
Pierce stepped closer.
She hadn’t noticed how warm it was in the guesthouse, but she suddenly wanted to open the window and feel a cool breeze.
“You’re very good with computers,” Pierce said. “It’s hard to find someone who likes computers, and you can still relate to.”
“In that whole company there’re no other geeks to talk to?” She smiled.
“That wasn’t what I meant.” He tilted his head.
Replacement took a step back. “Um…”
“Hello?” Gerald called out from the front door of the guesthouse.
“We’re in here, Mr. Mathis,” Pierce called back.
“Hello. I was trying to call Alice, but you didn’t answer.”
She rubbed the back of her neck. “I’m sorry. We’ve been in here awhile and my phone died. What’s up?”
“I guess it’d be easier to show you. Do you guys have a second to come to the server room?”
“Sure,” Pierce answered.
They followed Gerald back to the mansion. Gerald entered a passcode into the security panel and then held the metal server room door open for them. The hum from all the servers was loud in the small room. Two tall racks filled with computers faced each other. Gerald walked over to a table on the far wall.
“Phillip just installed an AP in the study in the basement.” Gerald opened up a blueprint of the house. He set his phone down on the upper left corner and the e-cigarette case on the bottom while he pointed at the study. “That covers here fine, but we wanted to get the study and the wine cellar with it too. The problem is the walls are too thick.”
“Can we add another access point?” Replacement asked.
Gerald sighed. “Then we’d have to go in through here.” When he pointed to the hallway, the corner of the blueprint started to roll up.
Pierce put his e-cigarette case down on the corner of the blueprint to keep it from curling and shook his head. “Let’s try not to disturb the old house and be as discreet as possible. What if we doubled back through the study?”
Gerald rubbed his beard and leaned back. “That’s a great idea. The server room is just down the hall so it’s a short run.” He reached out and pointed to the room again.
Replacement looked at Gerald’s watch and gasped. “Gerald, your watch says seven, but the clock in the guesthouse said five.”
Gerald gave her an I’m-sorry-to-have-to-tell-you-this look.
“Crap! I have to meet Jack.” Replacement bolted to the door and spun around. “Gerald, I need to go!”
Gerald smiled thinly. “Well, I asked Bruce and Phillip if they could work late and—”
“I can’t!” Replacement’s voice went up. “Please?”
“Sure. Sure.” Gerald grabbed his phone and the case and
put them in his pocket. He started to quickly roll up the blueprint.
“I really appreciate it, Gerald.” Replacement tapped her foot on the floor.
“I just need to get the update started. That’ll only take fifteen minutes, tops.” Gerald tucked the blueprint under his arm.
Replacement cringed.
“I can give you a ride,” Pierce offered.
“Really?” Replacement’s face lit up.
“I wanted to take a drive anyway.”
“Let’s go.”
Pierce grabbed his laptop and reached down for the computer lock. “Do you need anything from me, Mr. Mathis?” He clicked the lock shut.
“I don’t think so. I’m going to run the updates on the new server and call it a night.”
“Thanks, Gerald,” Replacement called out before she zipped through the door.
Pierce hurried behind her. “How late are we?” he asked.
“If you start jogging I’ll feel better.” Replacement quickened her pace.
Pierce broke into a run and chased after her. Dashing into the garage, Pierce headed over to the key cabinet. “We’ll take the Porsche.”
The door locks clicked, and Replacement jumped into the passenger seat. Pierce slid behind the wheel. Before the garage door was fully up, the Porsche rolled out. They drove down the driveway and the door to the guardhouse flew open. Manuel rushed out.
Pierce skidded to a stop as Manuel ran over to the window. “I’m just giving Alice a ride to dinner.”
“I should accompany you, sir. I’ll get my car.”
“Don’t try to keep up. Where am I taking you?” Pierce asked Replacement.
“Antonelli’s. It’s an Italian restaurant right on Main Street. It’s a block after the big courthouse.”
Manuel spun on his heels and ran for his car.
Pierce drove out to the main road and sped up. The Porsche’s engine purred as it barreled down the street.
Replacement looked at the speedometer and then nervously at Pierce.
“It’s okay,” he said. “I just started training to race the Sprint Cup.”
Replacement swallowed. “How about we slow down a little bit until you finish training?”
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