“Then find a way to prove it, before we permanently lose our ability to compute.”
“I’ll work on my manners.”
“Always a good idea.” She went back to her office.
* * *
—
Rocky came back into Stone’s office. “Mind if I sit down?” she asked.
“Please,” Stone said, waving her to the sofa. “You must be exhausted.”
“Close.”
“Would you like a drink?”
“Can you put your hands on a bottle of Scotch?”
“I can. Would you like a straw?”
“Just a little ice,” she replied.
Stone poured them both a drink, then sat down at the other end of the sofa. They raised glasses and drank.
“Ahh, I feel human again.”
“I’m glad,” Stone said. “You certainly look human.”
“Thank you for the kind word. Would you like to know how I did?”
“Love to.”
“I’ve restored Joan’s computer and the backup hard drive to health. I’ll bring you a new computer tomorrow and transfer all your data. It will be like I was never here.”
“I’m not sure I want it to be like that.”
“You are sweet, when you’re trying.”
“Joan remarked on my lack of manners. I apologize, I was just frustrated.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want you to feel that way, would we? Maybe some more good news would help.”
“I love good news. Never get enough of it.”
“We’ve located the computer from which your trouble originated.”
“Is it right here in the city? Can I walk around the corner and slug the guy?”
“Not exactly. The coordinates put it about twelve miles southwest of Ames, Iowa.”
“Have you called in a missile strike yet?”
“Not yet. We thought a personal visit might be more in order.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Can whoever visits him see that he will never type again?”
“First, we’ll want to confiscate his equipment and question him.”
“You have people in Ames, Iowa?”
“As a matter of fact, we have a team of two, working on a special project, in the computer sciences lab at Iowa State University. They’re on their way, and someone will meet them at the location with a search warrant.”
“Very efficient. I’m impressed.” He snuck a look at her sweater. “More and more.”
She laughed. “I’m flattered.”
“It wasn’t flattery,” he replied, “just appreciation.”
“That’s even better,” she said.
“Are you done for the day?”
“I’m just waiting on a phone call for the results of the home visit,” she said.
“Let’s wait in my study, it’s more comfortable.” He led the way upstairs.
5
Stone lit a fire and poured them another drink at the bar. “Do you have bars everywhere?” Rocky asked.
“Only where they’re desperately needed,” Stone replied. “One shouldn’t have to hunt for a drink.” He sat down next to her.
“Where are you from?” she asked.
“Less than an hour’s walk from here, in the Village. You?”
“A small town in Georgia you’ve never heard of, called Delano.”
“I’ve heard of it. What happened to your Georgia accent?”
“I was led astray by Yankee men and Englishmen.”
“Englishmen?”
“I was stationed in London for four years.”
“Ah. I love London.”
“So do I.”
“Why did you move?”
“One goes where the Agency tells one to go.”
“I’ll have to speak to the Agency about that.”
“You must have a connection there, or I wouldn’t be here working on your problem.”
“I’ve been an Agency consultant for some time. Not long ago I got promoted to special adviser to the director. Sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“It does.”
“I think that’s how Lance planned it. Doesn’t mean a thing, though.”
“It means you can call him when your computer needs fixing.”
“I guess it does, at that. I’ll have to drop him a note and thank him for sending you.”
“More flattery.”
“Whatever works,” Stone replied.
Then her phone rang. “Yes?” She listened for a moment. “Just a minute, I’ll put you on speaker so our client can hear.” She pressed the appropriate button. “Can you hear us?”
“Sure.”
“Go.”
“Okay,” a male voice said. “The site is a farmhouse, pretty much surrounded by an ocean of corn. We observed the place for a while to get a sense of who was home, and we saw only one person, male, six feet, a hundred thirty pounds, bad haircut. When we were pretty sure he was alone, we called in the SWAT team, searched the ground floor, then started up the stairs. He met us at the top.”
“Was he armed?”
“With a Diet Coke,” the man said. “We ascertained that it did not contain an explosive, then we served our warrant, searched him, then did the same with his computer installation.”
“Describe his equipment.”
“That’s easy. He had a mini Mac, an eighteen-inch monitor, keyboard, and mouse.”
“That’s it?”
“No, he had a printer, too.”
“How old is the subject?”
“Fourteen. He’s a sophomore in high school. His dad teaches computer science at Iowa State; his mother teaches first grade. No siblings.”
“What did you find on his computer?”
“We ran our diagnostics and found the same bot you found on the one in New York. Have you been able to trace it farther upstream?”