The Wall, page 17
He complied, and she crossed the room and powered up the systems. She waited while Auspex woke up, then switched him to audio.
“The Secret Service just massacred the people at the Bring Back Democracy rally. Do you know why?”
The answer with the highest probability is that it is the administration’s attempt to solve the unemployment crisis.
What? “Is there an unemployment crisis?”
There has been a rise in unemployment over the last five years.
She turned to Gideon. “Did you know this?”
He had a frown between his eyes. “I’d heard something. That there were programs being brought into play to address the problem.”
There’s an active program to decrease the population. Those the government predict will be most problematic are first.
“Paula wasn’t problematic, and the Bring Back Democracy rallies are always peaceful.”
The president has expressed his dislike of the Bring Back Democracy group. Based on recordings I have amassed, he believes they do not love him enough.
“Christ, that doesn’t mean he would kill them. Does it?”
There are several recordings of people who ‘do not love’ the president meeting with accidents. The president’s most predictable criteria is to be loved.
Gideon got up as though he couldn’t bear to sit still. “You’re kidding, right?
“You know,” Kate said, “Stella once told me that she would never go much higher in the Party because Harry knew she didn’t like him.”
“She didn’t?”
“She hated him. She told me she loved the Party, but that Harry was a complete piece of shit.” That had been one night when they’d drunk too much wine together, and Stella had opened up a little. She didn’t usually drink. “She wouldn’t say anything more.”
Gideon ran a hand through his hair. “She was a good enough politician to hide what she thought of the man.”
“Maybe not that good.” She shrugged. “She’s dead now, and so are all those other people.”
“You think your machine is right? About the unemployment thing being the reason for the massacre?”
“Maybe. I don’t think it really matters. There is nothing, nothing on this earth that could justify the killing of those people.” She glared at him, part of her praying that he thought the same. She’d finally felt as though she had someone on her side. Now, the idea of going forward without Gideon’s support was scary. Plus, if he decided he didn’t support her, the chances were she was finished anyway, since he’d turn her over.
She supposed her best bet was that he’d just think she was some harmless geek, playing with her computer games and making up conspiracy theories.
He stared at her for what seemed like a long time, and then he nodded. “I agree. There’s nothing.”
The breath left her in a whoosh, and she sank down into her chair, her legs wobbly, her hands shaking.
She had to put what she’d seen behind her and move on. While she couldn’t change what had happened to Paula and all those others, she could do her best to make sure it didn’t happen again. She remembered a saying she’d heard long ago that had resonated with her. It came back to her now and she spoke it aloud into the silence.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
“What?” Gideon asked.
“It’s a saying.” She turned her chair so that she was facing him. She leaned across and rested her palms on his thighs, stared him in the face. “I believe you’re a good man. And I want to be a good person. Are we going to do nothing?”
“No.” He forced a tired smile that left his green eyes blank. He’d said he was at a crossroads, and she figured this was him finally deciding which road to take. Though she doubted he’d ever had much of a choice. He’d always be a hero.
She sat back. Right, first job: persuading him that she wasn’t crazy. That Auspex’s predictions were accurate and based on reliable intel. Intel that was being ignored by the government agencies for some reason.
“Auspex, what is the probability of a nuclear bomb detonating on American soil in less than two weeks?”
91.5 percent.
Gideon sighed. “So how does it work?” he asked, waving a hand toward the screen.
“Auspex is a combination of collaborative system, predictive engine, and artificial intelligence.”
“And what does that mean exactly?”
“He works with other systems, gathers all their raw data, and makes predictions on what might happen based on that data. Plus he’s evolving all the time, learning to assess what is meaningful and what isn’t. After your retinal scan gave him access to more systems, he’s evolved more quickly than before.”
“Glad I could help,” he grumbled. She could almost see him considering his next question. “Can we see the intel behind the prediction?”
As she opened her mouth to ask for the information, the data began streaming across the screen. Auspex must have picked up Gideon’s question and answered. There were hundreds of individual data streams, far more than in the original info dump. Which was odd, as she’d been checking and hadn’t picked up anything new. She’d presumed the agents at NTAC had changed the search parameters.
“Auspex, why is there so much more data now?”
I increased the search parameters to identify anything which might be related to the attack.
He’d done that on his own? The information was still downloading.
“How many entries are there?”
Two thousand two hundred and sixty- five.
Wow. It would take forever to go through the individual files.
“Can you sort them by relevance?”
There was a stutter in the data stream, and then it continued. Kate scrolled back up to the top and swiped open the first file. Gideon scooted his chair up close so he could see the screen. It was a transit document for a shipment, although it didn’t mention nuclear warheads and the locations were in some sort of code. The next file was the one she’d seen before.
Final test of Special Atomic Demolition Munitions completed.
She opened a few more files. They were like clues, snippets of information. She’d been hoping for something more definitive. Like the minutes of a rebel meeting laying out their plan to set off a nuclear bomb. Would this be enough to convince Gideon?
“Well?” she asked when he remained silent.
He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I think you’re right. Something is happening. There’s just not enough information to put it all together.”
“That’s what Auspex does.” She sighed. “The thing I really don’t understand is why NTAC found the threat negligible. It doesn’t make sense. There was clearly a cause for investigation.”
“Maybe they want it to go ahead,” Gideon said. “I heard a rumor that the president believes that a war would increase his popularity.”
She hadn’t heard that one before, and she frowned. “That’s crazy.”
“Not so much. People like to see a good clean fight. Good defeating evil.”
“There’s nothing clean about war. Certainly not a nuclear war that could kill us all.”
“Maybe not, but people wouldn’t go into a war expecting something so…terminal. Look at me. I was brought back because everybody thinks I’m some goddamn hero. Harry mentioned it when I talked to him at his birthday celebration. He also mentioned people not appreciating him, and it rubbed me wrong.” He sat back in his chair, pressing a finger to his forehead. “I should have listened to my gut.”
A tight band inside her loosened. It had been there since Auspex had first come up with the crazy prediction; a sense that she was alone with an impossible task. Now she wasn’t alone.
Not that she had any clue how they’d fix any of this. Even if they succeeded, there was a good chance that the truth would come out about her research and tampering with the alerts. The best-case scenario was that she would spend time in prison. Worst case, she would have to endure some really unpleasant torture, followed by a public execution. They’d probably kill her family along with her.
Even if by some miracle it didn’t come out, there was no way she could go back to pretending everything was fine and dandy. So what was she to do—join the rebels?
If Gideon agreed to help her, he could expect the same. This was going to be hard, and it would only be harder if she followed her natural inclination and allowed herself to become attached to him.
No going there.
Time to get down to the details. There were two separate things here. Whatever Stella had been involved in, and Auspex’s prediction of the nuclear attack. She couldn’t see how the two could be connected. But what did she know? She’d ignored politics for so long. Hidden herself in her own little world. Now she was having a crash course in reality.
Reality sucked. Big time.
She took a deep breath. “What do we do next?”
Gideon had been waiting patiently for her to speak. “I think the first thing is to find out what information Stella has on this file.”
“Do you think the two things are connected?” She waved a hand to indicate Auspex.
“I doubt it.”
To get Stella’s information, she had to somehow get into the White House, then into Stella’s office and onto her system. “I suppose I could do a White House tour and sneak off.” They were still run on a weekly basis, mostly for local schoolchildren.
“You’d never get near Stella’s office. It’s in the restricted area. There’s probably surveillance, too; certainly outside in the corridor, but maybe inside.”
That should be easy enough to check up on.
“Auspex, can you get me surveillance details for Stella’s office? Without anyone seeing a record?” The last thing they needed was to put anyone on the alert.
“He can do that?” Gideon asked.
“With your security clearance, yes.”
A few seconds later, the information flashed up. Gideon was right; there was a security camera outside the office. There was also a camera inside.
“They don’t trust their own people?” she asked.
“We don’t trust anyone.” He got up and came to stand beside her. “Do all the offices have surveillance?”
No.
A list of names flashed up. Not many.
“So, the chances are they suspected your sister of something. Or they had some other reason for the surveillance. It also means they might not be monitoring it any longer.”
“How about if I contact someone and ask to go clear out her personal belongings?”
“Not policy. I doubt they’d agree.”
“Then what?” She could hear the frustration in her voice.
Gideon straightened. “I think there’s a way. Tomorrow night. There’s a function at the White House. I’ve been invited. Harry wants to give me a medal.” He grimaced. “It will be televised. A lot of people.”
“And a lot of security.”
“Yes, but around the party. Not the offices. I can get you in as my partner for the night. Let people think we’re in a relationship. We sowed the seeds for that at the funeral. People will expect to see us together. They won’t be suspicious.”
She hated big parties, but it was too good an opportunity to pass up. A perfect excuse to get into the White House and into her sister’s office.
She thought about asking Auspex what the probability of succeeding was, but she decided that the information wouldn’t help—and might just impair her ability to function.
“In the meantime, just act normal,” Gideon said. “Come to work. Keep your head down. If Stella was under suspicion, your whole family could be being watched.”
Her spine prickled at the thought, and she cast a furtive glance around the room. She made a mental note to program Auspex to tell her if there were any changes to her security. In fact, maybe she should program Auspex to actually work out what might be of use to her. Right now, he answered specific questions. But he should be able to extrapolate what information improved her probability of surviving.
“What are you doing tonight?” Gideon asked.
“I’m meeting my mother. Stella kept an apartment in the city. She used it if she worked late. We’re going to go through her things.” She wasn’t looking forward to it. Just the thought made her heart ache. It made everything seem so final. Plus, spending time with her mother hurt. Since Stella’s death, the ravages of whatever had been going through her mom’s mind for years were clear every time Kate looked at her. What had gone wrong? The mother of her childhood had been a happy, easygoing woman. She’d loved her position as the wife of a supreme court justice, had been proud of her husband, ambitious for her daughters. That had all changed fifteen years ago. But maybe it was time to stop hiding from that and find out why.
“Should I still go?” she asked.
“Yes, keep to your schedule. It’s what you’d be expected to do, and you might find something.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think that’s all we can do for now. We have to know what this information is before we decide our next move. Until tomorrow night, we both act normal.”
She stood up. It looked like he was leaving, and she had the urge to beg him not to go. However illogical it was, she felt safe when she was with Gideon. As though he could protect her from all the bad things.
“What will you be doing?”
“I’m going into the office. I’m sure someone will have reported that I was at the shooting this morning. I need to make it seem natural.”
She’d almost forgotten about the shooting. Or rather, she’d pushed it to the back of her mind. There was only so much grief you could process.
For a moment, they both looked at each other, as though there was something they should be doing. Instead, she just stood there, staring at him, until finally he gave her a brief nod and turned and walked out of the room.
The door slammed behind him, and she sank back down onto her seat.
She had a date with Gideon Frome. Which might have been nice under other circumstances. Even without asking Auspex, she had a good idea that the chances of them getting out alive were pretty low.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“If anyone is crazy enough to want to kill a president of the United States, he can do it. All he must be prepared to do is give his life for the president’s.” John F. Kennedy
The rest of the day was mostly uneventful. Kate monitored the chatter, sent in a couple of yellow alerts. Deleted a green without even bothering to check with Auspex.
She’d just checked the prediction for the nuclear attack. It was still climbing.
As she was about to pack up and leave, a news report flashed up on the screen.
There he was. President Harry Coffell.
He was clearly reading from a teleprompter, and while his expression was somber, there was a strange glint in his eyes. Satisfaction. He claimed the massacre had been instigated by the protesters. That they had been infiltrated by aliens and militant rebels who wished to destabilize the country. Many American soldiers had been killed in the confrontation.
Images flashed up. They weren’t the protesters she’d seen die; they were men in army fatigues next to civilians. The close-ups showed the latter to be exclusively people of color.
Fury rose inside her. It was an outright lie, twisted propaganda of the worst sort.
“America is safe. The American people are safe.” Harry raised both hands into the air as the crowd clapped him. “God bless America.”
She watched until the screen went black, sick to her stomach. The man was evil. Without thinking, she leaned forward and typed.
What would happen if someone killed the president?
She hadn’t really expected an answer.
If President Harry Coffell were to die in the next two weeks, the probability of alert 10245 resulting in a threat to the American people would be negligible.
After staring at the screen for an age, she leaned forward and switched it off. She walked out of the building, her mind numb with the enormity of what she’d just learned. On the street, she flagged down a passing taxi, gave Stella’s address, functioning on autopilot.
She’d arranged to meet her mother at seven-thirty, but she wanted to get a couple of hours in first. However, once there, she couldn’t make herself move.
Stella was the most amazingly tidy person Kate had ever known. There wasn’t a thing out of place in the small apartment. She stood in the middle of the living room trying to decide where to start.
The place was decorated in muted grays and white. Stylish, but not flamboyant, a lot like Stella herself, though her sister hadn’t always been like that. Kate remembered her as being bright, bubbly, and full of life. That had changed, along with everything else all those years ago when Kate was twelve and Stella three years older. The life had drained out of her sister, and Kate had no clue why. Whatever it was had also set her mother on the road to becoming the half-woman she was today. She’d done the same things, gone to the same parties, but it was all going through the motions.
Kate had done her best to ignore what was happening around her ever since. She was good at that. Now, she couldn’t ignore it any longer. The need to know what had happened, what had gone wrong, clawed at her insides.
She turned slowly. Most of the surfaces were clear, just a couple of photographs. One of the whole family, one of her and Stella on her eighteenth birthday. She crossed the floor and picked up the photo. While her sister had been beautiful, now that Kate looked, she could see the shadows in her eyes. Just like her mother’s. As though they had both been hiding something from her, though Kate had certainly made things easy for them. She’d never poked beneath the surface, had accepted things as they’d been presented to her.
She put the photo down. There was nothing else to show her sister had lived here. Her chest ached.
