The Wall, page 24
“Who knows. Maybe he’d promised them something. Maybe they’re divvying up the world between themselves. Except there won’t be a world left.” Kate gave a small frown. “But if they’re planning this together, why is it going to escalate?”
He considered the problem. The more he thought about it, the more obvious the answer became. “Because Russia is our main opposition. I’m guessing both sides have had enough of sharing and that this last move is a ruse—by both countries. Russia will use the confusion of the nuclear explosion to make a real attack on the country. When Harry realizes that, he’ll retaliate with a nuclear attack on Russia.”
He could see it happening so easily.
The world was a crazy place right now.
They were silent for a minute.
“We’ve got to stop him,” Kate said. “Kill him. That’s the only thing that changes Auspex’s prediction.”
“Just how much do you believe in this machine? Maybe you’re giving it too much credibility. Perhaps it’s not always right.” He thought for a moment. “I mean, if it’s so good at predicting the future, why didn’t it warn you about your friend Oliver?”
She looked away, her lips pressed together, then rubbed a hand over her eyes. “That’s my fault.”
“How?”
She took a sip of water, as if to give herself time to think. “You don’t understand how truly…powerful Auspex is. He’s the real thing.”
“I’m not even sure what that means.”
“Scientists have been working on artificial intelligence for a long time. They were almost at the point of making a huge breakthrough when the ban came that stopped the research. I think the administration saw A.I. as a huge threat.”
“Were they right to see it as a threat?”
For the first time, he saw the life come back to her eyes. For a second, they glowed with something fierce. “Oh yes. Without a doubt. They could never have done what they have without complete control of the outflow of information. Even access to the old internet would have allowed people to communicate, see what was going on. A true A.I. system would have made control impossible.”
“I still don’t see how that makes it your fault.”
“Right now, Auspex is programmed to only make specific predictions when asked.”
“So, unless you actually asked for the probability of Oliver being murdered, he wouldn’t make the calculation?”
“Exactly. I built a whole load of protocols into the system, safety measures that limit how much he will do on his own. Without those protocols, even I have no idea what he can do, what he can become. The potential is…infinite.”
He guessed he must have looked blank, because she shook her head.
“Come on, Gideon—you must have seen some of those old movies where the computers became more powerful, more intelligent, than the humans who made them.”
“Terminator?” He’d seen a copy of the film in her apartment. “You really think that could happen?” It sounded a little far-fetched to him.
“I don’t know. At the same time, up until now, I haven’t been tempted to risk it. Auspex was almost like a game to me. Except he’s not a game. Or a toy. Without the protocols, I have no idea how much control I would have over him.”
“You said ‘up until now’.”
“We can’t do this alone. Oliver’s death has shown me that. They’re evil, and I don’t think anything Auspex could do would be worse than what they’re planning anyway.”
Gideon sat back. “You’re going to remove the safety protocols.”
“Yes. Most of them, anyway. Then just ask Auspex to tell us anything he thinks might help us. First, we have to get some information from the system, because once the protocols are off, he’s out of my control, and I have no clue whether he will help us.”
“You think he will?”
“I hope so.” She gave him a faint smile.
That was a long shot as far as he was concerned. He certainly wasn’t going to rely on a computer to stop Harry from destroying the whole world and mankind with it. So, they needed a plan. A way to stop Harry. Or rather, if Auspex was to be believed, a way to kill him. He felt not even a flicker of guilt over that. He would do it with a smile on his face. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be easy.
A man guarded by his own private army.
“I’ve got to find a way to kill him,” she said.
“No, you’ve got to find a way for me to kill him.” She opened her mouth, no doubt to argue, and he cut in before she had the chance. “We’re in this together, and you’ve never killed anyone in your life. I’d bet you’ve never even hurt anyone intentionally before.”
“Most people haven’t killed anyone. That doesn’t mean that I can’t. I hate him.”
“I think you could probably kill Harry. You blame him for your sister, and now for Oliver. Except there’s no way this is going to go down nice and clean. There will be collateral damage. Maybe just his bodyguards, but chances are there will also be civilians. I don’t think you’ve got what it takes.”
He’d become a good judge of people during his army years. Some people killed easily and thought nothing of it. Some people learned to kill—he was one of those. He’d killed many in his life—but all of them had been hard. Some people never learned. Kate, he sensed, was one of the truly good people in the world.
Besides, this was a suicide mission. He had no doubt about that. Getting close enough to Harry would mean almost zero chance of getting away. Maybe he wouldn’t emphasize that point.
“Besides which, I’m trained, whereas I’m guessing you’ve never even shot a gun, never used a knife, explosives?” She gave a quick shake of her head. “It makes sense.” If this worked and they got rid of Harry, America would need people like Kate to rebuild it.
Her lips pursed in a mutinous expression. “Let’s wait and see what scenarios Auspex comes up with. We might be able to get some help—remember Stella said that the file would also contain the details for a meeting with Aaron? And travel passes?”
“They were there?”
“Yes. The meeting is tomorrow morning. You think we should go?”
It would be dangerous, but Christ, he wanted to. He wanted to see Aaron again, maybe just to punch the bastard in the nose for what he had done all those years ago, though at least he understood a little better now. Maybe his brother could provide them with some concrete help. Though clearly the rebels didn’t plan to stop this themselves, or why involve him? He gave a quick nod. “Yes.”
“Then I’m coming, too.”
He wasn’t happy about that, but he could see the resolve in her face. “Okay.”
“We’ll need to leave around six.” She sighed. “Now I’d better get back to the office.”
He knew she had to, but he was worried. If they’d come after her boss, would they come after her? He wished he could whisk her away to some place of safety, except that he wasn’t sure anywhere was safe anymore. Like Stella’s, Oliver’s death had been made to look like an accident. There was clearly no actual evidence against him. It was as though Harry was just taking out anybody who had ever spoken out against him or had reason to hate him. He didn’t think Kate fell into that category. Even if she did, maybe her office was the safest place for her. It was unlikely that they would stage an accident at Homeland Security. Plus, Gideon needed the information, for which she needed access to her systems, so they had no choice anyway.
“I’ll drive you back,” he said. “And pick you up after work. I don’t want you out alone.”
“You think they might come after me?”
“No.” He made sure his tone was confident. “There’s no reason. All the same, I’ll feel better.”
She gave him a smile then. “This is seriously bad, and I wish with all my heart that it wasn’t happening.” Then she gave a shrug. “But I did always want to be a superhero and save the world. Now I have my chance.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
“We did not come to fear the future. We came here to shape it.” Barack Obama
Kate tried to hold onto that thought as she arrived back at the office. Should she go tell Teresa what had happened? She didn’t want to, but as she was entering the building, she saw Detective Palmer emerging from the elevator. When he spotted her across the room, he nodded, but didn’t attempt to talk to her. She was glad. She had no wish to talk about Oliver. She was doing her best not to think about him. She had to stay focused. All the same, an image kept flashing in her mind—his battered face and mutilated hand. They’d tortured him. He had been one of the best people she had ever known, a truly good man, and they’d tortured him, and then they’d murdered him.
At the thought, the rage she’d been holding at bay rose in her mind like a red mist. Maybe she was wrong; maybe she had to think about Oliver and her sister. Maybe rage was the one thing that would get her through this. Because Gideon had been right. The thought of killing someone, even Harry, made nausea churn in her stomach.
Yeah, great fucking superhero.
She headed down the stairwell and to her office.
As she closed the door, she released the tenuous hold she had on her control, and the tears rolled down her cheeks. She sank onto the chair and didn’t try and stop herself. She’d wanted to look strong for Gideon. She’d dragged him into this, and now they were both going to die. Oh, she knew he had some idea that he could do it all himself, but he was wrong.
She didn’t want anyone else she cared about to die.
She allowed herself five minutes to decompress, then blew her nose, wiped her eyes, and switched on her systems. Just as the screen flashed to life, there was a knock on the door. It opened without her speaking, and there was Teresa, all red eyes and streaked mascara. Kate hadn’t been convinced that Teresa had any feelings for Oliver. In fact, she’d been pretty sure that the other woman had been given the job as Oliver’s assistant for the main purpose of spying on him and reporting back any subversive activity. Not that there would have been any—Oliver was too bright for that.
“He’s dead,” she said.
Kate nodded. “I know.”
Teresa came into the room and sank onto the only other seat in there. “They told me you found him.”
“I did. I was worried when he wasn’t here this morning.”
“He’d been tortured?”
She wasn’t sure what to say, what to do. There was that image again, but she didn’t want to share that with Teresa. So she just gave another nod.
“Who would do that?” Teresa asked. “He was the kindest man ever.” She bit her lip and stared Kate in the eyes. “When they gave me the job, they told me to report back on him. Anything he said against the Party. And I was happy to. I felt like I was contributing. But he never said anything wrong. Ever. And I told them that.”
Kate still had no clue what to say. Did Teresa suspect foul play from her beloved Party? Was some of this guilt, or was it just disillusionment?
Teresa sniffed, and Kate opened a drawer, found a pack of tissues. She handed them to the other woman, who blew her nose. “He once told me that we all have to do what we believe to be right. He knew I was there to spy on him, and he was still so nice to me.”
“He was a nice man.”
“The Secret Service were waiting for me two nights ago. They wanted to know if there was anything new. Anything I could tell them. I said there was nothing. But they were so persistent.”
Had they been looking for a legitimate reason to arrest him? So when Teresa had given them nothing, they’d taken another approach?
“Maybe they weren’t real agents,” Teresa said, sounding hopeful. “The president would never condone something like this. Maybe they were tied to his killers, and I could help. I don’t know what to do. Who to go to.”
“No one,” Kate said. “There’s nothing you can do for Oliver now. You’ll just make trouble for yourself.” She had an idea. “They might even take your Political Officer status from you.”
“I don’t care if it would help catch his murderers.”
There was zero chance of that, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell Teresa. “Look, I have a friend in the Secret Service. If you give me their names and a description, he’ll check them out for you.” She handed Teresa a piece of paper and pen and watched as she wrote something down.
Glancing at the names, she couldn’t help wondering if these were Oliver’s killers.
Teresa stood. “I’m sorry. I just needed to speak to someone. I feel better now.” Kate wished it was that easy for her, but she suspected that most of what Teresa was feeling was due to guilt rather than to genuine feelings for Oliver. “I’ll say a prayer for him at tomorrow’s prayer meeting.”
“He’d like that.” Not. Oliver had been an atheist with no time for religious nonsense, as he called it. “I’ll make sure I attend.” Something occurred to her. Dare she ask? “Teresa?”
“Yes.” The woman paused on her way to the door.
“These Secret Service agents. Did they ask anything about me?”
Teresa’s eyes widened as though the question surprised her. “No. Of course not. Why would they?”
Why indeed? “Just that Oliver was my boss, and I was his friend.” Though they’d played that down a lot over the last few years.
Teresa took a step closer and patted her on the arm. “Don’t worry. You know the president. You’re above reproach.”
“Of course. I’m just being silly. This whole thing has shaken me up, and on top of Stella… It’s all just a little too much.”
“You poor thing. You’ve been through so much. At least you have that nice man to look after you now. A real hero. Think about him and put this behind you.”
“I’ll try.”
She waited until the door closed on Teresa and sat back. They’d been looking for something against Oliver, and when they hadn’t found anything, they’d set it up to look like a burglary. Was Harry just cleaning up?
Who would be next?
Did the administration have Oliver killed?
There is a 99 percent probability.
That was enough for her. The bastards were going to die. She just didn’t know how. But it was time to find out. First, maybe, she could at least see if anyone else was at risk.
Can you give me a list of anyone else who might be in danger?
A minute later, a list appeared on the screen and her eyes were drawn immediately to a name halfway down. Her mother. Why? She had a flashback to the funeral. When Harry had said that her mother blamed him. Did he suspect she knew about his attack on Stella?
Panic flooded her. This wasn’t happening. Her hand was shaking as she reached for the phone. She punched in her parents’ number. It was picked up straightaway.
“Hello?”
Her father’s voice. “Dad, it’s Kate. Is mom there?”
She held her breath.
“Yes. You want to talk to her?”
“No.” She thought quickly. She hated that she didn’t quite trust her father, but really, she had no choice. “Just stay near her today. Don’t let her go out and don’t leave her alone.”
“What’s this about, Kate?”
“Nothing, maybe.” She hoped he would realize that she didn’t want to talk over the phone. “I’m just a little worried about her. She seemed very down when we spoke last.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll come around soon and talk to you both.”
“We’ll be here.”
She put the phone down and made herself concentrate on the rest of the list. There were about fifty names, quite a few she recognized. At least neither she nor Gideon was on there.
Can you warn these people? Anonymously.
I can.
She knew there was a good chance that they wouldn’t believe the warning. Or, that even if they did, there was very little they could do to keep themselves safe. But there was nothing else she could do for them. Except go on with the plan.
On to the main thing.
I need a list of scenarios where it might be possible to assassinate the president, and the associated probabilities of success. Anything over 75 percent.
Will Captain Frome be assisting you?
Yes.
She wasn’t entirely happy about that, but this wasn’t about her happiness, it was about preventing a catastrophe. Which meant that, whether she liked it or not, Gideon would be assisting. Though she suspected that, if it came down to action, she’d be the one assisting. Or, more likely, getting in the way.
She was expecting Auspex to take some time, but the information came up almost immediately.
There are no scenarios with a greater than 75 percent probability of success.
Well, that wasn’t good news. She thought for a while. Give me anything you’ve got, starting with the best chance.
As the information came up, her gaze went immediately to the top of the list. 57 percent. That was her best chance? Shit. Though it was a little better than fifty-fifty. Harry would be visiting his father in the medical care home.
Next on the list was the opening of a wing at The Smithsonian in honor of his father. That had a 51 percent chance. There would be a lot of publicity around that one. More chance of getting in there unnoticed. But also correspondingly high security. Maybe that was why the chance of success was lower.
The next on the list was a meeting with a women’s group actually at the White House. The probability was less than 10 percent. Not good. It looked like there were only two options worth looking at. She dug into her bag and found her tablet, plugged it in.
Can you give me everything you have on the top two?
A minute later, she slipped the tablet into her bag. Security had never checked it before; she just hoped today wouldn’t be the first time.
