Cipher (15 page)

Did Jennifer actually know Don Cicerone? Was there some
connection that Jonathan had missed? He searched his memory bank. He tried to
think back to something, anything that he could remember about the project. Was
that why he was chosen to find her? Why would they need him? He still felt lost
and confused. He didn’t have any of the answers.

“Please, Dr. Cobalt. We need you to be straight with us,”
Jenkins said.

“Look,” Jennifer said. “All I know is that I was hired by
Advanced Biogenics to do the work that I’m already passionate about. I don’t
know about any Italian mob boss, or why some Russian hit man is out to kill
me.”

“I’m having a hard time believing you,” Jenkins said.

“Why?” Jonathan asked. “Why wouldn’t you believe her?”

“Her body language. She’s hiding something,” Jenkins said.

“I think you’re just upsetting her. I think that’s it and I
think we should just move on and get this whole thing over with so that we can
all go home,” Jonathan said.

Jenkins gave Jonathan a stern look as if to tell him that he
needed to just shut up, but she left it alone. “Fine. Dr. Cobalt, tell me about
your research. I need to get more of a background on all this.”

“It seems like you know everything else. Why do you even
need to talk to me anymore?” Jennifer asked. Clearly, she was upset.

“Tell me about the cipher drive. Tell me about this device,”
Jenkins said. Steiner just sat there taking notes. The whole thing was being
recorded so Jonathan wasn’t sure why he was even bothering to take notes.

“It can crack anything. It can hack into any database
through brute force,” Jennifer said.

“And you created this knowingly? You knew what it would be
used
for?
” Steiner asked, looking up from his notepad.

“Look, I did a job. That’s all. I did what I was paid to do.
I did what I loved to do,” she said.

“You love breaking into things?” Jenkins asked.

“I love numbers. Ciphers get me excited. When I look at
algorithms, they’re sexy to me,” she said. She cracked a half smile.

“I understood that part Dr. Cobalt. Well, it seems that the
two of you have some similarities. You both are paid to do something you love,
but that you know is wrong,” Jenkins said. She wasn’t trying to be funny at all
but Jonathan laughed at that.

“What’s so funny Mr. Grace?” Jenkins asked.

“Nothing,” he said.

“Fine. Let’s move on,” Jenkins finally said.

“Let’s,” Jonathan said.

“God please,” Jennifer said.

“Mr. Grace. Are you prepared to do anything required of you
here? Are you prepared to go the extra mile to help us bring this whole thing
to a close and bring Medviek to justice?” asked Jenkins.

“Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well, there is the matter of your job. You’ve been hired to
bring something back to Don Cicerone. What we need to know is that, if you’re
put up to this task, are you going to help us, or are you going to serve your
own interests at the end of the day?”

“What does that even mean? Serve my own interests?” Jonathan
asked. He knew what they were talking about, but he was surprised by the
audacity of the question.

“There’s some money on the line for you here isn’t there?”
Steiner asked.

“Yes.”

“Just how much money is on the line? Just how much money
will you
be
paid for bringing back the cipher drive?
How much are they paying you for the device? It must have been enough to bring
you out of so-called retirement.”

“A million dollars,” Jonathan said. “But things have changed
now.”

“How have things changed?” Jenkins asked.

Jonathan looked at Jennifer. She knew what he was talking
about, but he wasn’t going to come out and say it to them. He cared more about
her now than he did about the cipher drive. All he wanted was for everyone to
leave them alone and let them live their lives out in peace.

“They just have,” Jennifer said, answering for him.

The two agents looked at her, then looked at each other.
They were starting to get the picture. “So, you’re willing to help us then?
You’re willing to help us get this device out of the hands of all of these
criminals? At the very least are you willing to do that for us?” Jenkins asked.

“Yes. Of course we are,” Jennifer said.

“We’ll do whatever it takes,” Jonathan added. “I just want
this whole nightmare to be over with.”

“Okay, well, we have a lot of work to do then,” Jenkins said.
“We should probably get started right away.”

“Don Cicerone?” Jonathan asked, as
the call connected to the voice on the other end. He hadn’t spoken to the one
man who he was supposed to be accountable to on the job, for days. He braced himself
for what would be a difficult conversation.

“Hey kid, where the hell you been? I was about to send out a
search squad. When I told you I needed constant updates, what do you do? You
turn off your phone,” he said.

“There’s been some complications,” Jonathan said, his tone
melancholy.

“What kind of complications, kid?”

“The serious kind.”

“You’ve got some explaining to do. You better start talking
before I lose my cool,” said the increasingly agitated voice on the other end.

“Look. There’s some good news and there’s some bad news,”
Jonathan said. “Which would you rather hear first?”

“What’s the good news?” he asked.

“The good news is that I found the cipher drive,” Jonathan
said, trying his best to say it in the most upbeat way.

“Good job kid. What’s the bad news?”

“The bad news is that I can’t get to it.
I’ve
got
a bounty on my head. I’m with the doctor, but the situation has gone
from bad to worse,” Jonathan said.

“What do you mean you can’t get it? If you know where it is,
then you need to get it kid,” said Don Cicerone. “I don’t care what it takes.
I’m not paying you to screw around here.”

“It’s too risky. I need your help.”

“What kind of help?”

“I need bodies,” Jonathan said.

“Bodies?”

“Yeah. I need goons. I’ve got a plan,” Jonathan said.

“Goons? What? You Italian all of a sudden?” Don Cicerone
chuckled on the other end of the line. Jonathan could just see the grossly
overweight Don laughing to himself in New York. It sickened him.

“No. I’m serious. I can’t do this without your help.”

“I still don’t understand what’s being done,” Don Cicerone
said.

“I know where the cipher drive is. Have you been watching
the news lately?” Jonathan asked.

“Yeah, of course, kid. Always.”

“Then you know what’s been going on. You know what the
cipher drive is being used to do.”

“Yeah. I kind of got that picture,” Don Cicerone said.

“Okay, well it’s important that we get it back before more
damage is done,” Jonathan said.

“Look. I’m not in this deal for the conscience. I don’t care
what someone else is doing with it. All I know is that I want back what is
rightfully mine.”

“Rightfully yours? It wasn’t yours to begin with,” Jonathan
said.

“Whoa. What
are you saying kid
? You
forget
who
you’re speaking to? Of
course
it was rightfully mine. It belongs to me. As far as you’re concerned, I’m the
rightful owner. Do I need to say anything more about that?”

Jonathan could tell that the Don was getting increasingly
agitated, which wasn’t his intent. He tried his best to calm him down. “That’s
not what I meant. I’m sorry it came across that way.”

“Okay kid. Apology accepted.”

“Thanks. I didn’t mean any disrespect. I really need your
help, that’s all,” Jonathan said.

“Okay. I’m going to put Vinnie and Tony on the plane right
now. I can have them there to you in less than 24 hours. How does that sound?”
Don Cicerone asked.

“Can you spare anyone else?”

“Yeah. I’ll be tagging along,” he said.

“Okay. Great,” Jonathan said.

“Good.
Done.
Istanbul it is. See
you soon, kid,” Don Cicerone barked into the phone just before he hung up.

“Thanks.”

Jonathan looked at Jennifer as they ate at a café by the
water. Agent Jenkins and Steiner were in a car not too far away, with a
watchful eye on them. “What did he say?” Jennifer asked.

“It’s done,” Jonathan said.

“They’re coming?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s a relief. Do you think it will work?” she asked.

“I really hope so. We’re nearly out of options. I feel the
pressure on all sides. I never wanted all of this. I thought this was going to
be plain and simple until all these other people got involved,” Jonathan said.

“I know. We’ll get through it,” she said. She reached over
and nudged her knee against his.

“I know we will. I guess… What I mean is…”

“What?” she asked.

“When this is all over, what’s going to happen next?”
Jonathan asked.

“What do you mean?”

“What’s going to happen with us?” Jonathan looked at her with
his brown puppy dog eyes. He looked like a wounded animal, but she adored it.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I guess we’ll just play it by
ear.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“I was never one for planning things like that out. I think
we should just let the cards fall where they may. Every time I’ve tried to plan
on things like this, it never went well,” she said.

“What’s wrong with planning?” he asked.

“Nothing. That’s not what I’m saying,” she said.

“Oh?”

“Don’t misunderstand me. I really like you. In fact, I like
you a lot, probably more than I’ve led on to believe,” she said.

Jonathan smiled after that statement. “That makes me feel
better,” he said.

“So, I’m not saying anything like that. I’ve just had a lot
of… bad experiences in the past with relationships.” She looked down at the
table and moved the food on her plate around with her fork.

“What kind of bad experiences?” he asked. “I guess I don’t
really know that much about you. I feel like I’ve been an open book, but with
you, I’m always clamoring to learn more.”

“I know. It’s just my personality. It’s not easy for me to
let people in,” she said.

“Were you hurt in the past? What happened? You know what’s
happened with me. You know what’s happened in my past,” he said.

“Yeah, and it’s terrible. I mean, it’s more than terrible,”
she said. “I’m not quite sure how you managed to move on after that. I don’t
know how I would have handled something like that.”

“I didn’t think I would ever move on either. I didn’t think
I could ever have any emotions or feelings for another person again. I guess
you just adapt, and over time, you heal,” he said.

“Do you feel heeled?” she asked. She looked at him with a
puzzled look, but Jonathan melted at the site of those pale blue eyes. Her hair
fell in a short cluster as she looked down at the table, almost embarrassed for
asking a question like that. He just wanted to reach over and kiss her again,
but he knew it wasn’t the time for that.

“I don’t think I can ever really be whole again, but I feel
better. I feel better ever since I came here; ever since I met you,” he said.

She smiled. “That’s sweet. That’s probably one of the
sweetest things that anyone has ever said to me.”

“Well, I really do mean it. I hope you know that,” he said.

“Yeah. I do.”

“But that still leaves me at not really knowing that much
about you. I guess I really want to know everything about you. I don’t know
why. It’s just something inside of me,” he said.

“What else do you want to know?”

“I have so many questions.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Like a lot of things.”

“Such as what? I feel like you know mostly everything,” she
said, as she looked away.

“Okay, for example, when Jenkins and Steiner were
questioning us, I didn’t feel like you were being honest about the whole Don
Cicerone thing. When they asked you if you knew him, I felt like you were lying
or concealing the truth,” he said.

“I do know him,” she said, dropping a bomb.

“You do?”

“Yeah. I do.”

“How?” he asked.

“It’s a long story.”

“You see, this is just one of those things… it’s one of
those things that I don’t know about you. There are so many gaps… so many holes
to fill,” he said.

“I knew him through my husband,” she said. She looked down
at her food again and her face turned red.

“I thought you weren’t
married?
Did
you tell me that you weren’t married?”

“I’m not married. I should say my late husband,” she said.

“I don’t get it. You see, now I’m totally lost.”

“You don’t need to feel lost. In fact, you’re going to feel
eerily close to me when I tell you this,” she said.

“Tell me what?”

“I was married to Tyler Walker,” she said.

“What? You’re serious?”

“Yes.”

“How is that possible… but… then that means that
you’re
…” he said.

“Yes. He was the one that was going to turn state’s evidence
on Don Cicerone. He was the one that you helped track down for him,” she said.

Jonathan’s faced turned bright red. He could feel the fire
heating up in his face. Now he understood why she had been so timid and
resistant of him initially.
It was Jonathan who
was
responsible for her husband’s death.

“Oh my god,” he said.

“Yeah. I know.”

“You must hate me then?” he asked.

“Hate is a strong word,” she said.

“Did you know? Did you know who I was?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t say anything?”

“I was scared to,” she said.

“I didn’t even put two and two together,” he said.

“That’s surprising. You know, I was young and stupid when we
met, and I’ve had to pay for his mistakes. When he turned state’s evidence, and
after he was killed, they threatened me. They told me that I needed to do this
project, or else. They were going to kill me, Jonathan. I was paid well for it,
but when I realized what was being done, I wanted out. They wouldn’t let me
out. I was scared out of my mind.”

“Which is why you came back here, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Wow,” Jonathan said. He sat back in his chair and put his
hand on his forehead, as if he were just about to faint. “I feel like such a
jerk,” he said.

“Yeah, well, you were doing your job. I guess I can’t really
fault you for it. You were just doing your job. You didn’t know what they were
going to…”

“I should have known. I shouldn’t have just marched straight
into that situation. He was always such a good client… Don Cicerone that is…
and… well…”

“Yeah, I get it,” she said.

“And now he’s on his way here,” he said. He clasped his hand
on his mouth. “Why the hell did you agree to that? What are we going to do
now?”

“Well, there’s something else that I
haven’t really told you,”
she said.

“Oh god, what? What is it?”

“It’s… You’re going to hate me when I tell you this…” she
said.

“No I won’t,” he said.

“I have a copy of the cipher,” she said.

“What? The formulas?”

“No, the whole thing,” she said. “The chipset with the
cipher pre-loaded on USB. The whole thing.”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah.”

“There’s two of them out there?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Do they know that?”

“No. I created a duplicate for myself. I kept it for
protection. In case anything ever was to happen to me or to my family, I had to
keep it for insurance purposes. No one else is supposed to have that. The power
that it holds is tremendous. You don’t understand Jonathan; you can do anything
with that cipher. You can hack into anything as long as you know what you’re
doing.”

“Okay, all of this is starting to make a lot more sense to
me,” he said.

“Are you going to say anything? Are you going to tell them
what I just told you?”

“No, of course not.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“But what the hell are we going to do now? We had this whole
thing planned out. Why didn’t you say something sooner? Why didn’t you just
tell me all of it before?” he asked.

“I didn’t think I could trust you. I really didn’t. I
thought you were here to kill me at first, but then when you saved me like
that… I don’t know… It all just has happened so fast. It’s hard for me to trust
people. I hope you can understand how much I’ve been through. This has taken
such an enormous toll on me. I feel like I’ve aged twenty years in the matter
of two,” she said.

If she had aged twenty years in the matter of two then
Jonathan certainly didn’t notice it. She was still the most beautiful woman he
had ever met, by far. “I guess I should feel good about
that?
”

“It’s just been hard on me… it’s been hard for me to trust
people. Everyone that I’ve put my trust into has burned me… everyone other than
my immediate family. Does that make sense to you? I’ve been on edge for so
long. It’s been so frustrating. I couldn’t even begin to sit here and explain
it to you,” she said.

“I understand. It makes sense. I guess I just… I don’t know
what I…” Jonathan was fumbling for his words. He was searching for the right
thing to say, but he didn’t know what to say at all. “You can trust me. I’m not
going to burn you,” he finally said.

“I don’t feel like you would. But, then again, I didn’t feel
like I would
get
burned any other time. I’ve been
paying for someone else’s mistakes for years now. Do you see how they’ve had me
in this noose for so long?” she asked.

“Yes. I can see. What I don’t understand is how Jenkins and
Steiner didn’t make the connection between you and Tyler. Did you change your
last name?” he asked.

“I never assumed his last name.”

“Still… I don’t see how they wouldn’t have made the connection.”

“I don’t know either. I guess they just didn’t say anything
or they don’t know,” she added.

“They seem to be in the know about everything else. Maybe
that was why they said you were lying to them. Maybe they knew and they’re just
trying to hold onto their cards. Maybe they know even more than they’re letting
on to know. Who knows with them,” he said. “They certainly acted weird in
there, didn’t they?”