Reilly 11 - Case of Lies (38 page)

“Is that correct, Mr. Elias?” Nina asked.

Elias smiled and said, “Greg’s doing the talking.”

Foster went on. “Flint called his sister the day after the robbery and told her that he was going underground. She informed management immediately. He was fired and XYC had no further contact with him. Carleen stayed with us and became a valued member of our team. Your client, Mr. Hanna, filed a lawsuit that was about to die a natural death, and then you came along.”

“Yes,” Nina said. “It’s all my fault. Where is Mr. Flint? You know where he is, don’t you?”

Another exchange of glances. Foster said, “I haven’t said that.”

“Well, do you?”

“I wouldn’t say that, not in so many words.”

“He’s still listed as an employee on your Web site.”

“That’s a mistake.”

Nina turned to the NSA agent. “What is your interest?” Dietz did not respond. He was regarding her as Nabokov might have regarded a specimen butterfly just before impaling it on a pin.

“I’m getting to that,” Foster said. “The point is, we may be able to help regarding Mr. Flint.”

“Except that?”

“We still have an interest in Mr. Wakefield’s work. An even stronger interest, at this point. And he won’t talk to us. In fact, he told us you represent him.”

“I see,” Nina said. She would have to talk to Elliott, quickly. It put her in a pickle, because she didn’t represent him. On the other hand, she couldn’t pretend to represent him, that would be unethical.

Professor Braun had been listening quietly. Now he said, “I wonder if you have any idea how dangerous Elliott’s work is.”

“Well, it sure has been dangerous to him,” Nina said.

“It’s a danger to the whole world. It’s a lethal bomb. It’s the equivalent of Hiroshima.”

“I won’t let you get away with that, Professor. People won’t die in the hundreds of thousands because of Mr. Wakefield’s work.”

“They will be homeless in the millions. Their national economies will be in ruins. The Internet will be down for the foreseeable future, Ms. Reilly. I don’t think you have the slightest idea what that means in this day and age.

“Elliott doesn’t understand. He doesn’t care about large institutions and he thinks individuals will not suffer. He has to be made to understand that they will suffer. How will they pay their bills? How will they talk to each other? Do you have any idea how this will impact civil liberties? Ordinary people can now encrypt their E-mails to each other. They can talk to each other and there is some check on the government’s technical ability to listen in. That check will be gone.

“He’s young, his judgment is poor, and he has chosen you to be his representative. That’s why we are talking with you today, Ms. Reilly. We need your help.”

Aaron Dietz of the NSA cleared his throat and said, “The nation insists on your help.”

“Civilization as we know it will disappear,” Nina said.

“Don’t take this lightly, Ms. Reilly.”

“This code has only been used for ten years, Professor. All codes are broken eventually. Isn’t the real problem that XYC is built around this encryption code? Your corporate world may be in danger, but I think the rest of the world can adjust in due course.”

“You simply don’t understand. The impact-”

Nina interrupted. “When did you talk to Mr. Wakefield?”

“His home was searched yesterday in the early-morning hours,” Dietz said. “He was present at that time. On NSA’s affidavit and pursuant to court order.”

“I haven’t spoken with him about that,” Nina said.

“No? Well, he didn’t resist. He didn’t ask to talk to his lawyer, if that’s what you want to know.”

“And the notebook?”

“Still wherever he hid it,” Dietz said. He gave his red silk tie an angry yank.

“The worst thing is that he won’t show anyone his results,” Professor Braun said. “There is probably a mistake somewhere. It could all be a mistake, which would explain why it’s taking him so long to provide a proof. But we have to proceed as though he has found a way to break the XYC encryption system. What have you seen of his work, Ms. Reilly?”

He had asked nicely. “Oh, nothing, really,” Nina said. “We talked about it a little. I’m no mathematician. Generally, he shows that the primes are strictly analogous to eigenvalues of a Hermitian quantum operator associated with a classical Hamiltonian.”

Braun’s face paled. He gripped the table. “What Hamiltonian is that? Is he using Alain Connes’s p-adelic Hermitians?”

“I’m sorry, Professor. You understand.” Nina smoothed her skirt, had a sip of water.

The men looked at one another. Braun muttered, “Connes. Incredible.” Foster nodded at Branson and the atmosphere in the room electrified.

Nina straightened her back and prepared herself.

“Ten million and a confidentiality agreement for Wakefield, two million for you, properly sheltered from income tax, and a million for your client Mr. Hanna,” Branson said. “And Mr. Flint’s ass, encased in a sling and delivered in a white limo.”

Nina wrote down those lovely round numbers. It gave her a second to think.

“And in exchange?”

“Confidentiality agreements all around. The notebook. Mr. Wakefield’s cooperation. Dismissal of your causes of action against XYC.”

“Is this severable?” Nina asked. “Because Mr. Hanna and Mr. Wakefield don’t have the same interests. In fact, there’s a conflict. For example, what if Mr. Hanna agreed to drop the suit against XYC in exchange for a million dollars and Flint?”

“And Wakefield?”

“Let’s say his side of things would have to be negotiated independently.”

Branson said, “You already know the answer to that one. Nobody gives a shit about Hanna’s lawsuit. You want Flint, you bring Wakefield to the table. You want to handle the Wakefield part without Hanna, that’s fine with us, though we’d like to take care of everything at once. Am I being nice enough?”

“I’m afraid not,” Nina said. “I want to talk to Carleen Flint before any decisions are made.” There was a stir around the table. They were all looking at Elias again. “Mr. Elias?” Nina said. “Is she available?”

Tom Elias scratched his cheek. “Mr. Branson?”

“What do we get in return?” Branson said.

Nina said evenly, “Mr. Elias? She’s here, isn’t she?”

Elias shrugged and said, “Five minutes.”

Branson brought Carleen Flint in and made a place for her. Nina barely had time to reflect that her loyalty to the company was crucial to them. Carleen was small and slight, wearing a nice gray suit. She wasn’t a pretty woman, and she was very nervous right now, trembling like a greyhound.

“This lady has a few questions for you,” Branson told her. “As we discussed.”

“May I?” Nina asked Branson.

“Five minutes,” he reminded her.

“You know who I am?” she asked Carleen.

“They told me.”

“You are Leland Flint’s sister?”

“Yes.”

“You are willing to talk to me today? No one is forcing you to talk to me?”

“No.”

“It’s all right, Carleen,” Tom Elias said. “Be frank.”

“How long have you been employed at XYC?”

“Two years full-time. Before that I was a student intern for a summer.”

“How did your brother come to work there?”

“He had just been discharged from the Navy. He was in an operation in the Indian Ocean and there was an accident. He was injured. His leg. His face was scarred. He decided to get into security work, and there were openings at XYC. After he started working there, he told me he liked it there and he encouraged me to apply for an internship.”

“What was your relationship with your brother?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you get along?”

“Yes. He was very protective of me, but he was the one who needed help. He was always athletic-he was physical-but after he got hurt he changed a lot. I worried about him being able to work. Our parents are dead. We had to make it on our own.”

“What do you mean, he changed a lot?” Nina said.

“Well, he felt like a pariah. His leg-the corrective surgery only made it worse. He was very angry.”

“Did he find out about Elliott Wakefield from you, Carleen?” Nina asked gently.

“Yes. After I started working at XYC I realized that Wakefield’s work could be extremely valuable. I told Lee about the notebook and how much XYC might pay to have it. He knew I-I was mad at Wakefield. He decided to steal the notebook. But I didn’t know! I didn’t know, Mr. Elias! I swear it! He did it to make money for himself, not because I was angry or-he never told me his plan, and as soon as he told me what happened, I went straight to you, and-”

“And I believed you, Carleen,” Tom Elias said. “Or you wouldn’t still be with us.”

“So you had no idea he might try to steal the notebook from Mr. Wakefield?” Nina said.

“None at all. He only told me afterward, when he got back to Boston. I was horrified. I did some research and found out about Sarah Hanna and confronted him. He swore he didn’t shoot her. I couldn’t get him to admit it. It was all a nightmare. I went to Mr. Elias and told him everything, and my brother disappeared. He knew how to hide, how to fake IDs. I didn’t have one word from him for over a year. Then he called me from Nevada. He was living there, in Reno. He asked me not to tell on him a second time. I saw him a few times. I’d fly out to Nevada and do some gambling and see him. I was worried about him. He just kept obsessing about how his life was ruined and that shooting.”

“Until a few weeks ago?”

“Yes. You were fighting the motion to throw out the case. It was in the local paper. Lee kept close track of the Tahoe paper. I decided to fly back and help him figure out what to do, and the first night I was at Tahoe, we saw Wakefield wander into Caesars. I was working a blackjack table and I let him find me, and Lee was watching. After Wakefield left, I had a minute to talk to Lee, and we decided I would go back to Wakefield’s place with him and make sure he wasn’t planning to do anything reckless. But we got into an argument instead. Lee’s impossible. I flew back, but I kept getting his phone calls. He didn’t have anyone else on earth to talk to. I couldn’t give him away again.”

“And Lee didn’t quit,” Nina said.

“He was afraid. The police seemed to have reopened their investigation, too. He has a thing about small places. A jail would kill him. And-I don’t know.” She had finally begun to cry. “He went back to Tahoe and tried to stop you. I told him-I couldn’t make him see. After-after the girl died-Chelsi Freeman-I told Lee he was on his own. I told him to stay away from me, not to call. I’m the only one-Lee’s my family-but I couldn’t stand it. I went to Mr. Elias again. I told him everything.”

“And what did you do about it, Mr. Elias?” Nina asked. Branson started to speak, but Elias held up a hand.

“Nothing,” he said. “We had fired Flint two years before,” he said, “but we were still worried about liability.”

“Be quiet, Mr. Elias,” Branson said.

“Shut up, Mr. Branson, your advice got us into the state we’re in today.” The lawyer sat back in his chair.

“I didn’t bring in the police,” Elias said. “That will always be on my conscience.”

“You could have prevented the deaths of two more people, Mr. Elias.”

“That’s why I’m trying to be generous to those who remain.”

“It isn’t always about money. Sometimes it’s about justice,” Nina said.

“Mr. Elias,” Branson said, “we have to cut this off. This isn’t advisable.” The other heads nodded. Dietz, the tough guy, was gnawing on his fingernails.

“Please take the offer, Ms. Reilly,” Elias said, keeping his eyes on hers. “We’re all doing the best we can.” Carleen had lapsed into quiet weeping.

“You’re still not going to the police.”

“We have stockholders. We are innocent bystanders in all this. There is no need for police involvement,” Branson said.

“Mr. Elias?”

Elias shrugged.

“Carleen? Where is your brother?” Nina asked.

“Don’t answer that,” Branson told her. She was still on the payroll. She closed her mouth. One last tear blinked out of her eye. She was miserable, but not so miserable as to ignore Branson.

Nina stood up and said, “I need to get back and unfortunately won’t be able to stay for lunch. I’ll talk to Mr. Wakefield and Mr. Hanna.”

“Talk to them in the hall. You need a cell phone? Use mine,” Branson said. They evidently thought the deal was in the bag.

Nina said, “Mr. Branson, gentlemen, thank you for inviting me here. I will get back to you. I believe the car’s still waiting downstairs.”

This time they all shook hands. Elias said, “Nice meeting you, Nina.”

Branson said, “I’ll take you back down.”

In the elevator, he stood across from her, staring at her, sweating. It’s hard work, wanting to lay waste to somebody and having to restrain yourself. “How’s it going to go?” he asked as they walked across the polished floor toward the front door of the building.

Oh, shucks. Live a little. “Badly,” Nina said. It was perhaps an ill-advised word choice. Perhaps she had an overwhelming desire to tie Branson’s balls to a string and toss them onto a telephone wire. It was precisely the wrong thing to say, and she knew it.

“Look,” Branson said. He grabbed her arm and made her face him.

“Let go of me!”

“We had our meeting. Now here’s a message from me. You faked your way this far and we’re willing to let you nick us for the money. But no little bitch is going to stop the flow of events as planned by XYC. You have the wrong lawyer and the wrong company. Flint will go down and we won’t get touched on the way. Wakefield is a psycho and he’ll be stopped one way or the other. Your client Hanna is a lying dickhead trying to make a buck off his dead wife. Take the offer and talk them into it or you’re going to get hurt and your client is gonna wish he was as dead as his wife.

“Have a good flight,” he said. He squeezed her arm hard and pushed her toward the door.

30

THEY FLEW BACK TOWARD THE MOUNTAINS. The pilot was occupied with his radio and his instruments. Nina watched California rise toward the snow and ate her peanut-butter sandwich.

She had behaved badly, not shown cur-like respect for the amount of money arrayed across the table from her in Palo Alto, and she had a bruise on her left upper arm to show for it. She was lucky Branson hadn’t sunk sharp incisors into her neck. She was lucky they hadn’t pulled the plane and made her take a Greyhound bus home. It was probably just an oversight that she was returning in style.