back up. She blurted, “Oh, Jesus.”
He asked, “Got a minute?” He tipped his head toward the books. She pushed down the lid of her laptop, got her pack, and followed him into the stacks.
“You got away! How’d you find me?” she whispered.
“I put a tracker on your laptop,” he said. “In case we got separated.”
She frowned, a wrinkle between her eyes: didn’t like the idea of being tracked. “We’re the only two still out,” she said. “The cops got the others.”
“I know,” Odin said. “Listen, the Singular people are way, way worse than you can believe.”
“I saw the videos on that Mindkill site—they were from the flash drives, weren’t they?”
Odin nodded. “It’s bad. Really bad. You should get out of here, at least for a while.”
“Yeah…What about New York?” she asked. “Nobody knows me there. I’ve still got some money….I could get to Paris, maybe, one of my old girlfriends lives there, they’d never know about her.”
“Using your passport could be risky. New York maybe. But go fast. I’ve got a name and email address for you—he’s the CEO of Singular. I suggest you send him an email. Don’t let him know where you are or where you’re going, but tell him you don’t have any of the flash drives they’re looking for, tell him that you don’t want to have anything to do with him or with Singular, that you’re quitting the animal rights movement, that you’re going away and they’ll never hear from you again. You gotta do this, Rachel.”
“What happened to your face? What’d they do to you?”
“That would take a while to explain, and I don’t want to be here that long,” Odin said, glancing around the room. “We’re trying to expose them before they get us. You don’t want the details, but believe me: they will kill you if they think you’re a danger to them.”
“All right,” she said. “But you didn’t just come here to talk. If you saw me signing on, you could have sent me an email. You want your laptop.”
“Do you have it?”
“Yeah, I do.” She put her pack between her feet, unzipped the top, and pulled his laptop out. “I was afraid to turn it on, in case Singular or the cops could trace you.”
“Thanks.” He took out his wallet, found a slip of paper, and said, “This is the Singular guy’s email. Send that message one minute before you leave Los Angeles. Then get lost.”
“What about you?” she asked.
“We’re running until it’s settled. If they get us, you probably won’t hear. If we get them, you definitely will.”
She reached out and clutched his forearm, and tears trickled down her cheeks. “Odin, be careful.”
“I will,” he said. “I gotta go.”
“Wait,” she said, and pulled him into a hug. “I know what you think about me, but you’re wrong: I really liked you.”
“And I liked you.” He let go of her and stepped away. “Rachel: have a good life. Seriously. Have a good one.”
—
Odin was out the door and walking down the alley. Twist and Cruz were hidden at the end of it, should anyone be following. Fenfang was back at the McDonald’s, watching the car. When the men came up, she nodded and they all climbed in, and as they pulled out of the parking lot, Odin got out a tiny tool kit and began taking the laptop apart.
When he’d gotten the clamshell off, Cruz shone a flashlight on the inner workings and asked, “See anything?”
“Nothing here. It’s clean,” Odin said after a moment.
Twist: “You’re sure?”
“I know every molecule of this thing. Nothing’s been moved or added or subtracted. I gotta look at the software….”
“We’ll leave you at Dave’s Chicken and Flapjacks,” Twist said. “I know Dave, he’ll let you and Fenfang sit in a booth as long as you want.”
—
At thirteen, Cruz had been running with the gang his older brother belonged to, although he’d not yet been accepted as a full member. After his brother was shot to death, Cruz dropped
He asked, “Got a minute?” He tipped his head toward the books. She pushed down the lid of her laptop, got her pack, and followed him into the stacks.
“You got away! How’d you find me?” she whispered.
“I put a tracker on your laptop,” he said. “In case we got separated.”
She frowned, a wrinkle between her eyes: didn’t like the idea of being tracked. “We’re the only two still out,” she said. “The cops got the others.”
“I know,” Odin said. “Listen, the Singular people are way, way worse than you can believe.”
“I saw the videos on that Mindkill site—they were from the flash drives, weren’t they?”
Odin nodded. “It’s bad. Really bad. You should get out of here, at least for a while.”
“Yeah…What about New York?” she asked. “Nobody knows me there. I’ve still got some money….I could get to Paris, maybe, one of my old girlfriends lives there, they’d never know about her.”
“Using your passport could be risky. New York maybe. But go fast. I’ve got a name and email address for you—he’s the CEO of Singular. I suggest you send him an email. Don’t let him know where you are or where you’re going, but tell him you don’t have any of the flash drives they’re looking for, tell him that you don’t want to have anything to do with him or with Singular, that you’re quitting the animal rights movement, that you’re going away and they’ll never hear from you again. You gotta do this, Rachel.”
“What happened to your face? What’d they do to you?”
“That would take a while to explain, and I don’t want to be here that long,” Odin said, glancing around the room. “We’re trying to expose them before they get us. You don’t want the details, but believe me: they will kill you if they think you’re a danger to them.”
“All right,” she said. “But you didn’t just come here to talk. If you saw me signing on, you could have sent me an email. You want your laptop.”
“Do you have it?”
“Yeah, I do.” She put her pack between her feet, unzipped the top, and pulled his laptop out. “I was afraid to turn it on, in case Singular or the cops could trace you.”
“Thanks.” He took out his wallet, found a slip of paper, and said, “This is the Singular guy’s email. Send that message one minute before you leave Los Angeles. Then get lost.”
“What about you?” she asked.
“We’re running until it’s settled. If they get us, you probably won’t hear. If we get them, you definitely will.”
She reached out and clutched his forearm, and tears trickled down her cheeks. “Odin, be careful.”
“I will,” he said. “I gotta go.”
“Wait,” she said, and pulled him into a hug. “I know what you think about me, but you’re wrong: I really liked you.”
“And I liked you.” He let go of her and stepped away. “Rachel: have a good life. Seriously. Have a good one.”
—
Odin was out the door and walking down the alley. Twist and Cruz were hidden at the end of it, should anyone be following. Fenfang was back at the McDonald’s, watching the car. When the men came up, she nodded and they all climbed in, and as they pulled out of the parking lot, Odin got out a tiny tool kit and began taking the laptop apart.
When he’d gotten the clamshell off, Cruz shone a flashlight on the inner workings and asked, “See anything?”
“Nothing here. It’s clean,” Odin said after a moment.
Twist: “You’re sure?”
“I know every molecule of this thing. Nothing’s been moved or added or subtracted. I gotta look at the software….”
“We’ll leave you at Dave’s Chicken and Flapjacks,” Twist said. “I know Dave, he’ll let you and Fenfang sit in a booth as long as you want.”
—
At thirteen, Cruz had been running with the gang his older brother belonged to, although he’d not yet been accepted as a full member. After his brother was shot to death, Cruz dropped
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