Read Online Spark: A Novel by John Twelve Hawks - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John Twelve Hawks
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screen saver showed a teenage girl and her younger sister holding snowboards next to a chairlift. “I know that you like your quiet time, but two of my enforcers are in Mexico City and we’re a bit shorthanded right now. Lorcan is capable of assignments that require a high degree of aggression, but I can’t send him around New York to interview people.” She flicked her hand. “Please … sit down.”
I took a chair on the other side of the table and Miss Holquist stared at me for a few seconds. “The headquarters of the Brooks Danford Group is here in New York.”
“Yes. I’ve walked by the building.”
“A second-year associate named Emily Buchanan worked there, writing reports and preparing presentations for senior executives. Eight days ago this minor employee disappeared. Ms. Buchanan has switched off her phone and stopped answering her e-mail. No one knows where she is.”
“Did the bank contact the police?”
“This was one situation where our surveillance technology caused some problems. The bank uses the PAL system to monitor employee behavior. Normally, unusual behavior or trigger words in an e-mail would alert the bank’s security staff. But encrypted messages from the Private Clients Division are
not
scanned by the computer. It took several days for Jerome Evans, the head of security,to access Buchanan’s e-mail and get permission to read the coded message. What he found was very disturbing. This is the e-mail Buchanan received the night she disappeared.” Miss Holquist picked up a piece of paper and handed it to me.
// We are in danger and have left the country. Our previous arrangement is now operational.
“Who sent this?”
“At this point, no one knows. It was transmitted from a public computer at the Dubai International Airport. Although Ms. Buchanan was only an associate, it’s possible that she could have obtained access to the private client accounts. Yes, I could contact the police or hire an investigator, but we need to minimize the number of people who know about this. I want you to find this girl and then I’ll decide what we’re going to do about her. You’ll be paid twice the rate of your recent work in Britain. Do you accept the assignment?”
I nodded.
“Good. You have an appointment to see Mr. Evans at the BDG building downtown at nine o’clock this evening. He’ll give you more information about your target. Visit the church tomorrow morning at ten a.m. and Gregory will give you some new equipment. That’s all for now. Keep in touch.”
Miss Holquist dialed a phone number on the computer and went back to looking at dresses as I walked out the door. “I just had an inspired idea, darling. What about burgundy red?”
I left the office building and walked over to the Fifty-Ninth Street subway station. It wasn’t rush hour, so I could travel on a train and avoid touching anyone.
Usually my Spark controls my thoughts—remaining in the present and staying away from the past. But seeing Lorcan Tate reminded me of what had occurred at the training camp. Duringour three months together, we learned about weapons, encrypted communication, and surveillance technology. Lorcan enjoyed the gun range and fighting with the martial arts instructor. I liked using the equipment that allowed me to see in the dark.
We started the course in early May. By summertime, fireflies appeared after sunset and thousands of these winged beetles flashed yellow pulses of light. Thermal scopes turned the physical world into shades of black and white, but the cold light from the fireflies didn’t radiate heat. I preferred to look through the night-vision goggles, which magnified the faint amount of light coming from the moon and stars.
Wearing the goggles, I left the training camp one evening and wandered through the forest. The chokeberry shrubs and laurel trees glowed with an incandescent green light and the fireflies were little chips of bright emerald. I hiked a few miles north, then
I took a chair on the other side of the table and Miss Holquist stared at me for a few seconds. “The headquarters of the Brooks Danford Group is here in New York.”
“Yes. I’ve walked by the building.”
“A second-year associate named Emily Buchanan worked there, writing reports and preparing presentations for senior executives. Eight days ago this minor employee disappeared. Ms. Buchanan has switched off her phone and stopped answering her e-mail. No one knows where she is.”
“Did the bank contact the police?”
“This was one situation where our surveillance technology caused some problems. The bank uses the PAL system to monitor employee behavior. Normally, unusual behavior or trigger words in an e-mail would alert the bank’s security staff. But encrypted messages from the Private Clients Division are
not
scanned by the computer. It took several days for Jerome Evans, the head of security,to access Buchanan’s e-mail and get permission to read the coded message. What he found was very disturbing. This is the e-mail Buchanan received the night she disappeared.” Miss Holquist picked up a piece of paper and handed it to me.
// We are in danger and have left the country. Our previous arrangement is now operational.
“Who sent this?”
“At this point, no one knows. It was transmitted from a public computer at the Dubai International Airport. Although Ms. Buchanan was only an associate, it’s possible that she could have obtained access to the private client accounts. Yes, I could contact the police or hire an investigator, but we need to minimize the number of people who know about this. I want you to find this girl and then I’ll decide what we’re going to do about her. You’ll be paid twice the rate of your recent work in Britain. Do you accept the assignment?”
I nodded.
“Good. You have an appointment to see Mr. Evans at the BDG building downtown at nine o’clock this evening. He’ll give you more information about your target. Visit the church tomorrow morning at ten a.m. and Gregory will give you some new equipment. That’s all for now. Keep in touch.”
Miss Holquist dialed a phone number on the computer and went back to looking at dresses as I walked out the door. “I just had an inspired idea, darling. What about burgundy red?”
I left the office building and walked over to the Fifty-Ninth Street subway station. It wasn’t rush hour, so I could travel on a train and avoid touching anyone.
Usually my Spark controls my thoughts—remaining in the present and staying away from the past. But seeing Lorcan Tate reminded me of what had occurred at the training camp. Duringour three months together, we learned about weapons, encrypted communication, and surveillance technology. Lorcan enjoyed the gun range and fighting with the martial arts instructor. I liked using the equipment that allowed me to see in the dark.
We started the course in early May. By summertime, fireflies appeared after sunset and thousands of these winged beetles flashed yellow pulses of light. Thermal scopes turned the physical world into shades of black and white, but the cold light from the fireflies didn’t radiate heat. I preferred to look through the night-vision goggles, which magnified the faint amount of light coming from the moon and stars.
Wearing the goggles, I left the training camp one evening and wandered through the forest. The chokeberry shrubs and laurel trees glowed with an incandescent green light and the fireflies were little chips of bright emerald. I hiked a few miles north, then
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