than he ever dreamed of, for hacking activities that were protected inside the impenetrable firewalls of Area 15. Hernandez ran a series of programs, and although EVRAN’s computers were not quite up to the power of America’s National Security Agency, they were more than a match for a scientist whose internationally recognised expertise obviously didn’t extend to protecting his activities on the internet.
The four groups of numbers on the screen uniquely identified Ahlstrom’s laptop. Hernandez looked at his watch – just before ten a.m., which meant it was getting on for five in the afternoon in Stockholm, and Ahlstrom was online. Hernandez pulled up Ahlstrom’s browser history and scanned a series of academic journals and technical articles, when suddenly, the professor went totally off tangent with an avalanche of porn sites:
Pretty Hairy GF Sucks Cock and Gets Fucked
;
Hairy GF With Small Breasts Spreads; Blindfolded Blonde Wife Sucks Cock and Gets a Mouthful
. Ahlstrom had logged on to over fifty sites.
Hernandez shrugged. He would include it in Ahlstrom’s dossier, but so what, he thought. The professor’s bored in Stockholm and, like hundreds of millions of other human beings on the planet, he’d sought a diversion. Hernandez scanned further to find the professor had gone off on a gambling tangent, which for the mathematically minded hacker was a little more interesting, particularly when he found that Ahlstrom had attempted to log on to one of the world’s biggest gambling sites. It was currently under federal investigation.
Hernandez transferred the data into Ahlstrom’s dossier. His fingers flew across the keyboard again, excavating Ahlstrom’s password for another worldwide betting agency. Ahlstrom must get paid well, he thought, as he noted five bets, each of US $2000 on horse races at Royal Ascot in the United Kingdom; Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky; Royal Randwick in Sydney; Sha Tin in Hong Kong, and Chantilly, at Oise in France. But it was the next series of sites that got Hernandez’s attention. Prostitution, he knew, was illegal in Sweden, but it hadn’t stopped a bevy of escorts, faces pixelated, advertising their wares. Ahlstrom had clicked on to just one with an invite:
Hi! I’m Frida. I’m so horny, and I’m hot! Big boobs, and a very sexy ass. I’ll take you into some very interesting places, where you won’t be disappointed, so cum on over!
Hernandez noted the telephone number, and a short while later, he had the prostitute’s address and he turned back to Ahlstrom’s emails. ‘Paydirt!’ he muttered, and this time it had nothing to do with prostitutes.
Small amounts of cocaine for personal use were legal in Mexico and Portugal, but Ahlstrom was in Stockholm. And while the death penalty for drug use was generally confined to places like Saudi Arabia and Singapore, if Ahlstrom was caught, neither the Swedish police, nor the Nobel Foundation would likely be amused.
By the time Crowley emerged from his subterranean vault, the sun had already set, and a fiery red glow over the clouds above the Mediterranean had given way to the softness of the night. He made his way onto the stone balcony where Rachel Bannister was standing at the balustrade, staring out to sea. The evening breeze ruffled her long, curly red hair across her bare shoulders. The plunging neckline on her elegant black Dolce and Gabbana gown gave glimpses of her full, creamy breasts. Far below, the lights of Sartène glinted off the cobblestone streets of the medieval mountain commune.
Rachel turned and smiled seductively. She had learned long ago not to probe her boss on what might be behind the steel door in his office. ‘It’s such a balmy evening, I’ve told Chef we’ll eat out here,’ she said, inclining her head toward the table set for two. The sterling silver cutlery and crystal glasses reflected a soft light from the solid silver candelabra.
‘Good decision,’ Crowley responded, his mood
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