Literature

“A billion-dollar code?” Midge snickered, accompanying Brinkerhoff back up the hallway. “That’s a good one.””I swear it,” he said. She eyed him askance. “This better not be some ploy to…

Phil Chartrukian slammed down his receiver. Jabba’s line was busy; Jabba spurned call-waiting as an intrusive gimmick that was introduced by AT T to increase profits by connecting every call;…

David Becker wandered aimlessly down Avenida del Cid and tried to collect his thoughts. Muted shadows played on the cobblestones beneath his feet. The vodka was still with him. Nothing…

Phil Chartrukian stood fuming in the Sys-Sec lab. Strathmore’s words echoed in his head: Leave now! That’s an order! He kicked the trash can and swore in the empty lab.”Diagnostic,…

A jaunty forty-five, Chad Brinkerhoff was well-pressed, well-groomed, and well-informed. His summer-weight suit, like his tan skin, showed not a wrinkle or hint of wear. His hair was thick, sandy…

Inside Node 3, Susan caught herself pacing frantically. She wished she’d exposed Hale when she’d had the chance.Hale sat at his terminal. “Stress is a killer, Sue. Something you want…

In a linen closet on the third floor of the Alfonso XIII, a maid lay unconscious on the floor. The man with wire-rim glasses was replacing a hotel master key…

Outside Node 3, Chartrukian looked desperate. He was trying to convince Hale that TRANSLTR was in trouble. Susan raced by them with only one thought in mind-to find Strathmore.The panicked…

Room 301. Rocio Eva Granada stood naked in front of the bathroom mirror. This was the moment she’d been dreading all day. The German was on the bed waiting for…

Hale stopped halfway to the Node 3 pantry and stared at Susan. “What’s wrong, Sue? You look terrible.”Susan fought her rising fear. Ten feet away, Hale’s monitor glowed brightly. “I’m……

Downstairs at the Alfonso XIII, Becker wandered tiredly over to the bar. A dwarf-like bartender lay a napkin in front of him. “Que bebe Usted? What are you drinking?””Nothing, thanks,”…

“Manual abort?” Susan stared at her screen, mystified.She knew she hadn’t typed any manual abort command-at least not intentionally. She wondered if maybe she’d hit the wrong sequence of keys…

Becker stared in shock at Rocio. “You sold the ring?”The woman nodded, her silky red hair falling around her shoulders. Becker willed it not to be true. “Pero… but…” She…

Susan sat alone in Node 3, waiting for her tracer. Hale had decided to step outside and get some air-a decision for which she was grateful. Oddly, however, the solitude…

Tokugen Numataka stared out his window and paced like a caged animal. He had not yet heard from his contact, North Dakota. Damn Americans! No sense of punctuality!He would have…

David Becker stood in the hallway outside suite 301. He knew that somewhere behind the ornately carved door was the ring. A matter of national security.Becker could hear movement inside…

Susan returned to Node 3. Her conversation with Strathmore had made her increasingly anxious about David’s safety. Her imagination was running wild.”So,” Hale spouted from his terminal. “What did Strathmore…

Alfonso XIII was a small four-star hotel set back from the Puerta de Jerez and surrounded by a thick wrought-iron fence and lilacs. David made his way up the marble…

Still unnerved from her encounter with Hale, Susan gazed out through the one-way glass of Node 3. The Crypto floor was empty. Hale was silent again, engrossed. She wished he…

Senor Roldan was sitting behind his desk at Escortes Belen congratulating himself for deftly sidestepping the Guardia’s newest pathetic attempt to trap him. Having an officer fake a German accent…