overload the Internet with video. Enough to bring it down.'
Veilleur, his expression grim, glanced at the Lady, then back to Jack. 'And they can succeed?'
'He seems pretty damn sure.'
'And there's nothing we can do?'
'He's going to alert the military and the committees and groups and whatever in charge of the Internet, but doubts he'll get far because it's the weekend. And because of that, he thinks the weekend is the best time to trigger the virus.'
Veilleur's eyebrows lifted. 'You think it might be this weekend?'
'If you were the One, would you want to wait any longer than you had to?'
'Knowing that I would most likely get only one shot at this, I would want to maximize my chances of success. I would want to wait until the virus has spread as far as it can, until this botnet you speak of has reached maximum penetration.'
That made sense, but…
'Doesn't this go against what you said about his impatience?'
Veilleur rubbed his beard. 'It does, doesn't it. But there might be another reason he'll give it a little more time.'
'Such as?'
'Remember how I told you that he never forgets a slight, never lets go of a grudge? Well, that's what 'Mister Osala' has been up to during his trips to the South: petty revenge.'
'For what?'
He waved a hand. 'Much too complicated to go into. But that long-haired man upstairs is involved. I've decided to head back to North Carolina with him to see if I can help him stymie the One.'
Something about that sounded a warning note.
'You think that's wise? What if he sees you?'
'I'll stay well out of sight.'
Jack shook his head. 'I don't like it.'
Veilleur stepped closer and put a big hand on Jack's shoulder.
'How frustrated are you that you can't strike back at the One?'
'You know all about that.'
'Exactly. Imagine how I feel. I battled him for millennia. I frustrated his every move and finally trapped him and locked him away for what should have been forever.' His eyes flashed. 'Damn Nazis.' He shook his head. 'But now I'm enfeebled and mortal and I keep telling myself I'm out of the fight, that it's somebody else's worry.'
Jack nodded. 'So you've said. Most recently on the way to Saint Ann's. You've been pretty convincing.'
'Well, I mean it when I say it, but inaction grinds at me.' He balled his other hand into a meaty fist as his lips retreated into a snarl. 'I long to lash out at him, crush him, strip his hide, grind his bones to dust.'
Jack watched and listened, amazed. Here was a side of Veilleur he'd never seen. Here was the hidden warrior… Glaeken.
And just as quickly it faded.
'Alas, I cannot. So I must take my little victories wherever I can find them. And I believe just such an opportunity has presented itself. It's not pure ego. It has a practical purpose. If he can be frustrated and delayed in his revenge plot, perhaps that will give the computer specialists enough time to come up with a cure for this Jihad virus. And then a small victory will become a major victory, and we'll have bought more time.'
More time for what? Jack thought. More sitting around and waiting for Rasalom's next move?
But he didn't voice it. They'd been over this ground before.
'Think it's worth the risk?'
Veilleur nodded. 'I do. I'm going to arrange for round-the-clock nursing for Magda, but would you mind checking in once in a while?'
'Not at all.'
'Good. The four of us will travel separately-the two men together, and Mrs. Treece with me.'
Jack had a sudden inkling…
'This Mrs. Treece wouldn't happen to be the One's mother?'
He smiled. 'Very good. Yes, she wants to come along and…' He shrugged. 'She might prove useful. We're scheduling flights now. Leaving as soon as possible.'
Didn't seem like he had a chance of changing Veilleur's mind, so…
'Need a ride to the airport?'
'Thanks, no. The men have a car.'
'How long do you think you'll be gone?'
'The longer, the better, wouldn't you say?' He smiled and rubbed his hands together. 'I'm really looking forward to this.'
After he left, Jack turned to the Lady.
'He seems pretty energized. I guess that's good. What do you think? Any gathering possibilities and probabilities about this trip of his?'
She shrugged. 'I wish I could say. As I've told you, there are times I can sense what the One is doing-because he is human-and others when I cannot-because he is something other than human as well. As a result, the possibilities and probabilities do not gather about him as with others.'
'So you think this trip is okay?'
Her expression and voice remained flat. 'No, I do not.'
'Neither do I, damn it. Think we can talk him out of it?'
She shook her head. 'Remember what he told you yesterday about the One?'
'You mean about how he's still human?'
'Yes. With all the foibles of a human, driven to certain actions by that human nature.'
'Yeah. So?'
'He may not have realized it at the time, but he was talking about himself as well.'
6
Eddie said, 'Well, anything's better than that garage, I guess.'
Jack joined him at the window in the rear of the apartment that revealed other windows looking out onto a brick-walled air shaft.
'Nice view.'
'Hey,' Weezy said from behind them. 'It's the best I could do on such short notice. Craigslist wasn't exactly crammed with furnished, immediate-occupancy sublets. And I think it's not bad.'
Jack agreed. Not bad at all. A third-floor walk-up in the West Village. Small, yes, but comfortable looking. The owner was connected to NYU in some way and off to Europe for a year.
'No one's complaining,' Eddie said, turning to face her. 'It's just…'
He looked worn and haggard. Well, who wouldn't after spending two days living in a van parked in a drafty garage? But it went deeper than that. He looked lost.
Jack said, 'You miss your stuff.'
He nodded, swallowing hard. 'I miss my life.' He looked at Jack. 'Think I'll ever get it back?'
As far as Jack could see, the odds were stacked high against that.
Maybe if Veilleur delayed Rasalom long enough for an anti-Jihad program to be developed and released, Drexler would be demoted or sacked or might even be eliminated-Valez was proof that the Order wasn't shy about deep-sixing members who didn't live up to expectations. If that happened, the pressure on Eddie would lessen.
If, on the other hand, Veilleur failed and the Lady vanished, well, his old life would be the least of Eddie's worries.
But Jack looked around and understood how he felt. He couldn't rob him of all hope.
