Hawk cast a sideways glance at Alex. He could tell she was wary of Blunt’s emphatic push to get the terrorist leader.
Something’s not right.
Then something on Alex’s screen grabbed her attention.
“Whoa,” she said. “Now this is interesting.”
“What is it?” Hawk asked, leaning over to look at her screen.
“I just saw a post on one of the chatrooms on the dark web that I follow. Helenos-9 is dead.”
“Then who sent you that message?” Blunt asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But we’re going to find out.”
CHAPTER 17
Berlin, Germany
ALEX PUSHED THE DOORBELL and waited for someone to answer at Becketts Kopf, the eclectic cocktail bar selected for the meeting with Helenos-9. Eventually a woman draped in an apron welcomed Alex inside. When she responded that she would rendezvous with the infamous hacker, she expected going to a dive. But this place felt more like a millionaire’s study than a spot to throw back a few drinks and unwind after a long day at work. Plush leather chairs and wood trimming throughout the building belied the quirky nature of using a buzzer to gain access to the establishment.
“Are you meeting someone?” the woman asked.
Alex nodded as she scanned the tables. “I don’t see him yet, but I can wait at the bar.”
“Why don’t I seat you?” the woman said with a warm smile. “I’m sure your friend will be along soon enough—and I wouldn’t want to have you get stuck talking to Peter, unless you’re into football, in which case you’ll find him engaging and informative.
Alex forced a grin. “I’ll take that table.”
Once she took a seat, the woman handed Alex a menu, disguised as a Samuel Beckett novel. After finding the drink list buried in the back, she ordered a Sazerac and perused through the German translation of Murphy.
“Any sign of him yet?” Hawk asked.
She covered her mouth so no one could see her talking to herself. “Negative.”
“If you can, make one more sweep of the place so we can capture the faces of everyone in there and run them through some facial recognition software,” Hawk said.
“Roger that,” Alex said, keeping her hand over her mouth nonchalantly.
Alex complied with Hawk’s request and rotated in her chair, allowing the camera hidden in her broach to register all the faces.
“Got it,” Hawk said.
Alex returned to perusing the pages in front of her, while casting furtive glances in all directions whenever she noticed significant movement out of the corner of her eyes. However, no one even closely resembled Helenos-9. After she received her drink, she took a sip and noted that not a single male was sitting alone in Becketts Kopf.
“Where is he?” she muttered to herself.
While she was staring at the words on the page, the voice of a woman interrupted Alex’s train of thought.
“Excuse me, but is this seat taken?” a young woman asked.
Alex hesitated. “Actually, I was waiting on a friend.”
“I’m sorry,” the woman said. “The person you were waiting on didn’t happen to be this man, did it?”
She flashed her phone screen at Alex, revealing an image of Helenos-9. The image startled her at first, but then she scowled, unsure if she needed to say the code word for Hawk so he would storm in.
“I’m sorry, but do I know you?” Alex asked.
The young, bespectacled woman eased into the seat on the opposite side of the table. She wore a dark pant suit and with a royal-blue blouse, while her hair was pulled up into a tight bun. Holding her phone in one hand, she clung to the strap of a computer bag with the other.
“Sorry to approach you like this, but it’s how I’m now forced to conduct business,” she said.
Alex furrowed her brow. “What business do I have with you?”
“I’m sorry. Where are my manners?” she said, extending her hand. “I’m Helenos-9.”
Alex stared at the woman’s hand before glancing back at her. “I’m afraid you’re not who I’m looking for.”
The woman chuckled. “Oh, but you are. I’m sure you’re asking yourself right now, ‘I thought Helenos-9 was a man.’ And you’d more or less be right. The public persona of Helenos-9 was my brother, Dietrich. But he’s sadly no longer with us, likely because of how he handled the information you gave him.”
“Are you suggesting I had something to do with his death?” Alex asked.
“Murder,” the woman corrected. “And, no, I’m not. You’re just not aware of all the facts, starting with the fact that my brother was never a hacker.”
“Come again.”
“I said, my brother was never a hacker. I was always the one behind the scenes doing all the dirty work. He was just the public front for our little enterprise.”
“So, let me get this straight,” Alex said. “You are the brains of the operation and used your brother as the front man for your hacking business.”
“That’s a perfect summation, Mrs. Hawk,” she said. “Perhaps if this espionage job doesn’t work out for you, you’ll be able to find something in the world of public relations.”
Alex chuckled. “If this espionage thing doesn’t work out, it means I’m dead.”
“Just like my brother,” the woman said. “My name is Mia, by the way.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Alex asked.
“Maybe because I have corresponded with you multiple times in the past, most recently calling you Cowgirl in one of my emails.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. You could’ve hacked into Helenos-9’s files.”
“I don’t consider what I do hacking when I have the password,” she said. “At that point, it’s just harvesting information.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Mia sighed. “Do I have to spell it out for you, from one hacker to another?”
“You’re—” Alex covered her mouth as the reality dawned on her.
“Yeah, I’m Helenos-9,” Mia said. “My brother was never a great hacker, but he was far better at dealing with people than I was. But his greed spelled his ultimate demise.”
“So, he wasn’t a
