“And you couldn’t ever do that?”
“Only when it was just us with the president, which wasn’t very often. He always had somebody yammering in his ear about something.”
“So, what do you think about President Young? Honest opinion, please.”
Big Earv sighed and then took a sip of his coffee before answering. “He’s well meaning, but weak. I don’t know how many times you guys saved his ass, but it’s more than I can count. I think he’s scared about what Sinclair was going to do to him politically.”
“Do you think he’ll pardon us after telling the truth?”
“Doubt it. He’d be exposing himself at that point. And Radcliffe would eat his lunch on that in the debates. Maybe if he loses, he’ll find a way to do that, but I wouldn’t count on it.”
Alex’s shoulders slumped as she closed her eyes. “I just knew something like this would happen eventually.”
“Well, that can all change if you can prove everything. I mean, the guards we injured don’t exist, supposedly. So, I doubt we’re in danger there. But you’ll just need to prove that someone switched those images on you. And it’s possible that people will believe it was Quinn since he’s no longer working for the administration anymore. A good journalist could handle that story.”
“The problem is there aren’t many of those around anymore, though if it had the possibility of making President Young look bad, someone might go for it.”
Big Earv nodded. “Get as much evidence as you can, and I have a strong feeling that you’ll be able to beat these bogus charges. I know some good lawyers too.”
“We do as well, but none of them will be able to help us in court if we can’t do what you’re recommending and gather enough documentation to prove our innocence.”
“What exactly do you need?”
“I need someone who can pinpoint the IP address of the user who logged in under Quinn’s name and changed all of Tahir Nazari’s photos in the database. Mia could help me with this, but I don’t want to drag her deeper into this thing in case she got busted.”
“Maybe she has some friends who might be able to help.”
“Good idea,” Alex said. “She showed me how to find some hackers on the dark web.”
Big Earv gestured toward her laptop sitting on the end of the counter. “What are you waiting for?”
Alex scooped up her coffee mug and shuffled over to the computer. She opened the top and took another swig of her drink while the machine whirred to life. Once the screen lit up, she started typing. She didn’t waste any time, heading straight for a dark web. But before she followed Mia’s instructions, Alex stopped and searched a popular chatroom she used with other hackers who’d infiltrated the site and used it to pass messages back and forth.
When she went into the chatroom, she logged into her account and found a message waiting. She gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.
“What is it?” Black asked as he stumbled into the kitchen.
Big Earv handed Black a mug and nodded toward the coffee maker. “It’s piping hot, and all ready for you.”
Black looked over Alex’s shoulder. “Not Hacker Haunt. Oh, geez.”
“Shut up,” Alex said. “Sometimes I get good tips in here.”
“That’s what Shields says. It’s nothing more than a hacker gossip site.”
“I wouldn’t entirely disagree with that statement. But I do find some things on here from time to time.”
“When was the last time you got anything of value out of that site?” he asked as he poured the coffee into his mug.
“How about now?” Alex said, turning to flash a smug smile at Black.
“What is it?” he asked.
“A note from one of my friends at the CIA.”
Alex ignored Black as he continued talking. Her lips moved as she muttered the words to herself. Mallory Kauffman rarely communicated through this forum, so Alex found it odd. However, she figured Mallory had to be in tune with what was going on and didn’t want to jeopardize her friend’s safety.
Smart girl, Mallory.
The note told Alex to call Mallory on a special line for some important news.
Wonder what that’s all about.
Alex found their satellite phone and dialed Mallory’s number.
“Oh, I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear your voice,” Mallory said. “I was hoping you’d find my message sooner than later.”
“I appreciate the discretion,” Alex said. “I take it you know what’s going on with us.”
“It’s big talk in the intelligence community. Some people are pissed to learn the truth about the Phoenix Foundation. Others think you are the scourge of the earth for what you allegedly did.”
“I can assure you that it’s all bullshit. Someone hacked the CIA database and replaced Tahir Nazari’s picture with Omar Ebadi’s. I’m a hundred percent certain we were set up.”
“And it’s about to get much worse."
“What are you talking about?”
Mallory took a deep breath. “Yesterday I got a call from a relatively new analyst working over at the NSA. She intercepted a call from Falcon Sinclair to—”
“Wait a minute,” Alex interrupted. “Who did you say?”
“Falcon Sinclair.”
“When did she say he made that call?”
“Sometime around one o’clock in the morning their time.”
“That can’t be.”
“Why’s that?”
“One of our agents told us that she watched Falcon Sinclair die.”
“Well, I’m just passing along the message. And I haven’t even gotten to the most terrifying part yet.”
Alex shook her head. “There’s more?”
“Yeah, the whole point of the call. Sinclair called Tahir Nazari. They’re plotting an attack in New York City. And Sinclair told Nazari that he’d be able to get his men into the country without any problems.”
“Did Sinclair say when this was going to
