Page 30 of Wired Justice

Wong had a dimple when he smiled a certain way. “Me.”

Sophie frowned. “Have you been able to track the source of the video?”

“Anonymous upload. Multiple VPNs masking the original entry point.” The spark died in Wong’s eye. “I don’t think we’re going to solve this case. The father was going to be giving testimony to a grand jury; that’s all the Marshal on their case would give us. It’s a real blow to have lost that testimony. WITSEC in Hawaii is freaking out, because this is the latest in a series of incursions and leaks that have resulted in the loss of valuable witnesses.”

“I wonder if some of the missing persons I’m looking at are WITSEC,” Sophie said thoughtfully, tapping her lips with a finger.

“Quite possible. They won’t tell us if they are, and we’ll never get that list. Local PD is always seen as too permeable for that kind of top level intel.”

Sophie was more impressed with Wong by the moment. “Thank you for telling me. I’m sorry this is the situation. I wish I could help.”

“I wish you could, too. And I’m sorry you had to find that family on your vacation.” Wong made air quotes as he gestured towards her laptop.

“There are things I care about much more than a vacation. Justice for those who need it is one of them.”

Wong gave a brief nod and exited.

Sophie sat down, her mind whirring with the implications.

This was the perfect case for the Ghost.Sophie did not have the time or ability in her current situation to burrow into the WITSEC database and organization to uncover the leak and the mobsters that were taking advantage of it. But Connor would love that opportunity.

Saying the word “justice” aloud reminded her of Connor so clearly. His ocean-colored eyes. His disciplined body. His incredible musical ability. His genius behind a computer. His dedication to reaching those who couldn’t be reached by the law.

Before she could second-guess herself further, Sophie dug the square weight of the external hard drive that contained the Ghost software out of the bottom of her bag. Connor had given her a copy of the software he used in his vigilantism, doubtless trying to lure her into being his partner on his mission. But it just wasn’t her style or passion to set up clandestine communication manipulations that resulted in consequences for untouchable criminals. That didn’t mean that she couldn’t appreciate the function that the Ghost performed, even respect the necessity of it in the grand scheme of things.

Sophie saved her current results to the Cloud, shut down DAVID, and plugged the Ghost software hard drive into her laptop.

She opened the program, her fingers tripping as they typed in the password, I*love*you*Sophie that Connor had personalized the portal with.

“Talk about awkward,” Marcella’s voice said in her head. “He knew what he was doing when he programmed that password.”

Sophie vividly remembered the hours spent trying to crack the code to get into the program and her initial disappointment that he hadn’t left her a clue or message through that process. It turned out he had, and in Connor’s usual way, it was bolder than anything she would have guessed.

Using the Ghost’s search function, she imported the Hilo PD’s case information from the Jones body dump and downloaded a saved chunk of the missing persons data as well. She opened a chat box and sent a note to Connor:

“I came across this body dump on the Big Island; a WITSEC family, executed by pros. Hilo PD has been shut out of the case, including the leak in Witness Protection that has led not only to this family’s execution, but to the loss of other valuable witnesses. A video of this family’s execution is circulating on the dark web and being used to intimidate. I don’t have time or resources to find out more, but I thought the Ghost might take an interest.”

Sophie’s fingers paused. She stared at the message window, struggling with the secret hope that Connor was online. His pingback beacon on the software would have alerted him that she was in his program, and if he was active, he would write her back.

Several moments passed. No response.

“Son of a disease-ridden water buffalo,”Sophie cursed softly. She closed the chat window.

“I take it your research is not going well.” Jake had appeared at her elbow like a large, muscular djinn.

Sophie slammed the laptop shut and removed her headphones. “Hello, partner. You should alert me to your presence.”

“I knocked, but you were in another world.” Jake set a bag, stained with grease, beside her computer. “You didn’t tell me what you wanted, so I took my best guess.”

“Thank you, Jake.” Sophie opened the bag and peeked inside. She raised her eyebrows in question. “I appreciated the photo. But what is it?”

“It’s a BLT. Bacon, lettuce, and tomato. And some homemade taro chips.” He reached into the bag and produced a thick purple slice of taro, staple food of the Hawaiian diet. Boiled, sliced and fried, the starchy tuber was delicious—Sophie had tasted it served that way in Honolulu.

Sophie took the chip. “Mine. Thank you.”

“Fortunately, I brought my own.” Jake held up his own bag. “I’m sure this isn’t where they want us eating, but forgiveness is easier than permission.” He sat beside her and pulled out a wrapped sandwich. He produced bottles of iced tea, and soon they were lunching in companionable silence.

“What did you find?” Jake eventually asked. His mouth was full, so his words were a little hard to understand.

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