Page 44 of One Cry Too Loud
“True, but a free drink never hurts,” I answered.
“We need to talk,” a voice sounded from behind us. I turned to find Tag walking up to us. His usual swagger and the demeanor in which he carried himself had been noticeably absent since the ordeal in the vault. Still, the lack of attitude wasn’t the only reason seeing him this time didn’t irk me.
“We do,” I replied, extending my hand. “You did a hell of a job in there. We owe you our lives.”
“He kicked my ass,” Tag said, his brow furrowing. Still, he took my hand and gave it a single, firm shake before dropping it. “I went up against him, and he kicked my ass.”
“You broke through,” I reminded him. “You broke through his systems and you saved our lives.”
“I only saved your lives because I happened to hear Eli talk about how the lever for the vault was manual,” Tag said. “Hell, I didn’t even think about that until way too late. I could have saved you have of that terrible experience.”
“You did your best, and it was enough,” I answered. “You need to remember that.”
“He kicked me out in ten seconds, and then he fried the entire system,” Tag said. “And not just the hardware. The bastard installed malware into my entire security database that corrupted the whole thing. I’m compromised.” He took a deep breath. “But I’m not out. He didn’t get everything, and I drew blood too, digitally speaking, that is.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I was only past his firewalls for a few seconds,” he said. “But in those few seconds, I mined some of his metadata.”
“You got into Joe’s metadata?” Holly asked. She had already sent Charlie off to more Northern pastures and was walking toward us. “That’s incredible.”
“It cost me everything I built,” Tag said. “Digitally speaking.”
“Let’s just assume that everything we’re talking about is digital,” Kat interjected.
“The point is that while his system is one of the most complex I’ve ever seen in my life, I think I got a true, genuine ping,” Tag said.
“What?” Holly asked. Her eyes were wide and she obviously understood more of this than I did. “How? You said your systems were corrupted. How did you even get the data?”
He held up his phone. “This might look like a phone, but it’s a terabyte of space and a powerhouse of security. It instantly backs up whatever I flag as essential and, better than that, itinstantly cuts itself off from any mainframe or system the second it detects a threat. I got the ping saved here.”
“A ping?” Kat asked, reading my mind. “What are we talking about exactly?”
“A point of origin,” Holly replied. “The place where all of this is rooted. The space in which Nefarious is based.”
“You know where he is?” I asked Tag, almost breathless again.
“I think so,” Tag replied. He looked over at Holly. “I’m not sure if this will come as a surprise, but the ping I got is out of England. Holly, I think it’s time for you to go home.”
CHAPTER 29
Iwatched from the cabin window as England came into view. It was dark, but the first light of the day would come soon, and with it, we’d make our move. Holly and Tag had been working feverishly to pinpoint the exact location of Nefarious’s base of operations. They still hadn’t done it yet. Apparently, even though Tag had gotten the ping- the point of origin, from this country and this county of Dorset, there was still work to do in order to figure out a more exact location. As I heard the pair typing feverishly behind me, I solidified my stance about hating just about all advanced technology.
“The last time I was here was with my wife,” I said as I felt a presence settle beside me.
“She must have been disappointed.” Holly’s voice startled me a bit.
I turned to the Englishwoman. “I’m sorry. I thought you were Kat.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Holly said, looking out at the quickly approaching coastline.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “She wasn’t disappointed. Why would she be?”
“Because it’s Dorset,” Holly replied as though the answer should have been as clear to me as the still black sky. “People say it’s a tourist destination, sure, but I don’t think I agree. Certainly, it has the Jurassic Coast and Corfe Castle, but is that really enough to draw anyone in?”
“I meant England in general. Not Dorset. We were in London once. Denise adored it,” I answered. “Though, I will say, I think you might be too hard on this place. It’s coastal. It’s quaint, and at least from up here, it looks beautiful.”
“I suppose, from up here, it might be,” Holly said mournfully. “But the truth, Jack, is that I’ve never felt more alone in my life than I felt in that coastal, quaint place.”
