looked at him. She had to assume he could at least be trusted. She hoped.
“And what do you suppose this guy is going to be able to help us with?” she asked. “I have all the same gear back at the Bureau. We could’ve just stayed there.”
“Yes, we could have,” Keene said. “And what if someone came by asking what we were doing? What if someone else is monitoring your station? I’ve been around enough stuff like this to know you don’t just drop off letters to the Oval Office unnoticed. You don’t just hack into the president’s private e-mail.”
“Are you suggesting that someone on the inside is helping this guy?”
“Don’t know. But until we do, we can’t take a chance that anyone other than us knows about this.”
“And, apparently, Artie.”
Keene let out a laugh. “Trust me. This guy has skills. If there’s anything on that video you want to look at, he can find it.”
She wasn’t happy about it, but she knew he was right. And until they discovered if and who, they needed to stay under the radar.
“Okay,” she said. “We’ll do it your way.”
Keene nodded and stepped away. But she grabbed him by the arm one more time.
“But if this comes back to bite me in the rear end, I’m gonna have your head on a stick!”
She followed Keene back over to where Artie was waiting.
“We’re going to show you a video,” Keene said. “I want you to tell me what you see.”
“What kind of video?” Artie asked.
“The kind that can get you killed if you ever talk about it,” Taylor said.
“Then I’d rather not,” Artie said.
“Shut up and sit down,” Keene said, grabbing the frail man by the shoulders. He pushed him into the next room and down into the chair sitting in front of a wall of computer towers and monitors.
“Welcome to my lair,” Artie said, looking at Taylor.
She had to admit, she was impressed. She was familiar with every piece of gear sitting here and had most of it in her office. She handed him the thumb drive and said, “It’s the only thing on there.”
Artie pushed the thumb drive in and began to click around on the keyboard. Instantly the video appeared. Keene reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him from pushing P LAY .
“No audio. Just watch.”
“Man, c’mon!” Artie protested. “You asked for my help. Remember?”
“Just watch,” Keene said again.
Artie muted the audio output and pushed P LAY . Once again the video of the man sitting on the stool played.
“What do you see?”
“Nothing, man. Just some dude on a stool with a bandana on his face. What am I looking for?”
“Can you tell me where this was filmed?”
“Universal Studios,” Artie said sarcastically. “Seriously! How am I supposed to know that?”
“Look around. Anything there that can identify where this is?”
Artie froze the image and studied it for a few minutes. “Man, I’ve got nothing.”
“There’s something,” Keene said.
“There’s nothing! Dude’s in a room, on a stool, with computer monitors behind him. What do you want from me?”
“I want you to tell me if there’s anything in there that tells me where this guy is.”
“Maybe if I could hear the audio.”
“How?” Keene asked.
“Because you can filter out noises and isolate others,” Taylor said. “And that may give us something.”
“Okay,” Keene said. “Do it.”
“Keene!”
“It was your idea,” Keene said.
“Yeah, so take Artie out for some ice cream, and I’ll do it.”
“No way,” Artie protested. “No one touches my gear ‘cept me.”
“Trust me,” Keene said. “Artie has helped me before. He may not be the best law-abiding citizen out there, but he’s solid. We can trust him.”
Taylor hoped she didn’t live to regret this. “Okay. But you’re on the hook for this.”
“You hear that?” Keene said to Artie. “That means that if you burn me on this, I’m going to come back here and shoot you.”
“You worry too much,” Artie said.
Keene
“And what do you suppose this guy is going to be able to help us with?” she asked. “I have all the same gear back at the Bureau. We could’ve just stayed there.”
“Yes, we could have,” Keene said. “And what if someone came by asking what we were doing? What if someone else is monitoring your station? I’ve been around enough stuff like this to know you don’t just drop off letters to the Oval Office unnoticed. You don’t just hack into the president’s private e-mail.”
“Are you suggesting that someone on the inside is helping this guy?”
“Don’t know. But until we do, we can’t take a chance that anyone other than us knows about this.”
“And, apparently, Artie.”
Keene let out a laugh. “Trust me. This guy has skills. If there’s anything on that video you want to look at, he can find it.”
She wasn’t happy about it, but she knew he was right. And until they discovered if and who, they needed to stay under the radar.
“Okay,” she said. “We’ll do it your way.”
Keene nodded and stepped away. But she grabbed him by the arm one more time.
“But if this comes back to bite me in the rear end, I’m gonna have your head on a stick!”
She followed Keene back over to where Artie was waiting.
“We’re going to show you a video,” Keene said. “I want you to tell me what you see.”
“What kind of video?” Artie asked.
“The kind that can get you killed if you ever talk about it,” Taylor said.
“Then I’d rather not,” Artie said.
“Shut up and sit down,” Keene said, grabbing the frail man by the shoulders. He pushed him into the next room and down into the chair sitting in front of a wall of computer towers and monitors.
“Welcome to my lair,” Artie said, looking at Taylor.
She had to admit, she was impressed. She was familiar with every piece of gear sitting here and had most of it in her office. She handed him the thumb drive and said, “It’s the only thing on there.”
Artie pushed the thumb drive in and began to click around on the keyboard. Instantly the video appeared. Keene reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him from pushing P LAY .
“No audio. Just watch.”
“Man, c’mon!” Artie protested. “You asked for my help. Remember?”
“Just watch,” Keene said again.
Artie muted the audio output and pushed P LAY . Once again the video of the man sitting on the stool played.
“What do you see?”
“Nothing, man. Just some dude on a stool with a bandana on his face. What am I looking for?”
“Can you tell me where this was filmed?”
“Universal Studios,” Artie said sarcastically. “Seriously! How am I supposed to know that?”
“Look around. Anything there that can identify where this is?”
Artie froze the image and studied it for a few minutes. “Man, I’ve got nothing.”
“There’s something,” Keene said.
“There’s nothing! Dude’s in a room, on a stool, with computer monitors behind him. What do you want from me?”
“I want you to tell me if there’s anything in there that tells me where this guy is.”
“Maybe if I could hear the audio.”
“How?” Keene asked.
“Because you can filter out noises and isolate others,” Taylor said. “And that may give us something.”
“Okay,” Keene said. “Do it.”
“Keene!”
“It was your idea,” Keene said.
“Yeah, so take Artie out for some ice cream, and I’ll do it.”
“No way,” Artie protested. “No one touches my gear ‘cept me.”
“Trust me,” Keene said. “Artie has helped me before. He may not be the best law-abiding citizen out there, but he’s solid. We can trust him.”
Taylor hoped she didn’t live to regret this. “Okay. But you’re on the hook for this.”
“You hear that?” Keene said to Artie. “That means that if you burn me on this, I’m going to come back here and shoot you.”
“You worry too much,” Artie said.
Keene
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