Turning Point by Barbara Spencer Page A

Arneson. He watched the Secretary of State step out of the group she was addressing, and call across the floor.
    â€˜Bill?’ she beckoned. ‘A word?’
    Scott bit his lip, feeling absurdly proud. It was his dad and his team who had created this unique virus that everyone was talking about, a virus powerful enough to override the commands on any computer. ‘Yeah, that’s my dad.’
    â€˜So how does it work?’
    Sean Terry’s acid tones sliced across the conversation. ‘How about a sandwich, I’m starving.’
    The girl swivelled awkwardly, nervously clutching her tray. ‘Of course, sir.’ She smiled mechanically. ‘Right away.’
    â€˜What did you do that for?’ Scott protested indignantly. ‘She’s really nice and I’ve not got anyone else to talk to.’
    â€˜Then stay silent,’ the agent snapped. ‘If I hadn’t come along, you’d have been spilling your guts to that pretty face.’
    Scott blushed for the second time. He hadn’t thought. ‘But we’re on American soil,
and in the UN
. Don’t they have security checks?’ He tried to sound confident but it was tricky with that gimlet gaze piercing your brain.
    â€˜Sure, and it’s still as leaky as a sieve.’
    â€˜No way! I mean… I never thought,’ Scott ended lamely. ‘I mean she’s like me, a teenager.’
    â€˜That’s your problem, Scott. You never think. I know you resent it like hell, but why else would I keep Hilary away from you. Because, if you’re all lovey-dovey you’d never notice a thing – and, for someone in your position, that can get you killed. As for that wretched Brigson woman…’ Sean Terry glared in the direction of the Secretary of State. ‘She travels with a bodyguard of marines and has a mouth big enough to hear in Russia.’
    Scott rummaged up a reluctant grin. ‘Do I guess from that, you vote Republican?’
    â€˜To keep us safe? Like hell I do – I’ve had enough of this US bad guy stuff.’
    â€˜But, Mr Terry, now the UN own Styrus, we’re off the hook. We don’t need to hide any more.’
    â€˜Yeah, sure!’
    Suddenly, Scott recalled the gasp of astonishment that had greeted his father’s statement – that Styrus remained light-years ahead of present day technology. He felt the blood drain from his face, the hand clasping his glass of orange juice suddenly clammy. If that was true, that put his father and the remaining scientists in the ‘beyond price’
category. So valuable, they would need to be carefully guarded – like diamonds in a safe, hidden from the light of day in case they were stolen. His father might have bravely told everyone that he was free.
But he wasn’t
– none of them were.
    â€˜You mean it’ll never be over?’ Even to his own ears, Scott’s voice sounded shaky, rather like a dying man gasping out his final words.
    â€˜We’ll get them – eventually. I’ll make damn sure of that. Till then, you’ll need a guard. Think of it this way.’ Sean Terry’s eyebrows were raised mockingly. ‘If the US President can deal with it, so can you. I don’t promise it’ll be pleasant, but it will keep you safe.’
    â€˜Is that why you kept Dad’s visit to Geneva a secret?’
    â€˜Sure it is. Far easier to control the country area where you live than a metropolis like Geneva. In your village, a stranger would be spotted straight off.’
    Scott reached out a hand to steady himself. Why hadn’t his dad told him? Warned him? He stared across the room, his father still deep in conversation.
    â€˜So what’s all this about you eavesdropping on a weird conversation?’
    â€˜Sorry,
what was that
?’ Scott shook his head to clear the buzzing, the agent’s voice hitting him from a long way off.
    â€˜The telephone