and get back to you as soon as I can.”
“Are we talking minutes? Hours?”
“Depends. But if I run into a problem I’ll let you know.” GROB held out his hand to Nadia.
She wanted to make her avatar take it but she stopped herself. Touching meant linking, and she couldn’t risk losing control of Nadia. She wasn’t taking any more chances.
“Thanks,” she said.
His hand dropped to his side. “Friend?” The empty voice balloon over GROB’s head seemed to evaporate slowly.
“Friend,” she said. Please, be a true friend.
GROB hesitated a moment more, then vanished.
It would be a while before GROB got back to her. Anxious and edgy, Diana listened for reassuring sounds of life from the bathroom while she checked through the stack of messages from Jake. In one dated yesterday, Monday afternoon, after Diana had fled her apartment, he said he’d submitted the proposal to Vault Security and left her a copy of it in their shared e-mail. A few hours after that, he sent her an update saying that Vault had received the proposal. Then another update, later that evening: initial reactions were positive but the company’s executives had a few follow-up questions. Was she available the next morning for a call?
The next two messages, sent late into the night on Monday, had wanted to know if she’d received the previous messages. Then a message sent this Tuesday morning. “Never mind” was in the subject line. He’d been able to address their concerns.
A final message had been sent an hour ago.
RE: FOUND VOLGANET
First Jake confirmed what she already suspected. Volganet was not in Eastern Europe. Their server’s time clock had been altered to make it look as if they were. He’d used satellite tracking, triangulating on their signal, and determined that they were actually located not far from Boston.
His message went on:
F*ING tapeworms. Parasitic scum.
Two years ago, the three of them would have deserved precisely those sobriquets.
His message continued:
You were right. This is not the first time we’ve been hit by them. They’ve been onto us for weeks. Maybe more. I shut them out. Gave them a taste of their own. My bad.
Inside for weeks? How many? Had the creeps behind Volganet been targeting their clients? Were they responsible for infiltrating her security systems too? Jake said he’d shut them out, but was it really safe for her to go home? Was it any safer to go back to Pam’s? She looked around Ashley’s apartment and shivered. Was it safe anywhere?
Ten minutes later, a chime sounded, and she let GROB back into her virtual office.
“Your sister definitely was at Neponset Hospital.” The electronic voice pronounced it Nep-on-set, like it was three words. “Admitted last Friday, released yesterday morning. You must be the Diana that your sister lists as next of kin.”
Diana tried to catch her breath. He probably had her home address now too.
GROB went on. “There were two physicians connected to her case: Dr. William Kennedy.” Diana didn’t bother to copy the phone number he gave her. It was the same one that was on Dr. Kennedy’s business card.
In the bathroom, the hair dryer switched off.
GROB continued, “And Dr. Pamela Braverman. Same number.”
Diana winced.
“Diana, you can talk to one of her doctors,” GROB said. “But I wouldn’t advise you do that until you hear the whole story.”
“What whole story?”
“I can’t tell you . . . not here.”
“Why not?”
Ashley emerged from the bathroom dressed in a white terrycloth bathrobe.
“Hang on,” Diana said to GROB. She muted the sound and lowered her laptop screen.
Ashley sank down on the edge of the bed, her brush pulled halfway through her long hair. She returned Diana’s gaze. “What? Have I got soap on my face?”
Diana reached over and wiped an imaginary soap bubble from her sister’s forehead, noting as she did so that Ashley didn’t feel feverish. “You still hungry?”
Ashley eyed the folded over laptop screen, then narrowed her eyes at Diana. “It’s that GROB, isn’t it?”
“I thought you couldn’t remember anything.”
“You think I don’t notice things, but I do.”
“I like your hair that color,” Diana said. “Nice highlights.”
“Nice try. I’ll be in the kitchen when you decide to get real.” Ashley heaved herself to her feet. She left behind a swirl of jasmine and ginger.
Diana raised the laptop screen again. GROB was still there. She unmuted the sound. “Why the hell can’t you tell me now?”
“Because this Wi-Fi connection might not be secure. What I can tell you is . . . that diagnosis? It’s bogus. And there’s more. I’m not even sure