“Dad? Is that true? Are you the Hidden Avenger?”
He finally looked down at his hands and sighed. “First, I didn’t identify the back door. Technically, I built it. Well, J. P. and I built it, and it wasn’t created to be used in the manner it was. It wasn’t being used just to monitor terrorist cells—it was also being used against ordinary citizens who might have had a legitimate beef with the government. And that was clearly against the law. It put not only the agency’s credibility and our national security at risk, but it put us—as the developers—in danger, as well. We weren’t able to figure out how widespread the misuse was or who specifically it was targeting, but we had evidence that the misuse of the back door was growing and had to be stopped.”
“You are the Hidden Avenger,” Wally exclaimed. “I knew it!” His eyes were nearly popping out of his head. “This is unbelievably huge. Angel, your dad is the Hidden Avenger. Do you realize what this means? By pure association, I’m now part of an online legend, an actual part of internet lore. If Hollywood ever makes a movie about the Hidden Avenger, I’d have a starring role. Well, maybe a costarring role, but at least I’d have a presence on the screen. Mind-blowing.”
I placed my hand on his arm, attempting to calm him down. “Wally, chill. We’ll discuss your starring role later.”
He had the grace to look slightly sheepish. “Right. Sorry. I lost my head for a moment. I apologize. I understand the mission is the priority.” He put his hands on the table and fell quiet.
I turned to my dad. “Do you believe J. P. was murdered because of your project?”
He nodded. “I do.” He shifted on the bench, wrapped his fingers tighter around the flashlight. “He never went out on the boat alone, and the so-called accident happened less than a week after he discovered the spying and reported his discovery. I advised him to wait until we’d gathered more information about who was behind the illegal activity, but he felt we knew enough to put a stop to it. He told me that he would keep me out of it, but I didn’t see how. Everyone knew we were close. Unfortunately, J. P. told the wrong person.”
“Isaac Remington,” I said. “That’s why you put his name into the riddle.”
“Yes. I wanted you to know Isaac’s name in case something happened to me.”
“Remington started a war,” I murmured.
“Yes, a quiet coup within the NSA. It continues even now. And it’s a dangerous one. We must stop it.”
The thought made me sick. If true, these were the same people who currently held my mother, who had murdered J. P. Lando, tried to kidnap me, and were after my father. A chill crept up my spine. They wouldn’t stop until my father was killed and they had regained control of the back door. My mother, my father, and I were all expendable.
“At the time, I thought the order for the illegal spying was coming from the top down,” my dad continued. “So I had no choice but to disappear. My life was already forfeit. I had no idea if they’d interrogated J. P. before his death. He might have told them I knew about the spying, and I didn’t want anything to happen to my family. Vanishing was the only option. Believe me, disappearing is not an easy feat when you’re trying to avoid the NSA, the most secret agency in the world. But that back door was my responsibility. I created it—knew it inside and out—and that gave me the edge. As time went on, I began to wonder if the misuse of the back door had been NSA-sanctioned or co-opted by someone within the organization who had a warped sense of what constituted national security.”
“Isaac Remington,” I repeated.
“Yes. He’s a very powerful man at the NSA, and I have no idea who’s in his pocket. That’s where it gets dangerous.”
“Did Mom know about you, about any of this?”
“I think she suspected. I couldn’t tell her more. The less she knew, the safer she was. All of you were.”
“Mom never gave up on you.”
“I know.” His eyes closed briefly, and I saw the pain etched on his face. “She should have. She deserved better.”
She did, but the whole situation was too complex and difficult to sort through at this point, especially when I had a million questions. But this wasn’t the time to