you to retrieve the data, by any means necessary,” Yeun said. “For this you will be paid one million euro, plus expenses.”
Enda nodded. She crossed her arms over her chest and dragged out the silence until the massive office filled with tension. Finally, she said, “I won’t do it.”
David’s facade cracked, and his brow furrowed in confusion. “You won’t?”
Enda smiled. “I’ve heard your pitch, and my answer is no.”
“I thought Mohamed made my position clear.”
“If you’re trying to blackmail me, you should just say so.”
David’s mouth opened and closed, and he blinked rapidly. Enda smiled.
David sighed. “I didn’t want to do this.” He flicked a hand through the air over his desk, its surface buffed to a molten sheen. The floor-to-ceiling windows turned black, the city tinted dark, then was entirely obscured.
An image appeared across this new, massive screen. Enda took a step back to see it clearly, but she didn’t need to: she recognized it instantly. The old, grainy photo, lengths of redacted black like the snake in that old cellphone game devouring classified intel.
Enda had been expecting this since Mohamed uttered her name on the street, but she still seethed, fists clenched tight.
“I have evidence showing that Ira Lindholme was stationed in North Korea in the months leading up to the country’s collapse. I have detailed after-action reports for seven of Lindholme’s missions, including sabotage operations and the assassination of key military personnel. Today, Ira Lindholme is wanted by the People’s Republic of China for war crimes. And I am sorry to say that I have evidence proving that you, Enda Hyldahl, are indeed Ira Lindholme.”
“Is that all?” Enda said with a shrug. “Redacted files?”
Yeun nodded toward the screen and it changed again. The black redactions faded to the off-white of paper, revealing neat letters and numbers spelling out Enda’s every dirty secret.
“Your former United States of America kept much confidential data on Zero servers. It was, after all, cheaper than storing it themselves,” Yeun said. “The data was encrypted, of course, using our proprietary software.”
Enda leaned on the back of the empty chair and stared at Yeun. “You have access to my full file and you want to blackmail me? You should know better than anyone how bad an idea that is.”
“I understand that you must be angry. Unfortunately, there is no recourse for you but to accept this job. Zero provides facial recognition software to eighty percent of airports worldwide, and seventy percent of all other border crossings. Our software is used by Interpol, and half the world’s police, military, private security, and intelligence services. All I need to do is press one button, and every profile in our database under the name of ‘Enda Hyldahl,’ every recent photo captured on CCTV, will be linked to your true name.
“How do you think the military tribunal in Hong Kong will react to news that one of the people responsible for toppling North Korea is living in Songdo?”
Enda sneered. “North Korea toppled itself.”
Yeun bowed his head. “I’m sure you won’t mind explaining that to Chinese authorities.”
Enda glared, but Yeun only smiled in response, the two facing off beneath a screen decorated with atrocities. Every page another mission she would rather forget, though the memories simmered constantly beneath the surface of her conscious mind. The only thing keeping them in check was her loathing—for Yeun, but mostly for herself.
“You retrieve the data quickly and quietly, and I will delete all copies of your dossier from Zero’s servers.”
“Why should I trust you to do that?”
Yeun’s face was placid. “I don’t know that you have any other choice.”
Enda paused. She wanted to consider her options, but the truth was, she didn’t have any. One job for this smug prick, or a lifetime on the run.
“Two million,” she said, voice low.
“Agreed,” Yeun said, fast enough that Enda knew she could have asked for more.
He opened one of the drawers set into his expansive desk and retrieved a shiny black datacube. With a slight bow of the head, he handed it to Enda.
“I have opened a line of credit for your expenses. It has already been linked to your phone.” An expense account took time and paperwork to arrange. Even before Mohamed had approached her on the street, Yeun already knew he had her. The meeting was just a formality.
“The account should cover any expenses incurred during your investigation. The cube contains all the data we have on the robbery, indexed and cross-referenced. If you need to know anything else, you will also