To Russia With Love (Countermeasure Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

finger.
    “Picking up what appears to be either sadness or guilt.”
    The asset took a few seconds, as if considering his options, and then spoke to Trevor. “My name is Paul Faber. I’m the lead developer of the stolen project files—now in the wrong hands….” His voice carried a tired, defeated tone.
    Within minutes Cassandra confirmed. “Identity verified. I’m going with guilt, Trev. Get it wrapped up. You have what you need.”
    Cassandra’s assessment confirmed Trevor’s own instincts and he smiled. Faber let out a huge breath. “So, I can confirm with Mr. Devlin you are taking the job?”
    Trevor stuffed the envelope and sheets in his bag. “Yes.”
    Relief flared in Faber’s eyes. Reaching in his bag again, he pulled out a smaller envelope and handed it to Trevor. “Mr. Devlin asked that I give this to you if you agreed to follow through with the job.” Trevor took the envelope. Curious to see what other information Devlin had provided him, he looked inside and ran his thumb along the edge of the sheets it contained. Approximately 500 grand in mature US bonds, by his calculation.
    Cassandra’s whistle came across the feed. “Damn, Trevor, that is a lot of T-bills.”
    Trevor commented under his breath, “Yep,” and quickly resealed the envelope before tossing it back to Faber. Startled, he fumbled and almost dropped it. In a panicked voice he stammered, “But Mr. Devlin said—”
    Trevor’s voice was velvet-edged and firm. “You can tell your boss this was not part of the arrangement.” Money wasn’t the reason they were taking on that case. There was only one thing Trevor wanted as payment: his father’s notes. “We’re done here. I’ll be in contact.”
    Trevor pushed to his feet and adjusted his messenger bag, now containing the key to a new clue in his personal puzzle. He saw uncertainty cloud Faber’s eyes again. “Yes?”
    “This could have been handled digitally. The information could have been emailed. Why meet in person?”
    Trevor considered not responding, but Faber seemed sincerely worried about the fate of his creation, and that made him likable.
    “You must know by now there is a good chance this was an insider job. I get why Devlin sent you. As the original developer of the stolen software, your interest would be in recovering and not leaking it. You have the most to lose.”
    Understanding flooded Faber’s eyes. “Who?”
    “That’s what I’ve been hired to find out.” Before Faber could ask any more questions, Trevor left him standing alone in the bus shelter.
    *****
    With the meeting over, Cassandra took a deep relaxing breath and continued to multitask, tracking Trevor’s progress while at the same time saving the data she’d collected to the project file, including the captured video stream from the button camera. All the information on Faber, including body gestures, would be put to use again later when she set up a baseline and ran everything through the facial expression database for further analysis.
    Once finished, she leaned back in her chair and swung her feet up onto the desk, crossing them at the ankles. She picked up her conversation with Trevor. “Okay, give. What are we up against here?”
    Silence followed and Cassandra could picture his face in her mind. His need to internalize was strong. She could almost hear the wheels turning in his mind. She had been working on breaking that habit of his. “Stop thinking so hard, Trevor. Cough it up.”
    “The stolen files are the core source files of a new decryption program. I need to analyze the contents of the disk to understand its reach. It might be that Devlin is overreacting. But Faber, being the developer, knows its capabilities and he was scared. I’m thinking it’s big.”
    Cassandra’s quick intake of breath echoed through the feed. Her own wheels turned in her head as she mulled over the information Trevor had just shared with her. She dropped her feet from the desk, opened a blank