Digital Fortress Chapter 127-128

Chapter 127There was a sudden and reverent silence among the group on the podium. It was as if they were watching an eclipse or volcanic eruption-an incredible bowed st ringinged instrument of events over which they had no control. Time seemed to slow to a crawl.Were losing it a technician cried. Tie-ins entirely linesOn the far-left screen, David and Agents Smith and Coliander stared blankly into their camera. On the VR, the final fire w wholly was just a sliver. A mass of blackness surrounded it, hundreds of lines waiting to tie in. To the right of that was Tankado. The stilted clips of his final moments ran by in an endless loop. The look of desperation-fingers stretched outward, the ring glistening in the sun.Susan watched the clip as it went in and out of focus. She stared at Tankados eyes-they seemed filled with regret. He neer wanted it to go this far, she told herself. He wanted to proceed us. And yet, over and over, Tankado held his fingers outward, forcing the ring in front of peoples eyes. He was trying to speak but could not. He just unbroken thrusting his fingers forward.In Seville, Beckers mind quench turned it over and over. He mumbled to himself, What did they avow those two isotopes were? U238 and U? He sighed heavily-it didnt matter. He was a language teacher, not a physicist.Incoming lines preparing to au and soticate saviour Jabba bellowed in frustration. How do the damn isotopes differ? No proboscis knows how the hell theyre different? There was no response. The room full of technicians stood helplessly watching the VR. Jabba spun back to the manage and threw up his arms. Wheres a nuclear fucking physicist when you need oneSusan stared up at the QuickTime clip on the w each(prenominal) screen and knew it was over. In slow motion, she watched Tankado last over and over. He was trying to speak, choking on his words, holding out his deformed hand trying to communicate something. He was trying to save the databank, Susan told herself. only well never know how.Company at the doorJabba stared at the screen. Here we go Sweat poured down his face.On the center screen, the final wisp of the last firewall had all but disappeared. The black mass of lines surrounding the core was opaque and pulsating. Midge turned away. Fontaine stood rigid, eyes front. Brinkerhoff looked like he was about to get sick.Ten secondsSusans eyes never left Tankados image. The desperation. The regret. His hand reached out, over and over, ring glistening, deformed fingers arched crookedly in strangers faces. Hes telling them something. What is it?On the screen overhead, David looked deep in thought. Difference, he kept muttering to himself. Difference between U238 and U235. Its got to be something simple.A technician began the countdown. Five Four leashThe word make it to Spain in just under a tenth of a second. Three iii.It was as if David Becker had been hit by the stun gun all over again. His world slowed to stop. Three three three. 238 minus 235 The difference is three In slow motion, he reached for the microphoneAt that very instant, Susan was staring at Tankados outstretched hand. Suddenly, she saw past the ring past the engraved capital to the flesh beneath to his fingers. Three fingers. It was not the ring at all. It was the flesh. Tankado was not telling them, he was showing them. He was telling his secret, revealing the kill-code-begging someone to check praying his secret would find its way to the NSA in time.Three, Susan whispered, stunned.Three Becker yelled from Spain.But in the chaos, no one seemed to hear.Were down a technician yelled.The VR began flashing wildly as the core succumbed to a deluge. Sirens erupted overhead.Outbound dataHigh-speed tie-ins in all sectorsSusan moved as if through a dream. She spun toward Jabbas keyboard. As she turned, her gaze fixed on her fiance, David Becker. Again his voice exploded overhead.Three The difference between 235 and 238 is threeEveryone in the room looked up.Three Susan shouted over the deafening cacophony of sirens and technicians. She pointed to the screen. All eyes followed, to Tankados hand, outstretched, three fingers waving desperately in the Sevillian sun.Jabba went rigid. Oh my God He suddenly realized the crippled genius had been giving them the answer all the time.Threes primitive Soshi blurted. Threes a prime numberFontaine looked dazed. Can it be that simple?Outbound data a technician cried. Its going fastEveryone on the podium dove for the celestial pole at the same instant-a mass of outstretched hands. But through the crowd, Susan, like a shortstop stabbing a line drive, connected with her target. She typed the number 3. Everyone wheel around to the wall screen. Above the chaos, it simply read.ENTER PASS-KEY? 3Yes Fontaine commanded. Do it nowSusan held her breath and lowered her finger on the ENTER key. The computer beeped once.Nobody moved.Three agonizing seconds later, nothing had happened.The sirens kept going. Five seconds. Six seconds.Outbound dataNo changeSuddenly Midge began pointing wildly to the screen above. LookOn it, a message had materialized.KILL CODE CONFIRMED.Upload the firewalls Jabba ordered.But Soshi was a step ahead of him. She had already sent the command.Outbound interrupt a technician yelled.Tie-ins severedOn the VR overhead, the first of the five firewalls began reappearing. The black lines attacking the core were instantly severed.Reinstating Jabba cried. The damn things reinstatingThere was a moment of tentative disbelief, as if at any instant, everything would light up apart. But then the second firewall began reappearing and then the third. Moments later the entire series of filters reappeared. The databank was secure.The room erupted. Pandemonium. Technicians hugged, tossing computer printouts in the air in celebration. Sirens wound down. Brinkerhoff grabbed Midge and held on. Soshi burst into tears.Jabba, Fontaine demanded. How practically did they get?Very lit tle, Jabba said, studying his monitor. Very little. And nothing complete.Fontaine nodded slowly, a wry smile forming in the corner of his mouth. He looked around for Susan Fletcher, but she was already pass toward the front of the room. On the wall before her, David Beckers face filled the screen.David?Hey, gorgeous. He smiled.Come home, she said. Come home, right now.Meet you at Stone Manor? he asked.She nodded, the tears welling. Deal.Agent Smith? Fontaine called.Smith appeared onscreen behind Becker. Yes, sir?It appears Mr. Becker has a date. Could you see that he gets home immediately?Smith nodded. Our jets in Malaga. He patted Becker on the back. Youre in for a treat, Professor. Ever flown in a Learjet 60?Becker chuckled. Not since yesterday.Chapter 128When Susan awoke, the sun was shining. the well-off rays sifted through the curtains and filtered across her goosedown feather bed. She reached for David. Am I dreaming? Her body remained motionless, spent, still dizzy from the night before.David? She moaned.There was no reply. She opened her eyes, her skin still tingling. The mattress on the other side of the bed was cold. David was gone.Im dreaming, Susan thought. She sat up. The room was Victorian, all lace and antiques-Stone Manors finest suite. Her overnight bag was in the middle of the hardwood floor her lingerie on a Queen Anne chair beside the bed.Had David really arrived? She had memories-his body against hers, his waking her with soft kisses. Had she dreamed it all? She turned to the bedside table. There was an empty bottle of champagne, two glasses and a note.Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Susan drew the comforter around her crude body and read the message.Dearest Susan,I love you.Without wax, David.She beamed and pulled the note to her chest. It was David, all right. Without wax it was the one code she had yet to break.Something stirred in the corner, and Susan looked up. On a plush divan, basking in the morning sun, wrapped in thick bathro be, David Becker sat quietly watching her. She reached out, beckoning him to take to her.Without wax? she cooed, taking him in her arms.Without wax. He smiled.She kissed him deeply. severalize me what it means.No chance. He laughed. A couple needs secrets-it keeps things interesting.Susan smiled coyly. Any more interesting than last night and Ill never walk again.David took her in his arms. He snarl weightless. He had almost died yesterday, and yet here he was, as alive as he had ever felt in his life.Susan lay with her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart. She couldnt believe that she had thought he was gone forever.David. She sighed, eyeing the note beside the table. posit me about without wax. You know I hate codes I cant break.David was silent.Tell me. Susan pouted. Or youll never have me again.Liar.Susan hit him with a pillow. Tell me NowBut David knew he would never tell. The secret behind without wax was too sweet. Its origins were ancient. During the Ren aissance, Spanish sculptors who made mistakes while carving expensive marble often patched their flaws with cera-wax. A statue that had no flaws and required no patching was hailed as a sculpture sincera or a sculpture without wax. The phrase eventually came to mean anything honest or true. The English word sincere evolved from the Spanish sincera-without wax. Davids secret code was no gravid mystery-he was simply signing his letters Sincerely. Somehow he suspected Susan would not be amused.Youll be pleased to know, David said, attempting to change the subject, that during the flight home, I called the president of the university.Susan looked up, hopeful. Tell me you resigned as department chair.David nodded. Ill be back in the classroom next semester.She sighed in relief. Right where you belonged in the first place.David smiled softly. Yeah, I guess Spain reminded me whats important.Back to shift coeds hearts? Susan kissed his cheek. Well, at least youll have time to help me edit my manuscript.Manuscript?Yes. Ive decided to publish.Publish? David looked doubtful. Publish what?Some ideas I have on variant filter protocols and quadratic residues.He groaned. Sounds like a real best-seller.She laughed. Youd be surprised.David fished inside the pocket of his bathrobe and pulled out a small object. Close your eyes. I have something for you.Susan closed her eyes. Let me guess-a gaudy gold ring with Latin all over it?No. David chuckled. I had Fontaine return that to Ensei Tankados estate. He took Susans hand and slipped something onto her finger.Liar. Susan laughed, go-ahead her eyes. I knew-But Susan stopped short. The ring on her finger was not Tankados at all. It was a platinum setting that held a glittering diamond solitaire.Susan gasped.David looked her in the eye. Will you marry me?Susans breath caught in her throat. She looked at him and then back to the ring. Her eyes suddenly welled up. Oh, David I dont know what to say.Say yes.Susan turned away and didnt say a word.David waited. Susan Fletcher, I love you. Marry me.Susan lifted her head. Her eyes were filled with tears. Im sorry, David, she whispered. I I cant.David stared in shock. He searched her eyes for the playful glimmer hed come to expect from her. It wasnt there. S-Susan, he stammered. I-I dont understand.I cant, she repeated. I cant marry you. She turned away. Her shoulders started trembling. She covered her face with her hands.David was bewildered. But, Susan I thought He held her trembling shoulders and turned her body toward him. It was then that he understood. Susan Fletcher was not crying at all she was in hysterics.I wont marry you She laughed, attacking again with the pillow. Not until you explain without wax Youre driving me crazy