Griffin smiled. "It's cla.s.sified," he said. "So is their budget. Their headquarters is at Fort Meade, Maryland, just outside D.C. I read online that someone counted 18,000 parking s.p.a.ces there. The Post published an article a few years back estimating the total number at all their facilities around the world at close to 40,000. Their security is legendary," he added grimly.

"How do you happen to know so much about them, Matt?" asked Connelly curiously.

"Are you kidding," replied Griffin, grinning. "The NSA is to conspiracy theorists and hackers what Area 51 is to UFO freaks. Ma.s.sive, powerful, shadowy. Not to mention that they have a supercomputer center with the largest acc.u.mulation of computer power ever housed on Earth."

Desh smiled mischievously. "Ever hack into it?"

"Absolutely not!" said Griffin, looking shocked. "It's the third rail of the hacking world. First, they have the best security on the planet. Impenetrable as far as I know. Second, if you did make it in, they would find out, and they'd come after youa"with a vengeance."

Desh looked amused. "If it makes you feel any better, they're already coming after you with a vengeance," he pointed out. "Surely simple employee records and photographs don't warrant the NSA's maximum protection."

"Maybe not," allowed Griffin. "But even their minimum protection is pretty unbeatable."

"You're the only chance we have," said Kira gently. "Can you do it?"

Griffin sighed. "Maybe, given three or four days, I could get employee records. Maybe. But we don't have time for that." He shook his head helplessly. "Kira is as good a hacker as I am, so together we might be able to do it faster." He frowned. "But still not fast enough to stop this Sam character from unleashing his engineered virus."

Kira shook her head. "I'm only as good as you when my intelligence has been enhanced. Otherwise, you're orders of magnitude more accomplished than I am."

"What about enhancing Matt, then?" suggested the colonel. "If this mental transformation is all it's cracked up to be, with his vast base of knowledge, he should be able to beat even the NSA." Connelly pulled a pain-relief capsule from his pocket, placed it on his tongue, and washed it down with some now lukewarm coffee.

Desh sighed. "I have no doubt that he could." He eyed Kira warily. "But I don't know if we want to take that chance right now."

"You're that worried about the side effects of this pill?" said Connelly.

"I've compared notes with Kira," replied Desh, "and the sociopathy effect hit me harder and faster than it hit her."

Metzger stroked his chin once again. He turned to Kira. "Do you think it hit David harder because there was testosterone added to the mix?" he asked.

Kira considered. "An interesting hypothesis," she said. "But I don't know."

"It's possible Matt won't display any antisocial tendencies the first time," said Desh. "Kira tells me her therapy didn't affect her that way to any major degree until she had been transformed a number of times." He frowned. "But we can't rule out the possibility the effect will hit him even harder than it did me. That would be dangerous for everyone."

"How hard did it really hit you?" asked Metzger. "It didn't sound to me as though you had turned into a total monster."

"Not a total one, no," said Desh. "But reflecting now on some of the thoughts I had in this state scares me. I still had some loyalty to Kira and humanitya"which is why I helped her escape. But the effect on me was to the right of Kira. What if the effect on Matt is to the right of me?" There was no mistaking the worried look on his face. "Eventually, all of you need to experience the effect, but under far more secure and controlled conditions."

Kira sighed. "You know that I agree with you, David," she said. "But there's too much at stake not to risk this. And it would only be his first time." She paused and then smiled sheepishly. "While we're having this discussion, we should probably ask Matt if he's even willing to do this," she added.

All eyes turned toward Griffin.

"Well?" said Kira.

Griffin nodded. Then, smiling, he turned to Desh and winked. "I guess this is my chance to become even more prodigious," he said wryly.

The smile vanished from Griffin's face as he realized that Desh's dour expression hadn't changed. "I understand your concerns, David," he said. "If it will make you feel any better, you can tie my legs together."

"Oh, I plan on doing far more than that," said Desh.

"Okay," said Griffin, slightly taken aback. "That's fine. But even if I turned into the devil, what do you think an overweight, out of shape computer expert could do against three highly trained members of the US military?"

A troubled look came over Desh's face. "Far more than you might imagine," he said worriedly.

42.

Kira Miller retreated to her bedroom at the back of the RV. She turned to Desh before she entered and said, "The gellcaps are in a secure spot. I'll need about five minutes with a screwdriver to get at them."

Desh nodded as she disappeared behind the curtain that separated the bedroom from the rest of the vehicle. "Let's get you ready, Matt," he said. He gestured for the hacker to take a seat at the kitchen table in front of Kira's keyboard and monitors.

Once he was seated, Desh and Metzger wasted no time roping him securely to the chair. They bound his ankles with both metal and plastic handcuffs and taped his calves to the chair's two front legs with a stronger version of duct tape.

They had just finished when Kira emerged with a small stainless steel canister and handed it to Desh. He removed a single pill and gave it to Griffin while Kira took a small gla.s.s from a cabinet and filled it with tap water. Griffin took the water from Kira and downed the pill without ceremony.

"When will this take effect?" he asked.

"In about five minutes," replied Kira.

Desh pulled an MP-5 from the canvas bag and handed it to Metzger. "Take a position in Kira's bedroom as far from Matt as you can get," he said, "and cover him."

Metzger did as instructed, opening the curtain to have a clear view of the entire vehicle, while Desh stacked both canvas bags on the floor in front of the pa.s.senger seat and pulled an MP-5 for himself. "Colonel, you're with me."

Desh turned the pa.s.senger seat around so it faced the road again and knelt on it, extending his head above the high seatback with the machine pistol protruding over it. He insisted that Connelly sit normally in the comfortable driver's seat, unarmed. The colonel argued that he could carry his own weight and help cover Griffin, but Desh wouldn't hear of it, reminding him that a rifle shot had recently torn a hole through his shoulder, mere inches away from his heart. "Save your strength, Colonel," Desh told him. "I have a feeling you're going to need it."

Reluctantly, Connelly took the seat as requested.

"Kira, I want you in the bedroom, safely behind the major," said Desh.

Kira opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it. She had been in charge, and alone, for far too long. The reason she had wanted to team up with Desh in the first place was to get help. With a slight smile she realized she should let herself enjoy not making all the decisions for a change. She walked to the back of the RV and for once played the role of the damsel, taking a position behind and to the left of the war-hardened major.

"Major," Desh called out.

Metzger caught his eye from thirty feet away.

"If he shows any suspicious behavior whatsoever, shoot him in the leg immediately. No hesitation. Don't forget that he'll be much faster than we are, mentally and physically."

Metzger nodded.

The group took consolation from the fact that in addition to being bound, Griffin was slow and untrained, so that even if the transformation tripled his speed they should be able to handle him. Should be. No one was in a hurry to test this theory.

Griffin began navigating the web so he would be poised at the entrance to the NSA's system when the mental transformation took effect. He didn't have to wait long. "Holy c.r.a.p!" he yelled the instant it did. He continued speaking after this but at a rate too fast for the rest of the group to decipher.

Griffin turned back to the keyboard and his fingers flew over it like those of a possessed concert pianist, filling all three monitors with an ever-changing parade of menus, data, and web pages. He had worked too fast for most people to have any hope of following before he was enhanced, but now his speed was off the charts. He continued working at a dizzying pace for twenty minutes while Desh and Metzger kept their weapons carefully trained on him.

"Matt, how is it looking?" said Desh finally. "Can you do it?"

Griffin snapped an unintelligible response.

"We can't understand you," said Desh.

"Can't-operate-at-your-pathetic-speed-so-leave-me-the-h.e.l.l-alone," blurted out Griffin harshly, having slowed just enough that Desh could separate the words.

"Divert a portion of your mind to act as a slow version of yourself," instructed Desh. "Less frustrating speaking with normals that way."

"Done," said Griffin.

"How are you feeling?" asked Desh cautiously.

"Idiot question!" snapped Griffin immediately. "What you're really asking is: have I turned into the devil? If not, I would tell you no. If so, I would lie and still tell you no. Moron!" he finished disdainfully.

It may have been a stupid question, Kira thought, but Griffin's response had been illuminating nonetheless. "You realizea""

"That I was as pathetic and slow as you are a few minutes ago. Yes, I know." The blistering pace of Griffin's keyboard and mouse manipulations didn't slow as he spoke nor did conversation seem to affect his ability to digest entire screens of information at a glance.

Desh caught Kira's eye worriedly, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. Griffin was also handling the transformation less well than had Kira. Less well, perhaps, even than Desh. So perhaps it was a testosterone effect after all.

The group let Griffin continue working in silence for the next fifteen minutes, not wanting to provoke the demon within. Kira finally decided it was time for a status report. "How is it coming, Matt?" she called from the other end of the vehicle.

Griffin's hands hadn't once stopped moving over the keyboard since he had begun. "Child's play," he said smugly. "I'll be in NSA's personnel database in about ten minutes." He paused. "Meanwhile," he announced with a superior air, "I've broken into the Federal Reserve and diverted 500 million dollars into your numbered Swiss bank account."

Kira drew back, stunned.

"Relax," snapped Griffin, correctly having predicted her reaction despite her being well out of his sight. "It's a victimless crime. Just numbers in a computer. I didn't steal anyone's money, just created 500 million more. And yes, even though it's a numbered and oh-so-secret Swiss account, I'm sure I put the funds in the correct one."

"Why, Matt?" said Kira, concerned. "What prompted you to do that?"

"Sadly, I'm forced to live most of my life as a moron," Griffin shot back. "I'll soon return to my pathetic former self who will be joining this sanctimonious team of yours. The better capitalized we are, especially in the beginning before invention money pours in, the faster we can achieve our ultimate goals."

The four other members of the group exchanged meaningful glances and raised eyebrows. Griffin had become ultra-arrogant, certainly, but in his own way he knew that the future of his lesser self was tied to the team, which was at least somewhat comforting.

"You have to reverse this transaction, Matt," said Kira softly. "It's not right."

"Don't preach to me!" barked Griffin. "Spare me your brainless and misguided moralizing. A sum this great will help our cause, and you know it."

"Buta""

"This discussion is over!" thundered Griffin.

Kira sighed deeply and decided not to push it further. The truth was that he was right. It was a victimless crime and would help them accomplish a greater good. She was certainly no stranger to these hard choices. She had broken the law to develop her treatment. She had killed Lusetti and she had injured several others to avoid capture. That night alone she had been involved in the theft of two cars and a misappropriation of a military helicopter.

But this was while she was her normal self. Those experiencing the mind altering effects of her treatment wielded too much power, and had too little conscience, to be allowed even the smallest step onto this slippery slope. The team would need to make sure that in the future those they enhanced had no ability to directly affect the outside world while still in the thrall of the transformation.

"I'm in," announced Griffin. "Quickly, describe Sam."

"Well," began Desh, "His height is abouta""

"Too slow," barked Griffin. "I'll find him without you." There was the briefest of pauses and then, "This is him, correct?"

A headshot security photo of a man filled an entire screen. For the first time since Griffin had become transformed he left something on a monitor for more than a few seconds.

Desh's eyes widened. "Buta""

"How?" Griffin interrupted, antic.i.p.ating Desh's question once again. "Without hearing your description?" As he spoke, his fingers once again sped over the keyboard and Sam's picture disappeared to be replaced by a screen of what looked like computer code. Once Griffin had learned from Desh's reaction he had found the right person he continued to pursue other projects he had been working on in parallel. "I can access the log-in patterns of any employee. I know Sam's locations over the past few days and the timing of some of his activities. From your story I know his approximate age and I can guess the precise level and position in the organization that would allow him to achieve all that he has. I narrowed it to five men. His name is S. Frank Putnam. The S stands for Samuel. He's among the top twenty people in the NSA."

Kira was speechless. He had done it! At long last, she knew the ident.i.ty of the man who had killed her brother and turned her life into a nightmare. "Do you havea""

"Yes, of course," snapped Griffin. "His address and more."

"What are you doing now?" asked Desh, his weapon still trained on the hacker. Finally, Griffin's slower-witted avatar had allowed someone to get out an entire question without being interrupted.

"Clearing Kira's and the colonel's good names," he replied.

Given that Griffin appeared to have almost free rein of the cyber domain, Kira was encouraged that he continued to work toward helping the team. "But won'ta""

"That be a tip-off to S. Frank Putnam," finished Griffin. "No. The records will remain as they are for twenty-four hours. Kira and Connelly will continue to be wanted fugitives."

"And in twenty-four hours?" called out Kira from her post in the bedroom with extreme interest.

"The record will show that the accusations and evidence against Kira Miller were false, but that she was shot and killed before this was discovered. You'll be off the grid for good, Kira. I'll set up a new ident.i.ty for you later. When I'm finished, you'll be able to ride naked on a horse through Fort Bragg without attracting military attention."

"I'd take money on that bet," mused Desh, who then quickly winced as if he couldn't believe he had said this out loud.

A smile came to Kira's face, knowing this was meant as a compliment, but she didn't respond. "And the colonel?" she asked Griffin.

"New evidence will emerge that he is completely innocent, with prior information to the contrary an attempt by an unnamed NSA employee with a personal vendetta to frame him."

"And what willa""

"Enough!" thundered Griffin. "I've been more than patient."

He continued his work with the computer unabated; as if unaware he had just made an outburst. Eight minutes later he gasped and looked as if his best friend had just died.

Desh caught Kira's eye and nodded knowingly. "Welcome back, Matt," he said.

"This well and truly sucks," complained the giant.

"Give yourself a few minutes," said Desh. "It won't annoy you so much."

"Do you think you could untie me?" asked Griffin.

Desh shook his head. "I'm afraid not. Not for ten minutes. I need to be sure this isn't a ruse."

Griffin didn't look happy about this but didn't argue. Having been transformed, he now was one of the few people who would know firsthand why Desh had been so cautious.