Ghost Rendition Read online

  “You were the one at Advanced Crypto who was supposed to keep an eye out for coders who might pose a security risk. Except you were also the one who ended up going rogue,” I said.

  “To be fair, I created most of the code. It only seems right that I should have a say in what’s done with it.”

  “I’m pretty sure they don’t see it that way.”

  “That’s why I had no choice. I signed up to help get the bad guys, not to be one of them. Rob said you were the same way,” he said.

  It touched me that this was how Pratt saw me, as a wide-eyed idealist like him. Had I ever been that innocent?

  “Did he give you the disappointed older brother act when he found out what you were up to?”

  “More like disappointed dad,” he said without trying to be mean. “He told me that he would fix it if I shut down what we were doing. I told him I couldn’t do that. He got very quiet, shook his head. It made me feel really bad.”

  “That’s the point,” I said.

  “He said to give him time to figure out what to do, but Westfield must have found out what we were doing first.”

  “He told you that?” I asked.

  Pratt shook his head. “Rob showed up at my apartment in the middle of the night. He said I was in danger but it was going to be okay, he had a guy whom he trusted. He said he would make sure I didn’t get hurt.”

  “He left you there as bait. He didn’t know for sure who he was dealing with, so he waited to see who moved on you,” I said.

  Rob’s level of manipulation was stunning. It was beyond anything I could have dreamed up. Manipulation was an unavoidable part of the job, but it shouldn’t be the whole job.

  “The Russians, the Israelis, and Westfield and his crazy group of contractors are all after us, and Rob hasn’t left us a clue how they found out about you or what their plans are.”

  “They all want Tiresias, and I’m not going to let them have it,” Pratt said proudly.

  I laughed despite myself.

  “What?” he said.

  “I wish it were that easy. We need to find out what each group knows and what their plans are, if we’re going to have any chance of surviving this. And we need to find Westfield. He’s the key. We need to find him before he finds us. The moral high ground feels a lot better when you’re not buried in it.”

  “I’m not a martyr. I don’t want to die. I just want to do the right thing,” he said.

  “Hard to argue with that,” Caroline said.

  I wondered how long she had been awake and listening. “Just learning some new things about our boy,” I said.

  “He’s full of surprises,” she said.

  She knew what Pratt had been up to. What was her agenda? Did she shoot the Russian because she thought he was moving on me, or was she trying to make sure I didn’t find out too much? And what about the five phantom Israelis that she claimed were with the Suit? A straight-ahead interrogation was unlikely to work with her, and I might lose Pratt in the process. Keeping her close and waiting for the right time to crack her story was my best bet.

  “Caroline and I are going for a ride. You know what I need you to do.”

  “Are we going to a drive-in or do you have somewhere else you like to make out?” Caroline asked me.

  “Not unless you’re turned on by doctor’s offices.”

  “I told you, I won’t go to a hospital.”

  “I’m not taking you to one.”

  “Doctor’s offices are almost as risky. As soon as they file the paperwork, we are at risk.”

  “There won’t be any paperwork,” I said.

  • • • • • • • • • •

  I hadn’t been to the office in years. Caroline seemed fine from her concussion, but if she dropped dead from a brain bleed, I’d feel really bad about it. Everything looked the same in the waiting room. Mrs. Levine, the receptionist, looked like she was about a hundred years old, but she had always looked ancient to me.

  “We need ten minutes with him,” I said.

  “Do you have an appointment?” she asked, though she knew we didn’t.

  “Please tell him I’m here. We won’t take long.”

  Mrs. Levine reluctantly picked up the phone and engaged the old-fashioned intercom system. She cupped her hand and whispered into the receiver. After some back and forth where I’m sure she advocated for sending us on our way, she waved us back.

  “Treatment room one. You know the way,” she said.

  Caroline looked at me quizzically but didn’t ask any questions. The treatment room was immaculate. The nurses bustling around were almost as old as Mrs. Levine and as practiced at their craft. The office was staffed entirely by women. There was only one rooster in the coop and that was the doctor.

  “You’re always welcome here, Gibbons, but you could have called. Mrs. Levine doesn’t like surprises,” the doctor said.

  “Mrs. Levine would have told me that you didn’t have any openings until next century,” I said.

  “That’s why I’ve kept her all these years.”

  From anyone else I would have suspected this was meant to be funny.

  “Well you’re here. What can I do for you? And who is this young lady?” the doctor said.

  “Caroline had a bullet wound in her right shoulder stitched up and suffered a concussion. She needs to be looked at off the books. No insurance, no records.”

  “My name is Doctor Alexander,” he said to Caroline. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

  “Alexander? Are you . . . ?”

  “Caroline, meet my father. He’s going to examine you and spare you all the annoying questions that he would like to ask.”

  “Nice to meet you. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It would be embarrassing for my family if that were to be made public. Your son was kind enough to offer your help. If you’re not comfortable with that, we will leave with no hard feelings,” Caroline said.

  “My son knows that I would never turn away a patient. Gibbons, you may leave the room and let me conduct my examination.”

  “I’ll see you outside, Gibbons,” Caroline said.

  My father actually smiled at her. If she could charm him, Pratt and I had no chance. The waiting room was crowded as usual. Mrs. Levine orchestrated patients filling out forms, handing over insurance cards, and submitting copays. She still found time to give me a few of her trademark glares. She had never liked it when my father brought me to the office and she still didn’t. Finally, she gestured me back in without a word.

  “Time has done nothing to improve your dexterity,” was my father’s greeting.

  “But no sign of infection, right?”

  “That much you managed. I see no sign of a brain bleed either, but she was clearly concussed. She should avoid rigorous activity for at least a week.”

  “Whatever you say, Dr. A,” Caroline said.

  Anyone else calling my father Dr. A would have gotten a look of death. My father gave her a paternal smile I didn’t know he possessed. The truth was that I had a doctor in Yonkers who took care of me when I needed absolute discretion. I could have taken Caroline to him. My father was a better doctor, of course, and I wanted to see Caroline work her magic on him. Maybe I wanted him to believe I was romantically involved with her. He had come to like Suzanne and saw our divorce as my failure.

  “Your dad’s an interesting character,” Caroline commented when we were back in the Camry.

  “That was his best behavior.”

  “He must be great in the operating room. He gives you that feeling like he’s totally in control. He knows exactly what to do, but he doesn’t need to shove it in your face to prove it. Kind of like you,” she said.

  “Look, we both know you’re playing me. That’s part of the game, and I can’t say I’m not enjoying it. But you don’t need to pretend it’s real,” I said.

  “Why are you sure it isn’t? How many girls would take a bullet for you?”

  “And I didn’t get you
flowers. How about you tell me what you’re after? I’ll do everything I can to make sure you get it,” I said.

  “I believe you would if you could. But I don’t want you to make promises you can’t keep. You’re not that kind of guy.”

  My phone buzzed before I could say anything else. It was Suzanne.

  “I’m glad you called. I need you to know that there is nothing going on with Caroline.”

  Caroline blew in my ear.

  “I didn’t call to hear more of your lies. Your check bounced. Drop over another one when I’m not there. And add twenty bucks for the fee the bank charged me,” she said.

  “There’s plenty of money in that account.”

  Caroline licked my ear lobe.

  “This is irresponsible even for you. You’re not just hurting me, this affects Devon too,” Suzanne said.

  “I promise you that I will figure out what’s going on and fix it.”

  “Don’t promise. Do it,” Suzanne said.

  Suzanne hung up. Caroline bit my ear.

  “Why is she being such a bitch?” Caroline said.

  “She’s got a lot going on. And I don’t always make it easy.”

  “You are still in love with her.”

  “She’s my wife.”

  “Ex-wife.”

  “Once a wife, always a wife.”

  “Not for me. My cliché of choice is, ‘done is done.’ Or we could go with ‘once an asshole, always an asshole,’” Caroline said.

  “I thought you dumped him. I mean I get he was a difficult guy, but what did he do to hurt you so badly?’

  “Nothing worse than a bullet to the shoulder. And at least he didn’t pretend nothing was going on,” Caroline said.

  “It’s not like I can tell her the truth.”

  “Make sure to tell yourself the truth,” Caroline said.

  I wanted to question her more, but she slid down in her seat and went to sleep, or pretended to. She bounded out of the car when we got home and got to the house before me. She stood in the door and laughed. I followed her and saw why. Pratt was sitting on the couch flanked by two Pratt-a-likes. They were the same age, dressed in the same brightly colored jeans and cuff-linked shirts, and banging away on their laptops in unison.

  “This is Ben and Todd. I told them they would be safe here,” was Pratt’s explanation.

  “Then you lied. The second they knew where I lived they became a risk to my family. If Westfield doesn’t take care of them, now I’ll have to.”

  “I picked them up in an Uber. I blindfolded them and masked your router. They have no idea where they are or who you are. They won’t take any images of you, and they’ll never hear your name. I’m not stupid, you know.”

  “You took a stupid risk. What if one of Westfield’s contractors followed them here?” I said.

  Pratt would probably be gone, and I would have been greeted by a bullet to the head if they had been followed, but I couldn’t let him off that easily.

  “Danny made sure we were clean,” Ben said.

  “He’s good at that kind of thing,” Todd added.

  I was about to ask him why he thought he was qualified to judge that when Devon walked into the living room carrying a plate of burritos.

  “Are those the vegetarian ones?” Pratt asked.

  “We’re out of those,” I answered before Devon could. “Does your mom know you’re here?” I asked Devon.

  “I told her I was staying after school at the computer lab. I might be in trouble,” he said, doling out the burritos to Todd and Ben.

  “We used to be vegetarians,” Todd said.

  “But we like meat too much,” Ben added.

  Pratt shook his head. Caroline took his burrito.

  “Why don’t we go into my bedroom,” I said to Devon. “These guys are helping me with my research for my next Moron book, and we’re behind.”

  “They told me.”

  Pratt gave me a self-satisfied smile. I wanted to strangle him.

  Devon and I sat on my bed in my room.

  “Those guys are totally cool. Can I get an old-fashioned shirt like they wear?” Devon said.

  It was a horrifying thought, but at least Pratt didn’t hear him say it. “We can talk about your wardrobe later. What’s going on?”

  “I got called into the headmaster’s office. He thinks a couple of friends and me have been hacking into the school server and changing grades.”

  “Why would he think that?”

  I hoped he wouldn’t lie to me. I didn’t want to interrogate him. I wanted to lie in bed and hear about the diorama he made about the first moon flight.

  “We were careful. I still don’t know how we got caught. Tyler says someone must have been spoofing us and tripped the security protocol, but he’s always paranoid,” Devon said in a rush.

  Poor Tyler wasn’t paranoid at all. I had inadvertently gotten Devon caught. “That’s not the point is it? You always did well in school, why would you need to change your grades?”

  “That school is a totalitarian regime. They control you with grades. We’re freedom fighters.”

  He was so earnest I wanted to hug him. I stared at him instead. People are naturally inclined to fill silences.

  “It’s totally boring. I learn much more coding. Danny, Todd, and Ben agree with me.”

  “You told Danny, Todd, and Ben?” I said.

  “They never did any work in middle school and it didn’t hurt them. Those guys are sick coders. I don’t know why they’re wasting their time working for you.”

  “Yeah, me either. What kind of punishment is the headmaster talking about?” I said.

  “Nothing yet. Their IT guy didn’t keep the logs that showed our IP addresses. Total idiot. But he’ll probably figure out that they’re automatically backed up. And they changed their firewall configuration; now we can’t get in to erase them.”

  “You don’t feel bad at all about what you did, just about getting caught?” I said.

  “Like I said, they’re a . . .”

  “Totalitarian regime. Yeah I got that. Look, I won’t lie to you. I was bored in school too. But I need you to understand that this was not the right way to handle it. There are rules and laws for a reason. And if people broke them whenever they didn’t agree with them, the world wouldn’t be a very nice place.”

  I was prepared for an “act of conscience” debate or an argument about passive resistance. I was not prepared for him to break out in tears. I held him and let him sob. It seemed like the only time I got close to my family now was when they were crying. I felt his little shoulders shake.

  “It’s okay. We’ll work it out,” I said to him when he had caught his breath.

  “The headmaster said he was going to call our parents. I told him that Mom was away, so he’s going to call you.”

  For a moment it occurred to me that he might be playing me, but looking down at his tear-streaked face, I felt ashamed for thinking it. “I won’t tell your mom until we have some time to figure out how we’re going to handle this.”

  I earned another hug for that. I fed him a burrito and orange soda. Pratt shared his Starbursts with him. Then I drove him to the Big House and let him off around the corner to make sure Suzanne didn’t see us.

  “What a great kid,” was how Pratt greeted me when I got back. Todd and Ben agreed enthusiastically. It was full confirmation that I was a terrible father.

  “You brought my son into this? You not only risk compromising my identity, you risk his safety? I should shoot all three of you on principle,” I said.

  “He just showed up,” Todd said.

  “And we don’t know his name either,” Ben added.

  “We have this under control,” Pratt said.

  “Oh, then I feel perfectly safe,” I said.

  They all smiled and nodded. Todd and Ben evidently didn’t get sarcasm any more than Pratt did.

  “I need to hear you say it. My son is off-limits from now on, understood?”


  “Understood,” they said in unison.

  “Have you at least made any progress on finding Westfield or whatever his real name is?”

  “I should have gotten a picture of him on my phone. I thought we could get something off a security camera or a satellite. He’s better than I thought.”

  “If you had tried to pull out your phone, he would have shot you. And I expect him to be good. That’s why we have to find him before he finds us. He’s seen my car. There are millions of brown Camrys on the road, but if he’s that good, who knows.”

  “We thought of that. Your registration doesn’t exist,” Pratt said.

  “You erased my DMV records?”

  “I erased you period,” Pratt said.

  “What do you mean “period”?”

  “Social Security, credit history, birth record. Everything.”

  “What about my bank accounts?”

  “Duh.”

  Todd and Ben laughed.

  “I bounced an alimony check to my wife. I’m more scared of her than I am of Westfield,” I said.

  “He’s being sarcastic,” Pratt explained to Todd and Ben.

  “Try coding after I cut off all your fingers,” I said. “Tell me how I’m going to get money to my wife.”

  “Ex-wife,” Caroline chimed in.

  “Todd’s fingers go first.”

  “I have your money in off-shore accounts under made-up names. At your age, you should have more saved, by the way. I can route it through some dummy accounts and into her account pretty safely,” Pratt said.

  “As long as it’s done by tomorrow. The transfer should be for—”

  “I know how much. It was in your checking records. You should send more. Devon needs a new computer,” Pratt said.

  “Let’s let the boys work,” Caroline said and dragged me into my bedroom before I strangled all three of them.

  “They’re good. They won’t make it easy for Westfield to find your family,” Caroline said.

  “No more bullshit,” I said. “You know he’s still working on Tiresias. That’s why you shot the Russian, why you made up the crew of Israelis,” I said. “You wanted to buy time for Pratt to complete the program.”