Page 22 of Wild Fever

"I have no clue, and I didn't ask.”

"Do you have the files with you?”

Kara shifted uncomfortably. “They’re safe.”

15

“Who do you think poisoned you?” I asked.

“I can’t be certain. But if I were hiring to get a job done, and I didn’t want anything coming back to me, I’d clean house,” Kara said. “No loose ends.”

"So you think the CIA hired you to get secrets from Mr. Yan’s laptop, and they killed you to avoid an international incident," I said.

"That sounds reasonable."

It didn’t sound reasonable at all, but possible.

“All I know from the drop was that they were able to access the foreign network and gain information about file structure. But they weren't able or willing to download files without a direct connection. The encrypted files contain a beacon. If they’re sent over the Internet, they will report back to the network, digital telemetry tracking that reports back whenever the files are accessed, moved, or copied. The script logs IP, location, and time of access. There is a possibility that improper access could causethe files to self-delete. How that all works is a little above my pay grade.”

“So, the Chinese are fully aware of the breach.”

“I would assume so. Another reason why it had to be done from Zheng’s computer.”

"Have you had any contact with anyone since you pulled the job?"

"Just you two.”

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say you were poisoned before the job," Jack said.

Kara’s brow knitted. She thought about it, trying to recall all her interactions over the last few days. “It could have happened anywhere—at lunch at a restaurant, a drink at the hotel bar, a handshake… who knows?”

“I’ll need a detailed list of every interaction.”

She nodded. “So, you’ll help?”

“I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”

“If you don’t help, you’ve just wasted my time.”

She was good at the manipulation game. I had to give her that.

A terrible thought crossed my mind. “If you’ve been poisoned with some kind of toxin, how do we know you’re not contagious?”

Her face went long. She hadn’t considered it either. After a moment’s thought, she dismissed the notion. “No. I was around Ryan when he had symptoms, and I never developed any?—”

“That was a month ago. Maybe that’s the length of the incubation period?”

“If that were the case, there would be a pandemic. This is a strategic weapon, designed to look like a heart attack or stroke.”

I considered it. “Tell me the circumstances surrounding Ryan’s death.”

"He’d taken an op from an encrypted drop. Started having symptoms. A few days later, he was dead.”

"What was the job?"

"I never found out. But I think we might be dealing with the same employer.”

“Who was Ryan?”