Crisis Zero (17 page)

“I
DON'T THINK I CAN,” I SAID. “I MEAN, I GET EVERYTHING THAT
has happened to you, I understand why you're so angry, why you want revenge. But . . . you tortured Olek. And you planned to release the Romero Virus—I overheard Jake and Phil talking about it. I will never, ever knowingly help out a man who once planned to do something like that. No matter the reason.”

“But you don't have a choice,” Medlock said.

“Why not?” Danielle asked for me.

“For one thing, Carson has already helped me execute
phase one, as I hinted at earlier,” Medlock said, pulling a small device from his pocket. “Remember those ‘secret plans' you confiscated from Ms. Pullman's computer? You know, the ones that contained the blueprints for that insane plan to blow up the Agency headquarters by drilling down and planting a bomb?”

I nodded slowly, already suspecting where this was headed.

“Well, there never was a plan to drill down to the headquarters from the school parking lot,” Medlock said. “The plans were fake.”

“So, you weren't plotting to blow up Agency HQ?” I asked.

“Oh, no, I'm definitely going to destroy their little den of lies,” Medlock said. “Just not by drilling. I mean, that'd be absurd! Do you have any idea how deep down the Agency's base is and how hard it would be to drill that far with normal equipment right in broad daylight next to a school? I mean, come
on
!”

I did feel a little stupid for thinking that plan was feasible. But more than that, I was curious. If the plans were fake, then what was the point?

Danielle beat me to the question. “So what were the plans for, really?”

“Glad you asked!” Medlock said cheerily. “I knew that if I planted even a grain of evidence that Ms. Pullman might be working for me and that the whole heated parking lot project was a cover for a nefarious plot, the Agency wouldn't hesitate to dig deeper, to look into the plans and likely infiltrate her office. That's what they do best, spy on people. And so I planted the fake plans deep inside her hard drive, without her even knowing they were there. And then when you so conveniently brought the files down to Agency Headquarters and delivered them to Isadoris, he was actually unknowingly uploading a small virus of mine into the Agency mainframe.”

“So, everything—from Dillon framing Gomez and getting Pullman hired as principal to the parking lot construction—was all just a setup to get me to hand deliver a computer virus to the Agency's mainframe?” I asked.

“You learn quickly,” Medlock said. “That's why I still like you, Carson, even after all the trouble you've caused me.”

“But sneaking into Pullman's office wasn't even a part of my mission,” I said.

“Right, which is why I had one of my men show up and take some fake blueprints and an infected laptop into her
office right in front of you,” Medlock said. “I knew you wouldn't be able to resist going in of your own free will after that.”

“So Ms. Pullman doesn't work for you at all?” I asked.

Medlock shrugged, grinning.

I wasn't sure if that meant yes or no, but my suspicions were that it meant she did not work for him, didn't even know he existed. Which was a relief. But that also meant that I had betrayed her trust and truly hurt her when I'd broken into her office. The expulsion wasn't some plot by a crafty enemy agent, it was simply an expulsion. I'd failed. That made everything I'd been through feel that much worse.

“So what does the computer virus do?” Danielle asked, her voice shaking.

“Well, it has given me control over the base's maintenance operational mainframe,” Medlock says. “Of course, the firewalls on their most classified records and base security systems are way too advanced for any hacker I could possibly hope to hire. But the firewalls and security surrounding the base's daily operations, although very strong, were much easier to infiltrate. Especially when the virus is uploaded directly into the mainframe, thanks to you.”

“I don't get it,” I said. “You control base operations. . . . How could that be helpful? What are you going to do? Turn all the lights on and off? Power down the air-conditioning and make them all uncomfortably hot?”

Medlock surprised me by laughing. A real, genuine laugh.

“Sort of,” he said. He held up the small device he'd been holding. “I mean, basically with one press of a button I can overload the fusion energy core and cause a nuclear meltdown that will incinerate the entre base. And, who knows, maybe even take out the whole town.”

“What? Why would you do that?”

“Well, I don't
want
to do it,” Medlock said. “I have no desire to destroy Minnow. But I will do it if necessary. That is, if you don't play ball and help me.”

I stood there and stared at him, feeling so hopeless I wanted to scream and throw a temper tantrum like I used to do when I was four.

“How could you help him do this?” Danielle shouted at Dillon, who had been listening to our whole conversation with detached interest.

“You don't understand,” he said calmly. “All Medlock's trying to do is get rid of this insane Agency and
get his son back. You remember Jake, right?
Your
Agency kidnapped him! I mean, how can
you
stand by and let them do that?”

“It's not the same thing,” Danielle said. “You don't understand what Jake tried to do.”

“Oh no?” Dillon asked. “Why don't I? Oh, yeah, that's right, it's because my twin sister and my best friend lied to me for months. But I'm just supposed to believe what you say now?”

“Enough,” Medlock said. He didn't shout, but there was a command in his voice that instantly silenced the bickering. “There will be time to hash this out later. The point is, yes, my intentions are simple. I want my son back. And I want to bring the Agency down. You see, they're about to complete a deal that will bring them one step closer to completely destroying the world as we know it. And we're going to stop them.”

I
WAS FURIOUS WITH MEDLOCK, AND DILLON, BUT I WAS IN NO
position to argue at that moment. I figured I had to hear him out, see what exactly he was planning on doing before I made a decision that would get everyone I knew killed.

“What do you want us to do?” I asked.

“It's quite simple,” Medlock said. “According to information my associates have gathered, the Agency is going to be making a significant purchase from a third party technology firm. All I need is for you to find out when
and where this exchange is supposed to go down.”

“What kind of purchase?” I asked. “And for what?”

“That doesn't concern you.”

“Well, either way, I don't think I can,” I said. “I just completely blew my assignment by helping Dillon escape. They'll never trust me now.”

“Well, you'd better figure something out,” Medlock said. “And don't try to tip them off to my plan. I now have access to the base's security cameras, and if I see any evacuation attempts, I'm pressing the button. The exchange is happening tomorrow, which means you have seven hours to find out the time and location. Dillon will help you get in touch with me once you have the information.”

“What are they buying?” I asked.

“I'm not surprised they didn't tell you,” Medlock said, pulling a phone out of his pocket and checking something on it. “But then again, maybe I'm not. You must have gotten some hints, though.”

I remembered what Director Isadoris had hinted a few times, about so many agents working on a new initiative. This had to have something to do with that.

“It's a program the likes of which the world has never seen before,” Medlock continued. “And the Agency's
ultimate, terrible plot: the Exodus Program. It makes infiltrating any computer, any device, anything remotely connected to a network as easy as pressing a button. Bank funds, nuclear missile launch systems, the pictures stored on your mom's iPhone. Anything and everything is a mouse click away. It will essentially give them the power to know everything. To do anything. There will be no secrets from the Agency anymore. No privacy. No safety. This is a power
nobody
should
ever
have.”

“Except for you?” I said.

“Me?” he scoffed. “Carson, I don't want to steal the program. I want to destroy it. You think the Agency will use it for good? The internet is the most dangerous piece of technology mankind has ever created. There is nothing good that can come of this, no matter who controls it. Deep down, you know that's true. If I can intercept the exchange, then not only can I destroy the program but I can also make them give me my son back. Two birds with one microchip.”

I didn't know what to think anymore. I didn't believe for a second that Medlock would simply destroy the program. I also think I believed what he said about the Agency. It was hard to imagine them having a program that powerful and not using it to spy on average people.
They'd never shown any restraint in the past in overstepping the normal boundaries of the law to carry out a mission. In time, this program would only make such actions even easier for them.

Then again, the program was probably better off with them than a guy like Medlock, no matter what he claimed. For now, though, I didn't have much choice. The Agency HQ getting blown up definitely wouldn't solve anything and so for now I'd have to play along.

“Okay,” I said finally. “I'll try.”

“Carson, you can't!” Danielle said, taking a step toward.

Medlock shot Danielle an annoyed glance. “Oh please, what else is he supposed to do? You want to see the base get destroyed? Then come on over here and press the button yourself.” He held out the small device.

She looked at it and frowned. He had her and she knew it. You didn't get to be lifelong best friends with someone and not learn to read their expressions. She knew Medlock had us in a vise.

“Okay, then,” he said, putting the device in his pocket and turning to leave. “You have seven . . . no, make that just under seven hours. You'd better hurry.”

He stepped back into the shadows of the old Bonanza
kitchen and was gone. We all heard the back door open and close behind him a few moments later. Then it was just Dillon, Danielle, and me again. We looked at one another in the dark room uneasily.

In that moment I think we all knew nothing would ever quite be the same between us again.

T
HE THREE OF US RODE OUR BIKES UNEASILY TOWARD THE
school. Well, Dillon and Danielle were on bikes, I was standing on the pegs on Dillon's back wheel. We hadn't said much before leaving Bonanza, just that we obviously needed to get into Agency HQ in order to try and gather the information that Medlock needed.

We pulled over a block away and ducked behind some trees near a bridge that passed over the Rat River. Technically its real name was the Souris River. But no one who lived around here actually called it that. It's a long
story, one so boring I don't really even remember myself how it had come to pass.

“So,” Dillon said, looking around with a blank expression on his face, “what are you guys going to do?”

Something burst inside me in that moment. Before I knew what I was doing, I was charging at my best friend, grabbing at his throat so I could squeeze the air out of his stupid windpipe. We both fell to the ground, with him flailing to get away from me. He pushed me off and stood up. I pulled at his winter jacket, but my hands slipped right off. He backed away from me as I stood. Danielle grabbed me and held me back.

“Stop it, Carson,” she said. “That's not helping.”

“How could you work for that guy?” I said to Dillon.

“How could you work for an Agency that shot their own employee in the head simply because he knew what they were doing?” Dillon fired back.

I opened my mouth to answer, but realized I didn't really have a good reply.

“That's why I didn't let them take you at the Dirt Mall,” I finally said.

Now it was Dillon's turn to remain quiet.

“I know,” he eventually mumbled. “Thanks for that, by the way.”

I shrugged.

“I think we can all agree,” Danielle said, “that whatever our individual motivations are, it doesn't matter. All I know is that our current situation sucks. And now we need to figure out how to fix it.”

Nobody spoke for at least thirty seconds. We all just stood there and watched our foggy exhales dissipate into the November night air. I realized then just how late it was. It was almost 9:00 p.m. now surely. Which meant my parents had probably discovered that I was gone, and were terrified. They might have even called the cops. But being blackmailed by an evil genius to betray a secret government Agency had a way of making me feel like the local cops mattered about as much as a bushel of kale.

“This is getting out of control,” Danielle said. “Can't you both see that?”

I nodded, but Dillon shook his head.

“Come on, Dillon,” I said. “Can't you see that, no matter who wins, everyone loses? Yes, if we don't stop the Agency, this Exodus Program could mean the end of privacy as we know it. But if we help Medlock get his hands on the program—”

“What?” Dillon interrupted. “He'll get his son back? Medlock rants all the time about how much he hates the
internet and cell phones and the way we're all connected, mostly due to how it gives organizations like the Agency and NSB a way to monitor what people are doing. He always says that he would just destroy the internet altogether if it were ever possible. So if he hated the internet so much, then why would he ever want a program powerful enough to take control of oh, wait, uh-oh . . .”

He trailed off. All three of us seemed to realize the same thing at the same time. Danielle was the first to say it aloud.

“Medlock wants to get the program so he can wipe out the internet entirely,” she said.

“The Exodus could effectively do it,” said Dillon.

“Can you imagine what would happen?” I said. “I mean, practically everything is connected to a single network. It would be the ultimate reset button that he's always talking about.”

“But if he does that,” Danielle said, “it's going to throw the entire world into chaos. People will get hurt. It will destroy life as we know it.”

Dillon slumped down onto the ground, shaking his head.

“Everything he said always made so much sense to me,” he said. “I can't believe I helped him this much. I
truly thought he wanted to do the right thing.”

“It's okay,” I said, sitting next to him. “Look, a lot of stuff he wants to do makes sense to me, too. And it's not as if the Agency is much better.”

“Stop your sulking!” Danielle said to us both. “Get up.” We both stood up. “We need to do something about this, right? The question now is, what?”

I leaned against a tree and shoved my hands in my pockets as we all thought about possible solutions. That's when my hand wrapped around a business card still there from the last time I wore these pants.

I knew exactly what we needed to do.