Page 109 of Code 6

“Call it what you want. It’s irrational. It borders on sociopathic.”

“Let’s not get carried away.”

“He knows things at Buck Technologies that are dark to you. And yet,heresentsyou. That’s a sociopath. Even Patrick’s kidnapper knows that, to get the code he wants, he needs to talk to Jeremy Peel.”

Her words were more hurtful than intended, but before Kate could apologize, her father naturally got defensive—which, for the likes of Christian Gamble, meant going on the offensive.

“How do you know I can’t deliver what they want?”

“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

“Try me,” he said, digging in for the sake of his own dignity. “Exactly what is the kidnapper demanding from Buck?”

“Code.”

“What code?”

“All I know is what Patrick told me on the phone.”

“Patrick’s super smart, but there’s no way he recited code from memory.”

“No. I mean the words he used to describe it.”

“Project Naïveté?”

“No. Code Six.”

His expression went blank. “I guess you made your point. Never heard of it. But that doesn’t dilute my point. The thing that really drives Jeremy nuts is that peoplethinkwe have the same security clearance. Which, of course, makes certain people think that if they want to bring down me and my company, all they have to do is steal my credentials.”

Kate was pretty sure who he meant by “people.”

“You mean Sandra Levy?”

“No,” he said, pausing for an instant, as if not sure he should continue. “I mean your mother.”

Kate’s mouth was agape. “Mom stole your credentials?”

“No. But she tried.”

“Why?”

“I call it the sequel to her call to nine-one-one.”

“She just wanted to hurt you?”

He sighed at the size of the question. “Kate, in any marriage, there are two sides to every story. I don’t see a malicious woman who was just trying to hurt me. I see an alcoholic—someone with a diseased mind—expressing herself in the most desperate way possible and saying, ‘Hey, remember me? I’m your wife.’”

“What happened with her breach of security?”

“We handled it internally. That’s all I can tell you. But I can assure you that she got nowhere near this Code Six, whatever it is.”

“If it makes you feel any better, Mr. Peel has never heard of Code Six, either.”

“Or he simply won’t admit to it.”

“I’m fairly certain he’s not feigning ignorance.”

Her father shook his head. “With his security credentials? Don’t kid yourself. He’s telling you that because, whatever Code Six is, he can’t deliver it as Patrick’s ransom.”