Page 135 of Code 6

“Because it’snotreal?” asked Liu.

“No.”

“You screwed me once. Why should I believe you this time?”

“I didn’t screw you. It was a mistake.”

“A mistake? Hardly. You took our money and changed your mind.”

“You got what you bargained for.”

“What we bargained for was the same set of tools you delivered to the CIA. What happened, Jeremy? Did you suddenly get patriotic? Oh, sure, it’s okay for Uncle Sam to scrape the digital world and build personal-sentiment profiles on each and every American who uses social media. But put that same power in the hands of a foreign government? No way. That’s where Jeremy Peel draws the moral line.”

“That’s enough,” said Peel.

“It was pointless to screw us, Jeremy. You said it yourself. If you didn’t sell it to us, we’d steal it from you.”

Peel wrapped the flash drive in his fist. “Fuck you. The deal’s off.”

“Don’t make us steal it, Jeremy.”

“You’re gonna have to.”

“Suit yourself.”

In a sudden blur of motion, Liu reached under the table, grabbed the pistol he’d fastened to the underside with Velcro an hour earlier, and squeezed off two quick shots. The first hit the bodyguard, and the second was for Peel. The silencer muffled the gunshots, and before Olga could scream, Liu covered her mouth with his hand.

“Scream and you die.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man running toward him like a charging bull, and Liu quickly surmised that Peel had violated the “one bodyguard” limit. He pulled Olga out of the booth, used her asa human shield, and fired a shot that dropped the charging bull in its tracks. The silencer kept the matter quiet, but the splatter of blood on the dance floor triggered screams of panic. The salsa music continued as men and women ran for their lives, stampeding toward the exit. Liu grabbed Olga by the arm and ran to the fire exit, setting off the alarm as they pushed through the door.

“I’m hit!”

Enrique’s words came loud and clear over Kate’s phone, hitting her like a punch to the gut. “How bad?” she asked.

“Got me in the shoulder. No major organs. He took Olga down the fire escape. Red dress. Alley behind the building. Go!”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, go! Don’t lose them! If they make it to Siloé, even the police won’t follow!”

Diego hit the gas, and as the car whipped around the corner, a topless Jeep shot out of the alley in front of them. Olga’s red dress was unmissable.

“That’s them!” shouted Kate.

The Jeep sped up, and Diego was in pursuit.

“They’re heading for Siloé,” he said.

“Just like Enrique said they would.”

“You have to decide right now, Kate. Let them go, or stay with them.”

The Jeep continued toward the hillside barrio, speeding along a narrow street that ran beneath the gondola to Siloé.

“Follow them!” said Kate.

Chapter 63