my own. I’ll probably have a bunch of questions for you when you’re back on Wednesday.”
“But to access—”
“Frankenstein,” Cassie asked, “how am I set for access?”
“Your account privileges are the same as Trevor’s,” came the rumbling answer.
She smiled at me. “See you Wednesday.”
CHAPTER 17
T he half-moon was high in the sky when I pulled my Mustang into the parking lot. Four plumes of steam rose from the geothermal plant’s cooling towers and drifted across the night sky overhead. The dark bulk of the lab building blotted out the stars, cutting off the view of the lake to the south. A few cars were scattered about the lot, but most personnel were home and snug in their beds. I looked at the dashboard clock—1:06 a.m.—turned off the engine, and got out.
Key card in hand, I headed for the lab doors but then stopped and looked east. The Navy buildings were dark for the most part, and the few personnel on guard duty would be focused on the perimeter.
Now was as good a time as any.
Three minutes later, I stood on the porch of the single-story enlisted men’s club. The windows were dark. I took a quick glance around to make sure that no one could see me, and then I grabbed the top of the window frame, placed the toes of my high-tops on the lower edge, and boosted myself onto the sill.
I let go and leaped for the edge of the roof, grabbed it, and pulled myself up. Staying crouched, I crossed the tarred rooftop to crouch where the HVAC ducts, telecom equipment, and air-conditioning unit projected above the flat surface.
I looked west, and raised my gaze to the corner of the distant lab building, silhouetted against the sky’s faint glow. Keeping the corner in sight, I lowered my head until the edge of a duct blocked my view, then raised it an inch or two.
Squatting and keeping my eyes at that height, I shuffled around in a circle, checking sightlines until I was satisfied. But just to be sure, I untied one of my shoes, took off the sock, and put the shoe back on. I tied the white sock around one of the pipes. Tomorrow I would do a visual check from several places around the base, to confirm that it wasn’t visible.
Making sure I was unobserved, I jumped down and headed for the lab.
Time to get some work done.
Nearing the lab building, I glanced into the parking lot again. Something silver, glimmering in the moonlight, had caught my eye: a car near mine that hadn’t been there when I arrived. After four years at Pyramid Lake, I usually recognized all the cars I saw in the lot, and even knew who most of them belonged to.
This one was unfamiliar.
I drew closer. Toyota Prius. My stomach tightened. I knew whose it was, even before the California license plate and the Caltech sticker in the window confirmed it.
Cassie.
I stood next to my car for a long time, arms dangling at my sides, staring at the dark shape of the lab building and thinking. Should I go in and confront her? But she had just as much right to be here as I did.
What if I found her messing with Frankenstein’s code, changing things without consulting me?
It was suddenly hard to breathe.
No. She was just getting a jump start on understanding the codebase so she could sound smarter when we talked Wednesday. To intimidate me with how fast she was coming up to speed. It was what I would have done.
Either way, I wasn’t going to get any coding done tonight.
“This isn’t going to work,” I said aloud.
I thought about it some more. Maybe there was another reason Cassie needed to burn the midnight electrons. The image of a calendar came back to me again, unbidden—a date not far in the future circled in red.
My termination date.
“McNulty,” I said.
I got in my car and drove home.
CHAPTER 18
R oger held his door open a few inches, blinking at me through the gap. Tufts of hair stuck out from his head, straight up and sideways. He was only wearing boxers, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.
“Fuck, man,” he
“But to access—”
“Frankenstein,” Cassie asked, “how am I set for access?”
“Your account privileges are the same as Trevor’s,” came the rumbling answer.
She smiled at me. “See you Wednesday.”
CHAPTER 17
T he half-moon was high in the sky when I pulled my Mustang into the parking lot. Four plumes of steam rose from the geothermal plant’s cooling towers and drifted across the night sky overhead. The dark bulk of the lab building blotted out the stars, cutting off the view of the lake to the south. A few cars were scattered about the lot, but most personnel were home and snug in their beds. I looked at the dashboard clock—1:06 a.m.—turned off the engine, and got out.
Key card in hand, I headed for the lab doors but then stopped and looked east. The Navy buildings were dark for the most part, and the few personnel on guard duty would be focused on the perimeter.
Now was as good a time as any.
Three minutes later, I stood on the porch of the single-story enlisted men’s club. The windows were dark. I took a quick glance around to make sure that no one could see me, and then I grabbed the top of the window frame, placed the toes of my high-tops on the lower edge, and boosted myself onto the sill.
I let go and leaped for the edge of the roof, grabbed it, and pulled myself up. Staying crouched, I crossed the tarred rooftop to crouch where the HVAC ducts, telecom equipment, and air-conditioning unit projected above the flat surface.
I looked west, and raised my gaze to the corner of the distant lab building, silhouetted against the sky’s faint glow. Keeping the corner in sight, I lowered my head until the edge of a duct blocked my view, then raised it an inch or two.
Squatting and keeping my eyes at that height, I shuffled around in a circle, checking sightlines until I was satisfied. But just to be sure, I untied one of my shoes, took off the sock, and put the shoe back on. I tied the white sock around one of the pipes. Tomorrow I would do a visual check from several places around the base, to confirm that it wasn’t visible.
Making sure I was unobserved, I jumped down and headed for the lab.
Time to get some work done.
Nearing the lab building, I glanced into the parking lot again. Something silver, glimmering in the moonlight, had caught my eye: a car near mine that hadn’t been there when I arrived. After four years at Pyramid Lake, I usually recognized all the cars I saw in the lot, and even knew who most of them belonged to.
This one was unfamiliar.
I drew closer. Toyota Prius. My stomach tightened. I knew whose it was, even before the California license plate and the Caltech sticker in the window confirmed it.
Cassie.
I stood next to my car for a long time, arms dangling at my sides, staring at the dark shape of the lab building and thinking. Should I go in and confront her? But she had just as much right to be here as I did.
What if I found her messing with Frankenstein’s code, changing things without consulting me?
It was suddenly hard to breathe.
No. She was just getting a jump start on understanding the codebase so she could sound smarter when we talked Wednesday. To intimidate me with how fast she was coming up to speed. It was what I would have done.
Either way, I wasn’t going to get any coding done tonight.
“This isn’t going to work,” I said aloud.
I thought about it some more. Maybe there was another reason Cassie needed to burn the midnight electrons. The image of a calendar came back to me again, unbidden—a date not far in the future circled in red.
My termination date.
“McNulty,” I said.
I got in my car and drove home.
CHAPTER 18
R oger held his door open a few inches, blinking at me through the gap. Tufts of hair stuck out from his head, straight up and sideways. He was only wearing boxers, and it wasn’t a pretty sight.
“Fuck, man,” he
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