0692321314 (S) by Simone Pond Read Free Book Online Page A

you’ll need for your intelligence gathering. If Morray and Dickson are officially back, you’ll need to come up with a plan. Between the two of them, they could destroy everything we’ve worked so hard to build.”
    Joseph grabbed Ava’s hands. “The thing I fear the most is that you’ll never have peace—even if you find him.”
    Ava pulled away. “I’m sorry, Joseph, but I have to do this.”
    “I know I can’t stop you. Do what you have to do. You really take stubbornness to a new level.”
    “I thought that’s why you fell in love with me.” She smiled.
    “Just be careful,” he said.
    She ran off toward the main hall, turning back for one last wave. Joseph mockingly saluted her and turned back down the dirt path.
    *
    Inside the main hall, the last few stragglers meandered out. Ava waited until the room was empty and made her way through the darkness over to the loungers. She turned on the same machine Grace had used earlier. The glow from the monitor lit up and she studied the control panel for a few minutes, getting comfortable with the technology. It was similar to what she had been using over the years. Her searches had always left her longing for more, but she believed this would be different. She was so close to locating Morray that her hands trembled with excitement.
    Somewhere behind her, a door closed shut.
    “Hello?” she said.
    Sam walked over. “What are you doing here, Mrs. Strader?”
    “Oh, good. It’s you.”
    “You okay?”
    “I’m fine. Just wanted to test out the equipment,” she lied.
    “Test it for what?” Sam asked.
    She had promised Ms. Atwood she wouldn’t mention their conversation to anyone. But this was Sam. He’d spent the last two years assisting her with her searches, running errands for her, and keeping an eye on Grace. She could trust him. Couldn’t she? He had earned it. Besides, she could use the extra help with the new equipment. It’d be good to have a set of expert eyes on the monitor while she was wandering around inside the mainframe.
    “Sit down. I need to tell you something,” she said.
    Sam sat down on one of the loungers. “All ears,” he said.
    “Earlier when Grace was inside the mainframe, she might’ve come across a set of digital footprints. Not the archive files. Not any ghost trails. An actual track left behind from an identity matrix. She found something, and my gut tells me it’s Morray.”
    Sam readjusted himself in the chair. “So, she spotted some activity?”
    “She found something unusual, only I don’t know what. Which is why I want to go back in and explore. This could mean both Morray and Dickson have resurfaced. They could be out there, anywhere. I want to follow the trail and see where it leads.”
    “I don’t understand how you’ve been searching for years and haven’t hit anything concrete, but Grace was able to accomplish this during a five-minute test? This has to be a fluke.” Sam turned to the monitor, pulled up Grace’s results, and scrolled through lines of coding.
    “She couldn’t have known what she was doing. It’s almost as if she was deliberately brought to that location. As though Morray intentionally led her there to get my attention. That’s why I want to go back in and finish what was started.”
    “Are you sure it’s safe? You’re not familiar with this equipment.”
    “You can help me figure it out.”
    “It’s not the right time.”
    “What are you talking about?” Ava asked, confused.
    “I just don’t want you to get lost in there.”
    Ava didn’t have time to argue with Sam. Every passing second was another lost opportunity. If she didn’t do the search now and get some more definitive answers, she’d have to wait until they were in Silicon Valley.
    “I’m doing this with or without you, Sam. The right time is right now.”
    “I apologize, Mrs. Strader. I understand the importance of getting back in while the trail is hot. Give me a second to figure out the tech so I can