Hush-Hush (Stone Barrington #56) - Stuart Woods Page 0,2

buying that.”

“And look at Dino,” Viv said. “He’s just scored some big point. So Stone’s ox has probably been gored.”

“We’re not talking,” Dino said smugly.

“Stone?” Holly said.

“Dino’s not talking.”

“Dino,” Viv said, “you’re going to tell me.”

“If I feel like it,” Dino replied airily.

“You may want to reconsider your position.”

“It’s Stone’s problem. He can tell you, if he wants.”

“It’s something I’d rather keep to myself,” Stone said firmly. “For the moment.”

* * *

—

Later, Holly crawled into bed with Stone and slung a leg over his. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me?”

“I’ll handle it myself,” Stone replied, giving her a long kiss.

“You’re trying to distract me from the subject?” she said.

Stone kissed her again and threw in a caress to a place she loved. “Is it working?”

It was working.

* * *

—

Stone arrived at his desk the following morning, approximately on time, and his secretary, Joan, knocked and came in. “We don’t have any computers,” she said. “Just black screens. Nothing works. Shall I call somebody?”

Stone thought about that: if he said no, he’d never hear the end of it. He handed her the sheet of paper.

She read it carefully. “There’s nothing pertaining to you, explicitly. He doesn’t use your name, address, or phone number. It’s a scam. He sent out a zillion of these, and it’s just a phishing expedition. Don’t bite.”

Stone said nothing.

“You bit,” she said firmly.

“I only told him to go fuck himself.”

“Hook, line, and sinker,” she said.

“Hardly that.”

“Now he knows you exist. Before, you were just a file name among millions he stole from some mailing list. And it never hurts not to be disrespectful. What’s in it for you to piss him off?”

“You’re exaggerating the problem,” Stone said. “From now on, I’ll just ignore him.”

His computer made a rude buzzing noise, and he and Joan both looked at the screen.

Now, it’s a million and a half.

Stone swung around and aimed for the keyboard. Joan took hold of his chair and held him back. “Don’t, you’ll just make it worse!”

“How could it be worse?” Stone asked.

“Well, he could be listening to our conversation.”

Stone opened his mouth to speak, and he clapped a hand over it.

“Shush.”

Stone nodded and removed his hand.

Joan whispered in his ear, “Call Lance.”

3

Stone did not want to make this call. Every time he asked Lance Cabot for something, there were repercussions. Lance always wanted something in return, and it was usually more than he had given Stone, or more than Stone wanted to give him. He dialed the number.

“Good morning, Stone,” Lance said in his silken baritone and New England accent.

“Good morning, Lance,” Stone replied.

“What may the Central Intelligence Agency do for you this fine day?”

“I have a problem, one that involves the Agency, you specifically.”

“I don’t much like the sound of that,” Lance said.

“Neither do I, but there it is.”

“There what is?”

“There is an attempt at extortion, concerning the computer systems in my home and office.”

“Let me guess. Someone claims to have made a movie of you masturbating to a porno movie.”

“Not that one. No grounds.”

“If you say so.”

“I do say so.”

“What then?”

“Someone has frozen my computers and threatens to destroy and expose their contents unless I pay him one and a half million dollars in Bitcoin.”

“I don’t see the problem,” Lance said. “You surely have that many dollars to spare. Our investigation of your background shows that you do. Pay the extra two cents.”

This was from an old Yiddish joke dating to the days of vaudeville, but Stone didn’t bite. “If it were only two cents, I still wouldn’t pay it.”

“Oh, Stone, you choose the oddest times to become a man of principle. Why do I care what happens to your computers?”

“Because there are many communications and documents from you lodged on their hard drives,” Stone said. “The man purports to have read all my important information, and one assumes this would include all those little love letters of yours and the details of a number of Agency operations, some of which may still be running.”

Lance took a moment of silence for that to soak in. “We are not going to give your extortionist one and a half million dollars in Bitcoin,” he said.

“As I’ve said, neither am I. So where does that leave us?”

“Where do you think it leaves us?” Lance snapped.

“It leaves you worse off than me.”

This stopped Lance for a full ten seconds. “Are you threatening me, Stone?”

“No, an extortionist is threatening you—and, of course, me, as well.”

“What do you propose I should do about this situation?”

“Well,” Stone