I nod. “If he comes up with several thousand matches he can have an automated system hit them with messages or e-mails from other accounts asking if they were adopted.”

It’s a scary thought. He could find a large supply of split-up twins who never knew they had a sister or brother. From a forensic point of view, there’s little we could say that would dispute the idea that they’re the same person. The DNA would pass in a court of law. There are other markers, like surface methylation, but we don’t have reliable forensic tests for that.

“What about Swanson?” asks Ailes.

“He doesn’t need to be a genetic match. Just an identical appearance. He used the system to find Chloe and her twin by crunching millions of images. That probably took some time. For the original Avenger pilot, all he needed was a similar face. That’s as easy as uploading a photo of the pilot.”

“Of course,” Ailes agrees. “I’m convinced. But . . .”

If we can’t prove our twin hypothesis, when word gets out that the girl who burned in the fire is an exact genetic match to Chloe, the Warlock wins. People will think he’s the real thing.

We can’t let him.

“You have to let me go to Texas and talk to the owner of Faceplaced. We need to find out what kind of data is amassed on the other side of this screen. We need those server logs. The Warlock used it to find Chloe, her twin, and a physical double for the lost pilot. I’m sure he’s going to want to use this gimmick again. It’s too good. It’s too damn good!”

Ailes pulls out his phone. “I’ll do you one better. This is critical. I think there’s a jet ready to go. We can have you in Texas in two hours. And if the director doesn’t go for it, then I’ll have Gerald pretend to be him to get you permission.” I think the last part was a joke. I think.

I slide my laptop into my bag and head for the airfield as the flight gets arranged. We’re close. So much closer than the Warlock realizes.

28

AFTER THE JET reaches cruising altitude I call Ailes on the satellite phone. It feels a little weird being on the plane by myself. When I flew back from Fort Lauderdale, I shared it with some forensic people bringing samples back to Quantico. This feels almost excessive. I tell myself it’s not a waste. The fuel, the pilots, all of the expense is worth it if we can stop the Warlock. That’s to say, this is worth it if I can persuade this programmer to help us out.

Getting the data from that website is now more critical than ever. I’m convinced the Warlock’s next victim is in there somewhere. The Warlock is too smart to be traced through there. It only takes a minute to download software that essentially makes you invisible online. It’s like a library; even if you don’t know who checked out what books, knowing what books were looked at can tell you a lot.