“You’re going to stay with this for six months?” said Devin.

“I’m here for as long as it takes to hit a home run or strike out. Whichever comes first,” said Berg. “If it takes us six months to compile what we need to take this network down, looks like I’m eating crab cake sandwiches instead of Gulf shrimp—and rooting for the Orioles. That’s true dedication.”

“This all comes too easy for you,” said Devin. “You don’t look worried at all.”

“This is all a practiced act I’ve mastered over three decades of uninterrupted fear and anxiety. Most of those spent looking over my shoulder. I don’t see this ending well—for either of us, frankly—but I’ve thought the same thing before, more times than I can count. And I’m still here. They say I have nine lives.”

“I want to feel reassured by that, but I’m afraid to ask how many lives you might have left,” said Devin.

“It really doesn’t matter. I don’t plan on loaning you any. No offense,” said Berg, patting him on the shoulder. “How are you planning on booking and paying for the Airbnb? We have to assume the sleeper network has access to the same kind of data tracing the FBI would use to track a suspect. We can’t use credit cards, enter names into hotel systems—or anywhere, for that matter. We need to remain off the grid for as long as possible.”

“I could create a fake account and use the five-hundred-dollar gift cards,” said Devin. “But Airbnb could ask me to verify my identity, which would require me to take a picture of my ID and possibly a picture of myself to match to the ID. They’re hit or miss with that, and I don’t have a fake ID, anyway, so it’s a moot point. I was thinking of maybe asking someone from my last job. I don’t really know anyone at MINERVA well enough.”

“I strongly suggest we leave the FBI out of this,” said Berg. “Same with family and any friends you’re in regular contact with. We don’t know how long the Russians have been keeping an eye on you. We’re looking for a friend that you haven’t seen in a while that would do you a favor, or the kind of friend you see every five years and it’s like nothing’s changed. You’re best friends again.”