“Like I said, I’ve known Abner for a very long time. We all know he has no fear, no equal except for that guy Phil he hacks with, so why would he suddenly be fearful? I think he found out something and maybe shared it with Snowden, and Abner is waiting for his buddy Phil to get back to him. Whatever it is, it must be pretty terrible. Let’s all remember where we are and how much money changes hands in this town every single day of the year.”

Fergus Duffy leaned forward. “What would you like us to do, Maggie?”

Maggie’s arms flapped in the air. “I don’t know. I just got here. Send someone to wake him up. If he left at two, then he’s had enough sleep. Someone call Snowden and see what he’s up to or what he can tell us. I know he just got here too, but usually he has people everywhere and has a bead on things while we’re still just thinking about it. Something. Anything. I know I’m not wrong. I know it!” she hissed.

Espinosa volunteered to head out to find Abner, while Charles could be seen pressing the digits on his special phone.

Maggie sucked in her breath and waited, watching Charles grimace as his call went to voice mail. She listened as he left a message for the old spy to return his call as soon as possible.

The room went silent.

Dennis broke the silence. “I could be wrong, and this is little more than a guess on my part, but I think Abner was on the dark web last night. I think he found out something that scared the bejesus out of him. Maggie’s right when she says she saw fear in his expression. I noticed it too, but at the time it simply didn’t register, and I haven’t known Abner as long as the rest of you. I think he found out something, and he’s reaching out to his friend Phil and maybe some other people he knows who . . . who are perhaps more proficient in dealing with the dark web. When you travel the dark web, you need to know what you’re doing, and if you just dabble in it, you can suddenly find yourself in a whole boatload of deep trouble. If he somehow managed to get to the underbelly of the dark side, then we all need to be concerned. That much I do know because I’ve heard the horror stories. This is just my opinion, so treat it as such.”

Maggie patted the young reporter’s arm to show she totally understood what he’d said.