“I got it,” said Pia. “There is something you can help me with.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“When we first met, you told me you liked to play around with computer code, yes?”

“I may have said that, yes.” Paul sounded wary.

“Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to hack into anything. But I need to get past the iris scanners at Nano. When I tried to cross the bridge from my building to the neighboring building, an iris scanner wouldn’t allow me access. Is there some way I can dupe such a scanner without smashing it with a hammer? It has to be something that might look like the scanner made an honest mistake if I got caught.”

“Are these scanners manned?”

“What you mean?”

“I mean is there a security person standing there watching you when you stand in front of it?”

“Some but not all,” Pia said. “On the first floor of my building there are certainly security people, but they have never paid any attention when I go through the scanner. And when I tried but failed to get past a scanner blocking the door to the bridge from my building to the next, there was no security person.”

“I think I can help you, in that case,” said Paul. It sounded as if it might be illegal, but only if he was the one to break in somewhere he didn’t have a right to have access to. It also sounded like a fun challenge, the type he used to love when he was in high school. “My understanding is that an iris scanner uses mathematical pattern-recognition techniques that take advantage of the fact that people’s irises are as different from one another as fingerprints. I’ll tell you what, I’ll look into it for you.”

“Thanks, Paul, that’s great.”

“Listen, I don’t want to pour cold water on this, but it sounds dangerous. Do you think it’s a good idea?”

Pia rolled her eyes. Paul was channeling George.

“I’m going to try whether you’ll help me or not.”

“I figured you’d say something like that. I’ll see what I can find out.”

Chapter 25

25.

NANO, LLC, BOULDER, COLORADO

THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2013, 2:15 P.M.

Mariel Spallek made a point of checking her watch when Pia walked into the lab at 2:15. “You’re late,” she said. “I thought you said you’d be here by two P.M.” She turned her attention back to the ledger book spread out on her desk.

“You said two P.M., not me. You’re lucky I’m here at all, the way I feel. I’m certainly allowed a sick day.” Pia had reached the end of her rope with Mariel. She wasn’t used to taking the kind of aggressive manhandling and nitpicking that Mariel was subjecting her to without pushing back.