BooksBarbecue
Back Point of Contact Save as PDF
Chapters (83)
  1. Cover
  2. ALSO BY TOM CLANCY
  3. PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. 52
  56. 53
  57. 54
  58. 55
  59. 56
  60. 57
  61. 58
  62. 59
  63. 60
  64. 61
  65. 62
  66. 63
  67. 64
  68. 65
  69. 66
  70. 67
  71. 68
  72. 69
  73. 70
  74. 71
  75. 72
  76. 73
  77. 74
  78. 75
  79. 76
  80. 77
  81. 78
  82. 79
  83. What’s next onyour reading list?

“If anything, the burner phones are just a way to make illegal payments to whoever is stealing the QC software. The Chinese are the buyers. I need to get back into that warehouse to see if I can find out who the seller is.”

“The warehouse that Lian says she didn’t know existed?” Paul asked. “How do you plan on getting in this time?”

Jack shrugged. “I’ll try and find a hall pass somewhere.”

“I wouldn’t do anything illegal if I were you. You’re not even sure there really is a problem. It could all just be a coincidence.”

“That’s why I need to get my hands on one of those phones.”

The elevator dinged and they got off.

Paul told Jack, “I need to catch up on some work in my office.”

“Me too. Let’s break at five and head home.”

42

Back in his office, Paul logged on to his computer, the conversation about quantum cryptography still swirling in his mind. Lucky for him, Dalfan computers weren’t quantum encrypted yet, but getting past the conventional encryption on the Dalfan drive was still going to be a challenge.

His handler, Bai, was situated at his desk, occasionally casting an eye on Paul but mostly paying attention to his own computer screen and grabbing refills of hot tea. Paul was a man of routine and he appreciated the routines of others, including Bai’s, and a few days of observation told Paul that after his third cup of tea, Bai would be heading to the restroom—which he did.

As soon as Bai cleared the bathroom door, Paul casually inserted into his laptop the Dalfan USB he was allowed to use while on premises. Paul knew that Gavin’s program would grab the encryption code on the Dalfan drive. Then all he’d have to do was load the Dalfan encryption passcode onto Rhodes’s drive and he’d be in business.

Gavin’s instructions said it would take several minutes to effect the capture but that his program would do the work automatically in the background. Paul wasn’t quite as worried about getting caught on this leg because he was authorized to have and use a Dalfan USB drive. He was just waiting for the dialogue box to appear that read CAPTURE COMPLETE before he could breathe a sigh of relief.

Four minutes and counting.

After hearing Dr. Heng’s discussion of an unhackable network, Paul was now glad he was part of the CIA’s effort to ensure that China wasn’t stealing this technology from Dalfan or finding a back door into America’s defense establishment. It made him feel that his mission was even more important than he had realized.

He just hoped he was up to the task.