“Fascinating. You wouldn’t think five miles an hour would be a threat to anyone.”

“It isn’t about the speed,” Herbert said. “It’s the idea of an assist. A marathon is supposed to be about physical endurance.”

“Have you ever won one, Mr. Herbert?”

“I’ve never lost,” Herbert replied.

Darling grinned. “I like that.”

Where the hell is that chime? Herbert wondered.

Darling walked back behind the chair. “I’m curious, Mr. Herbert. That’s a Ku-band uplink on the back of your chair.”

“That’s right,” Herbert said. Alarms began ringing inside his head. This was not good.

“Why do you need an antenna to send E-mail?”

“I don’t,” Herbert replied.

Darling bent slightly to get a better look at the box. “But I notice the light on the power box is lit.”

“Is it?”

“You didn’t know?”

“That must have been from earlier, at the fire outpost,” Herbert said. “I was downloading data.”

“No, that couldn’t be,” Darling said. “It was not on when you arrived.”

The outside security camera, Herbert realized with a jolt. He was watching their arrival.

“I must have turned it on by accident,” Herbert said, smiling again. His soul ached as he reached behind the wheelchair and shut the antenna off. That cut the link to Op-Center. He unplugged the cable from Darling’s telephone. He shut the computer, which would erase Matt Stoll’s program. There would be no evidence it had ever existed.

Unfortunately, the computer still had not pinged. That meant none of the data had been downloaded from the telephone. This whole enterprise had been a freaking waste of time. Or worse, it could hurt them if Darling suspected that they were here for something other than a stray koala. Herbert had had a choice to make. He had made it.

Darling came back around the front of the wheelchair. He folded his arms again and paced back and forth. Jervis Darling suddenly looked as impatient as Bob Herbert felt.

“You know, R. Clayton Herbert,” Darling said, “when people show up at odd hours for unusual reasons, it is typically a reporter hoping to get a story or a business rival trying to collect information. What is your reason, Mr. Herbert?”

“Actually, Mr. Darling, my reason is much more serious than nailing a story about you,” Herbert said.

“Ah.” Darling stopped pacing. He regarded Herbert. “You have the floor. And my attention.”