He smiled at the email response he saw on the screen. Only an hour prior, he had reached out to Mobius and asked to speak with him. The email contained nothing but a hyperlink ending in a “.to” extension instead of the American standard “.com” extension. Kruger recognized it as the Internet extension for the island kingdom of Tonga.

He clicked the link and video chat software began to load. When Mobius appeared on the screen, however, his face and body were blurred beyond all recognition, like he was merely some ghost in the machine. In an electronically altered voice, Mobius said, “I have to admit that, although little surprises me these days, I hadn’t expected to hear from you, old friend.”

Kruger wasted no time with pleasantries. He had no friends, only enemies and resources. “I’m sure that even now you have someone hunting for me,” he said. “It’s your way.”

“Your little nervous breakdown after the squatter camp incident cost me a lot of money. I don’t like to lose money. You broke three contracts with me, and I can’t tolerate that. What kind of message would that send to the rest of the network?”

“I fully understand your position, and I also know that you will never stop hunting me. I could kill one set of assassins, and more would follow.”

“Obviously. Are you coming to the point, Mr. Kruger? I’m a busy man, and you’re only one small checkmark on my to-do list. Please don’t tell me that this is the part where you tell me that you’re coming to kill me or beg for your life or some such nonsense.”

“No, I want to make you an offer.”

“Interesting. Proceed.”

“Did you receive the documents describing what we have stolen? It’s worth billions.”

“Yes, but a battery doesn’t interest me. You see I already have so much money wrapped up in the old infrastructure, oil and coal and power companies. It’s not something I would ever want to see on the market.”

“I’m aware. Which is why I’m offering to destroy it for you.”

Mobius’s blurred form seemed to steeple his fingers, although it was hard to tell. “Why would you do such a thing?”

“I want your blessing to be out of the game. I want my freedom without being hunted. In exchange, I will wait until the buyer is in possession of their prize, and I am in possession of their money. Then I will eliminate this threat to your investments.”

“What about the money?”

“I’m prepared to offer you ten percent of—”

“Twenty-five.”

Kruger was prepared for this and had been willing to go as high as fifty percent. There wasn’t much that he could do with $500 million that he couldn’t do with $250 million. But Mobius must have been in a generous mood.

“Agreed. Do you accept?”

“No.”

Kruger showed no reaction, but the word struck him like a physical blow. This had been the whole purpose of this mission, to pay off the price on his head while making enough money for him, his wife, and daughter to live out the rest of their days in luxury. If Mobius refused his offer …