Carter, on the other hand, seemed to want to discover all the ins and outs of the business model. Burke merely followed on Carter’s heels like a shadow, trying not to be noticed by anyone while playing on his iPad.

“Well, if there are no more questions …” Loria said.

“Oh, I have a few more,” Carter said, pulling a pack of Mentos from his pocket and popping one in his mouth. He offered them around, but no one else partook.

He continued, “What about the controversy over your Delete option?”

Loria smiled like a great white shark. “I really wouldn’t call it a controversy, and it is perfectly legal. We simply offer the option for people to discretely and completely dispose of the contents of their box. This is usually done when a client cancels service.”

Carter made a note in a small leather-bound notebook. “And how are the contents disposed of?”

“They are melted down or burned by one of our disposal specialists, depending on the contents.”

“So what information is required to acquire a GoBox of my own?”

“It’s a very simple process. You fill out your client info, payment options, and chose the size of box that meets your needs.”

“But I’ve heard that you can pay cash up front and rent a box anonymously?”

“That is an option, but certainly not one we encourage. But as long as the client has a matching thumb scan, retinal scan, and knows their eight-character passcode, then they can rent and access a GoBox. And all of that is perfectly legal.”

Carter rolled the Mentos around in his mouth and pursed his lips. “But say I had just killed someone. I could come in here, rent a box anonymously, place the murder weapon in the box, and choose your Delete option to have one of your—what did you call them—’disposal specialists’ eradicate that evidence from existence?”

“The client signs a detailed agreement that prohibits storing any firearms, explosives, narcotics, stolen property, etc.”

“And how is that policy enforced?”

“We have a scanner for explosive residue.”

“That’s great,” Carter said. “What about firearms or narcotics? Do you have dogs checking the boxes?”

“All of our GoBoxes are airtight.”

“So it’s the honor system?”

“We take such violations of our policies very seriously.”

Carter cocked his head in confusion. “So you’re saying that I could anonymously rent a box, drop a couple kilos of cocaine in there, and you’ll transport it across state lines for me, and even deliver it right to my doorstep.”

Mr. Yoshida stepped toward Carter and said, “You’re out of line. GoBox is not on trial here. They’re the victim in this.”

Carter matched gazes with the CIA agent. After a moment, he said, “That’s what bothers me. Victim of what? Why did a group of mercenaries take over that facility? It’s my understanding that the vault where the boxes are stored is inaccessible.”

“That’s correct,” Loria said. “The system for retrieving the boxes is automated and requires the owner’s thumbprint, retinal scan, and code in order for the box to be retrieved from the vault.”