BooksBarbecue
Back The Short Drop Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication
  4. CONTENTS
  5. START READING
  6. PART ONE
  7. CHAPTER ONE
  8. CHAPTER TWO
  9. CHAPTER THREE
  10. CHAPTER FOUR
  11. CHAPTER FIVE
  12. CHAPTER SIX
  13. CHAPTER SEVEN
  14. CHAPTER EIGHT
  15. CHAPTER NINE
  16. CHAPTER TEN
  17. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  18. CHAPTER TWELVE
  19. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  20. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  21. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  22. PART TWO
  23. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  24. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  25. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  26. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  34. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  35. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  36. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  45. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  46. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  49. PART THREE
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  55. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  56. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  57. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  58. CHAPTER FIFTY
  59. EPILOGUE
  60. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  61. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gibson ignored him. WR8TH had built himself a back door into Tate’s computer and had been flying it remotely like a drone. WR8TH had downloaded data from ACG through Tate’s computer, left a copy on the hard drive for them to find, and walked away clean. The real WR8TH could have been a thousand miles away, or he could have been at the next park table.

It was smooth. But Gibson still couldn’t see what WR8TH’s game was. It was a big chance to take ten years after you’d gotten away with it. What was so valuable that he was willing to risk capture?

What he did know was that WR8TH hadn’t found it yet. Triggering Gibson’s virus today proved that. It wasn’t an accident, and he hadn’t done it to protect Tate. Tate was a pawn. Triggering the virus meant that WR8TH still wanted to play. Gibson just needed to figure out how to play back.

He stood to go.

“Come on, man, I know you figured something out.”

Gibson passed his remaining provisions through to Tate. A bottle of water, a granola bar, and an apple.

“I didn’t do nothing. You know it.”

Gibson turned to leave.

“Nothing is an awful big word.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Officer Patricia M. Daniels was not particularly happy to see them. She looked Jenn and Hendricks up and down and went back to hunting and pecking at her keyboard.

“Usually we handle this sort of thing by written request. Do you know that? We take the Right-to-Know Law very seriously. Very seriously,” Patricia explained without looking up. “We have an Internet portal so that the general public, that would be you, can submit your request online.”

“We understand that.”

“There’s a system, see? I get to people in order,” Patricia said. “I have a stack of requests right here. And I told your Mr. Abe that. I did. But your Mr. Abe, he has to have it today. ASAP. He’s so important, what does it matter if there’s a g-d system or not? And I told him as much. But then he gets on with Frank,” she said, gesturing back toward the sheriff’s office. “And in five minutes, Frank is out here telling me I’ve got to drop everything and accommodate you people.”

“We really do appreciate it,” Jenn said.

Hendricks looked out the window.

“To serve and protect,” said Patricia.

The records room was in the basement, but her desk was on the second floor. “They tried to put me down there with the records, but it’s biblical dusty down there. Ain’t fit for a dog,” she said. “I told Frank as much. Told him he should try it and see how his asthma likes it.”