herself. She took a sip of her coffee and tried to keep the tears from forming in her eyes.
Maria added, “Cindy? It’s okay. We need his help.”
Cindy nodded.
“Dr. Moore, you told me about how there’s 500 times more information out there on the Internet than Google knows about. The DarkNet.”
He nodded. “I thought this meeting might be something to do with that. Sometimes I think I should keep my big mouth shut. But, that would be censorship of a kind, and I can’t abide with that. What happened?”
He smiled and reminded Cindy more of her grandfather now than her father, which was good. She’d always loved her grandfather.
She started talking, and once the first few words came out of her mouth, it was like a flood. She’d wanted help so badly but had no way to ask.
“I used that software you told me about, Tor, and I found so many things. It’s been awful and wonderful and terrible and I found somebody who would help me. I needed to believe somehow I could escape, could finally get away from my husband, Tony. I needed my daughter, Avril, and me to be away from him. But, the only way to really do that was to have somebody kill him, and I found this guy who would do it, but now he’s blackmailing me and has been threatening my little girl.”
Then the tears started streaming down her face, and she choked giant sobs as Maria hugged her.
The man didn’t move, just waited while Maria comforted her friend. It took several minutes for Cindy to calm down enough to face him.
“I don’t know what to do.”
He nodded and patted her hand.
“Let’s start with the basics. How do you know it’s a man?”
“What?”
“You said ‘he’ is blackmailing you. How do you know it’s a he?”
“He was at a chess tournament my daughter was at. He talked to her and bought her an ice cream.”
“And you’re sure that was him?”
“Of course it was fucking him! He e-mailed me about it.”
The man nodded.
“Tell me again, from the beginning. Everything. Your story was a bit confusing, and I need to know what you really have gotten yourself into.”
Cindy did. She talked about how she’d gotten connected to the Manipulator and their chats together, how he’d found out who she was by pattern recognition software, and how he was demanding the $250,000 now.
“It’s an unusual case,” he said. “When you first contacted him, he might have known you were in the U.S., but you could have been pretty much anywhere. How did he know you were in Seattle? That’s a big question, but let’s set that aside for a moment. He likely moved here, which wouldn’t make sense for the initial $25,000, so he planned all along to raise the stakes. It’d be worth his while to come here for a quarter of a million.”
Maria asked, “What can she do to stop him?”
The man shook his head. “I think it’s too late for that.”
“What?” Cindy whispered. “What do you mean?”
“What choice do you really have? You either pay him the money or you call the police. If you pay the money, he’ll just demand more after that. You can’t get rid of a rabid bulldog attached to your leg, unless you have a rifle. I doubt you want to go to the police, unfortunately.”
“What are you saying?”
“Evil people live and work on the dark side of the Internet. Some of them have done so many terrible things, you wouldn’t believe it. It’s where truly wicked people now do their business. The only suggestion I have is to pay him and hope he actually leaves you alone.”
“I don’t have that much money!”
The man nodded. “I was afraid you’d say that. In that case, I suggest you run. Take your little girl and hide somewhere that he can never find you. South America or Japan or Austria. Just go and don’t tell a soul where you’re going.”
Cindy stared at him and once again tears started to drop from her eyes.
* * *
Assassins Inc.
The Manipulator loved the name of his company. It sounded so
Maria added, “Cindy? It’s okay. We need his help.”
Cindy nodded.
“Dr. Moore, you told me about how there’s 500 times more information out there on the Internet than Google knows about. The DarkNet.”
He nodded. “I thought this meeting might be something to do with that. Sometimes I think I should keep my big mouth shut. But, that would be censorship of a kind, and I can’t abide with that. What happened?”
He smiled and reminded Cindy more of her grandfather now than her father, which was good. She’d always loved her grandfather.
She started talking, and once the first few words came out of her mouth, it was like a flood. She’d wanted help so badly but had no way to ask.
“I used that software you told me about, Tor, and I found so many things. It’s been awful and wonderful and terrible and I found somebody who would help me. I needed to believe somehow I could escape, could finally get away from my husband, Tony. I needed my daughter, Avril, and me to be away from him. But, the only way to really do that was to have somebody kill him, and I found this guy who would do it, but now he’s blackmailing me and has been threatening my little girl.”
Then the tears started streaming down her face, and she choked giant sobs as Maria hugged her.
The man didn’t move, just waited while Maria comforted her friend. It took several minutes for Cindy to calm down enough to face him.
“I don’t know what to do.”
He nodded and patted her hand.
“Let’s start with the basics. How do you know it’s a man?”
“What?”
“You said ‘he’ is blackmailing you. How do you know it’s a he?”
“He was at a chess tournament my daughter was at. He talked to her and bought her an ice cream.”
“And you’re sure that was him?”
“Of course it was fucking him! He e-mailed me about it.”
The man nodded.
“Tell me again, from the beginning. Everything. Your story was a bit confusing, and I need to know what you really have gotten yourself into.”
Cindy did. She talked about how she’d gotten connected to the Manipulator and their chats together, how he’d found out who she was by pattern recognition software, and how he was demanding the $250,000 now.
“It’s an unusual case,” he said. “When you first contacted him, he might have known you were in the U.S., but you could have been pretty much anywhere. How did he know you were in Seattle? That’s a big question, but let’s set that aside for a moment. He likely moved here, which wouldn’t make sense for the initial $25,000, so he planned all along to raise the stakes. It’d be worth his while to come here for a quarter of a million.”
Maria asked, “What can she do to stop him?”
The man shook his head. “I think it’s too late for that.”
“What?” Cindy whispered. “What do you mean?”
“What choice do you really have? You either pay him the money or you call the police. If you pay the money, he’ll just demand more after that. You can’t get rid of a rabid bulldog attached to your leg, unless you have a rifle. I doubt you want to go to the police, unfortunately.”
“What are you saying?”
“Evil people live and work on the dark side of the Internet. Some of them have done so many terrible things, you wouldn’t believe it. It’s where truly wicked people now do their business. The only suggestion I have is to pay him and hope he actually leaves you alone.”
“I don’t have that much money!”
The man nodded. “I was afraid you’d say that. In that case, I suggest you run. Take your little girl and hide somewhere that he can never find you. South America or Japan or Austria. Just go and don’t tell a soul where you’re going.”
Cindy stared at him and once again tears started to drop from her eyes.
* * *
Assassins Inc.
The Manipulator loved the name of his company. It sounded so
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