Zero Day, стр. 21
“Is Telemachus worth that much?”
“And more.”
“Are you hoping to replace Molyneux?” Yona thought that Ulysses wanted that position.
“I already have.”
“It’s greed, isn’t it? You want to rule the world, and you don’t want to share the throne with Issachar.”
“I’m already sitting on the throne.” Reuel stroked his trimmed beard.
“So you have Telemachus all to yourself. Happy now?”
“Very much so.” Reuel slapped his own thighs. “It’s a happy day today.”
“At the expense of someone else’s life.”
“We make sacrifices.”
“As long as the sacrifice is not yours?” Yona could see that if she continued that way, jabbing at his conscience, he might snap. She needed to calm him down. “So Issachar was your sacrifice at the altar of power.”
“That might have been his reason for existence.”
“May I see his body?”
“It’s being disposed of.”
“What if that wasn’t him on the floor?”
“It was. Trust me.”
Yona stretched out her legs on the thin mattress. Her ankle didn’t hurt anymore. “People have ‘died’ and then come to life. Vivek and Danika for example. How?”
“We hid them—Issachar and I. Hacked into the DNA labs and changed the data to match the dead stand-ins.”
“Who hacked?” Yona hoped it wasn’t Kelvin.
“Well, we have people.”
“Are they still around?”
No reply.
“Maybe stashed away for another day.”
“Maybe.”
“So how do we know you aren’t hiding Issachar somewhere?”
Reuel laughed. “You know me better than that. Does a throne have two kings?”
“Does a serpent have two heads?”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“I don’t either.” Yona dared not make eye contact. “You know, I wonder if, in the process of hunting down Israel’s enemies, you have now become one.”
“Me? Nah. I’m everybody’s enemy, not only Israel’s. In fact, sometimes I’m my own enemy.”
Yona had to agree with him. Estranged from his own wife of fifty years and his three sons who didn’t want to have anything to do with his activities in Europe, Reuel lived a sad and lonely life indeed, isolated from his family and friends.
Yona wondered if he could have found happiness had he been truly saved. All those Bible verses Reuel had recited had probably been to gain her trust. Why take the trouble? He could have applied those Bible verses to himself, his own life.
Jesus could forgive him of his sins. “There’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ.”
Reuel got up from his chair. They were still alone in the room. His guards were outside. “That’s for you, not for me. I’m outside the reach of God.”
Yona felt sorry for Reuel. He wasn’t a real believer in Christ after all. And yet… “No one is beyond the reach of God.”
Reuel stopped at the door. “Then let me ask you a question. Why didn’t God stop me before I shot Issachar?”
“You were filled with rage all on your own. God didn’t plant sin in your heart.” Yona felt brave enough to keep talking. “However, Jesus’ blood at the cross cleanses us from all sins.”
“All your work at Mossad? You killed people too.”
“Enemies of Israel.”
“There’s that word again. What is an enemy, Yona? Pray tell.”
Before Yona could speak, Reuel cut her off. “I’ll figure out my own way to the other side. You don’t have to try to help me at all.”
“There’s only one path to Heaven and His name is Jesus.”
At first Reuel turned quiet. Then he burst into a chortle. “Why, Miss Yona. If I didn’t know you any better, I’d say you were trying to preach some Jesus into me.”
“Just telling you what I know, is all.”
“I have to give it to you. You’ve always cared for my well-being.” Reuel’s voice turned pensive. “I came here to do a pulse check on you. I don’t want you to be angry with me, but I know you probably are. Issachar was your mentor. For that, I’m sorry.”
“That he was my mentor or that you killed him?”
“Maybe a bit of both.”
Reuel slowly called her name. “I’ve always been patient with you. Treated you like my daughter.”
“Yet somehow I know you will not let me leave this place.” Yona straightened up. “Not me, or Kelvin, or Danika, or Vivek. Am I right?”
“I need a network administration team.”
“I’m not in IT. You know that. You also don’t trust me enough to put me in your security team. What am I doing here? This is a huge VPN. You’re going to need more IT staff than Kelvin and his friends.”
Reuel shrugged. “I think they can handle it.”
“The VPN is worldwide. It cannot go down ever if you want your clients to call your system reliable.”
“I know that, Yona. I know that.” He didn’t look worried.
“Now that you’ve eliminated your business partner, how are you going to grow your business alone?” Yona wouldn’t use those words to describe a terrorist organization, but she had to find Reuel’s soft spot.
“Are you trying to get yourself a job?” Reuel laughed. Then he turned serious. “You’re insurance.”
“Insurance? When I’m of no use to you any more, what then? Will you Issachar me?”
Reuel laughed. “You know me too well. But I tell you what. If you don’t comply, then I’ll get rid of your friend downstairs.”
“Then you’ll have no IT department.”
“I’ll find people. There will always be people.”
“Not as good as them. You have some of the world’s top computer specialists working for you for free. It will affect your bottom line if you get rid of them.” Yona only said that because she didn’t want Reuel to kill them prematurely, not before Kelvin’s homing beacon worked.
Yona prayed someone would come to rescue them. Her job now was to buy as much time as possible.
Reuel seemed to study her. “You’re a confusing person, you know?”
Yona didn’t say anything.
“I saw you and Kelvin every day at lunch. I would assume that you two have a thing for each other.” Reuel didn’t wait for her to answer. “I don’t know how you feel about eliminating Kelvin, but I know he would do anything not to lose