Mitch charged onto the ice with his water bottle and quickly dropped it onto the bench.

  “Okay, what are we playing?”

  “Keep away.” I knocked a puck over to him.

  “You’re on.”

  He skated backward, away from me, and took the puck with him on his stick and sometimes on his skate blades. The idea was simple—don’t give up the puck to the other person. This was one of my favorite games. We’d learned it as a one-on-one drill years ago, and it remained one of my favorite things to do. It was like solving a security problem—you had to look for patterns and weaknesses to exploit.

  Playing with Mitch was a blast. Sadly it was only about fifteen minutes before others showed up on the ice. We kept going, dodging around our teammates for an extra challenge.

  “That was awesome,” Mitch said when we stopped at the bench.

  “Yeah. You’re even better than I remember.”

  “And you’ve become the poke-check king. You should play more defense with that skill.” Mitch took a long drink while the coaches approached the ice.

  “We should do this more often.”

  “Yeah, man. Anytime you wanna come in early, let me know.”

  We hadn’t done this since summer camp because of our schedules. Or, more truthfully, mine. This is what Dad wanted me to see—the importance of taking the time to be with friends.

  “Monday? Once I’m back from the competition.”

  “I’m there.” He grinned and I did too.

  While I didn’t have answers yet about taking the promotion, I did have some clarity. My schedule needed an overhaul so there would be more time for Eddie and my friends.

  Sixteen

  Dad picked me up from school before the end of classes and took me to one of the small airfields outside of town. I got on a private plane and flew for ninety minutes to an airfield outside Richmond, Virginia, where a car picked me up and whisked me to TOS HQ.

  On the plane I’d changed from my sweatshirt to a button-up shirt, tie, and jacket. I kept the jeans and sneakers. I hated dressing up, but Keys’s wake deserved more than a sweatshirt. Dad didn’t even have to talk me into it. I’d packed it on my own.

  This was our chance to say our goodbyes because none of us could go to the actual funeral. Joanna would go as part of Keys’s cover story that she worked in IT security for a large financial institution. The emotions ran high in the large conference room everyone was gathered in. I felt better knowing I wasn’t the only one all over the place with my feelings.

  I didn’t see Lorenzo when I entered the room. I gave a quick wave to Ram and Pascale, two techs I often worked with on gadget projects. I recognized some people from my internship, but there were many new faces, though I probably knew them by codename since emails zipped back and forth all the time.

  “Winger, it’s great to meet you in person finally.” I turned to find a woman who looked to be about my mom’s age. “I’m Pyramid.”

  “Oh my God. It’s awesome to meet you too.” I extended my hand and she shook it, but she then pulled me into a gentle hug. She worked in the security division and cataloged the vast amounts of information we took in to make sure it stayed organized. “You can call me Theo.”

  “Pamela. I’m sorry it took this for us to finally meet. But it’s great to put a face to all the emails.”

  A lot of work happened via email or voice chat, so we didn’t often see each other. Lorenzo was one of the few people I used video to communicate with. On official channels we always used codenames too, to help maintain security.

  “You too.” I looked around the room. “It’s great there are so many people here. Keys deserves it.”

  “Yes she does. She was always great to work with. Even in the most serious situations, she came across as calm, and the team needed that stability.”

  Emotions swallowed my ability to respond. In a motherly moment, she put her arm around my shoulder. “In the past couple of months, I’d worked with her almost as much as Lorenzo since we’d updated all the security protocols.” My voice cracked in the middle of the sentence.

  “It’s okay.” She must’ve seen the frown on my face. “Most everyone’s a mess in here.”

  “Theo, so glad you’re here.” Lorenzo pulled me into a bear hug.

  “Good to see you.” We released our embrace, and he stood next to me. Pamela, meanwhile, simply gave me a nod and stepped away. “How are you?”

  “I honestly didn’t know how many people would be able to get here for this. You know, pulling together a bunch of secret agents isn’t the easiest thing to do.” He smiled weakly and I nodded. “Some people came from Europe. One tried to get here from China, but the connection in Denver was delayed.”

  “Keys worked with a lot of people. I’m not surprised at all.”

  “There are great stories circulating too.”

  “I bet. She had a cracked sense of humor, and her sense of timing was incredible.”

  “Oh my God, yes.” Lorenzo smiled while his eyes betrayed his sadness. “Listen, can I grab you for a few minutes in private?”

  “Of course.”

  Joanna cut us off when we headed for the door. “Theo. Always good to have you here, although I’m sorry it’s for this.”

  “I’m glad I could make it.” We shook hands.

  “Are you two going to be gone long?”

  “Shouldn’t be more than a few minutes,” Lorenzo answered for us.

  Joanna’s nod and expression implied that she knew what Lorenzo had on his agenda. I wasn’t surprised by that since she was in charge.

  We walked and ended up at Lorenzo’s office. He’d increased the number of action figures on the shelves over his desk considerably from last summer. I wanted to check them out up close, but this wasn’t the time.

  “I’m curious if you’d made a decision yet.” Lorenzo dropped into his desk chair, and I took the one across from him. “If you need more time, it’s okay. But since you’re here, it seemed it was a good time to talk.”

  I took a deep breath. I knew my answer, but I was suddenly nervous to give it. I’d planned to tell Lorenzo at the end of the evening. He just beat me to the punch.

  “I’ve thought a lot about it. From a technical standpoint I say yes. I can certainly review the team’s work, offer guidance, and take responsibility for the decisions TOS makes on security.”

  He nodded. “I’m glad you’ll take the technical duties. We’ll craft the job so that’s all it is. You’ll still manage teams on tech projects. I’ll handle mission assignments and other management details.”

  I’m glad he took it well. He was the last person at TOS I wanted to disappoint.

  “I’ll take on more in the summer, and once I’m in college we’ll figure out what that means. Provided you and Joanna still want me.”

  “You’re taking on plenty. Believe me. And we’ll bolster the security team too so there’s more people with the skills you and Keys have.” A ripple of emotion flowed through me when he didn’t use the past tense for Keys. “We shouldn’t have been caught like we were. We’ll have a meeting every month to determine if we need to change our approach. I know you and I talk all the time anyway, but we should set aside time to specifically discuss how you’re handling the responsibilities.”

  I tried, and failed, to suppress a laugh.

  “What?” he asked, smiling. At least I hadn’t offended him with what slipped out.

  “You sounded so much like a boss.”

  He snickered. “Yeah, that doesn’t happen much. I guess it’s good I can do that in case I ever need to get some other kind of job.”

  It was one of those weird oddities of working for TOS, because I didn’t usually feel like I had a boss so much as a collaborator. Sure I knew how real jobs worked. Mitch worked at a sporting goods store. Eddie had lifeguard duty at an indoor pool. I heard stories about how managers were. TOS had a human resources department, because there were basics like paying people and making sure taxes and health insurance were taken care of. But Lorenzo rarely seemed like a boss to me.

  “I’d like to announce it to the team on Monday,” Lorenzo said. “Is that okay? I was thinking a video conference so we could all see each other.”

  I considered. It seemed fast but someone needed to take up the responsibilities. Nerves made my insides quivery—reminding me how it felt to be a kid and knowing you’ve done something wrong and you were just waiting to get caught.

  “Monday’s good. That’ll put the computer-science competition behind me, and I can work on getting up to speed on everything Keys worked on.”

  “You won’t have to catch up overnight, you know,” Lorenzo said with a slight smile. “There’s time. And we’ve got plenty of documentation on what the most critical projects are so you’ll know where to focus. And Joanna and I will fully support you.”

  I knew he’d never let me down. I smiled at him. “Thanks. I’ll do my best.”

  “I know.” He stood up and so did I. He threw an arm around my shoulder but stopped me before he opened the door. “By the way, you didn’t ask, but this comes with a 32 percent pay increase.”

  I forced my mouth to stay closed because my initial reaction was for it to hit the floor. I already made a ton of money. Despite my age, they paid me like I was a regular employee. They’d made the decision two years ago to pay me a full-time salary to match the workload.

  Mom and Dad, early on, set me up with a good savings plan. I took an allowance that we agreed on, and I could access money for large purchases—like new computers—if I needed to. My savings were about to grow in a staggering way.

  “Cool.” I didn’t know what else to say.

  Lorenzo looked at his watch. “We should get back to everyone.”

  As we walked in, people were telling stories about Keys. I had a couple I wanted to tell, even though the thought of it made me skittish because I wanted to do right by her. I listened to a few stories and then stepped up to tell my own about Keys teaching me about encryption and music. At the end, I raised my glass of ginger ale in salute.

  Over the next couple of hours, I put a lot of codenames to faces. Another good reason for me to be here before the changes were announced.

  By the time I headed back to the airport, I was tired but very glad I said my goodbyes to a colleague and mentor.

  Seventeen

  “That was a great game,” Dad said as I dropped into a chair across from him and next to Eddie. They’d been waiting for me in the rink lobby, waiting for me to change out of my gear. “It’s been too long. I hope I didn’t bore Eddie too much with my constant chatter on how awesome you were.”

  “That’s never boring.” Eddie grabbed my hand from the tabletop. “Theo is awesome.”

  “It hasn’t been that long since you’ve been here. You saw one at the beginning of December, before the holiday break.”

  “I know. I like watching you play, though. I wonder how I ended up with such an athletic son.”

  “What do you mean?” I made a face. “You played basketball.”

  “I only played because they needed someone else tall. I’d never call myself a basketball player.” He looked at his watch. “Shall we hit the road?”

  “Yeah. Can we stop somewhere and pick up a burger along the way? I’m hungry.”

  “Of course.”

  Eddie and Dad stood up, and I took that chance to hug Eddie. “I’ll see you Sunday night.”

  “Yup. Keep me posted on how the competition goes?”

  “We can’t have phones or our own computers in the competition rooms. But I’ll text on breaks.”

  “Cool. Go get another win.” He leaned in for a kiss that I might’ve been a little too happy to receive. At least Dad didn’t say anything about the PDA, even though there were a couple of cat calls from my teammates as they passed.

  Eddie and I chuckled when we broke the kiss.

  “They’re just jealous because they don’t have someone to kiss them in the lobby.” I gave Eddie another quick kiss.

  We three walked out of the rink together, and at Dad’s car I hugged Eddie again.

  “See you in a couple days.” I hugged Eddie again.

  “Don’t let him totally geek out, Mr. Reese.”

  I looked at both of them and rolled my eyes.

  “I’ll do my best. Good night, Eddie.”

  One more kiss and then Eddie headed toward his Jeep, and Dad and I were on our own.

  “You know, you didn’t have to drive me to Amherst. I could’ve taken Mom’s car since she’s gone.”

  “I know. But this is my chance to be a dad for a while. I don’t get to do that enough. That’s okay, right? I’m not doing—”

  “It’s completely okay. I wanted to make sure you knew you didn’t have to.”

  I enjoyed hanging out with Dad, so it was cool he’d decided to drive. Whether it was watching TV, having him at a game, or taking a mini-road-trip, I appreciated the time with him. I even thought it was cool he planned to stay in Amherst for the weekend. There was nothing to see since we were to be sequestered for a day and a half in a classroom. There would be an awards ceremony and reception Sunday afternoon, but that was it. Eddie and I decided he shouldn’t make the trip for that since he wouldn’t be able to see me compete.

  Once we were in the car and heading out of the parking lot, I asked Dad, “Have you decided what you’re going to do while I’m with the team?”

  “Saturday I thought I might go see a movie. There’s a theater near the hotel, and the new Star Wars is there.” He sounded excited, like it might be a minivacation for him. “I haven’t been to the movies in a long time, and a blast from the past seemed a good way to spend some time.”

  “You’ll like it. It’s really good.”

  “You’ve seen it?”

  “Eddie and I went a couple weeks ago after a game.”

  “Anyway, for sure that. There’s an indoor pool too, so I may hang out and read.”

  “Good to know you’ve got plans.”

  Once we got outside the city, we found an exit with a Dairy Queen, where I got a bacon cheeseburger, a chocolate shake, and fries. Dad and I split the fries, so I left them in the console between the seats. After eating, we settled in for the drive while eighties songs played on the satellite radio. He and Mom tended to go back and forth between the eighties and nineties on trips. I enjoyed that music far more than his other preferred genre, metal, which I didn’t understand.

  “Can I ask how last night was?” he asked after we’d been quiet a while.

  “It was good. I’m glad I went since a lot of people came. There were some amazing stories told about Keys, and I’m glad I got to hear them. She clearly had an impact on people. Meeting some of the IT team that works outside of HQ was great too. Emails, voice chat, and codenames are good, but I liked talking in person.”

  Dad sighed. In the dark of the car, with only occasional headlights from the other lane lighting his face, I couldn’t get a read on his mood.

  “What’s up?”

  “Sorry. Sometimes I think too loud. You know, since last year your mom and I have been back and forth about this life you’ve been thrust into. And now you’re in even deeper.”

  I nodded, even though he probably didn’t see it. I’d almost pulled me out of TOS after Denver.

  “I accepted a partial promotion. I’ll lead the technology development and manage people on the projects, but I won’t assign people to teams or to field work. Lorenzo and I talked about it for a few minutes, and it’s the best way to go. It’ll be announced on Monday.” I paused to let him say something, but when he stayed silent, I went on. “I know you and Mom worry. But I love what I do, and it’s a pretty amazing life. I’m glad you let me make the choice. It won’t be long before it’ll be all on me to make these decisions, so I’m glad you let me do that now.”

  “You know we’ll still worry long after you’re eighteen, right?”

  “I know.” I smiled. “Like I worry when you’re gone. And, realistically, I’m safer most days than either of you are when you’re deployed.”

  “That’s true. There’s a certain safety, most of the time, doing what you do in your bedroom.”

  “Don’t make it sound like I’m a shut-in.” I chuckled and he joined in. It was a good release from the seriousness of the talk.

  “I think you made a good call with the promotion. Handling the tech side is probably enough.”

  My phone vibrated. It was late for Lorenzo to be calling.

  “Speaking of.” I held up my phone before I tapped the screen to take the call.

  “Winger, Doctor Possible here. Can you talk?”

  “Defender’s with me.”

  “That’s fine. The bots we deployed to pick up traces of the file have turned up all kinds of pings. They’ve moved the file a lot. The suspicion is they’re moving it from drive to drive in person rather than transferring over the net to be more stealth with it.”

  “What do we know about the machines the artifacts were found on?”

  “Not surprisingly, they’re trying to get it decrypted. Several of the IP traces suggest contact with known hackers.”

  “Do we have anyone we can work with to try and set a trap?”

  “Already on that.” I should’ve expected that answer.

  “Are the artifacts clustered in one area?”

  “The major cluster is in the Northeast from Boston to DC, but someone’s taken a copy to the West Coast because we’ve found artifacts on San Francisco- and Portland-based IPs.”

  “They’ve clearly made copies. How are we going to know if we get them all?” I considered scenarios trying to find a way to deal with that, which seemed nearly impossible since it was so difficult to find one whole file. “If you get any leads, let me know. We can talk more tonight if you need me. I’ll be in the car with Defender for another hour or so, and then you can always wake me.”

  “Will do. I’ll keep you posted.”

  “Thanks, Doc.”

  Once the call disconnected, I typed a couple of emails, cc’ing Lorenzo, since I’d had some ideas I wanted the team to look into since I couldn’t.