AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The penthouse was just as breathtaking during the day as it was at night, maybe even more so. Despite it being nearly winter, the sun shone throughout the living room. I hung up my coat and tore off my boots as I walked up to the windows again.
Jake was on his phone when my phone alerted me to a message. “I just sent you the original email with the name of the bill on it. Thought that might help.”
“Yes, it does. Thank you.”
I pulled up my laptop and opened the email. The bill was named C-125, and it was being lobbied as a national security safety measure. The bill would allow police to search a citizen’s browsing history without a warrant. The police could also determine their computer location, and in some cases, even tap into their cameras to locate any videos that pertain to an investigation. It was designed to enable police to track terrorists, pedophiles, human traffickers, and large criminal organizations.
I sat back and bit the skin on the side of my thumb.
“What’s wrong?”
“How do you know something’s wrong?”
He tilted his head and nodded at my hand in my mouth. I quickly dropped it.
“So, what have you found out?”
“It seems that the people after us are either terrorists, pedophiles, human traffickers, or the mob. Take your pick. I don’t like my odds with any of them.”
He sighed. “Tell me about the bill.”
I explained what I read to him, and his brow furrowed. “But any hacker can get that information now. Heck, some even say governments are already doing it.”
“Yes, but it wasn’t legal without a warrant, so couldn’t be used in a court of law. At the very least, the police would need to prove to a judge that there was enough suspicion for a warrant to justify searching their computer. The new bill would allow it to happen freely, indiscriminately, and with very little limitations.”
“Congress would never let that pass,” he said.
I shrugged. “When you’ve been around politicians as long as I have, you realize they don’t always vote the way you think they will.”
“Why would your mother want to propose something like this?”
“Why does she ever do anything?”
He waited, and I exhaled.
“Because she thinks it will help her career. Maybe it pleases the right lobbyist group or congressman. I have no idea. But she’s become a target for some pretty nasty people. I have to convince her not to do it.”
“If your mother is anything like you. That won’t be easy.”
I scrunched up my nose and stuck my tongue out at him. That made him laugh. Smiling, he said, “You have a nice laugh.”
I hadn’t realized I was laughing, too. His compliments were muddling my brain. “Thanks,” I said and pushed a strand of hair out of my face.
“Has your team had any luck tracking where those emails are coming from?”
“Jager had a hit, but it was a public library. This guy isn’t an amateur.”
I checked the email again, this time pressing my thumb against my lip.
“What is it?”
“A public library? That’s strange because the email was sent at two o’clock in the morning.”
“Jager said the person probably used a program to schedule the email. So, he could have written it two days before, for all we know.”
“Which library was this?”
He smiled wryly. “New York Public Library.”
