Page 128 of Jonesing for a Spy

Whew. At least I know who’s at the helm. Add watching my back and keeping my eyes on Sally and Aaron to the mix. Great. An already sketchy situation is getting more and more volatile, and we haven’t even begun.

My phone vibrates with an incoming text.

Young

Aaron Fitzgibbons. Arrested multiple times for arson, insurrection, illegal protests. Nothing sticks. Heavy fines. Overnights in local lockups. Doesn’t seem to care. Considers himself a social protester and a justice warrior but doesn’t seem to line up the rest of his life with his public values.

If I had to guess, he’s in this for the thrill of it, not because he actually cares. I’m more worried about that than anything. No guts. No convictions. He seems to like the troublemaking portion of this more than anything. Watch your back with that one.

Sally has zero internet presence. Lone IP. No face, no address, no credit history. No anything. That takes a hell of a lot of computer smarts which means she’s not some dummy picking a fight. Can you keep her talking?

Returning to my computer, I begin typing.

I’m rarely the voice of reason but we all have a job to do. This is important work. And two of us won’t be as strong as four. Can we manage to make this work for today or however long it takes and then go our separate ways?

Hello15.72.9

This! If we do it right, it’ll only take a day. Then it’s time to plot taking down the U.S. grid.

The whole point is to make this happen. Get them to take us seriously. Can we set aside whatever this is—and keep our rage focused in the appropriate places? We’re on the same team.

Yeah. I doubt that. And being less blasé and more rah-rah team isn’t Janis’s vibe.

I mean. Whatever. But let’s just deal until we go home.

SallyIsAMenace

Where’s home?

My phone buzzes.

Young

It’s a trap.

No shit. Have any good ideas?

The truth.

Back on my laptop, I respond, but with my cover, not the truth.

New Mexico. Home of green chili. Now, @Hello15.72.9, what are we doing?

Fighter2389

What?

Good Lord, these people!

The rest of the morning is similar. The conversation hangs on tenterhooks, and Hello and I tiptoe between Sally and Aaron’s pissing contest.

Young finds nothing more on Sally, but he does manage to scrape together a profile on our “leader.”

Hello15.72.9—or Ricky Germaine—sounds an awful lot like most school shooters since Columbine. Narcissistic, paranoid, with childhood trauma, socially isolated, not quite fitting in. Revenge seekers, punishers, a fascination with things going bad and people hurting. Basically, a sociopath.

Fighter’s here for the fun.

Hello is here to dole out pain.