Constant Risk. Janie Crouch

       Chapter One

      “Here’s the paperwork you need to look over, Mr. Jeter.”

      Michael Jeter barely noticed when the handcuffs pulled at the skin on his wrists as he reached for the piece of paper his lawyer, Beau O’Boyle, slid over to him. After the past five months of being in handcuffs regularly, he did not pay much attention to something that had irritated him to no end when he’d first been incarcerated.

      There were many other things that irritated him to no end now.

      The lack of flavor in all the food. The lack of quiet in the jail. And most definitely the lack of anything to do.

      Up until five months ago, his hours had been filled from sunup to sundown running a worldwide, multifaceted charity that touched thousands of lives.

      If that hadn’t taken up enough of his time, the network he’d developed underneath said charity—where information, privacy and lives themselves could be sold to the highest bidder—certainly had filled his hours.

      But now there were so many hours of nothing.

      Nothing to do but plan. And wait.

      He looked at the paper, immediately spotting the code within the sentence structure that provided him with the real information he needed.

      All messages, hidden or official, now had to be sent archaically—on paper. He didn’t even like the feel of the parchment on his fingers. He much preferred a keyboard and screen. But he hadn’t been allowed any sort of computer or internet access since the moment he was arrested. When Michael’s lawyer came to see him, the man was required to leave every electronic item outside of the room.

      It was almost as if law enforcement thought Michael would be able to vanish into thin air if he even came anywhere near any sort of computerized item. Like a computer-age Houdini.

      In their defense, that wasn’t totally untrue. If he had five minutes with a smartphone he could probably manipulate enough data to make the prison warden and guards think the wrong person had been arrested and maybe even let him out. After all, Michael was the most brilliant computer hacker on the planet.

      Actually, no.

      He was the second most brilliant computer hacker on the planet. The most brilliant hacker was the reason he was in jail to begin with.

      For now.

      Michael forced himself not to grimace at the feel of the paper as he continued to read. The encoded message was nothing less than he’d expected.

      Michael read the letter again, a habit he developed around other people since his exceptional reading speed tended to make them uncomfortable. They thought he wasn’t giving the document thorough attention since he finished so quickly. In this case it was probably better anyway. The second read through would allow him to almost memorize the info.

      He looked over at his lawyer, unsure of how much the man was actually aware of. Almost everyone who’d been involved with the top tier of the Organization had been arrested. Anybody who was capable had immediately started flipping on others. That was to be expected. Loyalty dived out the window when the death penalty for treason entered the room.

      Michael looked over at the lawyer. “Mr. O’Boyle, what exactly is your job here?”

      His response would tell Michael everything he needed to know. Any response about law, the trial or the case would mean he didn’t know the true contents of the letter.

      “I am here to assist in all ways needed.”

      So, someone loyal. Good to know, not that they could talk openly about the real content of the message anyway. They were supposed to have a confidential conference room, but Michael was more than aware that Homeland Security was listening. He also knew there were cameras in this room right now surveilling what was written on the letter.

      The most brilliant law enforcement minds in the country would be looking for encoded messages in it, starting immediately.

      They wouldn’t find any.

      “Good to hear that.” Michael held up the letter. “Thanks for the paperwork. Has there been any progress on the case in any other areas?”

      “We are continuing to gather evidence for the trial. Things are going as best as can be expected.”

      “The cost is high. We have people willing to pay the price?” The security footage Homeland would run of this conversation would lead them to believe Michael was talking about the costs of trial preparation.

      He was talking about something much different.

      “Yes, sir. There are those who are loyal and look at the bigger picture, willing to sacrifice short term, for the long-term good.”

      Michael gave a brief nod. “I’m glad to hear that is still true.”

      They had been prepared for this contingency. Perhaps not exactly