Activated, p.30
Activated, page 30
Noble walks over to the computer. “I completed the weapon, but I built a breaker into the satellite—a failsafe that can be triggered to cancel the attack. I was never going to allow a major blackout to happen.” He looks back at his father. “But Palermo had his own backup too. He modified the weapon to be activatable via a remote trigger, which bypasses the system’s built-in breaker. So, in order to prevent Palermo from activating the weapon, we have to brick the remote trigger. Until that remote is disabled, Palermo will be able to execute the attack even if the breaker is triggered.” Noble’s mind is spinning with probabilities. “My father and I are working on a solution, but we need to find the remote trigger and we’ve hacked everything—it’s not on Palermo and it’s nowhere on this compound.”
“Then I’ll make Palermo tell me where it is.” Kai bites down.
My numbers blur in and out. Calculations scream in two directions. Whatever happens, Kai’s cover can’t be blown. The whole mission and the future depend on it. I don’t know how I know, but I do. It’s my numbers lining up with my gut.
“No,” I say, reaching out to Kai. I try not to flinch when he moves away so I can’t touch him. “Don’t say anything to Palermo. Just buy us time,” I say. “Make sure Cesare’s men win this mafia war. We’ll figure this out.” Somehow. Even if this room is rigged.
Kai looks at me, shaking his head. Our eyes meet and my stomach flips at the spike in frequency. I see the doubt in his face, whether he should trust me with this or not. He tears his gaze away first and checks his watch. “We don’t have long.” He heads to the door.
I look at Noble and mouth, “One second.” Then I follow Kai, wishing I could erase the last few minutes, which certainly made his feelings of betrayal worse.
“I’m sorry,” I say when we’re far enough away.
“Nothing to apologize for, Jo,” he says, his tone resigned. “Let’s just focus on averting this crisis.”
“Listen, my numbers predict if you’re exposed, the whole operation will fail.” The long-haired man tied up in the hydraulics room comes to mind. “You won’t be able to take down Terra Liberata if you reveal yourself.”
Kai doesn’t say anything, but his body tightens. He used to trust my gift, but now he’s debating what I’ve said. He also doesn’t like leaving me here without protection.
“Don’t open this door until I get back.” His eyes are dead-serious. Agent Ramos is right. He isn’t prioritizing Palermo or Terra Liberata. He’s thinking about me. He’ll sacrifice this mission for me if he has to. If that happens, Terra Liberata could succeed. And if Kai is caught, he’ll die.
“Only if you promise not to reveal yourself under any circumstances.” I hold his gaze.
“That’s the thing about me, Jo. I don’t make promises I can’t keep.” He looks to Noble then me—two people who broke our promises to him. My heart shatters as the door clicks shut behind him.
As his frequency moves away from the room, my gift buzzes with adrenaline. A crescendo of numbers shoots from me, then blurs for 3, 4, 5, seconds. I shiver, stronger this time. That eruption Noble talked about…the crossroads. Whatever is coming, it’s soon.
I turn back to Noble, who exhales heavily. “Nice timing, huh?” Noble says, motioning to his father, the spitting image of an older Noble, slouching behind him in the chair. “First, I meet your dad, and now you meet mine. Josephine, this is Dr. James Adams, my father.”
Chapter 66
IF I COULD do it over, I’d choose you.
The words of Noble’s father, a man I once despised, act like a filter in my head. I’m glad they do, because otherwise, I don’t know what I would have done, or what I would have said when finally facing him. For one, we wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for him. But more poignantly, what he did to his son still pounds in my memory. The Phoenix in me wants to stand in defense of my childhood friend.
Beside Dr. Adams, Noble’s face is that of a boy who is struggling. Just like Kai can’t focus because of me, Noble can’t focus because of his father. Even though his father mistreated him, there’s something else sparking inside Noble too. That stupid, ridiculous, stubborn thing called love, that can’t be beaten down by any amount of darkness, is getting back up again, standing its ground, and shining through it all.
Dr. Adams rises to his feet. He’s nearly Tank’s height and build. But years that don’t belong to him are in the lines of his face, a shadow eclipsing what he could have been. Regret pours off him like a sad song drowned out by the rain.
He forces a weak smile. “I’m sorry we have to meet like this. I know who you are and how important you have been to my son.”
My son. That title is earned, like Qadar earned it. A deep emotion races through me. I want to be angry at this man, but I fight it, because I know what regret and change feels like. How desperately we can wish for a second chance. Even on this trip, I’m surrounded by men who proved they could change. Cesare. Chan. My father. If Red were here, he’d call me a hypocrite. There isn’t a soul in this world who doesn’t need a second chance sometime. Wasn’t I just wishing I could take back what I did to Kai? Choose not to give him SWAY? For him to trust me again? My heart rages.
Noble is waiting for me to say something, like we can’t start fixing anything until we face this problem. And his face says it all. Noble wants to give his father a second chance and he needs my help to do it. That’s when I break.
I stretch out my hand to him. “Hi, Dr. Adams,” I say. “I know who you are. I’m sorry about what’s happened to you and your wife.” His hand wraps around mine. It’s warm but trembling.
“When Noble designed this new way to harness energy as a kid,” he says, softly, “I had no idea it could be a weapon. He and I worked on it together before he…left. I was angry. And I believed in my son’s genius. It was clearly a breakthrough in aerospace technology....so I sold it. Not understanding the consequences.” He shakes his head in disgust at himself, then moves closer to Noble. “I may be a terrible father, but I’m not a murderer or terrorist. I’ll do whatever it takes to fix my mistake. Anything.” He looks at Noble. The weight in his eyes could carry into the next lifetime. My heart sinks at the love and pain coursing from him. The feeling is all too familiar.
I take a deep breath. “We’re going to stop the blackout weapon, Dr. Adams. I believe in Noble too.” He nods at me, then returns to watching Noble in the same way my father watched me after I returned from China—studying all the ways Noble has changed.
I move closer to Noble, pulling him off to the side. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” His beautiful face crumbles into a million tiny equations.
“I’m sorry,” he says, releasing a deep sigh. “I never wanted you to be involved in this mess.” Noble’s body leans on mine like he can’t carry the weight of it. “Palermo threatened to kill my dad and put my mom in a coma unless I completed the weapon and caused the blackout. I calculated it a hundred times. It wasn’t a hundred percent, but the odds were good—if my father was here. I devised three countermeasures, even a way to help Rafael.” He takes a breath. “Remember the glitch?”
I nod.
“It’s a very stealthy copycat command program I designed to undermine the radio satellite arrays during launch. It’s a worm that runs in the background of the command code that will give me complete control of the spacecraft, so I can hack the satellite unnoticed. But the scope of Palermo’s network is larger than I calculated, and his tens of dozens of hackers and scientists countered me by using something unhackable.”
Terra Liberata’s reach sends shivers through me, but I redirect my thoughts to right here and now.
I grab Noble’s hand. “I don’t blame you,” I say. “And I understand. I’m here to help you now, so let’s figure out how to stop this blackout from happening.”
Noble pulls me to the desk, bringing up a current scan that’s been working in the background. “With the remote trigger, Palermo has total control over the weapon. It could be anywhere, and we don’t have much time to find it.”
My brain starts processing, digging through my own internal files and drawing up possibilities. “Okay, but if we can locate the trigger and disable it, you can ensure the blackout won’t happen?”
“Yes. But here’s our next problem. The main reason you weren’t supposed to be here.” He pulls up the Super Satellite monitor. He swallows hard.
“Go on,” I say, even if my numbers already know what he’s going to say.
“All satellites have A/B and sometimes A/B/C systems with automatic cutover. If system A doesn't respond correctly, the satellite shifts to system B or C. Palermo’s team programmed it so that if anything is altered in the Super Satellite, it changes over to the next backup system. I’ll have to hack them all and upload a code, which will take time, and it can only be done from this room. But Palermo has a fourth backup plan…” Noble looks at his dad again. “If the satellite deviates from the weaponized programming, this building is rigged to explode. So, we either let the blackout happen or everyone in this building dies. See, Digits? That’s why I left you.”
My blood runs cold. Noble came here knowing he might die, to save his father.
“No,” I say, numbers and calculations pulsing through my head. I dig into everything I know. I didn’t survive people like King and Madame without learning how to take down someone like Palermo. Where would Palermo hide the remote trigger? How can we stop this blackout without any casualties? “There’s got to be another way. No one is going to be left behind. Can’t we reroute control of the satellite to another system in a different building?”
“I’ve done the math, Jo. There’s not enough time,” Noble says, his dad hovering close behind him. “There are only a handful of people who would be able to hack the satellite as fast as I can and upload the code for the breaker. I won’t let it be you.”
I shake my head. “Noble, stop. There’s always another way.”
Calculations bleed out of me. I need to think through this problem logically, but the lines are blurred. Each equation is tied to billions of lives and the people I care most about in the world. I need to sit down.
Every number I recorded in Helsinki recalibrates. Like missing pieces of a puzzle, one by one, they slide into place. The dimensions of Senate Square. The unique position of the Celebration Rocket stage, which was directly above the restricted underground tunnels that Kai and Palermo’s men had access to. The banquet’s lightshow…
The Super Satellite is counting down to one specific moment to cause the massive blackout. Then it hits me: Palermo loves a good show. That will be his downfall.
My head snaps up. Finally, my numbers come to a solution with poor odds, but they beat what we have now.
“I know a way to solve this,” I say, my head clearer and sharper than ever. “You said Palermo was causing the blackouts with a nanosatellite before, right? Can you access that satellite?”
“Yes. It’ll take some time, but I can gain control of it,” Noble says, his eyes glued to mine. “What are you thinking?”
My mind flashes through memories that feel as fresh as yesterday. Madame. The economic crisis. The coup. Namibia. The Infinity Dome. My eyes dart to the boy beside me who has devoted his life to finding calm in the chaos. I start tapping my leg. Since China, I’ve dedicated my life to solving problems, to stopping trouble.
But now it’s our time to cause some.
I give Noble a hard look. “If we can’t stop Palermo’s blackout, then we’ll cause one of our own.”
Chapter 67
NOBLE'S FATHER NEARLY chokes when he hears my idea, regarding me like I’m unhinged. But I couldn’t care less. I’m dead serious and Noble knows it.
Noble reads my numbers like a book. “You know where the remote trigger is, don’t you?” he says.
“Yes,” I say, meeting his eyes. “It’s in the Celebration Rocket.”
It’s perfectly clear in my mind now. The location of the Celebration Rocket stage in Senate Square was strategically placed. I was under it when Kai led me through the tunnels. Which means, Palermo’s men had access to it from under the city. It’s the perfect play for Palermo. The Celebration Rocket is on a countdown to when the Super Satellite reaches orbit. When the rocket explodes, the remote trigger will detonate and Palermo’s blackout will be initiated, then the rocket will disintegrate, destroying all evidence of the remote. It’ll be Palermo’s final show, and a genius way to cover his tracks.
But not if we can help it.
I grab the chair closest to Noble. “Palermo won’t expect a blackout he didn’t cause. It’ll ruin his show, but it will also delay his whole plan, giving us time to disable the trigger and upload your code into the Super Satellite. There’s also a 40% chance that the energy pulse from the nanosatellite will be powerful enough to temporarily disable any electrical trigger in the explosives. Which will give us more time.”
Noble’s calculations unmistakably affirm the new plan. His dad also steps up, warming to the vision.
“This could work. But the ISC won’t be able to help us,” he says, his mind locking on to all his NSA knowledge. “Do we have anyone in Helsinki who could get there fast enough, with the knowledge of how to disable it?”
“Actually, I do.” The situation is not funny, but I smile. “The Finns and PSS.”
“The Finns?” Noble asks, confused.
“Noble, this is exactly why you need to get out more,” I say. “The Helsinki University STEM team helped build the Celebration Rocket with Dr. Salonen. You’d like them.” I explain the rest of my plan of having them disable it.
Noble is still running through possible scenarios. “So we cause a controlled blackout to give the team time to locate the remote trigger...” He’s scratching his head. He sees something I don’t.
“What is it?” I ask.
“One possible hitch. The tech in the nanosatellite is faulty, which is why Palermo is using the Super Satellite instead. If we use the nanosatellite, we have to be careful,” Noble says. “What scale of blackout are you talking about?”
I rattle my head from side to side, my calculations examining and discarding potential problems. “Just all of Finland.”
“All of Finland?” Dr. Adams says, panicked. “It’s winter!”
Noble looks at me. “He’s right. It’s going to cause widespread panic. And there’s a chance I won’t have much control over the faulty nanosatellite. What if I can’t turn the power back on? Or if we don’t time it right? It could potentially destroy Finland’s power grid. And then we’ll be the bad guys.”
Noble doesn’t like my idea, which makes sense. He may be a genius, and tough in his own way—he’s learned to survive anywhere in the world. But inside he’s made to discover fractals in tails of seahorses and coral, and harness light in the stars—not take down evil syndicates.
“A blackout is going to happen either way,” I say, strongly. “But with this plan, we have a chance to stop Palermo.” Even now, I can envision my plan working, but Noble’s right. There’s no guarantee of success. We need to process the variables—people, grids, homes, how long it would take to be safe. We don’t know how much time we’ll need. An hour? 24 hours? A week?
Noble’s calculations are faster than mine. “I think I got it. Give me 60 seconds.”
While he processes, I contact the PSS team. “Harrison? I need you to get everyone online right now.” In four minutes, a sober team listens as I explain the situation and what they have to do. They waste no time at all.
“We’ll contact the Finnish team immediately,” Harrison says. “I’ll be in touch.” The line drops.
When I began this trip, I never imagined I’d be hacking state-of-the-art satellites, causing blackouts and witnessing mafia duels. But I’m here doing just that, with my dad, ex-boyfriend and Noble.
A buzz from K2 tells me that Palermo is on the move. I swipe through monitor feeds until Palermo fills the frame outside of the lab just north of this one. Kai is at his side. Palermo’s men are also with them, which means they’re not with Cesare. Dr. Salonen is there too. He’s clearly not here of his own free will. A thug pushes Dr. Salonen from behind to get him to move faster. They are headed toward Cesare in the Solar Power Lab and soon, they’ll be coming to this control room.
I swipe through the different location feeds on my watch until Cesare and his mafia gang are in view. Cesare’s men are preparing to fight and forming a barrier to the entrance into the Master Satellite Control Center. They’re protecting us.
I turn back to Noble, who is flying into action at his keyboard.
“They’re buying us time,” I tell him.
“Alright,” he says, his jaw tight. “But just in case it doesn’t work, we need to prepare for the worst.”
“You’re right,” I say sharply, another idea forming. At best, this will be a national emergency. “We need to announce it. Either way, this is going to get messy, so we warn the nation.” But that’s not my only reason. It’s time someone sent Palermo and his elite mafia a message. “We need to show Terra Liberata they’re not the only ones who can play this game.” My voice has turned hard like when I used to live in the Pratt.
“What? Threatening Terra Liberata is even more dangerous, Jo,” Noble says as if his numbers are on auto-pilot.
“Maybe,” I say, my jaw set. “But they’ll know exactly what it means.”
Noble stares at me. Fractals seem to pour from his eyes, but behind them he’s drawing conclusions. He gives me a tight smile. “Kai was right. There’s a lot I don’t know about you.” But then he leans in close and confident, our numbers pounding side by side. “But I can still read your numbers. There’s another piece in your plan, so what is it?”
That bright blur happens again. Equations bullet out of me, and the frequencies increase all around me. Whatever it’s trying to tell me, I push away for the moment, because we don’t have much time. I snap my head up.
“We need a whistleblower,” I say, drawing up K2. “I know just who to call.”
