MEETING FLANNIGAN

Boston, MA

16 hrs 8 min to Birth

The redeye from L.A. pulled into Logan Airport on time. Rob and Jared disembarked in wrinkled business attire. Rob got on his phone with Dee as they proceeded to baggage claim. He was going through his schedule and email with her.

As they entered baggage claim, Rob hung up. "Sarah Flannigan, the psychologist, is going to meet us here and we'll get our car. Then we head to the kid's house. I'll fill in Flannigan on the way. You try to get the kid on chat and get his address."

"Sounds good."

"We can go light on the details at first. No need to get her too excited about the kid."

They spotted a sign: RICE. It was being held by their driver, a young woman with short spikey red hair and boyish features. They walked up to her.

"Rob Rice?" she asked.

"Yup," he declared. "Now all we need is Flannigan."

Jared was intrigued to meet Flannigan. On the plane, Rob had mentioned that he and the psychologist had some personal history. For the moment, as important as the kid was, both of their minds were on a different sort of opportunity.

"There she is," Rob said.

Jared spotted her, holding a large Starbucks cup and making her way toward them. Nice work, he thought. She is hot. As he watched her approach, Jared could see why Rob had thought of her for the job: she looked like she meant business. She looks like she knows what she's doing, he figured.

She stopped in front of them.

"Hello," Rob said, a twinkle in his eye.

"Hello, Rob." She turned to Jared and shook his hand. "Sarah Flannigan."

"Jared Keller."

"Let's get moving," Rob declared.

The redhead driver led the way outside and toward short-term parking, where their car was waiting.

"You have the address?" the redhead asked. Jared pulled an index card from his jacket pocket and handed it to her.

They crossed the road in front of the terminal. Sarah Connolly Flannigan was striking. She sported shoulder-length hair and a professional skirt suit with above-average exposure in the neck and chest area. Thin lips and piercing eyes. Jared scanned her up and down as they walked. Nice calves, he remarked to himself.

"Sarah Flannigan," Rob said, as they walked. "Psychologist. Sarah, Jared here will tell you the story."

Jared opened his mouth to speak, but Flannigan was already speaking. "Before we get into the finer points," she said. "There are a few questions that will help my assessment. Jared, in your professional opinion, is there any doubt that the kid has real expertise in the stock market?"

Jared looked at Rob. He didn't know what Rob had told her already. Rob was looking at them both, frowning.

"Can you confirm the boy's expertise?" Flannigan repeated.

"Yes," Jared said, more than a little confused. "I can't think of any way he could have faked it."

"Good." She smiled thinly. "How certain are you that the kid is, in fact, a child, and not an adult?"

He shrugged. "He sounded like a kid."

"Did he use any language that showed malicious or antagonistic sentiments?"

That's a strange question. "No."

"And did he reveal or mention expertise in any technical field, perhaps involving computers?"

"No," he replied, surprised.

They were at the car. Actually two cars. And they were limos, not the usual Lincoln Town Cars.

"Would you have any reason to think he is a computer hacker?" Flannigan asked.

Rob interjected with a fleshy palm. "We're getting off track here. We don't have too much time. So let me direct this, ok, Sarah?" He looked at the limos. Why are there are two cars?

When he looked back at Flannigan, she was holding a badge at him.

"I'm with the National Security Agency," she said. "That's where I practice my psychology."

Both men turned pale.

"I'm sorry to say," she continued, "that this issue is no longer your concern. We've identified the kid as a possible threat to national security. He may be talented with the market, but he is also quite talented with computers."

Rob opened his mouth, but she waved it shut with a small gesture.

"You two are going on vacation," she said, "until this situation is cleared up."

"Do you know who I am?" Rob asked in a low voice. He was fuming with anger.

"This is bigger than you," she replied. "This kid is more intelligent than anyone you have ever met. He is already much more dangerous, more powerful, than you are or ever will be." They were silent. "Sorry to break it to you."

Both men gave a hop: the doors of the first limo opened. Two enormous men in black suits emerged from the vehicle.

Floating light as a feather, Jared found himself guided off his feet, away from the fuzzy light of the dawn, into the dark vehicle. Rob ended up next to him. One of the enormous men got behind the wheel of the car, while the other sat in the back seat next to Rob.

"You can flirt with me now," he quipped. The limo crawled away.

The spikey-haired redhead opened the driver's door of the other limo while Flannigan let herself into the back and sat down next to Simon Chan.

Simon looked much the same as he had a few hours ago: calm and alert in a black turtleneck, eyes with a permanent, skeptical squint behind his round spectacles.

"The Stone Cold Fox," he announced dramatically. With a gesture behind him he remarked, "Maybe they should call you the Black Widow Spider instead."

"That sounds too old," she said. Flannigan opened her beautiful hand forward. "Simon, this is my driver. Her codename is Sam."

"Hi, Sam. My real name is Simon."

"Don't you get a codename?" Sam laughed.

"I have more codenames than you could possibly imagine," he said.

Sam smiled in the rearview mirror. Men.