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The clock was ticking down the final hours of Dunn's plan. If he could hold things together for just two or three hours, he would be home free. His grip was slipping and he could feel it. There were cracks in the plan that he hadn't predicted. Nancy McGill was proving to be more than just a computer expert. Her instincts were always seeming to lead her toward him. Dunn felt lucky to have dodged a direct hit so far. At the moment, Dunn was overdue for a status call to Washington. It would have to wait a little longer. He needed to make sure everything was in place. He picked up the phone in his temporary office and dialed. The call rang through to an office only fifty feet away.
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| Tony: |
This is Tony.
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| Dunn: |
Hey kid, it's Dunn.
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| Tony: |
You were not to contact me here. That was part of the deal you double-crossing . . .
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| Dunn: |
Shut-up kid and listen. I need a status report from you. Things are getting a little loose around here and I need to know exactly where we are. I can't just rely on the timetable.
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| Tony: |
Loose? What do you mean by that? Are they on to us?
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| Dunn: |
Don't come unglued on me. You don't want to find out what happens if you do. Just give me a status report and I hang up. It's that easy.
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| Tony: |
Okay, I got the private message from 333 about forty-five minutes ago. It confirmed that he got the transaction echo program inserted at the San Francisco Fed. When they get back up, it'll be on-line.
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| Dunn: |
Is the account number in the Bahamas confirmed?
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| Tony: |
Account number confirmed, echo frequency confirmed, and audit control counter-measures all confirmed. We get a duplicate transaction of every tenth payment the bank makes. No entry goes in the audit control system so the transaction counts will balance. They won't miss a thing until they do an account balance comparison. Even when they do that, they're going to look everywhere else first. 333 shoved the echo program way down deep. I doubt they've got anybody still working at the bank who's ever touched that code.
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| Dunn: |
Standard, inter-bank network?
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| Tony: |
Standard everything. Counterfeit data, unlike currency, can be a perfect duplicate. The deposits go straight to the account at the Bank of the Bahamas. Where the money goes from there is your problem. Just make sure you're moving it out of the Bahamas fast cause as soon as they see what's happening that account will be frozen shut.
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| Dunn: |
Don't worry, it's transferred out in small pieces to a dozen different countries at every twenty minutes. With the FBI and every other watchdog worried about MEMOREX 333 and preparing for his attack in New York, we should have hours and hours of free money being sent to us.
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| Tony: |
Did you leak the New York target to the press?
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| Dunn: |
I had somebody back east do it. We needed the distraction from San Francisco. One more thing, try to hold 333 off New York as long as you can. Don't send him in until the last possible minute. The longer we keep them waiting, the better the distraction.
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| Tony: |
I'll drag it out as far as I feel safe. That's all I can promise.
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| Dunn: |
Okay, kid. I'll see you in a couple weeks for the pay off.
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Dunn hung up feeling reassured by the good news from his inside man. Tony had served him well. Too bad he knew too much for the comfort of Dunn's superiors. A pair of assassins had already been sent to the area. They couldn't afford the chance that a trail would reach back to Washington. Spike, Roger, Pete, and Dr. Boreskovich labored on looking for a way to control or destroy MEMOREX 333. Nancy finally had to get some rest. It was getting harder and harder to keep looking at the same data files on 333.
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| Boreskovich: |
Gentlemen, I believe I've found some good news for a change.
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| Warwick: |
What have you got, doctor?
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| Boreskovich: |
I have compared the matrix profile contained in the first diagnostic file to the one that was attached to our second message. It shows the matrix is decaying.
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| Roger: |
He's coming apart?
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| Boreskovich: |
Yes, to put it crudely, he is coming apart at the seams.
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| Warwick: |
What's the rate of decay?
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| Boreskovich: |
My calculations show a decline of approximately .5 percent integrity.
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| Roger: |
You mean one half of one percent over the whole day!? Oh great, only 199 days to go.
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| Spike: |
Not exactly, Roger. The matrix won't hold below 95 percent integrity and 333 was never at 100. Where is it now, Dr. Boreskovich?
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| Boreskovich: |
My model approximates integrity is 95.4 percent. Mr. Webb is correct, it will not hold below 95 and may fail sooner.
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| Roger: |
That means he has less than a day left. That's great!
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| Warwick: |
It still leaves him plenty of time to take on the New York Federal Reserve.
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| Spike: |
Unless we can accelerate the rate of decay. Dr. Boreskovich, what might cause the rate to increase?
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| Boreskovich: |
Simple, make him busy.
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| Roger: |
We know what he does when he's busy though and that's what we need to avoid.
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| Spike: |
Not if he's busy with me.
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| Roger: |
That didn't go so well last time, remember?
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| Spike: |
True, but this time all I need to do is dance with him. Tire him out.
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| Warwick: |
Why don't you and Dr. Boreskovich try getting Dunn's authorization for that plan. I don't think he'll go along with it if he thinks Roger and I are for it.
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| Roger: |
I'm not sure I am for it, Spike. But go ahead and talk to Dunn. I'll bet you twenty bucks he turns you down flat.
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| Spike: |
A wager? I've never placed a bet before. Of course, I don't actually have any money you know.
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| Roger: |
Yeah, good point. Tell you what, forget the money, Spike. Just try talking to him. It should be interesting. Pete and I have some stuff to talk about anyway.
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