James PATTERSON - The Big Bad Wolf

We were just talking about you , said someone with the username Master Trekr .

I wondered why my ears were buzzing , I typed, and wondered if I was communicating with the Wolf for the first time. Was he on-line? If so, where was he? What city?

I was center stage in the operation room used by SIOC. More than a dozen agents and technicians were gathered around me. Most were on computers too. The scene looked like a very high-tech classroom.

Master Trekr: Weren’t really talking about you, Potter. UR paranoid. Same as it ever was .

I looked at the other user names.

Sphinx 3000 .

ToscaBella .

Louis XV .

Sterling 66 .

No Wolf. Did that mean he wasn’t on-line in the Den? Or was he Master Trekr? Was he observing me now? Was I passing his test?

I need a replacement for ‘Worcester ’, I typed. Potter had told me that Francis Deegan’s code name was ‘Worcester’.

Sphinx 3000: Take a number. We were talking about my package, my delivery. It’s my turn. You know that, you fruitcake .

I didn’t respond at first. This was my first test. Would Potter apologize to Sphinx 3000? I didn’t think he would. More likely, he’d come back with a caustic reply. Or would he? I chose to say nothing for now.

Sphinx 3000: Fuck U too. I know what UR thinking. U kinky bastard. As I was saying before I was interrupted. I want a Southern belle, the more hung up on herself, the more self-absorbed she is, the better. I want an ice goddess, who I plan to shatter. Totally into herself. She wears Chanel and Miu Miu and Bulgari Jewelry. Even to the shopping mall. Heels of course. I don’t care if she’s tall or short. Beautiful face. Pert tits .

ToscaBella: How orignal .

Sphinx 3000: Fuck original, and sorry to repeat myself, but fuck U. Give me that old-time rock-and-roll music. I want what I want, and I’ve earned it .

Sterling 66: Anything else? This Southern belle of yours? In her twenties? Thirties?

Sphinx 3000: That’d be good. All or any of the above .

Louis XV: Teens?

Sphinx 3000: That’d be good too .

Sterling 66: How long do you plan to keep her around?

Sphinx 3000: One glorious night of ecstasy and wild abandon… Just one night .

Sterling 66: And then?

Sphinx 3000: I’m going to dispose of her. Now, do I get my goddess?

There was a pause.

No answer came from anyone.

What was going on? I wondered.

Of course U do , answered Wolf. Just be careful, Sphinx. Be very careful. We’re being watched .

I wasn’t sure how to react to the Wolf, or his message to Sphinx. Should I speak now? Did he know we were on to him? How could he?

Sterling 66: Now what’s your problem, Mr Potter?

This was my chance. I wanted to try and draw out Wolf if I could. But could I pull it off? I was aware that everyone was watching me in the operation room.

I don’t have a problem , I typed. I’m just ready for another boy. U know I’m good for it. Haven’t I always been?

Sterling 66: UR ready for another boy? U just recently received ‘Worcester’. Less than a week ago .

I typed: Yes, but he’s left us .

Sphinx 3000: That’s very funny. UR so cute, Potter. Such a cute psycho-killer .

Sphinx didn’t like Potter, did he? I had to assume the feeling was mutual. I typed, I love u too. We should get together and bond in person .

Sterling 66: When U say ‘he’s left us’, I assume U mean that he’s dead?

Potter: Yes, the dear boy passed. I’m over my grieving though. Ready to move on .

Sphinx 3000: Hilarious .

This bickering was starting to get on my nerves. Who the hell were these sick bastards? Where were they? Besides cyberspace?

I have someone in mind. I’ve been watching him for a while, I typed

Sphinx 3000: I’ll bet he’s gorgeous .

I typed: Oh, he is. One of a kind. The love of my life .

Sterling 66: U said that about Worcester. What city?

I typed: Boston. Cambridge, actually. He’s a student at Harvard. Working for his doctorate. Argentinian, I believe. Rides polo ponies in the summer .

Sterling 66: Where did U bump into this one, Potter?

The next tidbit I’d gotten from Homer Taylor himself. Actually, I did bump into him. He’s so firm .

Sphinx 3000: Where did you meet him? Tell, tell .

I typed: I was at Harvard for a symposium .

Sterling 66: On?

I typed: Milton. Of course .

Sterling 66: He was attending?

I typed: No – I literally bumped into him. In the men’s room. I watched him for the rest of the day. Found out where he lived. Been studying him for three months .

Sterling 66: So why did U purchase Worcester?

I knew the question was coming. Impulse , I typed. Then, But this boy in Cambridge, that’s true love. Not a casual thing .

Sterling 66: So U have a name? An address?

I typed: I do. And I have my checkbook .

Sterling 66: Worcester won’t be found? UR certain?

I could hear Potter’s voice in my head as I typed. Good lord, no. Not unless someone goes swimming in my septic tank .

Sphinx 3000: Gross, Potter. I love it .

Sterling 66: Well, if U have checkbook in hand .

Wolf: No. We’ll wait on this. It’s too soon, Potter. We’ll get back to you. As always, I’ve enjoyed our talk, but I have other matters to attend to .

Wolf signed off. He was gone. Shit. He’d come and gone, just like that. The mystery man as always. Who was this bastard?

I stayed on-line, chatting with the others for a few minutes – expressing my disappointment at the decision, my eagerness to make a purchase. Then I left the site too.

I looked around the operation room at my colleagues. A few began to clap, partly mocking me, but mostly it was congratulatory. Cop-to-cop stuff. Almost like old times. I felt marginally accepted by the others in the room. For the first time, actually.

We waited to hear from the Wolf again. Everyone in the overcrowded room wanted to take him down in the worst way. He was a complicated and twisted killer, but, besides that, the FBI needed a win; a lot of people working their asses off needed it. Snaring the Wolf would be a tremendous victory. If we could just find him. And what if we could get all of the other sick bastards too? Sphinx. ToscaBella. Louis XV. Sterling.

Still, something was bothering me a lot. If the Wolf was as powerful and successful as he seemed to be, why was he involved in this at all? Because he’d always been into lots of kinds of crimes? Or because he was a sex freak himself? Was that it, the Wolf was a freak? Where could I go with that line of thinking?

He’s a freak, and therefore ?…

Except for a couple of hours when I went home to see the kids, I remained inside the Hoover Building for the next day and a half. So did a lot of other agents on the case, even Monnie Donnelley who was as emotionally invested in this as anybody. We continued to collect information, especially about Russian mobsters in the States, but mostly we waited for a call from the Wolf’s Den to Mr Potter. A yes or a no, a go or a no-go. What was the bastard waiting for?

I talked to Jamilla several times – good talks, also to Sampson, the kids, Nana Mama. I even talked to Christine. I had to find out where her head was at about little Alex. After our talk, I wasn’t sure if she knew, which was the most disturbing thing of all. I began to detect an ambivalent tone in her voice when she spoke about raising Alex, even though she said she was prepared to sue for custody. Considering all she’d been through, it was hard for me to stay angry at her.