Mark Pryor - Cyberian Affair

“You believe Sokolov sent someone to interrogate him?”

“It is possible. They may have thought he was in on it. If not, maybe they figured he knew something. I plan to search for employees of the Cayman banks and some of the other banks we used to move the money. Perhaps some of them suffered a similar fate.”

“It might be a coincidence,” said Niko. “It’s only one suicide.”

“It is not just one. I have been searching for hackers from my past—like we did with your past. I discovered that one of the better programmers from my Prixster days was a single woman in Boston. I learned her name and address.”

“What happened to her?”

“She jumped from the balcony of her apartment last week—nineteen stories up.”

“Wow. That takes some determination… it could be another coincidence.”

Vyper shook her head. “The police found her pet, a small Pekinese, dead in her apartment—neck broken. Someone must have tried to question her.”

“Did you ever communicate with her as Prixster?”

“All the time. We were celebrities of a sort. Other hackers followed our chat room conversations. Our online relationship was well-known.”

“Prixster’s been ‘dead’ for a couple years. It doesn’t make sense for anyone to search for you.” Niko took the empty coffee cups to the sink. “Unless they had reason to believe you were alive—something I recently told Zatan.”

Vyper walked to the living room and sat on the couch.

Niko followed her. Normally, he would take a seat on the far end, hugging the arm rest, but today he decided to sit closer to Vyper—just a foot or two closer. “You think Sokolov’s trying to follow the money to you, and Zatan’s trying to find Prixster.”

She looked up from the computer, her hazel eyes locked onto his. “We are pretty sure Zatan works for Sokolov. They may have concluded I am the same person.” Her hand started to flap. “If they do find me, you will be in danger, too.”

Niko leaned closer. “I love you.” He reached out and held her head in both hands. “We’ll stop them. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Vyper’s flapping stopped and she gave a weak smile. She wrapped her arms around his waist.

He pulled her close and pressed his lips against hers. Sensing no reaction, he nibbled her lips with his, and teased them with his tongue.

Her eyes closed, and her mouth opened a bit, enough for Niko to reach the tip of her tongue. That must have flipped a magical switch, transforming her into a wanton woman. Her mouth opened wide, and she probed him as much as he probed her.

He wrapped one arm around her back, leaving the other free to settle on her breast. Even through the velour top, her breast was firm. Vyper’s back arched when he caressed her nipple. She sank lower into the couch. Encouraged, he pulled on the zipper and slid it lower to expose more flesh.

Niko moved his mouth to her neck and ear, kissing and nibbling everywhere. He moved her top, exposing more skin. His thumb touched her nipple. She reached up, grasped his hair, and moaned.

He ravaged her breast with his mouth, lips, and tongue. One hand reached for the other breast, while his other hand reached down for her track suit slacks, where Vyper’s hand was waiting.

He tugged lightly at the waistband, but she held firm. He tugged once again.

She sat up. “I am sorry. I cannot do this.”

Niko released her. He was still aroused, and now he was frustrated—but he loved her. “Did I do something wrong?”

She zipped up her top. “No. I wanted to do this… I thought I could… but I am afraid.”

“I love you, Vyper. I’d never hurt you. Can we talk about it?”

“I am not sure how to talk about it.”

“You’re afraid.” Niko was sure he knew why. “Are you a virgin?”

Her eyes looked off into the distance. “No.”

That wasn’t the answer he expected. “Were you ever in love?”

Vyper’s eyes met his. “My feelings for you are… stronger… than I have ever felt before. Maybe that is love.”

He wanted to make love to her but didn’t want her to pull away. “When you first had sex… did you… have strong feelings for the man?”

“No.” Her hand began to flap. “I never wanted sex from any of those men.”

Anger filled Niko’s mind as he pictured a man— more than one man —forcing themselves on her. He rested his hand on hers. “Did someone rape you?”

Vyper’s head rocked back and forth with no sign of stopping.

Niko knew he had to leave her alone until she snapped out of it, even though every instinct told him to take her into his arms. He waited silently but remained at her side.

When she stopped rocking, she placed her hand on his thigh. “You are very good to me… but I will not talk about those men. I refuse to think about them.”

He squeezed her arm. “I won’t ask about them again. But I have a different question.”

She raised an eyebrow but remained quiet.

“Someday, I would like us to have a physical relationship. How about you?”

Vyper glanced at the floor. “I want to… but not today.”

Niko gave her shoulder a playful shove. “That means we have something to look forward to.”

Washington, DC

Niko held Vyper’s hand while they made their way toward the Capitol dome three blocks away. It stood proudly above the crowd on this beautiful March morning. A month had passed since Vyper’s sock puppets began to spread anti-Russian propaganda, and it appeared this demonstration was a direct result.

The event was scheduled for 1:00, but thousands of protestors had already arrived—mostly young, more women than men, some with children.

Vyper slowed her pace and came to a stop. “Are you close enough to see what you want?”

Niko turned around. “I promised we’d walk along the edge of the crowd, and that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

He led her north, maintaining their distance from the throng of people, many of them waving hand-painted signs. The messages were anti-Russian: “Evil Empire,” “Beer not Vodka,” and “Make Russia Pay.”

“Very impressive,” said Vyper. “A few weeks ago, nobody was upset about the Russians. Now they are angry.” She winked. “I never thought anyone would pay attention to your messages.”

“I wasn’t sure it would work either. It’s amazing how easily people can be led when thousands of sock puppets keep pushing a common message. If the demonstrations in the other cities are half this size, we can call it a success.”

A man nearby held up a sign that read, “Freeze their money.”

Niko waved his arm in the direction of the sign. “I’m going to talk to him. Do you want to come with me?”

Vyper nodded and wrapped her arm around his as they walked over to the man.

“Excuse me,” said Niko. “We’re visitors here. What’s with the crowd?… the signs?”

“It’s the Russians.” The man set down his sign. “Embassy’s full of KGB spies and killers. We gotta kick ‘em out of the country. Freeze their money.”

Niko smiled. “Thank you.” He looked at Vyper. “Sweetheart, this is the demonstration we read about in the news.”

After they walked away, Vyper whispered, “He said the KGB, but—”

“I know. KGB, GRU… most Americans don’t know the difference. It doesn’t matter. He considers them killers, and that’s what’s important.”

Niko pulled Vyper closer to the heart of the crowd where some of the demonstrators screamed wildly while others cheered them on. Organized groups chanted their messages: “Damn senators are paid off by the Russians,” “They bought the damn election,” and “What will they blow up next?—the White House?”