The Big Bad Wolf

CHAPTER 64

I RECEIVED A STRANGE E-MAIL from Monnie Donnelley at my temporary office. An

update of sorts. She hadn’t been suspended, Monnie said. Not yet anyway. Plus, she had

some news for me. Need to see you tonight. Same place, same time. Very important news.

M



So I arrived at the Command Post Pub just past seven and looked around for Monnie. What

was this mysterious news she had? The bar area was crowded with customers, but I spotted

her. Easy she was the only woman. I also figured that Monnie and I might be the only non-Marines in the Command Post.

“I couldn’t talk to you over the phone at Quantico. Does that suck or what? Who do you

trust?” she said when I walked up to her.

“You can trust me. Of course I don’t expect you to believe that, Monnie. You have news?”



“I sure do. Take a load off. I think I have some good news, actually.”



I took a stool beside Monnie. The bartender came and we ordered beers. Monnie started up

as soon as he walked away. “I have a good friend at ERF,” she began. “That’s the

Engineering Research Facility at Quantico.”



“I know what it is. You seem to have friends everywhere.”



“That’s true. I guess not at the Hoover Building, though. Anyway, my friend alerted me to a

message the Bureau got a couple of days ago but dismissed as a crank call. It’s about a Web

site called the Wolf’s Den. Supposedly, you can buy a lover at the Den, as in, have someone

abducted. The site is supposed to be impossible to hack into. That’s the catch.”



“So how did he get in? Our hacker.”



“She’s a genius. I suspect that’s why she was ignored. Want to meet her? She’s fourteen years

old.”