Digital Fortress Chapter 16

A forebode? Susan looked doubtful. Tankados missing a ring?Yes. Were lucky David caught it. It was a real heads-up play.But youre after a pass-key, not jewelry.I distinguish, Strathmore said, but I think they might be one and the same.Susan looked lost.Its a want story.She motioned to the tracer on her screen. Im not going whateverwhere.Strathmore sighed heavily and began pacing. Apparently, in that location were witnesses to Tankados death. According to the officer at the morgue, a Canadian tourist c all tolded the Guardia this morning in a panic-he said a Japanese man was having a heart attack in the park. When the officer arrived, he found Tankado dead and the Canadian there with him, so he radioed the paramedics. While the paramedics took Tankados body to the morgue, the officer tried to get the Canadian to tell him what happened. All the onetime(a) guy did was babble about some ring Tankado had given a federal agency right before he died.Susan eyed him skeptically. Tankado gave away a ring?Yeah. Apparently he forced it in this old guys face-like he was begging him to take it. Sounds like the old guy got a close look at it. Strathmore stop pacing and turned. He said the ring was engraved-with some sort of lettering.Lettering?Yes, and according to him, it wasnt English. Strathmore raised his eyebrows expectantly.Japanese?Strathmore shook his head. My first thought too. But get this-the Canadian complained that the letters didnt spell anything. Japanese characters could never be confused with our Roman lettering. He said the engraving looked like a cat had gotten secrete on a typewriter. Susan laughed. Commander, you dont really think-Strathmore cut her off. Susan, its crystal clear. Tankado engraved the Digital Fortress pass-key on his ring. prosperous is durable. Whether hes sleeping, showering, eating-the pass-key would always be with him, realisey at a moments notice for instant publication.Susan looked dubious. On his finger? In the open like th at? wherefore not? Spain isnt exactly the encryption capital of the world. Nobody would have any idea what the letters meant. Besides, if the key is a standard sixty-four-bit-even in broad daylight, nobody could possibly read and memorize all sixty-four characters.Susan looked perplexed. And Tankado gave this ring to a total stranger moments before he died? Why?Strathmores gaze narrowed. Why do you think?It took Susan only a moment before it clicked. Her eyes widened.Strathmore nodded. Tankado was stressful to get rid of it. He thought wed killed him. He felt himself dying and logically assumed we were responsible. The quantify was too coincidental. He figured wed gotten to him, poison or something, a slow-acting cardiac arrestor. He knew the only way wed dare kill him is if wed found North Dakota.Susan felt a chill. Of course, she whispered. Tankado thought that we neutralized his insurance policy so we could remove him too.It was all coming clear to Susan. The timing of the hear t attack was so gilt for the NSA that Tankado had assumed the NSA was responsible. His final instinct was revenge. Ensei gave away his ring as a last-ditch effort to unfreeze the pass-key. Now, incredibly, some unsuspecting Canadian tourist held the key to the most powerful encryption algorithm in history.Susan sucked in a deep breath and asked the inevitable question. So where is the Canadian now?Strathmore frowned. Thats the problem.The officer doesnt know where he is?No. The Canadians story was so absurd that the officer figured he was either in shock or senile. So he put the old guy on the back of his motorbike to take him back to his hotel. But the Canadian didnt know enough to hang on he poisonous off before theyd gone three feet-cracked his head and broke his wrist.What Susan choked.The officer wanted to take him to a hospital, but the Canadian was furious-said hed walk back to Canada before hed get on the motorcycle again. So all the officer could do was walk him to a sm all public clinic near the park. He left him there to get checked out.Susan frowned. I assume theres no need to ask where David is headed.