Digital Fortress

"Absolutely. No woman that beautiful would be with a manlike that unless she were well paid! Mon Dieu! He was fat, fat, fat! A loudmouthed, overweight, obnoxious German!" Cloucharde winced momentarily as he shifted his weight, but he ignored the pain and plowed on. "This man was a beast-three hundred pounds at least. He locked onto that poor dear like she was about to run away-not that I'd blame her. I mean really! Hands all over her. Bragged that he had her all weekend for three hundred dollars! He's the one who should have dropped dead, not that poor Asian fellow." Cloucharde came up for air, and Becker jumped in.

"Did you get his name?"

Cloucharde thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No idea." He winced in pain again and settled slowly back into his pillows.

Becker sighed. The ring had just evaporated before his eyes. Commander Strathmore was not going to be happy.

Cloucharde dabbed at his forehead. His burst of enthusiasm had taken its toll. He suddenly looked ill.

Becker tried another approach. "Mr. Cloucharde, I'd like to get a statement from the German and his escort as well. Do you have any idea where they're staying?"

Cloucharde closed his eyes, his strength fading. His breathing grew shallow.

"Anything at all?" Becker pressed. "The escort's name?

There was a long silence.

Cloucharde rubbed his right temple. He was suddenly looking pale. "Well… ah… no. I don't believe…" His voice was shaky.

Becker leaned toward him. "Are you all right?"

Cloucharde nodded lightly. "Yes, fine… just a little… the excitement maybe…" He trailed off.

"Think, Mr. Cloucharde." Becker urged quietly. "It's important."

Cloucharde winced. "I don't know… the woman… the man kept calling her…" He closed his eyes and groaned.

"What was her name?"

"I really don't recall…" Cloucharde was fading fast.

"Think." Becker prodded. "It's important that the consular file be as complete as possible. I'll need to support your story with statements from the other witnesses. Any information you can give me to help locate them…"

But Cloucharde was not listening. He was dabbing his forehead with the sheet. "I'm sorry… perhaps tomorrow…" He looked nauseated.

"Mr. Cloucharde, it's important you remember this now." Becker suddenly realized he was speaking too loudly. People on nearby cots were still sitting up watching what was going on. On the far side of the room a nurse appeared through the double doors and strode briskly toward them.

"Anything at all," Becker pressed urgently.

"The German called the woman-"

Becker lightly shook Cloucharde, trying to bring him back.

Cloucharde's eyes flickered momentarily. "Her name…"

Stay with me, old fella…

"Dew…" Cloucharde's eyes closed again. The nurse was closing in. She looked furious.

"Dew?" Becker shook Cloucharde's arm.

The old man groaned. "He called her…" Cloucharde was mumbling now, barely audible.

The nurse was less than ten feet away yelling at Becker in angry Spanish. Becker heard nothing. His eyes were fixed on the old man's lips. He shook Cloucharde one last time as the nurse bore down on him.

The nurse grabbed David Becker's shoulder. She pulled him to his feet just as Cloucharde's lips parted. The single word leaving the old man's mouth was not actually spoken. It was softly sighed-like a distant sensual remembrance. "Dewdrop…"

The scolding grasp yanked Becker away.

Dewdrop? Becker wondered. What the hell kind of name is Dewdrop? He spun away from the nurse and turned one last time to Cloucharde. "Dewdrop? Are you sure?"

But Pierre Cloucharde was fast asleep.

Chapter 23

Susan sat alone in the plush surroundings of Node 3. She nursed a lemon mist herb tea and awaited the return of her tracer.

As senior cryptographer, Susan enjoyed the terminal with the best view. It was on the back side of the ring of computers and faced the Crypto floor. From this spot, Susan could oversee all of Node 3. She could also see, on the other side of the one-way glass, TRANSLTR standing dead-center of the Crypto floor.

Susan checked the clock. She had been waiting almost an hour. American Remailers Anonymous was apparently taking their time forwarding North Dakota's mail. She sighed heavily. Despite her efforts to forget her morning conversation with David, the words played over and over in her head. She knew she'd been hard on him. She prayed he was okay in Spain.

Her thoughts were jarred by the loud hiss of the glass doors. She looked up and groaned. Cryptographer Greg Hale stood in the opening.

Greg Hale was tall and muscular with thick blond hair and a deep cleft chin. He was loud, thick-fleshed, and perpetually overdressed. His fellow cryptographers had nicknamed him "Halite"-after the mineral. Hale had always assumed it referred to some rare gem-paralleling his unrivaled intellect and rock-hard physique. Had his ego permitted him to consult an encyclopedia, he would have discovered it was nothing more than the salty residue left behind when oceans dried up.