So Elliott was right. Elliott was sane, and he was right. The man in the mask had wanted the notebook. Nina mentally apologized to Elliott for doubting him.

“No one, including Carleen Flint, and I emphasize, no one, at XYC knew of his intention.”

“That’s your position,” Nina said.

“It’s not just a position. It’s the truth. You can litigate this case for years if you want, depose every single XYC staffer, and you will not learn anything different.”

“Is that correct, Mr. Elias?” Nina asked.

Elias smiled and said, “Greg’s doing the talking.”

Foster went on. “Flint called his sister the day after the robbery and told her that he was going underground. She informed management immediately. He was fired and XYC had no further contact with him. Carleen stayed with us and became a valued member of our team. Your client, Mr. Hanna, filed a lawsuit that was about to die a natural death, and then you came along.”

“Yes,” Nina said. “It’s all my fault. Where is Mr. Flint? You know where he is, don’t you?”

Another exchange of glances. Foster said, “I haven’t said that.”

“Well, do you?”

“I wouldn’t say that, not in so many words.”

“He’s still listed as an employee on your Web site.”

“That’s a mistake.”

Nina turned to the NSA agent. “What is your interest?” Dietz did not respond. He was regarding her as Nabokov might have regarded a specimen butterfly just before impaling it on a pin.

“I’m getting to that,” Foster said. “The point is, we may be able to help regarding Mr. Flint.”

“Except that?”

“We still have an interest in Mr. Wakefield’s work. An even stronger interest, at this point. And he won’t talk to us. In fact, he told us you represent him.”

“I see,” Nina said. She would have to talk to Elliott, quickly. It put her in a pickle, because she didn’t represent him. On the other hand, she couldn’t pretend to represent him, that would be unethical.

Professor Braun had been listening quietly. Now he said, “I wonder if you have any idea how dangerous Elliott’s work is.”

“Well, it sure has been dangerous to him,” Nina said.

“It’s a danger to the whole world. It’s a lethal bomb. It’s the equivalent of Hiroshima.”

“I won’t let you get away with that, Professor. People won’t die in the hundreds of thousands because of Mr. Wakefield’s work.”

“They will be homeless in the millions. Their national economies will be in ruins. The Internet will be down for the foreseeable future, Ms. Reilly. I don’t think you have the slightest idea what that means in this day and age.

“Elliott doesn’t understand. He doesn’t care about large institutions and he thinks individuals will not suffer. He has to be made to understand that they will suffer. How will they pay their bills? How will they talk to each other? Do you have any idea how this will impact civil liberties? Ordinary people can now encrypt their E-mails to each other. They can talk to each other and there is some check on the government’s technical ability to listen in. That check will be gone.

“He’s young, his judgment is poor, and he has chosen you to be his representative. That’s why we are talking with you today, Ms. Reilly. We need your help.”

Aaron Dietz of the NSA cleared his throat and said, “The nation insists on your help.”

“Civilization as we know it will disappear,” Nina said.

“Don’t take this lightly, Ms. Reilly.”

“This code has only been used for ten years, Professor. All codes are broken eventually. Isn’t the real problem that XYC is built around this encryption code? Your corporate world may be in danger, but I think the rest of the world can adjust in due course.”

“You simply don’t understand. The impact-”

Nina interrupted. “When did you talk to Mr. Wakefield?”

“His home was searched yesterday in the early-morning hours,” Dietz said. “He was present at that time. On NSA’s affidavit and pursuant to court order.”

“I haven’t spoken with him about that,” Nina said.

“No? Well, he didn’t resist. He didn’t ask to talk to his lawyer, if that’s what you want to know.”

“And the notebook?”

“Still wherever he hid it,” Dietz said. He gave his red silk tie an angry yank.

“The worst thing is that he won’t show anyone his results,” Professor Braun said. “There is probably a mistake somewhere. It could all be a mistake, which would explain why it’s taking him so long to provide a proof. But we have to proceed as though he has found a way to break the XYC encryption system. What have you seen of his work, Ms. Reilly?”

He had asked nicely. “Oh, nothing, really,” Nina said. “We talked about it a little. I’m no mathematician. Generally, he shows that the primes are strictly analogous to eigenvalues of a Hermitian quantum operator associated with a classical Hamiltonian.”

Braun’s face paled. He gripped the table. “What Hamiltonian is that? Is he using Alain Connes’s p-adelic Hermitians?”

“I’m sorry, Professor. You understand.” Nina smoothed her skirt, had a sip of water.

The men looked at one another. Braun muttered, “Connes. Incredible.” Foster nodded at Branson and the atmosphere in the room electrified.

Nina straightened her back and prepared herself.

“Ten million and a confidentiality agreement for Wakefield, two million for you, properly sheltered from income tax, and a million for your client Mr. Hanna,” Branson said. “And Mr. Flint’s ass, encased in a sling and delivered in a white limo.”

Nina wrote down those lovely round numbers. It gave her a second to think.

“And in exchange?”

“Confidentiality agreements all around. The notebook. Mr. Wakefield’s cooperation. Dismissal of your causes of action against XYC.”

“Is this severable?” Nina asked. “Because Mr. Hanna and Mr. Wakefield don’t have the same interests. In fact, there’s a conflict. For example, what if Mr. Hanna agreed to drop the suit against XYC in exchange for a million dollars and Flint?”

“And Wakefield?”

“Let’s say his side of things would have to be negotiated independently.”

Branson said, “You already know the answer to that one. Nobody gives a shit about Hanna’s lawsuit. You want Flint, you bring Wakefield to the table. You want to handle the Wakefield part without Hanna, that’s fine with us, though we’d like to take care of everything at once. Am I being nice enough?”

“I’m afraid not,” Nina said. “I want to talk to Carleen Flint before any decisions are made.” There was a stir around the table. They were all looking at Elias again. “Mr. Elias?” Nina said. “Is she available?”

Tom Elias scratched his cheek. “Mr. Branson?”

“What do we get in return?” Branson said.

Nina said evenly, “Mr. Elias? She’s here, isn’t she?”

Elias shrugged and said, “Five minutes.”

Branson brought Carleen Flint in and made a place for her. Nina barely had time to reflect that her loyalty to the company was crucial to them. Carleen was small and slight, wearing a nice gray suit. She wasn’t a pretty woman, and she was very nervous right now, trembling like a greyhound.

“This lady has a few questions for you,” Branson told her. “As we discussed.”

“May I?” Nina asked Branson.

“Five minutes,” he reminded her.

“You know who I am?” she asked Carleen.

“They told me.”

“You are Leland Flint’s sister?”

“Yes.”

“You are willing to talk to me today? No one is forcing you to talk to me?”

“No.”

“It’s all right, Carleen,” Tom Elias said. “Be frank.”

“How long have you been employed at XYC?”

“Two years full-time. Before that I was a student intern for a summer.”

“How did your brother come to work there?”

“He had just been discharged from the Navy. He was in an operation in the Indian Ocean and there was an accident. He was injured. His leg. His face was scarred. He decided to get into security work, and there were openings at XYC. After he started working there, he told me he liked it there and he encouraged me to apply for an internship.”