“That’s for making me have to go and get that stupid key chain,” Casper said. “I threw it in the trash can outside. It was ruining the hang of my pants.”
As he left, Cheyenne walked over to the bank of clocks. She stopped near one that said EASTERN STANDARD TIME, US, which read 7:02 A.M.
“This is Boston time, set precisely by the atomic clock,” she said. “All your little friends are waking up and getting ready for school. In a half hour, at seven thirty-two, they will be running for the school bus. And you, halfway across the world, will have decrypted your flash drive and given us all your supposed information.”
Atticus was shaking too hard to agree.
A half hour?
Even if he could make contact – with anyone – a half hour was not enough time. “I – I – m-m -”
“Chill out,” Cheyenne said. “You’re among friends.”
“I may need more time,” Atticus blurted out. “I need to … write code.”
“It’s a fast computer,” Cheyenne drawled.
“But I’m a human,” Atticus said. “Not even Mark Zuckerberg can code that fast!”
Cheyenne walked to the table where the knife was lodged. She yanked it out and held it toward the light. “Well, then … epic fail.”