Lila

"Okay, John…" Lila said faintly. "I'll need you to go slow here. Tell me about the other files? Did they work?"

​​

John smiled. "It was perfect!"

Lila slumped. "You got recordings?"

"We got perfect recordings. There are places where his hair rubs and we get a little friction, but it all decrypted beautifully and… we have Dane's father on tape, Lila. Illegally, to be sure. But we have it."

"And he admitted it?"

"Yes. Dane asked him why he executed Talia and he explains himself. It's… a thing of beauty."

Lila stared, waiting. But John didn't go on. "So…? Can we go to the Police? Can they use it?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe? Why maybe?"

"Well, as I said, technically the recording was taken illegally, on private property and without the man's consent. But, since it discusses illegal activity, and is provided to the Police, there are some legal loopholes your sergeant might be able to jump through."

"He's a detective."

"Right. Whatever. Anyway, I have made a copy for you and I'll leave it up to you whether to use it or not. The thing you have to be thinking about is that this is a single shot. If you use it and it fails, it's dead in the water—and your enemy learns that you had it. You'll never get to use it again. Anything else gathered that way… it will be dead too."

Lila stared at him. "So you're telling me?"

"I'm telling you to think very carefully and make sure you aren't the only one with your ducks in a row before you give that out to anybody. It might be that trying to get Dane out, and only using this if it's difficult for him would be wiser."

"But what if we can't?"

"Then you still have it and can try. I'm just saying, Lila… these people… they're ruthless. And they have a lot of money and power behind them. Don't be naïve. Don't burn bridges that you need to come home."

Lila rubbed her temples, her entire body so tense her head was beginning to pound. "So, let me get this straight: We have digital evidence we can tamper with to get Dane off of any charges they might file based on the blackmail his father is releasing… but if we use it, we might accidentally free who knows how much of the prison population, and stop later—real videos—from being used to convict people who weren't coerced into their crimes… and we have audio files that prove Dane's father killed his sister—"

"—among other things—" John interrupted.

Lila sighed. "But you're telling me not to use that yet, because if they find a way to minimize it, we'll have nothing?"

John thought it through and nodded. "Yes, that's a fairly accurate summation."

Lila stared at him. "Then what are we doing? Why are we doing any of this? Why did Dane take the risk of wearing that thing into the house if we weren't going to use it the second we got it decrypted?"

"Because Dane is a very intelligent fellow who puts together anything he can think of that might work, because he knows sometimes we can't foresee… We didn't know when we put this together, for example, that his father would release video of Dane publicly."

"You said you thought he must have known."

"No, I said, and I'm saying, Dane thinks of all angles and tries to prepare for them, whether he knows or not. And I think in this case, he understood that his father was a fan of blackmail, so just in case, he was reminding me of one of the resources we have. Not that I would have forgotten," he grumbled.

If it hadn't been such a sad and dangerous situation, Lila would have laughed. Here was this genius of a man who apparently had a weapon in his arsenal that might bring down half the American justice system, yet he was annoyed that his friend felt like he needed to be reminded about it.

"I want to remind you of one thing about the video, Lila. When I said it was risky, I meant it. Even if it didn't create a precedent, even if it didn't bring down video evidence in the court of law, one thing it will absolutely achieve, is to create confusion around who or what was being filmed when that original file was made.

"The same file that would free Dane from conviction by creating reasonable doubt, would also create reasonable doubt for his father. Which means, his father could never be convicted of those crimes, either."

"His father wouldn't ever be, anyway. Since he forced Dane to do his dirty-work," she said darkly.

John nodded. "You're probably right. I mean, probably. But there was always a chance that by telling the truth, Dane would be able to convince a jury that his father was the true perpetrator."

Lila sat back, shaking her head. "Too many ifs, to many buts. Too much confusion or risk. I hate this feeling! I hate sitting here with things I can do, but being too scared to do them!"

"I understand your frustration, but I can tell you that when Dane spoke to me about all of this, his primary concern was you."

Tears welled and her vision blurred. "Thank you. I forgot to thank you. That gift…"

"He bought that on his way here the same night you were abducted. When he came here, he didn't know his father had gotten to you. He was still trying to find a way to get back to you that evening…"

She dropped her head into her hands. "I miss him so much, John," she said.

"I'm certain he misses you, too," the man said stiffly. Lila wanted to grin—he was so obviously uncomfortable. So excited and engaged by technology and strategy, but hamstrung by human emotion.

"Thank you, for all of this, John." She said carefully. "I will give it all careful thought and… I don't know. I might talk to you again."

"Certainly, certainly." He thought for a moment. "Do you still have Dane's wedding ring?"

"Yes, why?"

"Just… keep it close. If you ever decide to branch out or get brave… keep it close to you."

She looked at him and he looked back. "I will. Thank you."