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ourselves, we have to put their ass in a sling. Then, maybe, I can work some kind of deal.”
    “What kind of deal?”
    “We’ll have to see. An acquisition. Maybe we can buy them. Maybe a merger. I don’t know. But I need an edge.”
    “I thought these guys were your blood enemies?”
    “I can live with enemies. I just can’t watch the company go down. If I can hustle them into a merger, I can take care of them later. Right now, there’s no reason in the world they should talk to us. We need to give them a reason.”
    He turned back to the desk and picked up a black-bound typescript. “This is Dillon’s report. In general, it says the best way to stop Whitemark is through their computer systems—design systems, accounting systems, information systems, scheduling, and materials. Altering them, destroying them, faking them out.”
    “This is a defense industry,” I said. “If we’re caught, they’ll drop us in Leavenworth for the rest of time.”
    “Ah. Now that’s something Dillon’s report covers quite thoroughly,” said Anshiser. “I will give you a contract outlining the kind of attack I want. If you are arrested, you will present the authorities with a copy of the contract. I will voluntarily confirm that I hired you to do this work. You will instantly become a very small fry.”
    “And you join me at Leavenworth.”
    “No. I don’t think so. I’m not absolutely sure, of course, but I don’t think so. If I am arrested, or any of my people are arrested, I will publicly discuss the contributions I have given our president over the past ten years. He’s exceptionally popular, you know, and intends to run for reelection. The contributions I made were quite illegal, but they kept his political career alive at several critical junctures. I am confident that any investigation will be quashed.”
    “Blackmail.”
    “Exactly. You’ve been around politicians enough to know that it happens every day.”
    “It’s usually not quite so blunt.”
    “Oh, there won’t be anything blunt about it. If they get to me at the end of the investigation, they’ll punch me into their computers and a flag will pop up. Some flunky will run over to the White House, and the whole investigation will disappear.”
    I grunted and thought about it. It could work, but I didn’t intend to commit myself without more thought. “It’s shaky. I’d have to think about it.”
    “Think about the fee when you’re thinking about the job,” Anshiser said. He leaned back and tented his fingers. “If you take the job and it doesn’t work out, one million dollars. If you take it and it does work, another million. I assume you would have to hire other people, buy equipment, whatever. When you sign the contract, Ms. Kahn will give you the first million in cash, plus one hundred thousand in expense money.”
    “Jesus,” I said. Now I was thinking furiously. “Why so much? If I was willing to do it, it wouldn’t take a million to convince me.”
    “Mr. Kidd,” he said quietly, “I’m eighty-three years old and supposedly have a billion dollars. Maybe two billion. If I gave away a million a week for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t keep up with accruing interest. I don’t care what I pay you—but I suspect you do. With two million, you’ll be free. Forever.”
    “Or in jail for eight to ten.”
    “Jail would protect you from distractions while you paint.” He sat and looked at me, smiling. I thought about it . . . two million dollars.
    “I might also mention that you seem to have precisely the right qualifications for the job. Not only are you able to do it, you have the will to do it. I had the most flattering report from our String engineers, by the way. They want to hire you to work on the AI software.”
    “That’s nice,” I said distractedly.
    Two million. I had to be missing something.
    “You need time to think,” he offered.
    “Yeah, I do. And the deal’s not quite right,” I said. “If I take the job,