DoubleThink - An SOS Novella

SEPT. 24, 12:01 A.M.

L STREET, WASHINGTON, D.C.

PENNY YAWNED, BELATEDLY COVERING HER mouth even though she was sitting alone behind the wheel of her "borrowed" car. It was a good thing she was a night owl and she was still on West Coast time.

She had already scouted out the building earlier in the day, but there wasn't much out here, which made it extra creepy. Especially late at night.

Penny was hanging out waiting for 12:09 a.m. and whatever was going to happen. Right on time, she heard footsteps echoing down the empty street. In her rearview mirror, she saw a dark shape pass under the orange glow of a streetlight—a man dressed in a black puffy coat and jeans, a duffel bag like hers slung over his shoulder. From his height, the way he walked, his dark hair, he reminded her of Max.

Max hadn't replied to her text message for almost a full day. He'd apologized, said his phone had run out of power while he was making a day trip to some little French village. Yes, that could be true, but Penny had lost the urge to tell him about the wild Google chase that had led her to D.C. , so she hadn't responded to his increasingly urgent messages. She wasn't even sure why. It wasn't just that she wanted the satisfaction of doing this by herself. Part of her worried that he was trying to distance himself not only from hacking, but from her. It turned out that she needed a little distance herself.

Penny tensed as not-Max approached her side of the car. She started the engine, stepped on the brake, and put the car into drive. She was ready to put the pedal to the metal if he gave her the slightest provocation. She double-checked that the doors were locked. The man leaned over and tapped on the glass.

Is there a code phrase? Penny thought frantically as she lowered the window. She said the first thing that came to mind, at the same time he did:

"Are you H8Bit?"

They stared at each other and laughed.

Up close, he looked nothing like Max, and not just because he was Asian. He was much thinner, almost scrawny, his true size all hidden by the puffy coat. He was pale too, almost vampiric in the harsh light of the streetlamps, with dark smudges under his bloodshot eyes. He had a scraggly mustache and stubble on his chin that looked like it would never become a full beard. And his right ear was pierced; a tiny red-and-white ball dangled from it.

"What am I thinking? You couldn't be H8Bit," he said.

Penny clenched her jaw. "Because I'm a woman?"

"No, you're too young, by at least thirty years."

"He's way retro, isn't he? You're about my age too, huh?"

"Twenty-five?" he asked.

"Same," Penny lied. "Should I get out, or do you want to come in?"

"I'll sit and get warm, if that's okay. I walked from downtown, and it's cold tonight. Plus I have no idea what we're waiting for."

He came around to the passenger side and sat down, balancing his duffel bag on his knees. He reached over to shake her hand.

"I'm Missing Number," he said.

She snorted. "That's appropriate." She furrowed her brow. "Hold on, you mean 'MissingNO'?" She pronounced the handle the way she always had: "missing no."

He nodded excitedly, his earring bobbing about. "Yeah! You've heard of me?"

"Your video game hacks are incredible," she said. "I'm +g00d."

He screwed up his face. "I don't know that one."

"It's a new handle. I've been around for a while, but I'm sort of reinventing myself," Penny said.