Finn dropped the apple. It hit his thigh and then fell to the floor with a thunk.
This time it was Charlotte’s turn to grin.
Milo sat at the counter in Puck’s diner and made painfully pleasant small talk with the fresh-faced waitress named Cassie. He was smart enough not to ask directly about Charlotte—the last thing he needed was this blabbermouth telling his quarry someone was looking for her. So he listened to the bubbly teen and nodded along, steering the conversation where he wanted it to go.
“My goodness, this pie is delicious,” he said.
“You should take a slice of lemon with you to-go. That’s my favorite.”
“This blueberry is the best I’ve ever had. You must get tourists from far and wide coming for this pie.”
She laughed at that. “Nope. Pretty much just the townspeople. We’re kind of off the beaten path if you hadn’t noticed. Remote, secluded, outlying.”
Milo ate another bite. The pie was delicious. “Well, I’m certainly going to tell everyone I know that they need to come to Purgatory, West Virginia, and try the pie.”
“Well, good luck with that. If we actually get any visitors, maybe Neville will name a sandwich after you or something.”
“It can’t be that rare that you get visitors,” Milo probed.
“In the past six months, we’ve had one guy come to town, a handyman, I guess you’d call him.”
Milo sipped his coffee; he wasn’t interested in some dullard day laborer.
Cassie continued, “Although he might be staying, cuz his wife or girlfriend just moved in with him.”
That got his attention. “So the population of Purgatory is up by two.”
“Looks like three pretty soon. She’s pregnant,” Cassie said.
“The girlfriend?” Milo confirmed.
“God, I’d kill for that red hair,” Cassie mused, fingering her golden ponytail.
Bingo.
“This guy any good? I could sure use a handyman at my place.”
“Finn? I don’t know. I haven’t been up to the Gingerbread House. Seems like he knows what he’s doing, though. He’s got that air of competence, capability, expertise.”
Milo didn’t know what was up with this gal and her synonyms, nor did he care. ”Gingerbread House?”
“The old Moss place down the road. He’s fixin’ it up.”
Milo needed to get a hold of himself before his excitement got the better of him. “Bathroom?” he asked.
“Down that hall,” Cassie instructed, pointing to the back.
Milo slid off the stool and walked to the narrow hallway. As he approached the bathroom, he heard the bell over the entrance ring, and Cassie said, “You can’t smoke in here, mister.” The bell chimed again, and Milo continued to the lavatory.
“Well, I best get going. Thank you for the delicious pie,” Milo said when he returned. He placed some money on the counter, wiped his mouth with the paper napkin, and drained the last of his coffee from the mug. “Thanks for the pie.”
Milo exited the diner and hurried to his car. So, Charlotte was here with Finn McIntyre. The HackAttack cheaters had reunited. He buckled his seatbelt and placed his hands on the steering wheel. It seemed the Universe had finally gotten on board with his plan. He had used Aiden McIntyre to tie his puzzle together because it was Finn McIntyre who had aided Charlotte in engineering his demise. Through his work for the Navy, Finn had an intimate understanding of Milo’s system. While still a challenge, defeating the firewall would have been infinitely easier for the naval programmer. The fact that the bastard was still in her life, and they were expecting a child, well, that was just too delicious.
Milo liked this tune; it had a certain karmic ring to it.
Proper planning was essential. Finn McIntyre was a welcome addition to the game, but besting him would be no small feat. Milo would have to bring every trick he had learned in the virtual world into real life. The matrix was different, but the premise was the same. Let’s see how these two fare at the poker table when they don’t have an ace up their sleeve.
He passed the distinctive mailbox that marked the Gingerbread House the waitress had mentioned. For now, he needed to fall back, establish a base, and set his trap.