Unwanted Blood (Harper) novel Chapter 40

Chapter 40

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Marcus’s head snapped toward the noise.

In the same instant, a young man in a hoodie-Ethan, cap pulled low, face angled away-walked past the table and clipped the edge with his hip. Not hard. Just enough to make the table shudder.

Marcus’s hand shifted, protecting the USB from sliding off the surface.

That was the half-second Leo needed.

His hand moved. Fast. Precise. A flick of the wrist, a slide of the fingers, and a second silver USB -identical, indistinguishable-dropped from Ethan’s sleeve onto the table. At the same moment, Leo’s other hand covered the real USB, palmed it, and drew it into his jacket cuff in one fluid

motion.

The fake USB sat on the table. Marcus’s hand came back down on it. He felt metal. He assumed it

was his.

Marcus turned back from the noise. His hand was still on the USB. His face was annoyed but

unconcerned.

Leo sat back in his chair. His expression hadn’t changed.

“Serial confirmed,” he said. “It’s the old version. I’ll need to go back and cross-reference the decryption matrix. Three days. I’ll have an answer for you then.”

Marcus slid the USB back into his inner pocket. His hand pressed against it. “No games,” he said. His voice was cold. “Three days. I want something useful.”

Leo nodded. “I want money. You want files. We’re aligned.”

Marcus stood. He looked down at Leo for a second longer than necessary, then turned and walked

away.

Leo stayed in his chair. He counted to one hundred and twenty. Then he picked up his paperback, stood, and walked out of the reading room

He exited through the front door, turned right at the corner, and opened the back door of the grey

sedan.

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11:34

Chapter 40

He slid into the seat beside me. His face was calm His hands were steady.

He reached into his sleeve, pulled out a silver USB drive, and placed it in my palm.

“Got it,” he said.

I closed my fingers around it. The metal was cool. Small. Light. And it held everything.

“Thank you,” I said.

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Leo nodded. “Tell Ethan he owed me one. “He opened the door and disappeared into the street.

I looked down at the USB in my hand. Then I looked at the driver. “Go.”

The car pulled away. I didn’t look back.

–

Back at the apartment, I locked the door. Double-locked. Checked the windows. Then I sat at the desk, plugged the USB into the laptop, and waited.

A password prompt appeared on the screen.

09170223

Error.

I tried 09171423. Error. 091720230002. Error.

Then I typed: 091702230503.

The screen flickered. A loading bar filled. And then:

Access granted.

Finally. I breathed a sigh of relief.

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