Private Rome

Chapter 79

Gianna Bianchi’s late-model Audi Q7 seemed an impractical car for Rome, but Justine was glad not to be in one of the many tiny Fiats that whizzed fearlessly around the city. She looked out of the window at the sun-kissed buildings and pedestrians walking in the heat, the packed pavement cafés and air-conditioned stores, and wondered where Jack was and what had happened to him after their arrest.

Mo-bot had made a call as they’d walked to the lawyer’s car and had spoken to whoever replied in code. After the call, she told Gianna to head for the Fontana di Venere near the Gianicolo, one of the tallest hills in Rome.

Gianna knew exactly where it was, though it took them thirty minutes of fighting through heavy traffic to reach the lush green park with its grand fountain and formal gardens.

“Can you wait here?” Mo-bot asked her when she pulled into a space in the nearest parking lot. “My contact is a little skittish.”

The lawyer nodded. “It’s better if I stay away. Particularly if there is any illegality involved.”

“Oh, we won’t be doing anything illegal,” Mo-bot assured her. “The opposite in fact, if my hunch is right.”

Justine was intrigued, but she knew better than to quiz Mo-bot, who was obviously concealing something from the lawyer.

“Bring everything the cops took from you,” Mo-bot told her associates.

They followed her through the parking lot and along a tree-lined path beside a walled garden. They tracked the wall to its end and went through a doorway into a less cultivated area. Justine noticed a woman sitting on a bench set back from the path. She beamed as Mo-bot approached and rose to make a beeline for them. The woman had short brown hair, piercings in her ears, nose and eyebrows, and tattoos covering her arms and legs, where they were exposed by a black T-shirt and pair of matching shorts.

“Justine, Sci, this is Valentina,” Mo-bot said, before embracing the younger woman. “She’s a formidable digital warrior.”

“A hacker?” Sci asked.

Valentina rolled her eyes.

“Don’t mind him,” Mo-bot told her. “He’s a dinosaur.”

“Are you the one who helped Jack?” Justine asked.

Valentina nodded, but before she could say anything, Mo-bot cut in.

“Why don’t we check out the gear? Did you bring the kit?”

“Yes, it’s over here,” Valentina said, walking to the bench by the walled garden.

Justine, Sci and Mo-bot followed, and joined Valentina as she was opening a Peli flight case that contained a trove of electronic equipment. Justine recognized some of the gear as counter-surveillance devices.

“Give me everything the cops took from you,” Mo-bot said.

Justine and Sci complied, handing over a wallet, purse, phones, passports and belts. Mo-bot ran a scanner over everything and found two tracking devices: one embedded in Sci’s phone and the other sewn into Justine’s purse.

After scanning each item with a wand that detected electronic signals, Mo-bot passed the item to Valentina, who examined it further. She connected Sci’s and Justine’s phones to a tiny computer and analyzed the installed apps.

“Software tracker, using the phone’s GPS to send its location to a remote server,” Valentina revealed. “It’s on both devices. And there’s a keylogger sending the same server everything typed on these devices. All your messages can be read remotely.”

“They hacked us,” Sci remarked.

“I do wish you’d stop using that word,” Mo-bot replied. “But yes, they hacked us. That’s probably why they held us for so long — so they could install all this junk. What about my phone?” she asked, handing over her device.

Valentina connected it to the computer and examined the file directory. She nodded.

“Same.”

“Can you clean them?” Mo-bot asked.

“Sure,” Valentina replied. “No problem.”

“No listening devices?”

Valentina shook her head. “Location and text only.”

“Good,” Mo-bot said. “Then we can speak freely.” She turned to Justine. “You wanted to ask about Jack.”

“Yes. Have you heard from him?”

“Of course,” Valentina said. “I found another safe place for him and his friend. I’ll take you as soon as we’re finished here.”