Daemon

intense. I’m guessing we can’t wait even a couple of days.’
    FBI: ‘It’s being taken care of, gentlemen.’
    DARPA: ‘Frankly, we’re more concerned about the Daemon components on the Internet than the components in the house.’
    CIA: ‘Can’t you focus
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on this thing?’
    NSA: ‘That quickly turns into a discussion of USSID-18. We all know what a shitstorm that kicked up.’
    CIA: ‘That’s ridiculous. This isn’t a domestic surveillance issue. Sobol’s dead. He’s no longer a U.S. citizen.’
    DIA: ‘I’ll bet the ACLU would have an opinion on that.’
    FBI: ‘Just purchase consumer data from the private sector. It’s easier.’
    DARPA: ‘Once again, gentlemen, reality intrudes. Our standard surveillance methods won’t work. The Daemon issues press releases or reads the news. One is highly public; the other is a passive activity. There are no recurrent IP addresses or search words in e-mails to monitor.
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won’t help you. Neither will purchasing patterns.’
    The room grew quiet again.
    NSA: ‘Then we’re agreed that we need to defy the Daemon’s demand as soon as power can be brought down on the estate?’
    They all nodded.
    NSA: ‘Good. We’ll know more once we capture Sobol’s server room.’ He looked to FBI. ‘Make that happen, and we’ll see what this thing has up its sleeve.’
    Marine Captain Terence Lawne waited in a prone position on a shipping blanket laid across the roof of the County’s SWAT van. This gave him a vantage point over the estate fence line and deep into Sobol’s property. Lawne’s right eye pressed against the rubberized viewfinder on the infrared scope of his M82A1A .50-caliber anti-materiel rifle. He panned the property, swiveling the monster gun on its bipod until he located Sobol’s Hummer. He focused the crosshairs on it. The Hummer’s engine had been off for a while, but there was still a good heat signature. ‘I got it.’
    Major Karl Devon shifted position next to him to get a good look with his FLIR scope. The sheet metal roof of the SWAT van thumped and moved as he did so.
    ‘Major, watch the movement. This thing’s four hundred and fifty yards downrange.’
    He kept looking. ‘How’s your angle?’
    Lawne settled in again, getting his breathing under control. ‘It’s a clear shot.’ He pulled on his hearing protection.
    Devon looked down toward the nearby road at the gathered crowd of police, FBI, reporters, and technicians. It was a veritable army standing in the darkness below. The construction lights had been extinguished to facilitate Lawne’s work.
    Devon shouted, ‘Cover your ears, people!’ Devon pulled on his own ear protection and looked back to Lawne. ‘Fire when ready, Captain.’
    Captain Lawne got the Hummer back in his crosshairs. He focused on his breathing, and felt the calm flow over him. He slowly squeezed the trigger.
    The big gun boomed and kicked back into his shoulder. He brought his eye back up to the infrared scope for damage assessment. Hot liquid streamed out of the bottom of the Hummer’s engine compartment. Heat suddenly spread throughout the engine, and Lawne heard the distant sound of a diesel engine coming to life. The Hummer started to move – albeit slowly.
    ‘It’s on the move!’ He kept his eye to the scope and aimed again. The gun boomed and recoiled. Lawne saw the Hummer jerk to a stop. He had nailed it straight through the engine block. The armor-piercing round struck a mortal blow. Powerful heat was spreading now. Lawne looked up from the viewfinder. He could see orange flames downrange. He pulled off his hearing protectors. ‘Sorry, Major. It started its engine after the first hit. The Hummer’s on fire.’
    Devon checked his FLIR scope. ‘Goddamnit, Lawne.’
    He scanned the scene some more. Nothing they could do about it now. Diesel fuel was fairly slow burning, but nobody was going on that property until the Daemon was down for the count. ‘Forget about it. Let’s take out the emergency generator.’
    Captain Lawne put his eye up to the scope again and swung the long sniper rifle toward the garage, a good hundred yards closer. His eye followed a gravel footpath fifty feet or so to a small stucco outbuilding with an air-conditioning unit set inthe wall. The AC unit was red with heat – obviously running. There was also an exterior light just to the right of the nearby door. Lawne switched from infrared to normal view.
    Rustling paper came to Lawne’s