The Big Bad Wolf

scan or possibly an anal probe.
    The subject under discussion was the Couple and what to do about them.
    “What the hell does that mean—what to do about them?” asked the Art Director, who was jokingly called Mr. Softee because he could get very emotional, the only one of them who ever did.
    “It means just what it sounds like,” answered Sterling. “There’s been a serious breach of security. Now we have to decide what to do about it. There’s been sloppiness, stupidity, and maybe worse than that. They were seen. It’s put us all in danger.”
    “What are our options?” Art Director continued. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”
    Sterling responded instantly. “Have you read the newspapers lately? Do you have a TV? A team of two took a woman in a mall in Atlanta, Georgia. They were spotted. A team of two abducted a woman in Pennsylvania—and they were seen. Our options? Do absolutely nothing—or do something extreme. An object lesson is needed—for the other teams.”
    “So what are we doing about the problem?” asked Marvel, who was usually spookily quiet but could be nasty when he was aroused.
    “For one thing, I’ve shut down all deliveries for the moment,” said Sterling.
    “Nobody told me about that!” Sphinx erupted. “I’m expecting a delivery. As all of you know, I paid a price for it. Why wasn’t I informed before now?”
    No one said anything to Sphinx for several seconds. No one liked him. Besides, each of them was a sadist. They enjoyed torturing Sphinx, or anyone else in the group who showed weakness.
    “I expect my delivery!” Sphinx insisted. “I deserve it. You bastards! Fuck you all.” Then he went off-line. In a huff. Typical Sphinx. Laughable, really, except none of them was laughing right now.
    “The Sphinxter has left the building,” Potter finally said.
    Then Wolf took over. “I think that’s enough idle chat for tonight, enough fun and games. I’m concerned about the news stories. We need to deal with the Couple in some decisive manner that satisfies me. What I propose is that we have another team pay them a visit. Is there any disagreement?”
    There was none, which wasn’t unusual when the Wolf had the floor. All of them were petrified of the Russian.
    “There is some good news, though,” Potter said then. “This fuss and attention . . . it is exciting, isn’t it? Gets the blood boiling. It’s a hoot, right?”
    “You’re crazy, Potter. You’re mad.”
    “Don’t you just love it?”
    The well-protected chat room was not protected enough.
    Suddenly, the Wolf said, “Don’t say another word. Not a word! I think someone else is on with us. Wait. They’re off now. Someone broke into the den and now they’re gone. Who could have gotten in here? Who let them in? Whoever it is, they’re dead.”

Chapter 41
    LILI OLSEN WAS fourteen and a half years old, going on twenty-four, and she honestly believed she’d heard everything until she hacked into the Wolf’s Den.
    The sick bastards in the well-protected-but-not-protected-
enough
chat room were all older men, and they were gross and despicable. They liked to talk incessantly about women’s private parts and having
vile
sex with anyone and everything that moved—any age, any gender, human or animal. The men were beyond disgusting; they made her want to puke. Only then it got a lot worse, and Lili wished she had never even heard of the Wolf’s Den, never hacked into the highly protected chat room. They might be murderers!
    And then the leader, Wolf, actually discovered Lili was on the site with them, listening to everything they’d said.
    So now Lili knew about the murders, and the kidnappings, everything they fantasized about and possibly did.
Only she didn’t know if any of what she heard was real or not.
    Was it real? Or were they making it all up? Maybe they were just nasty, sicko bullshitters. Lili almost didn’t want to know the truth, and she didn’t know what to do about the stuff she’d already overheard. She had hacked onto their site, and that was illegal. If she went to the police, she’d be turning herself in. So she couldn’t do that. Could she? Especially if the stuff on the site was just fantasies.
    So she sat in her room and pondered the unthinkable. Then pondered it again. She felt so bad, so sick to her stomach, so sad, but she was also afraid.
    They knew she’d hacked onto the Wolf’s Den. But did they also know how to find her? If she were them, she’d know how. So