Cipher Read Online Free

was
floating around somewhere nearby. They were completely unaware of the power
that a small four by one piece of computer hardware could have on the global
economy. A complete shutdown and draining of money from financial systems or a
complete rewiring of city and state infrastructure through coordinated hacks
were just a couple of the ills that the device could be used to perpetrate
    You’re going to make
one million dollars, Jonathan. One million dollars. It was more money than he had ever seen and the allure of the profit and his
fear of the client drove him to push through any mental roadblocks he may have
had of doing the job. He was going to find the woman and he was going to find
the hardware. But why him? Why had Don Cicerone picked
him to do the job? Jonathan knew that he was capable, but it was clear that he
had been falling apart in recent years. He must have seen that when they met in
the park. He must have known that but still decided to go with him for the job.
He felt honored that they chose him, but he did have a great rapport with them
in the past. In the past, when they needed something, he always came through.
He could always find the man or the woman they were looking for, without fail.
    He thought about Don Cicerone and what would happen to him
if he failed as he waited in the taxi line outside the airport terminal. The
air was hot, and the New York heat wave was seemingly mirrored in Istanbul. He
couldn’t get away from the heat. He couldn’t escape it even if he tried. It was
the middle of summer and it felt exactly like it. He was in unfamiliar
territory but that didn’t detract him from what he knew needed to be done. Scanning
the busy terminal, Jonathan made his way outside to hail a taxi and get to the
city center. He had brushed up on Turkish phrases on the flight over, and tried
to recite them in his mind. The language wasn’t easy to pick up, and he knew it
was going to take some work to get acclimated.
    “ Merhaba ,” said the taxi driver as
he climbed in.
    “ Merhaba ,” said Jonathan back.
That was an easy one. It meant hello. “Do you speak English?”
    “Yes. Little,” replied the cabbie in broken English. “Where
will you go?”
    “Besiktas?” said Jonathan, naming off the area of the city
where the hotel was located.
      “Oh, okay. You
mean Beşiktaş? To a hotel?”
    “Yes. The Le Hotel.”
    “Okay, no problem. Where are from?” His English was bad but
it was better than him trying to communicate with him in Turkish. He wasn’t at
a conversational level just yet.
    “New York City.”
    “Oh, New York City. I love New York,” he said, laughing to
himself. “Very big city. Like Istanbul.”
    “Yes, very big city,” Jonathan replied.
    “You come vacation in Istanbul?”
    Jonathan looked at the man through the rearview mirror. He
seemed like an innocent, hardworking man. The thick dark mustache made it
difficult to see his mouth.
    “No, for work.”
    “Oh, okay. For what kind of work you do?”
    “I’m an investigator. Like a detective.” Jonathan didn’t
mind the conversation, but he was enjoying taking in the sights and the sounds of
the new city. It was the first time he had ever been to Istanbul and he enjoyed
the change of scenery. Stuck in a rut, the doldrums of living in New York wore
on him. Although it was a city full of opportunity, his opportunity had been in
the dirt for a while now, and he was happy to finally get a good break.
    “You are police?” The taxi driver looked at Jonathan now
with suspect through the rearview mirror, and he didn’t seem like the type of
person who liked police.
    “No. No. Not police. Private investigator for private
clients.”
    “Oh. Okay. Police here no good. I don’t like.”
    “I understand. Not many people do like the police when they
have to deal with them. The taxi drivers in New York complain about the police
too.” Jonathan lied. He wanted to get the cabbie back on his side again.
    “Yes. Police