The Blue Nowhere Third Posting

Deaver, Jeffery. The Blue Nowhere. New York: Pocket Books, 2001.

Section II (cont.)

18, 19, 20 and 21
Gillette escaped from the Crimes Unit. He left out the back door disabling the fire alarm. . Gillette was Valleyman in the Knights of Access. He knows who Phate is. Both he and Phate were skilled software writers together. Then Phate went bad. He remembers taking things apart for the majority of his life. His childhood and brief college history including meeting his wife, Elana are presented. Elana is the objective of his “escape.” He disabled his anklet tracing device for only a brief time. He is trying to see Elana and give her the circuit board which he has made in prison. He is also showing his own skills at decoy and deception. At the Crimes Unit, the distracting computer wiping software has started and there are multiple “clues” for the team members to trace which Gillette planted for them.
The Pentagon, through David Chambers, puts pressure upon Bishop to keep the use of Gillette on the case a secret. Bishop deceives Chambers into believing that Gillette is under his control though at the time of the conversation, Gillette has escaped him. Chambers OKs Gillette being out of prison for three days to work on this case.
Gillette finds his way to his former wife’s home. Though he is captured, he is allowed to speak to his ex wife. He pleads with her to not leave him for someone named “Ed.” He gives her the circuit board which he smuggled out of prison. He tells her to patent it and it will make money for her and take care of her. She unconvincingly says “no.” He leaves it in the mail box.
Gillette confesses that he knows who Phate is, but only in an on line way. He states that Phate became dangerous and that he finally reported Phate’s stolen Harvard software to the Massachusetts Police. Phate was subsequently arrested.
A presumed deputy from the county, Charlie Pittman, approaches Bishop and Gillette as they are about to leave Elana’s home. He is prying for information which Bishop did not give him. Gillette is brought back to Crimes Unit. Bishop is beginning to like Gillette.
Phate selects his next victim.

The section quote that anonymity will be abolished by computing becomes a real possibility in these chapters even though elaborate cloaking devices are employed. The Captain Crunch reference was an interesting side bar. All of the characters, good and bad, use deception as a matter of daily operation. Deception is suggested as an easy, albeit elaborate at times, method of protection of privacy and information.

22 and 23
Phate has selected for his next target a little girl named Samantha. She is attending a private school that boasts security. She is the daughter of an executive that has made personal family security a priority. Phate hacks all of their information, poses as an uncle, and literally walks out of the school with the girl. While in route to his home to kill her, he becomes with distracted with a text message. He aborts his abduction of the little girl. He pulls over to the side of road, lets her out, and takes off. Phate has received a message from Shawn who tells him that Wayne Gillette is working with the Computer Crimes Unit on Phate’s murder cases. Phate is very excited about this new twist in his game. There is an obvious connection between Shawn and the character, Charlie Pittman.
Phate decides to take on the Computer Crimes Unit itself. The hunter will become the hunted. Phate is in his warehouse home. It is here that he keeps everything important to him. The warehouse is a computer museum. It is from here he stages his games.
Back in the Crimes Unit, it is suspicious that Bob Sheldon comes in late every so often. Gillette’s bot finds a posting from Phate himself; a modified quote of Shakespeare. The game is on now between the hunter and the hunted.

Phate’s character is developed in these chapters. A history of computing machines is reviewed in brief. The plot depth deepens with both good and bad in a deadly search for each other.