His paused to take a hankerchief out of his pocket and wipe his forehead. He removed his glasses and sighed gently. Speaking softly while wiping the lenses of his glasses, he said, “you can check the source-code before you install it, Carl. Don’t install the changes if you feel they will cause trouble. Or take credit for them yourself if you wish. Just install them.”
With some effort Rudy pulled himself out the chair and walked across the room. He gently tossed a floppy disk into my lap. I stared at it. Could I trust him? What harm could it do to accept his changes. It seemed too far-fetched even to me to think that he might try to introduce a virus. No, he probably was being honest; he needs to clear his name and the best way to do that is to help further the investigation. I picked the disk up and absently fanned my face with it. The air was muggy. It was obvious that the air-conditioner was not on. I realized that the electricity might not be connected in the apartment. Who’s apartment was this anyway? It was furnished yet vacant… odd.
Rudy interrupted my thoughts. “You will find that my changes allow for conditions on the country attribute. In particular, with these changes we can easily distinguish between domestic traffic and traffic that crosses national borders.
Rudy’s mouth twitched with a slight smirk as he headed for the door.
“Goodnight Mr. Raymond. You will find that you are in the apartment across the hall from your own. Again, Goodnight.”
And then he was gone.
I sat in the dark and reflected on the strange meeting that had just transpired. Rudy Levinski was trapped on the outside. He had not been able to earn the trust and cooperation of the FBI as I had. Like me, he was a prime suspect, but for some reason the FBI seemed unwilling to open a dialogue with him and make a deal. Or, perhaps Rudy had not been careless enough to give them a chance. I recalled my own arrest. I would not describe the initial behavior of the FBI agents as cooperative. Still, that was behind me now, yet for some reason the FBI was not as quick to cooperate with Rudy. Did they know something about Rudy Levinski that I did not know? Something that I should know?