“His name is nothing of your concern, Mr. Burke, but it’s Rod. Rod Sterling.”

“Oh…like the Twilight Zone guy on those ancient television shows,” one student smarted off. The rest of the students laughed.

“If you bothered to do your homework before opening your mouth, Mr. Cassidy, you would remember the Twilight Zone guy is Rod Serling, without a T.”

The room quieted.

Wyl poked his head in the door of the classroom. “Am I in the right place?”

Ailbe turned to greet Wyl and Rod. “Yes, Misters Sterling. Please come in.” He shook hands and guided them to the front and center.

“Lads, may I introduce Mr. Wyl Sterling, the renowned cybersecurity expert.” He squeezed Wyl’s shoulder. “And the gentleman accompanying him is Dr. Rod Bonner Sterling, who is not only a musicologist and an expert on opera, but he is also Wyl Sterling’s husband.” He placed his hand on Rod’s shoulder. “Let’s welcome them.” He began applauding, and the lads joined in. Rod moved to the back row to sit while Wyl took a position at the front of the classroom. Ailbe sat by Rod.

“Dr. MacGowan asked me to give you a shortened version of my presentation for the symposium. Afterward, I’ll be glad to answer questions from you lads,” Wyl began.

Again, Wyl demonstrated his extreme comfort in front of an audience. He walked back and forth across the front of the lecture hall, using his hands to emphasize points or pausing for a particular item to soak in.

Rod peered at the lads, who focused on Wyl and his topic. After twenty minutes, Wyl stopped and slid his hands into his pants pockets, gazing at the lads seated in the classroom. “All right…any questions?”

Hands shot into the air and lads squirmed in their seats to be first.

Wyl pointed to a student in the back of the room, frantic to ask his question. “You. Give your name and state your question.”

“Seamus MacAuley, sir.”

“Yes, Mr. MacAuley?”

“Cybersecurity sounds like a fascinating career. How did you start?”

“I got into security about when home computers became widespread, Mr. MacAuley. While in the Marines, I worked with the government to keep our military and all Americans safe. As computers infiltrated society, I studied coding each year to keep up with not only changes in technology but changes in criminal activity as well.”

Students waved hands in the air again. Wyl pointed to a student in the front row. “You. Give your name and state your question.”

“Bradan Cooney, sir.”

“Yes, Mr. Cooney?” Wyl said.

“Did your work involve any criminals?”

“Excellent question, Mr. Cooney. After computers became prominent, much of what I learned came from criminals. As the general population picked up computer coding, the criminal element emerged. When caught and tried, many criminals volunteered to help the government understand how they did what they did, making us smart enough to catch others. So yes, I learned much from criminals.”

Ailbe tensed when the topic of criminals arose.

“Are you okay, Ailbe?” Rod asked.

“I’m fine, Rod. Why do you ask?”

“You're a bit pale.”

“The kippers I ate for breakfast aren’t agreeing with me,” Ailbe lied.

The class period ended, but the students remained, asking questions for an additional two hours. Students were fascinated with Wyl’s topic.

“Lads, I hate to cut this short, but I need to feed my husband lunch,” Wyl said. “If you have additional questions, funnel them through Dr. MacGowan.”

Ailbe stood and walked toward Wyl, applauding along with the students.

“Excellent session, Wyl,” Ailbe said.

“You never cease to amaze me,” Rod said. “You held those students in the palm of your hand. They hung on every word you uttered.”

“You gave the lads something to think about. Now they’ll bug me to bring criminals to the class.” Ailbe chuckled.

“Ailbe, I can’t imagine criminals anywhere near an academic environment,” Wyl said.

“Academia includes its fair share of the criminal element,” Ailbe said. “We slap an advanced degree on it, which becomes a learning experience.”

“Time to feed your husband, Mr. Keynote Speaker,” Rod said.

“Ailbe, join us for lunch?” Wyl asked.

“You two go ahead. I have work to catch up on. I’ll grab something in the campus cafeteria.”

“Okay,” Rod said. "We’ll meet this weekend.”

“I’ll check with Declan,” Ailbe said. “I’m sure he’ll want to go out. We’ll give you a call.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Saturday morning, Wyl and Rod dressed to go to James and Glenn’s for brunch.

“It’s helpful to have contacts in our flat complex.” Rod buttoned his shirt. “And a gay couple to boot. A reasonable cover for outside observers.”

“It’s all part of the plan, babe. We must appear as a honeymoon couple spending time in Ireland. All the rest is…as far as outsiders are concerned…coincidence.”

Rod nodded. “I’m impressed with the mission planning. Much deeper and more thorough than we realized when General Steinburg unwrapped the mission for us at the Pentagon.”

“Remember, Rod. General Steinburg said we are the two people ideally suited for this mission. Much planning went into this, and our backgrounds make it work.”

“Oh, we’ll make it work. I’m amazed at how fast this is falling into place.”

“Wait a minute. Less than twelve hours ago, you became pissed at me for playing the game. And now everything is falling into place?”

Rod chuckled. “Perhaps I wanted you to think I was pissed off.”

Wyl crept toward Rod, fingers wiggling in the air.

Rod laughed and darted into the living room, Wyl in hot pursuit.