“Rod?” Wyl used a soothing voice. “Calm down.”

“No!” Rod jabbed the air with a pointed finger. “I didn’t sign on for this. Not once did General Steinburg mention murder. Not once did murder come up in my training at Quantico. Not once did you mention murder when we talked about this mission.” Tears welled up in Rod’s eyes as his voice whined with emotion. “I can’t stand the thought of losing you.” Rod tried to stifle a sob. “The thought of you murdered is more than I can handle.” Rod put his hands over his face as sobs won.

In three long strides, Wyl tugged a sobbing Rod into his arms. He stroked Rod’s back as Rod’s shoulders shook.

“Babe,” Wyl whispered. “I won’t be murdered.”

“Why not?” Rod whined, wrapping his arms around Wyl and burying his face in Wyl’s neck.

“As James and Glenn pointed out, two experienced British agents are working with us. The Irish police force is at our disposal, and the United States government is backing us up. How much chance do you think a couple of amateur criminals have to eliminate us?”

“But those amateur criminals murdered a student.”

“Yes, but the student never realized his threat to their scheme. He didn’t have the support we do, the training in spotting criminal activity, or the backup of security forces from three strong nations. He fell an easy target. We are not, or will ever be, any of those things.”

Rod’s breathing eased, and he sighed as Wyl’s words soaked in.

“You’re right.”

“Of course I’m right. When was I ever not right?”

Rod chuckled. “How long a list do you want?”

Wyl pushed him to arm’s length. “You have a list?”

Rod stroked Wyl’s face. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” Wyl pulled him in for a kiss and thumbed wetness from Rod’s cheek. “Now, are you okay?”

Rod wiped his eyes. “No, but I'm better. Thanks for the pep talk. I didn’t mean to shout at you.”

“You need to tell me when you’re worried so we can deal with it.”

“Sometimes it’s hard.”

Wyl winked at Rod, his arm still around his waist. “I like it when you are hard.” A sly grin crossed Wyl’s face.

Rod shook his head. “Show me what you found in Ailbe’s email.”

“Not until you give me the list.” Wyl raised a brow.

“You’re too easy.” Rod shoved Wyl. “I have no list.”

They crossed the room and sat at the table. Wyl went through the projects, explaining to Rod how one dovetailed with another.

“It’s best you have all the information, Rod. Since I’ll be working with Ailbe, you’ll understand what I’m doing with this project.”

Rod shuddered. “This also helps me grasp the seriousness of this crime and why we’re here to stop it.”

Wyl put his hand on Rod’s and squeezed. “Now I need to call Glenn and tell him what we found.”

Wyl grabbed his secure cell phone to call.

“Glenn, Wyl Sterling.”

“Hi, Wyl. What’s up?”

“I have information on the papers Chief Superintendent O’Brien sent. How would you like me to report? Verbal or written?”

“Tell me what you discovered, and we can decide what will work best for O’Brien.”

“I checked the coding Fergus Rafferty sent. He worked on a password algorithm. It’s difficult to determine how it fits with the remaining projects. MacGowan emailed a project overview to me, and I can understand how all student projects dovetail.”

“At least you discovered the connection.”

“Yesterday, Rod and I met Ailbe and Declan at Wilde’s. During the conversation, Ailbe asked me to help him grade the class projects. He claimed the projects were complicated, and feared he would not finish grading before the deadline. I agreed to give him a hand.”

“So he threw out the bait, and you took the hook, eh?”

“That about sizes it up. Before we flew to Ireland, I created a public email for this mission. I can receive messages without compromising my personal email or using our secure email. It allowed Ailbe to send me the project guidelines.”

“You’re a smart man, Sterling. I need a copy to take to O’Brien.”

“After I review what he sent and mark any relevant points, I’ll provide a copy to you.”

“Perfect, Wyl. Thanks.”

Wyl disconnected the call.

“What’s next?” Rod massaged Wyl’s tense shoulders.

“I need to print this out and read a hard copy to mark items of interest. And I need to send a hard copy to O’Brien via Cross.”

“We don’t have a printer but can buy one at the TechStar store in City Centre. They have computers and printers and accessories.” Rod leaned down and kissed Wyl behind his ear, ending the shoulder rub.

“Can we have lunch while we’re out?”

“Works for me,” Rod said.

Wyl closed his laptop. “You ready?”

Rod handed Wyl his jacket. “You bet!”

* * *

At the front of the classroom, Ailbe assembled his papers after class. A snippet of whispered conversation caught his ear as the students filed out.

Yes, several of us went in. Chief O’Brien interviewed lads who talked to Keenan.