“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.
Wyl tackled him to the couch and dug his fingers into Rod’s ribs.
Rod roared with laughter. “Stop! Okay…uncle.”
The assault ended, and Wyl gazed at his husband. “Babe, we have a rough road ahead of us. But we’re in this together and will work through it.”
Rod pulled his husband into a warm embrace. “How did I go from college professor at a small rural community college to International government agent?”
Wyl chuckled. “You married me.”
“Hmmm…I don’t remember the part of the marriage vows including anything about the Pentagon or top government officials or working with foreign governments or dealing with cyber criminals. I guess I skipped the fine print.” Rod stroked Wyl’s cheek, looking into his clear, green eyes.
“Oh? Didn’t I mention dangerous missions?” Wyl chided. “My bad.” He pulled Rod into a passionate kiss.
The kiss broke. “Oh yeah…you distracted me from the detail with a kiss."
“After you made me gay, what else should I do?” Wyl chuckled again.
“I have my ways.” Rod gave Wyl a quick kiss. “Let’s go to James and Glenn’s.”
