“Not concern. But being available is part of the agreement you signed.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll be more attentive.”
Disa nodded. “Good. Although, I commend you for bringing some mayhem into Trista’s life. That woman is such a bore.” Without saying goodbye, she turned and walked back across the courtyard toward the entrance.
Aida could feel Sophie’s calm sliding away, leaving her shaking and her heart beating so hard she needed to sit down on the nearby edge of a planter. She immediately texted Yumi to tell her that she would no longer be able to get away with turning off her MODA phone.
What will we do? I have so much to tell you.
It seemed an interminable wait for Yumi’s return text.
Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out.
17
December 2019
Late in the afternoon, Aida met Yumi at a café in busy Campo de’ Fiori, a place where she hoped the sound could help mask some of their conversation. She had picked a café with outdoor seating and heat lamps, with plush velvet couches facing toward the busy piazza, which had become a chaotic mix of vendors tearing down their market stalls, little street-sweeping trucks that cleaned up after them, and tourists wandering around looking for a spot to get a drink. Aida also hoped that by sitting next to each other on the couch they could whisper without her phone picking up very much.
On her way over, Aida received a text from Yumi with instructions to check her email and download the app that she had just sent her. Aida paused to install it, but when she opened it, she couldn’t understand what it was supposed to do. There was just a blank screen with a big purple button in the center. When she pushed it, the button turned a glowing, slightly pulsing pink, but it didn’t seem to do anything else.
When Aida reached the café, Yumi had already secured a couch in the back, off to the side, slightly apart from the other couches and tables. She waved Aida over and gave her friend a wordless hug when she arrived. They sat, and Aida handed Yumi her unlocked phone. Yumi indicated with a few hand motions to put both phones in her purse.
The waiter arrived and deposited two Aperol spritzes and a little bowl of potato chips.
“I took the liberty of ordering,” Yumi said, keeping her voice a little lower than normal. “Okay, so that app is essentially voice camouflage. You won’t want to use it all the time, but when we get together, it’s a good idea. I have one on my phone too. And I sent it to Felix.”
“How does it work?”
“Your voice can be easily listened to when you make a call, but when you aren’t on a call and your phone islisteningto you...” Yumi flashed air quotes with her hand. “It’s actually doing a speech-to-text translation, which is more efficient, particularly on the battery. Then, whoever accesses it can check the transcript later. To listen to you 24/7 would be tedious.”
Aida smirked at her.
Yumi laughed. “Sorry, but it’s true! Now, transcripts aren’t foolproof, but they can generally give the reader a sense of the conversation. The app you downloaded quietly broadcasts external sounds similar to your voice cadence to mess up that transcript. It will be clear that there are words being spoken, but they’ll be pretty garbled. It’s not that much different than if you were in a super busy place, so hopefully, it won’t attract too much attention to you.”
Aida was still nervous, but she trusted Yumi. She took a big gulp of her spritz and proceeded to tell her friend about London.
When she was finished, Yumi shook her head. “Unbelievable.”
“I know.”
“Not only everything you just told me about the nefarious machinations of what we once thought was a mythical pantheon, but also that you were with Luciano and you haven’t bothered to share if you got it on with him yet.”
Aida laughed at Yumi’s elaborate speech and her friend’s singular focus on her love life. “We kissed, all right? But that’s all.”
Yumi jabbed Aida in the ribs with her elbow. “That’s a start.”
Embarrassed, she changed the topic back. “We can talk about Luciano when I have more to tell you. But right now, we have more important things to worry about. Like how on earth I will figure out what this database really is.”
“You mean howI’llfigure it out,” Yumi said, tipping back her spritz. “I’m the hacker, remember?”
Aida hesitated. “It’s not just a regular database though. Sophie made it sound like it’s something... different. Not purely digital.”
Yumi raised an eyebrow but wasn’t deterred. “If you’re recording information into it, then technology is involved in some way. It might have a strange interface, but there’s still going to be a system behind it, and I have a way with technology.” She said this in a sultry, exaggerated voice that made them both laugh. “You have your work laptop with you, right?”
“I have my personal one too.”
“Work first.”
