Chapter 2North Beach, Asbury Park, New Jersey
March 13
When he couldn’t sleep, Luca liked to walk on the beach. Along the high water mark he picked up the occasional piece of interesting debris, and ran away from the cold water when it came too close. And cold it was; he wore several layers of clothing under his long coat, thick socks in sturdy boots and a scarf around his neck. His breath plumed in front of his face as he walked.
He was mulling over the situation at work. A software giant had just offered him an obscene amount of money to purchase his security software company. He held over sixty patents on innovative security software programs they badly wanted. He knew that in taking the offer, he might put people, his people, out of work. He was already quite wealthy, but this kind
