I pointed out that, considering it was still missing and uncontained, Halliday was going to be helping them propagate security overhauls everywhere anyway. They pointed out in turn that the security overhaul meant we wouldn’t be a threat to them and we therefore had no need for leverage. I didn’t like it, but considering I’d be able to write the whole damn thing out myself afterward without them being able to stop me, I let it slide. I wasn’t too happy they wouldn’t know I was capable of releasing the proof—that was the point of leverage, after all—but maybe I could tell them later. The Feds set up a safe house for Halliday in the mountains. It was some sort of abandoned estate, old but clean and in good repair. The NSA set up shop at a respectful distance, controlling access to the house. We’d been able to dictate that Arthur and I would have the freedom to move in and out—either a mark of how irrelevant they thought we were or how over a barrel we had them; I wasn’t sure which.
