Charlie Thorne And The Last Equation

On the CIA jet, Dante continues explaining his mission. He describes the Furies as “a small terrorist sect from Eastern Europe. White supremacists, anti-immigration” whom they believe to be searching for Pandora (73). CIA operatives discovered the Furies in Bern, Switzerland. Though Dante knows these terrorists are not particularly brilliant but simply “angry young men who just want to lash out at the world” (75), he also knows that this does not make them any less dangerous. It would be catastrophic if they found Pandora first.

Charlie asks where the Furies are now, and Dante says the CIA does not know. She asks if the Furies realized they were being watched, and Dante says no. Again, Charlie can tell he is hiding something, but she just cannot tell what. Still, she agrees to help Dante find Pandora first in exchange for immunity. She wants a “signed letter from the Director of the CIA claiming there’s no evidence for any government agency to convict [her] of any crime” (77). Dante, having anticipated this, has already prepared such a letter. He gives it to her, along with classified files to study.

Charlie reads transcripts of Einstein’s dying words. The transcription of Einstein’s last words read: “Pandorabuchse. Sie ist im den Holm” (80). “Holm” means “rail” or “shaft” in German. The CIA thoroughly investigated all the stair rails, air shafts, fireplaces, and so forth in Einstein’s Princeton and Bern homes but found nothing. However, Charlie suggests the transcriber misunderstood Einstein’s words. He did not say “holm” but “Holmes” as in Sherlock Holmes, the detective stories. Furthermore, the CIA assumes Einstein created the Pandora equation as an old man while living in Princeton, but most geniuses do their best work early in their careers. Therefore, Charlie concludes they should look for an old copy of Sherlock Holmes among Einstein’s belongings in his archives in Jerusalem.

Carter receives a call from Dante explaining that they need to go to Jerusalem. Unfortunately, this requires extra work. Carter must coordinate with the CIA agents already stationed in Jerusalem, create cover stories for Dante and his group, and avoid the attention of the Israeli government.

Meanwhile, she still does not trust Charlie because she is a criminal. Criminals do not see the world in the same way; rather, they “look out for only themselves” (91), and they do not change. She knows that Charlie is useful for finding Pandora, and Carter will do whatever it takes to succeed. However, once they have found the equation, she intends to deal with Charlie. She knows she cannot trust Dante to do it because she knows Dante’s secret. So, she sends a message to the one person she trusts to handle Charlie when the time comes.

While en route to Greenland to refuel before heading on to Israel, Charlie reads the CIA file about the Furies. There are six members of the terrorist cell: white European men in their twenties and thirties with working-class backgrounds, histories of jail time, and “festering anger.” They are not particularly intelligent and skilled, except for the leader, Alexei Kolyenko. Unlike the others, Alexei has some university education and has served far less jail time. However, he is also the angriest. Charlie looks at a photo of Alexei in which he glares hatefully at a Middle Eastern woman on the street. Charlie is struck by the “pure, unadulterated rage” in his eyes and believes he would happily kill millions of people (96).

She next reads files on Dante and Milana. Dante’s file gives her little new information as she already knows him. Dante was born in Miami, attended Georgetown University on a full scholarship, and was recruited to the CIA before he graduated. Milana grew up poor and earned an athletic scholarship to the University of Pennsylvania, where she excelled and gained the attention of the CIA, who recruited her when she graduated. She is an excellent marksman and speaks Arabic and Chinese. Charlie also believes that Dante has a crush on Milana but will not say anything because it is against regulations.

They land in Greenland and open the door while refueling the plane. While everyone is distracted, Charlie runs out of the jet into the frigid cold, and Dante follows her, threatening to shoot. Charlie reveals the item hidden in her pocket: a lighter. She demands that Dante tell her the truth of what really happened in Bern, or she will blow up the jet fuel.

Dante admits he left some things out of his story. The Furies discovered one of the CIA operatives, a man named John Russo, who had been working undercover as a bartender to earn their trust and learn their plans. John was caught and killed. Charlie begins to panic. She insists she is only 12 and Dante ought to be protecting her, not putting her in harm’s way. Dante apologizes for not being honest and promises to keep her safe. Then he steps close and takes the lighter away, asking: “This was Granddad’s?” (106). Charlie nods, only then realizing that she is crying. They step back into the jet, and Milana confronts them, having heard enough to conclude that Charlie is Dante’s sister. Dante quickly adds that she is only his half sister.

Though Dante and Charlie share the same father, they do not consider each other family. Their father abandoned Dante’s mother when she was three months pregnant, leaving Dante to be raised in Miami with his mother’s last name and little contact with the rest of his family.

Their father then remarried and had Charlie. Charlie’s parents were slow to realize her brilliance, but once they did, they tried to profit from her abilities. They called talent agents and tried to make her a celebrity on talk shows and reality television. Charlie resented this and hampered their efforts by pretending to be average, for which they grounded her, berated her, and “said things no parent should ever say to their children” (111).

To escape her parents, Charlie tried to make money. At eight years old, she wrote a computer security program and naively mailed the entire program on a flash drive to a tech company with a note simply asking for a fair price. Instead, the tech company stole the program and launched it as their product, earning millions. In retaliation, Charlie hacked their systems and stole $40 million.

Dante, who only met Charlie a couple of times as a small girl, kept an eye on her. He knew immediately that she was behind the theft but could not prove it; besides, it was not in his jurisdiction. He had kept the information to himself until it became useful. He believes the Pandora equation is important enough to warrant blackmail.