“Well, yes and no,” Locke says. “I was analyzing and mapping financial networks connected directly to suspected terrorist organizations.”
“That sounds like a stock answer written by a government lawyer,” I remark softly.
“It’s actually a pretty significant legal and operational distinction.”
“Explain the difference to me, then.”
“Violence needs significant money,” Locke says. “It requires international travel, safe houses, weapons, forged documents, and secure communications channels. The general public tends to focus entirely on the eventual attack itself, but the money required to facilitate that attack begins moving through the financial system months, sometimes years, beforehand.”
“And your job was to find the money before the attack happened?”
“Yes.”
“How do you even begin to t
