"My point," she said softly, "is that you really can't predict stupid. Not the blind, powerful stupid that wells up somewhere deep inside, that lashes out. Trying to control such a variable . . . there's something more to the human soul than numbers. There's always kindling. There's always fire. Without it, there would be no one to join Hydra in the first place."

The corner of her mouth twitched wryly. "But it doesn't matter. It still would have meant that 20 million people would be dead."

Her shoulders lifted. "In terms of your question . . . for that I'll need data. What they collect, how they collect it, how they store it, their process of analysis. The less digging I have to do, the faster I can work, the more I can target, and the better whatever I try will hold."

Wry again, "It seems like most men in your position would have opted for plastic surgery and an unknown shack in the mountains."