AFGHANISTAN – Yvonne worked well into the night, using the general?s account to
gain the access she needed. She had the IP location in Puli Khumri,
but for all she could tell it might be emanating from a house, a hut or
even a cave. Without more detailed information she could still only
guess. She worked two channels simultaneously, one attempting to
locate and access the GPS satellite Magadan had mentioned, and
one hooked up to a sex chat line to make it look as though the general
was working off his frustrations, just in case someone was interested
in snooping on the electronic chatter.
She stayed online until past midnight, bleary-eyed from lack of
sleep, searching for activity from the IP address. She began to imagine
herself back in Key West, in Finnegan?s, among her bar friends and
having no trouble making it to last call.What time was it back there,
anyway? She?d been moving so quickly around the globe there was
no telling what shape her biological clock was in. All she knew was
that she needed sleep. Stokes and Buck and the others were probably
all catching up on their rest. But she couldn?t stop, not with knowing
the answer to this mystery was so close.
After two a.m. she started to nod off in front of the laptop. As she
shook herself awake one more time, she saw a signal from the IP.
Someone was reaching out into cyber space in a heavily encrypted
signal.
Yvonne snapped into full alert, and began to look for a key that
would give her access to what was being transferred. There was the
handshake from the other side. She pinged it back to Hong Kong
and knew she was on to something important. And then a third signal
joined in, this one from Moscow. The amount of bandwidth in use
made her certain this was a video exchange. If she could only crack
the key, she would be able to see who was involved.
She worked frantically for ten minutes, knowing that she was
missing her chance, and that the transmission would likely end soon.
It had to be Shi on the Hong Kong end. Finally she recognized the
protocol and modified her search. Images began to resolve on her
screen?three men?and she divided her monitor to assign each of
the originating transmissions to a third of the area. There was Shi,
another martini in hand and looking very smug about himself. A
young woman leaned into the shot for a moment and he pushed her
aside. The bastard was probably showing off for his associates.
The second was wearing thick glasses and the robes of a cleric.
Although the image was fuzzy, she recognized him immediately. Ten
years was not enough to make her forget Farris Mahmud. But what
was he doing here, instead of Saudi Arabia? And why the terrorist
clothing and the beard? When she knew him he always wore a suit.
The third man was using a lens that distorted his appearance. He
spoke French?a language convenient to all of them for the
communication?with a heavy Russian accent that sounded familiar
to her, and was wearing a medal that looked like the Order of Glory
above the pocket of his suit. Perhaps this man had just come from a
state function.
As the man moved to take a sip of a drink, he turned
slightly, and the image became, for a moment, clearer. But how could
it have been her father? She was sure she was hallucinating, so weary
with the travel and the pace of this mission that she was starting to
imagine faces and voices from her past. The voice could have been
his, and the medal was the same as the one he?d been so proud of
when she was a girl. But why him? He was not someone she?d expect
to see at this moment. He?d made a career in diplomacy and had
been involved in his share of espionage, but it was all part of official
business. And he?d retired from the Russian diplomatic corps years
ago.
She stared at the men on the screen, now unsure about two of
them. Her daughter?s father and now her own father?if indeed it
was them?and both working with Shi. What incentives had Shi
offered? What buttons had he pushed? They had no great love for
America, but they had never spoken of themselves as its enemy. Yet
here they seemed to be, plotting something. No doubt they were
complicit in the traffic control attack on the west coast, and no doubt
they all now knew that the advantage they?d gained through the use
of the stowaway chips would soon be over.
Word had been put out to every known client of Network Systems about the infiltration, and the affected servers were being taken offline. But what if other
companies? equipment had been similarly compromised before it was
delivered? Stokes was probably right again?they were going to make
one more move.
Yvonne worked on linking to the GPS satellite. It would be
reading the same signal as she was. In a minute she had the
coordinates of the Afghan end of the exchange.
She listened carefully to their conversation as they discussed final
preparations and the expected effect of their action. Whatever they
were planning would be executed at two-thirty local time, just a few
minutes from then. Mahmud?s team would initiate two attacks
simultaneously, to double the chance of success and show the depth
of their reach into America?s electronic infrastructure. Then the U.S.
government would be contacted and presented with a price to
prevent further attacks. One billion dollars. They would have until
morning to wire the funds into the first of the secret accounts, where
it would be instantly laundered through a dozen paths, until no longer
traceable. The money could be used for terrorist weapons, or could
fund further cyber espionage. Some of it, she was sure, would line
Shi?s pockets.
Their voices sounded almost angry to her, as though they had
been forced to take this action. She sensed it would be something
more than another simple probe?this one would do some
permanent damage somewhere. Shi suggested they would have
something to toast when it was over. Then the man in Puli Khumri
laughed and said, ?I guess I will have to break my sacred vows.?
It was what Farris used to say when she knew him. Back then it
was a joke he reprised whenever he was preparing for a wild time?
a joke to make fun of the religion he?d been raised in. Now, from
what she saw, he?d embraced that religion again, but in a violently
fundamentalist way.
In that philosophy it was wrong to drink alcohol,
but not to celebrate a jihadist act, no matter how many people it hurt.
Yvonne?s body pulsed with fear as she watched her former lover
coordinate mayhem, maybe murder, with the coolness of a Wall
Street financier. He had always been so gentle when they were
together, always a proponent for peace, arguing against the hardliners
in his family who preached violence. He had been so supportive when
she became pregnant with Lillian that she seriously considered letting
him take care of her when she got involved with serious hacking,
instead of sending her back to the Russian side of her family. She
realized it would have made no difference?if that really was her
father on the other end of the line, and he was part of this scheme,
poor Lilly would have been exposed to this evil no matter who she
stayed with.
Now Yvonne began to think of her daughter, how she?d
essentially abandoned her in her adolescence to join the ranks of
cyber warriors. Some mother she?d been. She couldn?t maintain a
relationship, went through men like they were toys. Her daughter was
practically grown up, and yet if they?d met on the street, Lilly might
not even recognize her.
She had to focus. She reminded herself how late it was, how little
sleep she?d had in the past few days. These were not thoughts to be
having during a crisis. She contacted Stokes on his cell, using the
radio feature. She needed his help, his guidance. Unlike her, he hadn?t
been able to sleep, owing to the difficulty in adjusting to the time
changes the team had been put through. ?Don?t worry. Still seems
like afternoon to me,? he said when she apologized for the call. He
ran down the hall to her room when she told him what she?d latched
on to.
?What are the targets?? he asked. ?Is there still time to warn the
U.S.??
?I don?t know,? she said. ?Whatever they?ve chosen was picked a
while ago.?
Mahmud asked if Shi had people in position to video the event
for propaganda later. He brought up a pair of schematics, each with
several points marked.
?What are those? Power grids?? Stokes said. He moved in over
Yvonne?s shoulder to take a closer look. On each tiny image, a series
of lines radiated from a central locus, intersecting almost
haphazardly, some circling back on themselves, others heading
straight towards the ends of the drawing.
?Can?t be power grids,? Yvonne said. ?There?s a different logic to
it.?
?Wait a minute,? Stokes said. ?You said whatever they?re
planning is going to happen at two-thirty Kabul time.? He looked at
his watch. ?I haven?t changed the time since we left San Francisco.
Add three hours to this, minus the half hour difference here, and that
makes it around six on the east coast? Right in the middle of
holiday traffic.?
?It?s the highway system? How can they affect that??
?Not highways. Railroad tracks.?
Yvonne figured it out too. ?If they have access to Amtrak?s
computer system, they can command the switching functions. They
can switch the tracks so two trains head straight into each other.
Hundreds of people could die.?
?The government will be forced to pay the ransom.?
?Which cities, Rohan? Do you recognize the maps??
?I only know it?s not D.C. But it could be Boston, Philly?There?s
too many cities on the east coast to know.?
?And we don?t have time to download and go through every
map.?
?How much time do we have??
?Maybe fifteen or twenty minutes.?
He pulled out his cell, but put it back. ?I can?t be sure I can get
through to CyberCom in time. Even if I did, they don?t have time to
warn anyone. I?d better get Magadan out of bed.? He opened the
door to leave, but paused for a second and smiled. ?Funny,? he said.
?A few hours ago I would have figured that would be your job.?
?Rohan, stop.?
?It was just a joke??
?No. I mean, don?t get the general. He may not want to help us
right now. Not after what I did to him.?
?What you did to him??
?Maybe I should say what I didn?t do to him. And by the time we
explain what?s going on, it will be too late. Get Colin instead. I have
a better idea.?
The transmission among Mahmud and his partners ended.
Stokes looked as though he was about to say something, but stopped
and went down the hallway to retrieve Colin. The noise had
awakened the rest of the team, and Stokes filled them in on the way
back.
?Colin, come sit by me,? she said.
?Well, I thought you?d never ask.?
?Why do men always have to get sexual in a crisis?? She kept
typing, not bothering to look at him. ?Can you still fly a drone??
?Kidding? I could do it in my sleep. And I?ve got just the thing to
make this work.? He bolted out the door and down the hall. In a few
seconds he was back, carrying a joystick.
?You take that when you travel?? Woody asked.
?Hey, you just never know when you?ll need one? Plug me in,
baby!?
?What are you doing, Yvonne?? Stokes asked.
?Do you remember when you told the general about my role in
writing the Reaper software??
?Sure.?
?Well, I never told you that I left a little extra code in the string.?
?What do you mean??
?A back door,? she said. ?A way to slip in unnoticed and take
command of the system.? She typed a few more lines and sat back.
?There. I?m in.?
A picture resolved of the tarmac outside.
Colin took control of the Reaper. A few keystrokes to start the
engine, and he guided it quickly to an open runway. It was in the air
before anyone on the ground could stop it. A siren sounded outside.
They could hear jet engines coming to life.
?Fly to the coordinates, Col,? Yvonne said. ?When you get close,
we?ll make a decision whether to go in.Maybe we?ll get lucky and see
a satellite dish on the roof.?
?How much time, kids?? Buck asked.
?Fifteen minutes. Maybe,? Yvonne said.
?Cutting it damn close. You won?t have time to do any
sightseeing.?
Colin kept the drone low, using radar to stay close to the terrain
and away from any pursuing jets. Infrared imaging gave him a decent
picture of the ground below. Everyone in the room watched as the
drone covered miles of empty, black landscape.
Stokes broke the silence. ?Tell me more about this back door,
Yvonne. Tell me why.?
?Let?s just say I was still having doubts about my role with you
and CyberCom. I wanted something I could exploit later if I changed
my mind.?
?Even after I spoke up for you at CIA? I kept you out of prison.
I gave you a future.?
?And I am eternally grateful for that, darling,? she said. ?But
things change, Rohan. Situations. Relationships. I couldn?t take that
chance.?
?And now??
He was angry. She could see that she?d damaged the trust he
placed in her. ?And now things have changed again,? she said.
?What does that mean??
She checked the status of the drone as Colin worked the joystick.
She would not answer Stokes. ?I?m amazed no one ever found my
signature in the code,? she said instead.
Colin jerked the stick hard. ?They?re on us already. I?ve got two
jets on my tail,? he said.
?They?ll try to shoot it down,? Stokes said. ?They don?t know
what it?s doing. For all they know it?s been hijacked by terrorists.?
?Colin, can you avoid them??
?You bet. This thing is designed to elude radar. And all those
hours of online flight will come in handy.?
They watched as he maneuvered the drone left and right, as close
to the rocky terrain as he could go. ?Kind of tough on such a small
screen, but we?re a pretty small target. And it?s damn dark out there.
At least we have that on our side.?
Cannon fire appeared on the laptop monitor as streaks of light,
passing close to the drone?s port side and raised billows of dust on the
ground below. One of the jets released a Sidewinder that closed on
the drone in seconds. The missile missed to the right and slammed
into the side of a mountain. ?They?ll have to be pretty lucky to hit
us,? Colin said.
?We?ll have to be pretty lucky to get away with this,? Nigel
corrected.
?If we can get close to the buildings, they?ll have to pull off,?
Colin said. ?Without knowing our target they can?t take a chance on
firing and killing people on the ground.?
?Yeah, let?s just hope there are some buildings out there. This
place is a wasteland,? Woody said.
But there were a few structures. It was barely a town, but enough
buildings for Colin to shelter the Reaper. The U.S. jets broke off their
attack.
?I?m almost on top of the coordinates you gave me,? Colin said.
?Time to arm the missiles.?
?You sure you want to do this, Yvonne? I know how anti-violence
you are,? Buck said.
?They?re trying to kill hundreds of people, Buck. That?s the kind
of violence I?m against.? His point bothered her, though. In her years
of hacking and espionage since that first incident at the hotel, she
had never physically hurt anyone, let alone kill. Every job was about
money, and it was always taking from people or a government that
could afford the loss. Now she was responsible for sending missiles
on their way to kill a man?the father of her child, and whoever was
with him, whether complicit or uninvolved. There was no choice.
She imagined facing her daughter when the news of what she?d done
reached Lilly.
?Time?? Buck asked.
Yvonne looked at the monitor. ?Like, now,? she said.
Colin yelled, ?No!?
?What?s wrong??
?The missiles won?t arm.?
Yvonne leaned in and tried to help.
?We stole an empty bird,? Colin said.
Stokes moved in close and put his hand on Colin?s shoulder.
?Take the drone in,? he said.
?Are you serious? That?s a ten million dollar bird.?
?We have no choice. I?ll take the responsibility. Go in on my
authorization.?
Yvonne turned to him. ?Rohan, is it enough??
?A thirty-six-foot craft and a load of fuel? it had better be.?
Colin glanced at her. ?You?re sure about these coordinates??
Was she? What if the numbers were off ? Without the missiles
even a degree could mean the difference between destroying the
target or killing innocent people on the ground?or losing the lives of
hundreds of Americans back home. There was no time to recheck.
The technology was proven. The numbers never lied, never played
favorites. She had used them her entire career and they had never
let her down, and she trusted them more than she trusted any person.
If there had been any failures, they had been due to human error,
someone making a judgment when one wasn?t necessary, basing a
decision on a feeling, instead of the data, the numbers. Her computer
told her this was where the attack was emanating. ?Yes, I am,? she
said.
The screen showed a bland rectangle of a house in the infrared
light. There was nothing special about it, nothing to set it apart from
the few neighbor homes in the vicinity. There were no guards with
rifles posted on the roof, no dish they could see, and no indication
that this was anything more than a simple dwelling.
?Pray we?ve made the right call.?
Colin slid the stick forward. The monitor showed the house
rushing towards it. Windows became visible. Lights were on in one of
the rooms.
And the screen went black.
?Whoever lived there doesn?t live there anymore,? Woody said.
There was no applause or cheers. Everyone in the room
continued to stare at the screen, even though there was nothing to see.
The only way they could confirm the hit was to call CyberCom and
ask if terrorists had struck in the states. Stokes pulled out his cell
again, but couldn?t get a signal.
?They?ve probably shut down
unauthorized communications,? he said.
Yvonne tried to reach CyberCom through her laptop. ?At least
the general?s access is still authorized,? she said.
They heard what sounded like trucks pulling up by the guest
quarters. The front door banged open. Shouts echoed through the
hallway as a security team ran towards the room. Woody and Silk
took up positions on either side of the door, but Buck told them not
to make the situation worse. Still, Woody hovered at the doorway, if
only to intimidate.
Six men, armed with rifles, ordered everyone out. When Yvonne
kept working the laptop, one of them lowered hisM-16 at her. Stokes
pulled her chair away from the table and made sure she complied,
dragging her by the arm into the hall, where Magadan was waiting
for both of them.
The general was less than pleased at being awakened in the
middle of the night. ?It?s all very clear now,? he said. ?Show the
general a little skin and pick off his passwords.?
Stokes said, ?Mags, this is no time to go by the book. People in the
U.S. would have died. We had to hack the drone. There wasn?t time
to do it any other way.?
?Why? What was going to happen??
Stokes told him about the communication they?d picked up and
the threat to the Amtrak system.
?My boys had that too. We were analyzing.?
?And you would have figured it out in a few hours,? Yvonne said.
?By then a thousand Americans would have been dead.?
Magadan stared at her with a look that said he didn?t believe she
cared about Americans.
?By the time we could have convinced you of the threat, it would
have been too late to react,? Stokes said. ?I take full responsibility for
the action.?
?I have a hard time believing this was all your idea,? Magadan
said.
?I gave the orders. Yvonne and Colin followed them. Everyone
else was just watching. You want to take anyone into custody?here
I am.? He put his wrists out.
The general signaled to his men to move in. ?You?re all under
arrest right now. We?ll figure out who?s responsible later. I hope you
realize how serious this offense is.?
Buck and Nigel allowed themselves to be cuffed, but Silk grabbed
the arms of the guard who was attempting to chain him. Another
airman seized him from behind. Woody moved towards both guards,
but stopped when the muzzle of a rifle pointed at his temple.
Yvonne started to speak, but a man?s voice from the laptop cut her
off. ?Rohan, is that you??
?Sir. Yes, it?s me.?
?Who?s with you? Is that the lovely Yvonne Tran? And General
Magadan, too. You kids are out awfully late for a school night.?
The general moved close to the screen. ?Admiral Lucas, your
agents were apprehended after hijacking a U.S. Air Force drone and
using it to attack a location in a residential area about fifty miles from
here. Did you have any knowledge of this action??
?Mags, I understand what you?re doing, but I want you to let
them go. On my authorization,? Lucas said.
?Sir, I?ll need that in writing through a secure channel.?
?Already on its way,? Lucas said.
Stokes said, ?Sir, is everyone back there all right??
?We tapped into the same communication as you a few minutes
before the attack was supposed to have been launched. They were
targeting Philly and Chicago. There was no way we could have
stopped it from here.
Colin leaned over to see the monitor. ?Ah, sir? Did we get ?em??
?Satellite images show the building was destroyed.Whatever was
inside went with it. But they also show a vehicle leaving the scene.
Could have been Mahmud, but we don?t know.?
Magadan still wasn?t satisfied. ?Sir, whether you condone these
actions or not, the fact is these people stole and destroyed a ten
million dollar piece of technology??
?Easy, general,? the admiral said. ?Did I happen to mention the communication you will be receiving is co-signed by the secretary of
defense??
The general signaled his men to free Buck and the others. When
he was loose, Woody took the handcuffs from the airman guarding
him, and twisted one of the ends backwards into an S shape before
handing it back.
The director went on. ?Let these folks get a good night?s rest. In
the morning, give them clearance to take off and an escort until they
reach the Indian Ocean. I assume, Mr. Ryan, that you?ll be delivering
your aircraft to your client a little late??
Buck said, ?If you wouldn?t mind, sir, don?t mention this little side
trip to them.?
?I?ll keep it a secret.?
?Hey,? Colin said. ?Looks like we?ll be able to make the New
Year?s party back at Finnegan?s after all.?
?Right,? Stokes said. ?Yvonne, you going to play that ukulele??
She rolled her eyes. ?Balalaika, Rohan. How many times do I
have to tell you??
?Hang on, Rohan.? It was Lucas again. ?I hate to have you miss
the party, but you?ve got a few questions to answer. I?ll expect you in
my office as soon as you?re stateside.?
End chapter 11
