Undue Competition

by R A Wallace

  “I’ll check the port scans first.” He took the seat next to her and opened his computer. “I can look through some of the packet capture files you got after that.”

  Sierra nodded her agreement as she opened her computer. She lost track of time and was surprised when his elbow hit her side sometime later.

  “Hey!”

  “Sorry. I couldn’t get your attention.” He pointed at his computer. “I’ve got something.”

  She leaned over. “Interesting.”

  “Definitely.”

  “How many are compromised?” She skimmed down through his list of results.

  “I can’t tell yet for sure. I know several of the students we’ve spoken to have been compromised. I matched up the physical addresses of their computers with my scans.”

  She leaned back in her chair. “That will give us something to look at, maybe get some more detail if we can check their actual computers.”

  He nodded agreement. “For now, we can definitively say that someone left a backdoor into these computers.”

  “That means they’re planning on connecting to them and getting into them at some point,” Sierra said. She looked at her computer. “It’s possible that they already have. I’ll run a search for those physical addresses that you just found and see if we have any matches on my packet captures.”

  “We have a better chance of figuring out how the hacker is doing it if we can find a match.” He reached for his computer. “I can start helping now. Which packet capture file do you want me to start looking at?”

  She told him the filename. “Even if the hacker hasn’t connected to them yet, we’re fairly certain they will be doing it.”

  “We can set something up to keep capturing traffic,” he muttered as he began searching the packet capture file.

  They both turned toward the door when they heard it open behind them. Javier Walker poked his head in. He held up a finger and spoke to the person behind him before entering the room. Tammy Nguyen followed him in.

  “Sorry to bother you. We weren’t sure if you were in here.” Javier made sure the door closed behind him.

  “I know you’ve only just started, but we couldn’t wait any longer to ask. Have you found anything yet?” Tammy clasped her hands together in front of her.

  “We know for sure that some of the contestant’s computers have been compromised,” Sierra said. “Have your IT people finished scanning your devices in-house?”

  Javier and Tammy shared a look. A corner of Javier’s mouth turned up. “They threw us out of their area for asking them for an update too many times.”

  Michael and Sierra chuckled.

  “It does take concentration to wade through all of this,” Michael said.

  “But we have a good start on it and a great team in place,” Sierra added. “We’ll have more information for you soon.”

  ***

  Callie pointed at the map. “According to the note Sierra and Michael left, this is the geolocation of the love of my life. His name is Karl Kane. At least, that’s the name he’s using on his social media pages.”

  Greyson frowned as he studied the map. “Looks like it’s only about an hour away from here.”

  “Yeah. I’m planning to make the drive tomorrow. We’ll see how things go with our other cases.” Callie closed the map software and pulled up another window. “What about you?”

  Greyson glanced at the time. “I can run out and grab us some lunch but then I have to follow up on some of the other things on my desk.”

  Callie pulled a menu from her drawer. “I’ll take the usual but you might want to check with Mrs. Brzeski to see if she wants anything.”

  “Good plan. I’ll see you later this afternoon when we hook up with Michael and Sierra at the competition.”

  “I’m going to hunt down some of Gallagher’s employees in the meantime,” Callie said as Greyson left her office.

  He found Clara at the front desk and presented the menu to her.

  “Lunch is on me to show our appreciation for handling the phones while Ariana is out at the competition.”

  “You just read my mind.” Clara beamed at him. “I was about to eat the last two crackers in an open package I found in Ariana’s top drawer.”

  ***

  The dark-haired girl was totally focused on the computer in front of her. Ariana was getting used to the sight. In this case, the girl reminded him of Michael. Although she wasn’t wearing earbuds as she worked, Ariana doubted that she was aware of anyone else around her.

  Ariana took the seat across from her and read the sheet in her hand. “Oh, no!”

  The other girl looked up at her in surprise.

  Ariana made a face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt you. I just realized that I might have missed the two-hour programming competition.”

  “You definitely did. I was in that one.” The dark-haired girl looked at Ariana curiously. “I’m Lily.”

  “Ariana.” She flashed Lily a smile. “How was it?”

  “Are you a programmer?” Lily asked.

  Ariana opted to go with the truth. “No. I’m thinking about it though. To be honest, I haven’t decided if I should go with cybersecurity or programming.”

  Lily’s face lit up. “Oh, you don’t have to choose. Having programming skills would definitely help if you go into cybersecurity. You could take some of both classes to see which ones you like best but they should all go toward your degree.”

  “Thanks. That sounds like a great idea.” Ariana glanced at Lily’s computer. “You’re a programmer?”

  Lily nodded. “It goes both ways, actually. Any code that I write has to be secure.”

  “Yeah.” She’d heard Sierra and Michael say that more times than she could count. “What do you like about the competition?”

  “Seriously? Have you seen all of the people here?” Lily lowered her voice and leaned forward. “They aren’t all students and competition advisors, you know. Some of the people here are from corporations. One of them handed me a business card right after I walked out of the presentation I gave yesterday.”

  Ariana didn’t try to hide the expression on her face. “Seriously?”

  “And it’s not just that one person. I meet a lot of really important people here. People from the world I plan to join. It’s a great way to network.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  She heard the main office phone ring but ignored it knowing that Mrs. Brzeski was there to answer. Callie accessed her online newspaper subscription and began to search for Marquita Dixon. She didn’t find much. There was a reference to an open horse show when Marquita was a young teen. She’d competed with others at the agricultural center. Although she hadn’t won, Marquita was in the photo submitted with the story. Callie stared at it for several moments. She could see a resemblance in Jesse.

  She continued searching. Finally, she found what she was looking for. It was the birth record for Jesse that was posted in the newspaper around the time he was born. The fact that the father’s name wasn’t given in the paper with the vital statistics was telling, but not absolute. She doubted that a father was listed on the birth certificate but there was no way for her to access the original record to confirm it. Still, it was something.

  Based on the information that her mother gave to her, Marquita gave birth shortly before Guy Gallagher left Florida and approximately nine months after the beach party that Marquita refused to ever discuss. Not with Margaret, at any rate. Callie sat for a moment longer, trying to imagine what her mother and the others involved in the current drama were like as teenagers. She wondered how much of their past had brought them all to where they were now. She knew what her parents had looked like from old family photos. Now she also had an image of Marquita in her mind. She needed to get a better image of Guy Gallagher as well.

  ***

  The sprawling conference center was a constant hum of activity everywhere she went. The rooms holding competitions were closed for admittance while the
students were working through the projects given to them. Ariana mingled with others throughout the building whenever possible. There was a large cafeteria area with seating that provided a constant flow of new faces.

  There were other rooms where students met to discuss events they’d just completed or those they were scheduled to participate in. She knew that many students came and went throughout the day depending on the events they’d signed up for. She assumed that the majority of older people she saw were the advisors who had accompanied the students from all over the country.

  Ariana finally found Michael and Sierra standing in the hall outside one of the rooms used for a two-hour competition. She could tell by their expressions that they were focused on whatever they were doing. She wondered if they’d made any progress.

  “How is it going?” Ariana stopped next to them.

  “We’ve learned a little bit,” Sierra said. “But not as much as we need to.”

  “We have a plan in place.” Michael watched as a constant stream of people passed by them going in both directions.

  “We just aren’t getting to talk to the students as much as we’d like.” Sierra’s brows pulled together as she followed Michael’s gaze.

  “How are you doing?” Michael turned to Ariana.

  “I’ve talked to a lot of students.” Ariana watched as a girl walked by. She wondered where she’d gotten her shoes.

  “Have you learned anything that might help?” Sierra asked.

  Ariana thought about it for a moment before answering. “Not in terms of the hacker, no. I mean, I don’t think anyone I’ve spoken to is the hacker.”

  “Hackers come in all shapes, sizes, genders, and ages,” Michael said.

  “I guess.” Ariana chewed her lip as she thought about the conversations she’d had. “Still, I don’t think so. The students I spoke with were so focused on the competition, you know?”

  “No doubt that also describes the hacker,” Sierra pointed out.

  “Yeah, but…” Ariana shook her head. “The students I spoke with are all about how the competition will help their future. They like the networking opportunities. Several of them mentioned that.”

  “I know this seems hard to believe, but hackers have their own world and enjoy networking also.” Michael glanced at the door behind them. “This group should be getting out soon.”

  “Why are you waiting for them?” Ariana asked.

  “We want to run scans on some of their computers,” Sierra explained. “There are a couple of students who signed up for this event that we spoke to last week. They agreed to let us check their computers.”

  Ariana frowned.

  Michael saw the look on her face. “Technically, you can’t just go around accessing people’s electronics without their permission. That could be considered hacking also.”

  Ariana’s frown cleared and was replaced by surprise. “I hadn’t considered that.”

  “Better safe than sorry,” Sierra said.

  ***

  She found him sitting in his pickup truck in front of an older home. Several workers were busy picking up the shingles they’d obviously spent the morning tearing from the roof of the house. There was a roll-off dumpster next to the house. She knew from visiting her father at work sites over the years that the workers aimed for the roll-off as they removed the old shingles but they didn’t make it every time.

  Carlos was probably around Callie’s age or maybe a little older. He was on his phone when she parked her car. She waited until she saw him disconnect before getting out of her car. He watched her approach with interest but remained where he was in the cab of the truck with his window open. She could hear music coming from his radio.

  She stopped next to the driver’s side door. “I’m Callie Indigo from Indigo Investigations. Do you mind if I ask a few questions?”

  She saw his arm move. The music ended abruptly and he motioned with his head. She took a step back allowing him more room to open the door of his truck before he slid out. He was a couple of inches taller than she was and dressed for the job in jeans and a tee shirt. His hat had fabric in the back to protect his neck.

  “What about?” Carlos glanced over at the other workers.

  She assumed he was the crew leader. Even if one wasn’t officially assigned, there was typically one person with more experience that the others naturally followed.

  “The former owner, Guy Gallagher.” Callie noticed that Carlos didn’t look surprised.

  “What about him?” Carlos turned his focus to Callie.

  He had dark eyes. Currently, they were filled with wariness.

  “I’ll assume you recognize my name?” She waited for his nod. It was brief. “I don’t believe that my father killed Guy Gallagher. I know I can prove that but I’d like your help.”

  “I wasn’t there when it happened.” Carlos glanced back at the other workers. Some were throwing looks their way.

  “I know that.” Callie followed his gaze. She wondered if the Gallagher employees would run a roofing nail magnet over the ground to pick up all of the nails the way her father’s employees were instructed to do. “Have you worked for Gallagher’s long?”

  Carlos shrugged. “About five years.”

  Callie turned back to him. “You worked with Guy before he came back to Florida?”

  He nodded. “He was outside of DC. I still have no idea why he came here. We made a ton of money outside of the capital. That area up there is growing like you wouldn’t believe.”

  Callie felt compelled to defend her birth state. “Florida is currently the third largest state.”

  One corner of his mouth picked up. “Maybe. Still, you don’t have the growth in infrastructure that I saw around the DC area.”

  She knew she couldn’t argue the point. “What can you tell me about Guy Gallagher?”

  Carlos reached for his phone as it began to ring. “I can’t. He never really talked about his past. Not to me, anyway.”

  ***

  “You think he was telling the truth?” Greyson closed the distance between them as they walked down the hall. The large conference building was filled with participants from the IT competition and the hallways were jammed.

  “Yeah. I didn’t get the impression that Carlos was lying about anything.” Callie stepped behind Greyson for a moment to let someone else pass then caught up with him again.

  “He didn’t know why Gallagher decided to leave a lucrative area to return here?” Greyson stopped at an alcove offering them a brief respite from the foot traffic in the halls.

  “Didn’t seem to, no.” Callie watched the people going past them.

  “It might be easier to just call them.” Greyson pulled out his phone.

  Callie listened as he spoke briefly to Michael then moved over to a touchscreen kiosk located on one wall. After following the on-screen prompts, she pointed to a map. “We’re here. We need to be there.”

  Greyson nodded and they entered the flow in the halls again. Several minutes later, they joined up with Michael and Sierra. They were standing just inside a massive room full of excited students working in groups.

  “Who are we rooting for?” Greyson asked.

  Sierra grinned. “All of them.”

  “The Indigo Investigations team has been granted special privileges to enter the event rooms during the actual competitions,” Michael explained.

  “That will help.” Callie scanned the room. “Which event is this?”

  “It’s a four-hour programming event. They’ve been tasked with six specific challenges. They need to find the best solution for each while working within the parameters given.” Michael shifted his feet and pointed with his chin. “I think that team over there has a real chance at being done first.”

  “Is that important?” Greyson asked.

  “Judging is almost as difficult as competing,” Sierra said as she handed a print out to Greyson. “In addition to a time factor, it depends on a lot of other things to determine who will
win.”

  “What’s this?” Greyson frowned at the pages in his hand.

  “The problems they’re currently working on,” Michael said.

  Callie stepped closer to read over Greyson’s shoulder. “Wow. Seriously? Who could ever figure that out?”

  Greyson whistled. He looked around the room again. “I’m impressed.”

  Callie nodded. “Suddenly, I feel better about the next generation.”

  Ariana joined them in time to hear Callie’s comment. “Because of the competition?”

  “You have to admit,” Greyson said. “Anyone who can figure out these kinds of problems has their act together.”

  Ariana followed his gaze and scanned the room but remained silent.

  “We need to touch base with the in-house security team.” Callie looked at Sierra and Michael. “Are you two set for tonight?”

  “We hope,” Sierra said.

  “What about you two?” Michael asked.

  Callie forced herself not to look at her sister. “I need to follow up on another interview when I leave here.”

  “It looks like I’ll be out all night tripping the light fantastic,” Greyson said with a frown.

  Chapter Fifteen

  She knew that the Gallagher crews started and ended their work day roughly the same time each day. She also knew it wasn’t possible to catch all of them at a work site and expect them to speak with her. She parked her car in front of the small home and waited. The neighborhood was quiet given the time of day though she wasn’t surprised. The yards around the houses were postage stamp size and there were no sidewalks in front. The residents seemed to be primarily a mix of very young and very old. She saw evidence of small children here and there with their toys scattered around yards. There were also several ramps leading to front doors of other houses implying that the resident required mobility assistance.

  Callie waited for Gallagher’s employee to pull into his drive. She was out of her car in a flash, worried that he might disappear inside his house before she had a chance to speak with him. The look on his face changed from surprise to recognition quickly before turning to resignation.