Cyberian Affair

by Mark A Pryor

  “The CIA safe house is a lot more comfortable than the hospital. I got all my computers set up like I like them. When you go in tomorrow, I’ll be right there with you—well, I’ll be there virtually anyway.”

  Niko told her about the Zettabyte uniform and his other preparations. “Jalen’s badge will get me inside the datacenter and into Blue Koala, and the uniform will get me past Coral security.”

  “And I will use their cameras to watch everything you do,” said Vyper. “Meanwhile you will be a ghost. Wherever you appear on camera, I will override the images for security. Their video will show the room to be the same as it was before you entered.”

  “Suppose I do something that sets off an alarm.”

  “I have you covered. I can control all automated equipment in the entire center. Alarms will come to me first. I will only send along the ones I want them to see. If anyone tries to enter where you are, I will lock them out.”

  “Vyper, you’re amazing. I feel like we can’t fail.” A text message popped up on Niko’s phone. He read it. “Smith just notified me—Zatan arrived at Nassau airport earlier today. Facial recognition picked him out. They aren’t sure where he went.”

  “You think he spotted Sokolov’s photo?”

  “That’s my guess.” Niko’s heart raced. Would Zatan come to the datacenter? Would he go after Sokolov’s money? “I have to break into Blue Koala tomorrow. We can’t let his arrival stop us.”

  “I think you are right. Zatan’s team is up to something, too. The Russian hackers are still probing Calvert Cliffs, but they seem to have stopped work on everything else. It is like all the computer experts are working on some higher priority project.”

  “Interesting. Let me check something.” Niko searched several web sites known to be frequented by ex-military. In Kansas City, Missouri, B2 pilots went on alert, keeping half of the bombers in the air at all times. Similar actions were taken in Pensacola, Florida, and Abilene, Texas. “Looks to me like we just went to DEFCON 2. That hasn’t happened since the Cuban Missile Crisis.”

  Dombarovsky, Russia

  Halfway around the world in southern Russia, fifteen miles north of the Kazakhstan border, Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Burov led his comrade down a long, narrow concrete tunnel, fifty meters below the ground. Nineteen years ago, he had earned the honor to serve as a proud roketchiki, responsible for the physical care, security, and operation of ten nuclear missiles.

  They approached the steel door to the launch center to begin their shift. He leaned into the retinal scanner, placing his right eye on the eyepiece, not blinking until the red light went out. He and his comrade stood before the camera and waited for the team inside to open the heavy blast door.

  Even though they met this team every day, they never spoke to them. Roketchiki teams were trained not to form any personal bonds. Russian leaders didn’t want to risk any coordinated resistance against pressing the button if the order was ever given.

  Burov stepped aside to allow the other team to leave before he and his comrade entered. They performed the shift turnover tasks outlined in their check lists, then sat at their stations.

  Normally, the next six hours would be uneventful, but four days ago, their commander had ordered them on high alert.

  Blue Koala

  Chapter 31

  Nassau, Bahamas

  Saturday morning, two hours before sunrise, Niko waved the badge he copied from Jalen in front of the reader. A green light appeared next to the door latch, and he entered. An armed guard looked up from his desk, glanced at the tool bag in Niko’s hand and the Zettabyte logo on his uniform, and waved him through.

  He entered another door into a large office area, empty cubicles filling the center of the room. The cell phone in Niko’s pocket vibrated and he checked the messages, all from Vyper:

  BLUE KOALA’S SERVER SENT A TEXT

  DO NOT KNOW WHERE IT WENT

  SUSPECT JALEN’S ID WAS DETECTED

  MAYBE SATURDAY IS NOT AUTHORIZED

  ALERTS STOPPED – I BLOCKED THEM

  Niko went to the men’s’ room and sat inside a toilet stall. He placed his Bluetooth earbud in his ear and called Vyper. “I got your message.”

  Her voice wavered. “You must leave. Zatan probably received the message. He might decide to pay you a visit.”

  That had been Niko’s first thought as well. “We can’t back out now. If I leave, we’ll never stop Zatan.”

  An uncomfortable silence hung in the air until Vyper finally spoke. “If you must … then keep this call open so we can communicate. I will follow you on the security cameras, but they do not have sound.”

  Niko made his way to the door leading into the datacenter. A wave of his badge granted him entry. The inside looked exactly like the security camera videos he had studied. A line of wire cages stood before him. At the end of the line was a smoked glass enclosure—Blue Koala.

  He walked slowly, trying not to draw attention, then he remembered no one was watching. Vyper had frozen the video that security teams viewed.

  Standing in front of the Blue Koala badge reader, he hesitated to wave Jalen’s badge. After the text alert, Zatan may have blocked access.

  Too late now.

  He waved the badge, breathed a sigh of relief when the door unlocked, and entered. The narrow aisles between racks of equipment were exactly what he expected. No one should be here, but he kept looking around anyway. He walked to the section where network connections to the outside world are accessible—this is where Blue Koala must house their telecommunication equipment.

  Niko studied the equipment, the ports, and the cables inserted in the ports. When he was convinced he had found the right spot, he described it to Vyper. “Should I plug in?”

  Vyper agreed.

  He set his tool bag on the floor, pulled out a tablet computer and long cable, and connected it to the Blue Koala network equipment.

  “I see it,” said Vyper. “Wait until I configure it … Got it.”

  Niko picked up his toolkit “Now I’m going to look at the firewalls.” He walked down the aisle, dragging the cable behind him like an umbilical cord attaching him to Vyper.

  He set his tool kit on the floor and pulled out a special blue cable—the type primarily used by field technicians for administrative console access.

  Niko plugged one end of the cable into a special console port on his tablet, and the other end into the admin port on one of the firewalls. If all went as planned, Vyper would connect through the long umbilical cord into the tablet and out to the firewall. “Is this the right one?”

  “No, try another.”

  His second choice was also wrong, but when he tried the third one, Vyper responded, “Perfect. Now I will break in and modify the configuration. This might take a while.”

  Niko waited. He knew Vyper was working as quickly as she could, but he needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

  “I got it,” said Vyper. “Now you can make the connection.” She described the port.

  Niko disconnected the umbilical cord from his laptop and plugged it into the location Vyper designated. “Are you in?”

  “One minute … That is perfect. Now pack up and leave.”

  As he packed up his equipment, Niko smiled. “You were worried—”

  “Get out!” Vyper shouted. “Zatan entered the building. He is with another man … No! He is heading to Blue Koala’s door. Hide!”

  Niko glanced at the door.

  It opened, and two men entered. One was Zatan, dressed in a Bahamian shirt and shorts. He looked physically intimidating—more than he did in his photos. The other man wore a dark blue uniform. He held a weapon in his right hand.

  A gun? That’s crazy.

  Niko stood with his tool kit in hand. “Good morning. I’m with Zettabyte. Just finishing—”

  “You are not Jalen Sawyer,” said Zatan. “What are you doing here?”

  Pointing to his logo, Niko replied, “Like I said, I’m with Zettabyte.�
�

  The guard raised his weapon.

  Niko stared at the barrel of the gun. But it wasn’t a gun. Sparks and confetti shot out. He felt a sting in his stomach, and then in his leg.

  Taser.

  He saw the thin wires a moment before excruciating pain shot up his leg then throughout his body. He shook, and his knees buckled. He collapsed, unable to control the movement of his arms or legs. This was the most pain he ever experienced.

  The pain stopped suddenly, and his muscles relaxed. Zatan and his guard stood over him.

  The sound of Vyper’s voice in his ear demanded attention. “Get ready.”

  Ready? For what?

  Zatan glared. “Cut the bullshit. Who are you, and why are you here?” He waved at the Taser. “You will answer me sooner or later.”

  A whirring sound drew Niko’s attention to a robotic unit on tracks behind the two men, heading toward them.

  Zatan and his guard glanced back just as the robot ran into the man with the Taser, knocking him down.

  Niko jumped up and kicked the guard in the head with all the force he could muster.

  Zatan stepped around the robot and assumed an offensive stance, legs flexed, arms raised. Niko could only hope his Krav Maga lessons were enough to handle this man.

  The robot’s arm suddenly extended into the side of Zatan’s head, knocking the man to the floor.

  “Get out of there,” said Vyper. “I will lock them in. They will not leave.”

  Niko glanced at the small wires connecting him to the Taser. He spotted two small metal cylinders dangling from his uniform—one on his stomach, and one on his thigh. He gripped the one on his stomach and pulled it straight out. It was painful, but nothing like being tased. He removed the one in his leg, grabbed his tool kit, and left.

  Warrenton, Virginia

  Vyper sat before her laptop, flapping her hands and rocking her head. The stress of the morning had gotten to her, but she managed to stay focused while Niko needed her. She had allowed her anger to get the best of her, too—knocking those horrible men down with the robot, locking them in, and unleashing inert gas inside Blue Koala’s enclosure. If they suffocated, she would not be upset. She notified Smith—those men were his problem now.

  When she emerged from her mental safe zone, she got down to business. Niko had set up the access she needed, so she navigated her way into Zatan’s network in Vladivostok. This should be where he kept his most secretive tools and plans.

  She remembered the list of Greek gods’ names she found on Sokolov’s computer. Apollo and Hermes were highlighted, so she searched for both of them. One of the results included a list. At the top of the list was:

  APOLLO: CALVERT CLIFFS

  She browsed the list further and discovered another entry:

  HERMES: INDIAN POINT

  Since Calvert Cliffs was the nuclear power plant Smith was worried about, it seemed likely that Indian Point was another plant—a fact she verified with a simple internet search.

  It was one thing to identify the targets. It was another to discover what the Russians planned to do. Any truly destructive cyber-attack would likely target an industrial processor. That was Zatan’s approach with the Texas refineries and the LA power systems. All of Zatan’s malicious programs contained a few telltale patterns—unique, like a signature.

  Vyper searched through Zatan’s software and discovered two programs intended to infect industrial computers. Further analysis uncovered a nefarious feature—they attacked the monitoring systems to conceal unsafe conditions. If this was used on a nuclear power plant, the operators would not be warned in advance if something dangerous was happening.

  She made a secure call to Smith. As soon as he identified himself, she blurted out, “Zatan is targeting two nuclear plants—Calvert Cliffs and Indian Point. You must shut them both down immediately.”

  “Calm down, Vyper,” said Smith. “We knew about Calvert Cliffs. You say he’s also targeting Indian Point?”

  “Yes, those code names we found on Sokolov’s computer. It identifies both sites.”

  “Why do you want us to shut them down? You know how many people will lose power?”

  “Zatan has a program that will hide dangerous conditions from the operators. Do you want a power plant to overheat without operators responding?”

  “I see your point. Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl have taught us what could happen.”

  Vyper’s hand flapped. She made a fist and resisted the urge to zone out. “Will you shut them down?”

  “These plants all have physical gauges. We’ll demand that both sites check the status of their gauges instead of relying on the operators’ consoles. If we discover a problem, we’ll shut them down.”

  “I guess that will work.”

  “It’ll work, Vyper,” said Smith. “You and Niko may well have stopped one or two nuclear meltdowns. Those plants are located near Washington, DC, and New York City. If either site had a meltdown, we’d have a national disaster to deal with. You also stopped Sokolov and Zatan. The world owes you both a debt of gratitude, but they’ll never know what you did for them.”

  Dombarovsky, Russia

  The alarm surprised Lieutenant Colonel Burov. His partner sat across the small launch center, his eyes wide with anticipation. Burov picked up the phone. “Da.”

  This was not a drill. They just received the command to arm ten missiles.

  Burov and his partner independently reviewed the codes in the book against the codes they just received. They matched.

  Each man inserted their keys and entered the validated codes. Within seconds, a green light appeared. The weapons were armed.

  The next time the alarm went off, they would be given the order to launch.

  Uzhur, Russia

  Seven hundred kilometers north, in the heart of Siberia, another team received the same orders. They both inserted their keys and entered the valid codes. They watched and waited for the green light but didn’t live to see it.

  Aftermath

  Chapter 32

  Warrenton, Virginia

  Vyper ended the call with Smith and breathed a sigh of relief. It was just this morning when she told him about Indian Point. Technicians at the site discovered an alarming temperature rise that did not show up on the operators’ consoles. In response, they shut down operations until all systems could be certified free of malicious software. Calvert Cliffs had no such problem, but the situation was being monitored closely. Inspection and mediation were planned for all nuclear power plants across the nation.

  With Sokolov and Zatan out of action, she hoped cyber-attacks would stop for a while. Of course, they would never stop as long as the US refused to go on offense.

  It was time to relax and wait for Niko’s call. She grabbed the game controller.

  Her phone chirped, and she looked at the message. Something happened in Russia. She grabbed her laptop and searched for more information. The International Space Station identified an anomaly in Siberia. Earthquake monitoring stations reported a significant event at the same location. Reporters speculated the Russians performed an underground test of a nuclear warhead.

  The US government said nothing, so Vyper searched ex-military sites. Homeland Security and all military services were on high alert.

  Vyper retreated into her mental safe place. She rocked back and forth and flapped her hands. Nothing bothered her now.

  Austin, Texas

  Niko admired the view of the Colorado River from their balcony. Vyper sat in a chair by his side, a computer on her lap. They had decided to visit the best cities in America for young people, in search of a place to settle down.

  He was inclined to limit the search to America. Their experiences in Nassau, only two weeks ago, had soured him on leaving the country.

  Vyper set her laptop on a low table. “Do you think the Russian nukes exploded because Smith slipped my firmware into them? They blew up inside their silos.”

  “I think so, but Smith won
’t tell us.” He reached out and held her hand. “Even if it was your program, you shouldn’t feel bad. The Russians must have decided to arm those missiles. If it hadn’t been for your firmware, they probably would have launched them as the US. It could have been a nuclear war.”

  Vyper sipped on an iced tea. “I thought about that, but I do not understand how Russian leaders think. Why would they want to start a nuclear war?”

  “All I can figure is they felt threatened. When your KILROY message popped up in their missile systems, they thought the US compromised all their nukes. I’m pretty sure we only penetrated a few, but the Russian Army may have thought differently. When our forces went on alert, they were afraid we’d launch before they had a chance.”

  “That is crazy. But somehow, it seems to have stopped this cycle of cyber-attacks. I wonder how long that will last.”

  Niko stood at the railing. “Cyberwarfare will never stop. We let the genie out of the bottle, and he won’t go back in.”

  “You are so cynical.” Vyper opened her computer. “Did you see this? Bitcoin’s value dropped fifty percent overnight.”

  “You don’t own any Bitcoins, do you? It’s not real money, you know.”

  “No,” said Vyper. “I do not gamble. But something is going on. Bitcoin is dropping like a rock.” She typed in a few commands. “Hackers broke into three major exchanges and stole nearly two million coins. North Korea is the prime suspect.”

  If you enjoyed this novel, I would appreciate your review on Amazon or wherever you buy your books. I’d also love to hear from you via email (mark.pryor@pryorpatch.com), and I invite you to visit my website to keep up with my writing (www.pryorpatch.com)

  Read on for the first chapters of my novel, Noble Phoenix, available on Amazon.

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  Viktor

  Chapter 1

  1998 - Prague, Czech Republic

  Angry young men with spiky haircuts and shaved heads transformed a cheerful crowd of music lovers into an angry mob. Fourteen-year-old Viktor Prazsky had invited Delia, the prettiest girl in his class, to the Global Street Party. Now they were caught up in the middle of this developing riot.