Now that he was actively searching for clues, his mind kept running through the possible outcomes of his search—his quest, as he referred to it. His mind also ran through those plausible scenarios and theories listed in the official inquest results.
The first scenario was that they could very well have fallen into the sea—a simple slip on the wet deck in the stormy night, a demise caused by carelessness. But his father, an experienced sailor, had squeezed as much time out of his busy schedule as he could to drag the entire family sailing on the high seas. As a result, his mother had also quickly become an adept sailor in order to keep up with Conor’s thirst for the freedom found at sea.
To think that they had not worn life vests out on the deck amidst a storm was almost like saying a veteran police officer had not worn his bulletproof vest while on patrol late at night in a known dangerous neighborhood. That theory had struck him as impossible from the moment he had heard it.
The second theory sounded even more bizarre to him. He had known his father well. They had been a very close-knit family and, even with Trevor living in the United States, they had maintained contact on a regularly basis via email, video chats, and phone calls. To think that his parents were depressed and had decided to commit suicide, as it had been speculated by authorities, was beyond ridiculous. His father had adored his mother. He would never have willingly harmed her in any way. It was inconceivable to think that Conor Brennan had taken his own life, much less that of his wife, even under duress.
Stephan had been in direct contact with his father up until the day before they had sailed out of Dublin. He had mentioned to Trevor that his father was stressed over a project at work, the reason he’d decided to take a sailing trip to clear his head and relax with Maeve. There was never any indication that Conor had been worried, scared, or suicidal. Stephan had described a cheerful and happy Conor during his last day in the office.
Conor and Stephan had eaten lunch together that day to talk about work and project details that would need to be handled by Stephan while Conor was away. Conor had even winked at him and invited him to a dinner after they returned from their trip; Stephan had mentioned to Trevor that Maeve had been playing matchmaker again: she had invited a recently divorced friend of hers to attend so she and Stephan could meet. That dinner, of course, had never taken place.
Recalling Stephan’s description of that last day brought a smile to his face. Trevor didn’t regret the years working for the NSA that had kept him away from them. His job paved the way to his future. Both Conor and Maeve had taught him to cultivate education and hard work so he could harvest the fruits of his efforts in the future. They had taught him well.
Trevor did regret that he hadn’t introduced George to his parents when he’d had the chance. Due to the strict NSA code they had to abide by, the less people knew about its employees, the better. Trevor’s parents had known of his employment but had neither been aware of what his job encompassed nor who his co-workers were. Only authorized personnel had access to NSA employee job function descriptions and directives. Yet he could imagine how much fun they would have had together.
Returning his attention to his screen, Trevor looked at George sitting at his desk across from his own, and remembered the first few days at the NSA and the quick friendship that had followed. He should have disclosed it all then. The surname, his father’s legacy to him in the shape of a very successful IT enterprise specializing in biometrics software and equipment now being used all over the world in all sorts of applications, and, later, the details about his parents’ supposed death. Sharing all of it with George would possibly have helped relieve his pent-up frustration and uncertainty, but Trevor just couldn’t bring himself to open up to anyone this late in the game. He believed it was too late to do it now and that George would only resent him for hiding that information for so long. Maybe I am overthinking this. Maybe I should just tell him. Since the nightmare, these thoughts had been popping into his mind more and more often. Trevor needed an extra set of eyes and ears to help him with his investigation, and there wasn’t anybody he trusted more than George. Still, the hesitations from the past prevailed and he kept his mouth shut.
Later that day, George paused at Trevor’s desk on his way out. “Hey, are you up for a night at the Ram’s Head?”
Trevor looked up from his screen with a smile. “Sure. I should be home shortly after five.”
“Great! So I’ll see you later. I need your input on some stuff I am working on.” George gathered his keys and ID and called out a quick goodbye to the rest of the team before he headed out of the control room. George had become more extroverted since sharing a pad with Trevor, but lately his attention had been focused on work and his caseload, reminding Trevor of the George who had lived in a world of his own back during their MIT days.
Trevor shook his head at George’s eagerness to discuss work. Most people wouldn’t think twice about leaving work behind at the end of the day. But as far as they were concerned, the fact that they could collaborate both in and out of the office was a bonus. It showed their total dedication to the job and to the challenges presented each day.
Putting the sprouting worries about his lack of disclosure to George aside for the time being, Trevor got back to work. As five o’clock rolled around he packed up and headed out. He was looking forward to a night filled with geek talk, good food, and beer.
Ram’s Head was their favorite hangout, with its Angus beef steaks and great beer. At least a couple of nights a week, Trevor and George liked to eat and spend time there, decompressing after a long day at work.
The two single good-looking men always attracted attention at the bar, but they seldom took anything further than the usual flirtation and phone number exchange. It was a way to escape from the uncertainties and the secrets he shouldered. He could just be Trevor Bauer, the carefree computer geek everybody liked. Although the night out would make him forget his problems for a little while, he knew he couldn’t hide from reality forever.
Trevor often wondered if his life would ever feel complete again, if he would ever find someone to help soothe the pain and make things whole. But at that time, his preoccupation with work and his near obsession with his parents’ case were two serious hindrances to any sort of romantic attachment. A relationship would only complicate matters, and he certainly didn’t need any more complications—it was enough that he was withholding personal information from his best friend, had a compulsion to find clues tied to his parents’ disappearance, and was a workaholic to boot.
Trevor rode his bike through one of the several checkpoints on his way out of the enormous complex. The quick ride home was filled with questions he still couldn’t answer, but he hoped to be able to do so soon. He decided it was about time for him to go nuclear with his investigation. Something had to pop up somewhere. “Sooner rather than later,” he mumbled.
As he made the turn onto his street, he spotted George—apparently impatient to be off—leaning against his car and grinning. It was definitely gearing up to be a fun night.
Chapter Three
The Encounter
Cassandra stood in a conference room at Bristol Pharmaceuticals looking out the window. She half-listened to Drew Caldwell, Chief Security Officer, as he gave an overview of the company and the new formula they were developing. The slightly balding CSO was briefing them with information they previously had been given and that was already in her project file.
Cassandra had confidence in her team. Jessica, while not CIA trained, had graduated with honors from Stanford a year after Cassandra. Over a series of jobs, she had honed her IT skills before coming to work at James Security Agency. Matthew Hollister, known around the office as Boy Wonder, was fresh out of college and was the best they had for penetration testing. He was the perfect choice for checking Bristol and EXClinic’s systems for flaws or weaknesses. Jessica liked to joke that Matt was a ten-plus-plus on the geek-o-meter.
Jessica huffed in frustration, snapp
ing Cassandra back to attention. She listened to the conversation for a few minutes to get caught up, and then looked directly at Caldwell, staring him in the eye.
“Cut to the chase, Mr. Caldwell. We aren’t interested in theory or what it took to get to this point of development. You hired us to secure the formula, not to learn how to make it.”
She avoided the “give-them-hell” look that both Jessica and Matt flashed her way as she walked to the conference table and took her seat. She opened her file and scanned it again. “What we need at this point is to confirm the names of the employees who currently have access to the data here at Bristol and the security protocol of the company hired to run the trials. You have a copy of their security outline, I presume?”
She tapped her pen on the table and looked up in time to catch Caldwell’s nod of agreement. “My associates will need the login IDs and passwords of the Bristol personnel with remote access to the EXClinic computers.”
“We’ll also need the names of the employees in charge of your project at EXClinic while it’s being handled by them during the next trial phase,” Jessica spoke up.
Matt glanced up from his notebook. “We’d like to have the data file information, which server it’s stored on, and access codes, the name of the files, and code name for the formula.” He looked back at his notes then added, “One more thing—in order to do a thorough test, we need to have the network diagram and IP address range information for your infrastructure.”
Cassandra sat back in her chair and quietly observed the play of emotions across Caldwell’s face as his head ping-ponged from Jessica to Matt each time they tossed out a request. She found it interesting in itself since, as CSO, he should have anticipated her team’s information requests.
Out of habit, without removing her eyes from him, Cassandra began to take notes based on what she read in his face and underlined the word concern. She then wrote down anger after she observed his lowered eyebrows, narrowed upper lip, tightened lower lip, and the glare in his eyes.
Caldwell would have made an interesting subject. His current reactions could possibly be attributed to his lack of preparedness, even though he should have anticipated the majority of the requests and had the information ready for turnover at the meeting.
Cassandra closed her notebook and tried to smooth his ruffled feathers. “Okay Mr. Caldwell. As you can see, our needs are many. I know it sounds like we’re questioning your competency, but we’re just here to do our job.”
Caldwell rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I can see that, Ms. James. Your team definitely prepared for this meeting. That’s an impressive list of details you need, much of it highly sensitive in nature. However, I believe we have everything you’ve requested. I’ll get my team on it right away.”
Cassandra, sensing the meeting coming to a close, returned her files and notebook to her bag. Taking their cue from her, the rest of the team also began to put their stuff away. She pulled out a piece of paper and her business card, which she set on the table and slid toward Caldwell. “Here’s my card and an itemized list of what we need from you. Once your team has gathered everything, please email it to me in an encrypted file.”
Cassandra caught a micro-expression of concern on Caldwell’s face. “We’ve signed the confidentiality agreements, Mr. Caldwell. I give you my word as well as that of James Security Agency that your information is safe with us.”
“Thank you Miss James. Your organization came highly recommended and I can see we were right in selecting it.”
Cassandra studied his face a moment—something in his tone raised her hackles, but, considering the delicate nature of the task at hand, it made sense that he would be that concerned for his company.
Escorting Cassandra and her team to the lobby, Caldwell thanked them and assured them that they’d receive the requested information within the hour.
****
Back at James Security’s data center, or War Room as they liked to call it, Cassandra, Jessica, and Matt dove into work. The room looked like a military operation was underway. Matt was scanning the Bristol and EXClinic servers looking for operational weaknesses in the processes and any technical countermeasures either company was using. Jessica sat across the room at another terminal, humming under her breath while she conducted background checks on Bristol employees whom the team earlier deemed needed a closer look. Drew Caldwell had also been included on the list since he had the highest security clearance in the company. Cassandra was simultaneously investigating EXClinic’s hosting server and their security protocols and running a series of scans, checking for any anomalies in the data files exchanged between the two companies. She knew in her gut that Bristol was vulnerable due to the value of the drug in question. An anti-aging formula. Go figure.
She read through the details of the formula. Why would anyone want to use drugs to mess with their looks? As she uncovered more details, she realized there was more than the cosmetic aspect to it. If it worked as anticipated, big bucks would be generated because of its high demand. The drug would offer respite for several age-related illnesses, and if the trials were successful, it would attract huge interest from governments around the world with its potential to help reduce their national healthcare costs.
Cassandra shrugged. With the information received from Caldwell, she began the login process to access EXClinic’s hosting server. Based on her experience with the CIA, she knew that for the right price a black hacker would jump at the challenge of stealing from a large Pharmaceutical company. It would be a feather in the hacker’s hat, adding to their reputation and giving them bragging rights.
Another risk was that an insider could be compromised. In the cutthroat pharmaceutical world, a rival company might look to secure the formula and results as their own by hiring a company’s scientist or employee on the down low with the promise of better pay in exchange for the retrieval of the entire project from the servers.
Cassandra’s bet was on an infiltration, and her team was in agreement. They knew that a hacker wouldn’t be able to resist such a job due to the adrenaline rush they would enjoy from exploiting the weaknesses of Bristol and EXClinic’s systems. She anticipated that their process of infiltration would be similar to routine surveillances that she had participated in while with the CIA: they’d look for weak spots using a variety of tools, including network password hacking programs and port scanners. If the port scanner showed them an unsecure open door, they would use it to sneak in, allowing them to access the system remotely as if they were physically in the building.
Cassandra had Matt relentlessly trying to break in to Bristol and EXClinic’s systems, using what they called ethical hacking. If the team could find any weaknesses first, they could fix them, preventing any potential server hack.
Finally logged into EXClinic’s server, Cassandra checked to be sure that all software updates had been downloaded and that their firewall was solid and running; routine elements that all good companies would have in place. Once the task was completed, she glanced up and noticed a frown on Matt’s face.
“What’s up Matt? Anything wrong?”
“No, nothing so far, Cass.”
Seeing the concentration on his face she cautioned, “Just be careful, okay? We don’t want any slips. Bob would have our asses for sure if anything happened.”
Matt clutched his heart in mock pain and moaned, “Damn, Cass…cut my heart out why don’t you—ye of little faith. They don’t call me Boy Wonder for nothing.”
She rolled her eyes back at him and heard Jessica snicker. “Whatever, I’ll make sure to tell Bob you were the one to blame if it goes south.”
Cassandra watched him return to his task with a big grin on his face. She turned toward Jessica who smirked, “Before you ask Cassie, the answer is no. So far all employees are clean but in desperate need of help. Apparently they all suffer sorely from an extreme case of dull-itis.”
Laughing, Cassandra turned back to her screen and the task at hand. “Too funny
. Okay, Jessica. Just keep at it.”
****
A few hours later everyone congregated in the small huddle room across from Cassandra’s office.
“Well, that was a bust.” Matt grumbled kicking back in his chair.
Jessica grinned and nudged him. “Yeah, you’re just bummed you didn’t find any action on either of the two companies’ systems.”
Disappointment clouded his face and Matt pouted, “Damn straight, what’s the fun in that?”
Shaking her head, Cassandra watched their exchange. “Well, in this case, gang, it’s a good thing. I’ll summarize our findings and forward them to Caldwell. But we can’t assume anything. Matt, set up some routine scans to monitor both companies’ systems—the sooner the better, since we’re stuck being buddy-buddy with Caldwell through the next set of clinical tests they’re conducting.” She checked her watch and stood. “Okay. Great job, guys. We’re done here. I don’t know about you, but I’m starved and tired as hell.”
Matt headed for the door. “I’ll just get those scans set up and then I’m out of here. I have a date with a hot avatar on World of Warcraft.”
Cassandra and Jessica laughed at the wiggle of his eyebrows before he headed down the hall. Walking out together, Jessica reached for Cassandra’s arm and pulled on it slightly to catch her attention. “Hey, want to get a burger? Roscoe’s is open twenty-four hours.”
At that moment, Cassandra’s stomach rumbled in protest and the side of her mouth quirked. “Damn. It’s one a.m. No wonder I’m so hungry. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday morning.”
“So, is that a yes?”
“Sounds like a plan. Give me thirty. I need to get this update out and then we can go.”
“Perfect. That’ll give me time to add the last of the employee profiles to the project file,” Jessica commented as she took off in the direction of her office.
Cassandra waved her off and returned to her own office to type up her status report. At the thirty minute mark, she sent the report on its way. She also forwarded a copy to Bob, adding a quick note to let him know everything checked out and that they were set up to monitor the companies closely from there on. Her phone buzzed and she grabbed it. As expected, it was an incoming text from Jessica.
Countermeasure (Countermeasure Series) Page 4