Security Breach

by Vannetta Chapman

  “Apparently I’ve been compromised. They’re tracking my computer, which means they’d know if you took it with you.” Jonathan stared at the screen in disbelief. “How did I not see this?”

  “Kind of hard to see what’s hidden. Unless you can look at the code there’s no way you would know, and obviously the laptop developers would rather you stay out of that side of the device.”

  “Hence your plug-in, literally.”

  “You got it.” Randall high-fived the young man.

  Nora didn’t know whether to roll her eyes or throttle them both. She settled for a stern look and a gruff reminder. “We’re on a time clock here. Something else is happening. We don’t know where. We don’t know who, and we don’t know...”

  “Classmates.”

  Nora and Jonathan both stared at Randall in confusion.

  “Our perp used a student from the Institute the first time. Maybe he dipped into that well twice.” Randall pulled the sheet of paper out of his pocket and passed it to Jonathan. “Tell me who on that paper is smarter than you are, and don’t be shy. I know you know.”

  He glanced up at Nora and said, “Most geeks are aware of where they stand in the pecking order.”

  Jonathan barely glanced at the list. “Only person on there who can code better than I can was Kathryn Waters.”

  “Was?”

  Jonathan shrugged. “We don’t talk. I have no idea what she’s doing now. Kathryn is...somewhat antisocial.”

  Randall gave him a few final words of instruction. As he and Nora headed to the door, Jonathan asked, “How did he know? How did Professor Garcia know that I was...involved in something?”

  “Best guess? He wrote a program to keep track of his students. He cared about you, Jonathan.”

  “Yeah, and it cost him his life.”

  Nora glanced at Randall, walked back across the room, and squatted down in front of Jonathan. He reminded Nora of her nephew, and she realized with a start that she wanted to see him again, that it had been much too long and she’d taken certain things—like family—for granted.

  Not that long ago, she’d been in a small town in Shipshewana, Indiana, chasing yet another cyber criminal. In that case, she’d had to depend on the help of an Amish farmer. Benjamin Lapp had reminded her that family and faith matter. She’d promised herself she’d make those things a priority in her life, and she’d meant to. But they’d been pushed aside. She could only hope and pray that she’d have another chance, that this op wouldn’t be her last.

  Now she looked at Jonathan and said the words that she hoped were what he needed to hear.

  “We’re not responsible for what criminals do. We don’t cause it. We don’t do anything to deserve it, but if we’re lucky...and if we’re very good at what we do...we can stop it.”

  She waited until Jonathan looked up and nodded. The tears in his eyes tore at her heart, but she’d given him as much time as she could. He had family in the other room—even if it was only a grandmother he was caring for.

  He was a smart kid.

  He’d figure life out.

  As they jogged to the car, Nora tossed the keys to Randall. “You drive.”

  “You got it, boss.”

  Which did cause her to roll her eyes. She was not Randall’s boss. She’d told him that multiple times, which seemed to provoke him to use the term even more.

  As they headed toward the address listed for Kathryn, the neighborhoods went from poor to gentrified to wealthy. Nora tried to work out the possible scenarios they could be dealing with as she waited for her call to be pushed through to the director.

  When he picked up, she tapped the speaker button. “I have you on speaker. Randall and I are following up another lead.”

  “Our only other lead,” Randall muttered.

  “Looks like you’ve landed in the middle of something big.”

  “Do we have confirmation?”

  “Still no chatter, but we checked into the cruise ships and there’s no doubt their comms were intercepted. We’re holding off alerting the social media sites to what’s happening...don’t want to spook whoever is behind this.”

  “Sites?”

  “What Randall found was the tip of the iceberg. They’ve infiltrated all the main ones using a variety of unusual techniques. We’ll shut it down as soon as you’ve caught the perp.”

  “I appreciate your confidence, but we don’t even know who we’re chasing.”

  “You rarely do.”

  She updated him on what they’d learned from Jonathan, their suspicions that this could be the work of an environmental activist, and told him where they were headed next.

  “Back up teams are in route, but if what you suspect is true, they won’t get there in time to be much help.”

  The director signed off as they pulled up in front of a mansion.

  “Why would someone this wealthy attend a public school?”

  “Sometimes parents think it’ll help them adjust...it rarely works.”

  “Because...”

  “Do you think someone who lives here will fit in with someone like Jonathan?”

  “People from different backgrounds can...”

  “Yes, they can, but they rarely do.”

  Their knock on the door was answered by a maid, complete with uniform and a duster in her hand. Five minutes later, they were settled in the formal sitting room with Mrs. Waters asking if they’d like tea. Nora felt like she’d fallen into a poorly written British novel.

  “Actually we’re here to speak with Kathryn. Is she home?”

  “She is, but Kathryn is...fragile. I’m afraid I need a little more information if you expect to see her.”

  Nora mentally calculated the time it would take to give a full explanation versus pulling her weapon and threatening the woman. Fortunately, Randall rescued her from her own impatience, quickly explained the situation, and emphasized that it was urgent they speak with Kathryn immediately.

  After examining their credentials closely, Mrs. Waters stood and straightened her close fitting skirt. Nora was surprised the woman could even walk in the outfit she had on. Why would anyone dress that way at home? Stiletto heels only added to the ludicrous picture.

  “I suspect you’re wasting your time. Kathryn hasn’t had access to the internet since the last incident.” She led them through the kitchen, out the back door, to a cottage that was larger than Nora’s apartment. “The counselor said it would help Kathryn if she had her own space, so we moved her out here. I trust if you need anything, you’ll let me know.”

  A carefully tended garden surrounded the swimming pool in front of them.

  Randall grinned at her. “We meet all kinds in this job.”

  “Indeed we do.”

  Kathryn answered the door after they’d rung the buzzer multiple times. Nora was once again tempted to pull her weapon and shoot out the lock. She probably needed a vacation. Her irritation levels were off the chart, and it didn’t help when she got her first look at Kathryn.

  The girl had raven black hair with putrid green streaks that fell in front of her eyes. More rings and studs adorned her face than Nora cared to count.

  She pushed her way inside. “We need to talk.”

  “About what? I don’t even know who you are.”

  Randall had walked straight to the laptop. When he picked it up, Kathryn pounced. Nora had the girl pinned against the wall before she’d made it within three feet of Randall.

  “Your mother tells us you have no internet access because of a prior incident. Care to explain what you’re doing on the laptop?”

  Kathryn opened and shut her mouth twice before settling on, “Whatever” and collapsing onto the couch.

  Nora was giving her the short version of who they were and what they were looking for when Randall interrupted her.

  “You need to see this.”

  Kathryn made an attempt to join them, but Nora barked “Stay” and surprisingly, the girl did.

  Randall ha
d lined up multiple open windows, all with specifications of dams along the lower Snake River and all noted as orca foraging range.

  “Get this information to the director.” She turned on Kathryn with the force and fury of a Midwestern storm. “I want to know what you’re planning, when it’s happening, and who is behind this.”

  Kathryn had stood up. Now she smirked in Nora’s direction, pushed a recording button on her phone, and held up her hands in surrender. “We’re now on a live twitter feed, in case you’re wondering, and I’m formally requesting a lawyer.”

  Nora snatched the phone from her hand, turned off the recording and tossed the device to Randall who caught it with his left while he continued to type with his right. Her partner’s athletic abilities came in handy at times. She recognized the thought for what it was—her brain’s way of dealing with a situation that was quickly spiraling out of control.

  “Stop. This not a television show or a live stream.” She crossed the room to where Kathryn was standing and kept going, forcing the girl to walk backwards until her back was against the wall. “This is real life, Kathryn, and we operate under the power of the U.S. government and with the full force of the anti-terrorism legislative acts. You do not want to mess with me, because I promise you, I will win.”

  “That’s what you people always think.” Something savage crossed Kathryn’s face. Nora had the thought that she should back up, that perhaps she’d cornered something she wasn’t prepared to deal with; then she remembered the dams on the laptop, and she pushed harder.

  “What people is that? The ones protecting your country?”

  “This country isn’t mine. I didn’t create the borders and I don’t support the current totalitarian regime.”

  “Totalitarian regime...” Nora closed her eyes and tried to summon up enough patience to not throttle the girl.

  Kathryn took advantage of Nora’s temporary lapse in attention and dodged left, then around Nora and out the front door.

  Randall glanced up. “Want me to...”

  “I’ve got this.” Nora sprinted out of the cottage, her pulse pounding and muscles relieved to finally have a way to express the pent up adrenaline. She caught the girl between a cabana and a hot tub. Within two minutes, she had Kathryn’s hands zip-tied behind her, had marched her back into the cottage, and motioned for her to sit back on the couch.

  “Tell me what you know, or I will personally see that you are tried as an adult.”

  “Tried for what? I haven’t done anything.”

  “Thirty years to life, Kathryn. And they won’t let you dye your hair or wear your piercings or bring in your personal hotspot for internet connectivity. It’ll all go away, for a very long time.”

  “People like you are what’s wrong with this country.”

  “Tell me...everything.”

  She didn’t tell them everything—that was obvious. But she told them enough. Mostly she thought she lectured them, clarifying to the older generation all that they’d done wrong and the myriad ways they were destroying the Earth. But she let a name slip and also a few details, no doubt in an effort to show her superiority.

  Nora had a clear picture now, and she understood what they were up against. The first thing they needed was help. The director’s teams were in the air, and Nora didn’t want to take the time to brief the local federal officers. So instead she pulled out her phone and called Julia Lawson.

  “Still looking into Garcia’s murder?”

  “I haven’t solved it, if that’s what you mean.” Nora gave her the address to Kathryn’s home.

  “Do you think she was involved in his murder?”

  “I’m not sure the degree of her involvement, but she knows something about it. My guess is that she had a way to track Garcia, that she was aware he was keeping tabs on his ex-students, and that she alerted whoever she was working for. I think a conspiracy to murder charge might hold up.”

  Kathryn visibly paled.

  “We got the ballistics back.” Lawson shuffled papers on her desk. “You were right—it wasn’t a robbery. Both the caliber of the shot and the distance it was made from indicate his murder was something other than a random act of violence.”

  “So a professional.”

  “Looks like it.”

  “Randall’s working on Kathryn’s computer now. I need you to babysit her for me and ensure that she does not have access to the internet for the next twenty-four hours.” She looked directly at Kathryn as she spoke. The girl was obviously rattled, although Nora doubted that would cause her to reveal any more than she had. “After twenty-four hours, she’s all yours.”

  As she disconnected the call, she glanced around and noticed for the first time the images of Orcas that permeated Kathryn’s cottage. They were inlaid in the Italian tile, woven into the coasters on the table, even tattooed on Kathryn’s arm. She walked over to the girl, forced herself to remember that she was just that—a girl who had no idea what damage she could cause.

  But perhaps that was wrong.

  Perhaps Kathryn knew exactly what she was doing.

  “Is that what this is about...the orcas?”

  “As if you would care.”

  “Try me.”

  Kathryn’s answer was to spit in Nora’s face. As she was wiping it away, for the second time since they’d arrived, Randall called her over to the computer.

  “I found the operational clock. Whatever is happening, happens at daybreak.”