“Yeah.”
“So, if someone attempts to pull up a directory it will go off?”
“Every time.”
“Good,” Kyle said, “very good. I want you to make four copies. In Charlie’s office you will find a pack of disk labels with his name on them. He had them pre-printed so he wouldn’t get confused with anyone else’s.”
“I know. I’ve seen them all over the place.”
“Grab four and stick them on the virus disks you make. When you’re done, leave one disk down here, one on your desk upstairs, one on my desk and one on Charlie’s. I want you to write in bold print across the top of each disk HSI URGENT.”
Robert smiled. “So, whose ever PC starts screaming, that’s our man.”
“Exactly. Assuming they take the bait.”
“I’ll get on it right away. We also have something else to discuss.”
Kyle moved closer.
“First,” Robert said, a worried look all over his face, “do I still report to you before going to Curtis?”
Kyle grinned. “As far as I’m concerned, why not?”
“Okay,” Robert said, satisfied. “I dug deeper into Charlie’s code and found something he had been working on, but it was only partially complete. Remember I told you that if we have the base account numbers we can locate the infected files, at least for that customer?”
Kyle nodded.
“Well, it turns out the virus code itself has a standard signature, or file header if you will, across all infected programs, so we don’t need the account number to identify which customer. It would be the same across all customer files.”
“Can you complete the scanner?”
“Sure, now that I know what to look for. In order to identify all the infected programs, we’ll have to ship the scanner to all our customers.”
“Why not just run it on our servers?” Kyle asked.
“That would catch our code, but it might exist elsewhere now that our code has been introduced into their main systems.”
“This isn’t a fix for the virus, is it?”
Robert shook his head slowly. “That’ll take a bit more time, but at least it’s a start.”
“Can you have it completed by this afternoon?”
Robert pondered for a moment. “Probably.”
“Good. But do the scream virus first.”
“Alright.”
“Has Curtis been snooping around here?” Kyle asked, heading for the door, helmet and backpack in hand.
“No, not that I’m aware of. Then again, anyone could have been in here.”
“Don’t trust anyone, Robert.”
“Does that include you?” Robert asked, smiling.
Kyle laughed as he closed the door.
____________
Cory Churchman and Ellis Hudson took one of the empty parking spaces near the entrance at Allied. The parking lot wasn’t very large and they could easily view anyone walking in or out of the building. Their windows were heavily tinted so they wouldn’t be seen, although when Kyle passed, he looked in their general direction. Cory sat behind the steering wheel while Ellis fumbled with binoculars, scanning the parking lot periodically. Cory thought he was a total fool but didn’t tell him so.
Cory flipped out his cell phone and selected a pre-configured number, holding it up to his ear. Norm picked up the other end after the second ring.
“I met up with Ellis about forty minutes ago,” he explained to Norm, Ellis lowering the binoculars and looking over to Cory with a worried expression. “Right after we phoned Ellis he was caught in traffic and lost Kyle on his way to lunch. Ellis proceeded to the west side in an attempt to locate him, but never did.”
“That happens,” Norm said.
Cory took a deep breath. “Ellis believes it was orchestrated, sir.”
“And why’s that?” Norm questioned.
“Maybe he should tell you.”
“I want you to tell me, Cory.”
“Ellis said he was two cars behind Kyle, stopped at a light, then when the light changed the cars in front and to his right didn’t move. It appeared the one in front had engine trouble and the one to the right stopped to assist. Ellis didn’t believe it because after a couple of minutes, the car in front of him suddenly started. I think he might be right.”
“Where’s Kyle now?” Norm asked.
“He returned to work about 15 minutes ago. Do you want us to enter the facility and bring him in for questioning?”
“No,” Norm said thoughtfully. “When he comes out, apprehend him. When you do, call me. I will tell you where to take him.”
“Understood,” Cory said, and put the phone back in its case.
“So?” Ellis asked.
“We wait,” Cory said.
Ellis resumed his vigil with the binoculars, spanning the parking lot in a semicircle.
“Why do you do that?” Cory asked.
“Just something to do. It’s either that or read a book.”
“A book might do you good.”
“Naw. I’d just forget it the next day. Holy smokes!” Ellis exclaimed.
“What? Is it Kyle?”
“No, take a look.”
Cory reached for the binoculars and put them to his eyes, adjusting the focus. Soon the slim figure of a female Allied employee walking to her car filled each eye. She had on a tight black dress which massaged her body as she walked.
Cory tossed the binoculars on Ellis’ lap. “You’re a stinkin’ peeping Tom.”
“It’s a hobby,” Ellis said with a smile, aiming the binoculars toward the girl once more.
____________
Rene spotted Santiago’s car in the usual spot. The wind was picking up and a chill filtered through her black dress, sending a shiver up her spine. Meeting with Santiago had pretty much the same result. He spoke nice enough, but his eyes were dead cold.
Rene looked around and quickly got in the car.
“Thanks for meeting on such short notice,” Santiago said.
Rene wanted to complete the transaction as quickly as she could. “Here,” she said, handing over a pair of disks. “This is from two computers. Robert has been working on it for the last couple of days for Kyle.”
“Do you know what’s on them?”
“Don’t have a clue,” she said. “And I don’t want to know, either.”
“Is this all there is?” Santiago asked, expecting more.
Rene reached in her pocket, pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it over. “That was on Robert’s desk. Not sure why he would have a copy of a smart card, but he did. I thought you might be interested.”
Santiago reviewed the page then turned to Rene again. “Good work,” he said, and pulled another white envelope from behind him. “Another grand.”
As she took the money, a wave of guilt washed over her, along with a little fear that had settled in the pit of her stomach. She knew they were trickling money to her in order to gain corporate information. When she joined Allied, she signed an agreement that contained an ethics clause, which she was now violating, and had been for the past eight months.
“Continue to keep your eyes and ears open. If you find anything, pass it along. You’ll get a lot more money.”
“I think they know someone’s snooping around,” she said, picturing Robert finding the door unlocked.
“Just be careful,” Santiago said. “It’s almost over.”
“What’s almost over?” They hadn’t divulged what they were doing with the information she was smuggling.
Santiago ignored her question. “If you find anything else, contact me right away. It’s important.”
Rene's eyes grew wide. "You told me after this I would never hear from you again."
Santiago shrugged. "We're almost done. I promise."
“And no one else will get hurt?” She asked helplessly.
“No one,” he said. “Soon this will all be over.”
Rene held the envelope tight as she stepp
ed out of the car. She walked away, glancing back once. She wished she hadn’t started with Santiago, but things had gone too far now. At first, she thought she was doing the best thing for her son, but now she wasn’t sure. Images of her being sentenced in front of a judge kept creeping up, a bailiff dragging her son away to some stranger who held a document that proved Benjamin was a ward of the state. She couldn’t let that happen.
She looked back one last time.
Santiago was gone.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The executive tribunal began promptly at one-thirty. The same individuals that had been gathered that morning were in attendance, with the addition of Kurt Brady. Tom was seated in his customary leather chair behind his expansive desk, the only clean desk Kyle remembered seeing in the entire corporation. Curtis Hopkins and Paul Ketcham sat together on one side, and slightly in front of Tom, while Kurt and Stacy occupied two chairs on the opposite side. A lone chair was placed directly front and center six feet away, probably, Kyle thought, on Stacy’s suggestion. It felt like a courtroom.
“Thank you for coming,” Stacy said politely, establishing her dominance over the meeting. “We’ve all read through your brief and I must say, it has us seriously concerned.”
“As it should,” Kyle said, taking his designated seat in front of the firing squad.
“I phoned your friend in Kentucky,” Stacy continued, pulling a sheet of paper from her leather satchel. “Yes, Morgan Weir,” she said. “He’s extremely concerned about all this. I was able to alleviate some of his worries, however.”
Kyle couldn’t contain his grin. Stacy knew the law concerning intellectual property and also all aspects of corporate law, yet she was as inept as everyone else in the room when it came to technology. “And how did you accomplish that?” Kyle asked.
“I told Mr. Weir that the company stood behind its product and his code was safe, and any virus found would be cleaned as soon as possible. I assured him we had an entire team working the issue.”
“And who would that be exactly?” Kyle asked poignantly.
Stacy waved the document in her hands. “Based on your report, Robert.”
Tom stepped into the conversation. “We are more concerned with your role in this matter.”
“My role?” Kyle echoed. “My role is that I’ve been trying to figure out what Charlie stumbled onto without it becoming tangled in the political fabric of Allied. And I’ve been successful up ‘til now.”
“That’s actually what concerns us,” Curtis broke in. “This is a company problem and should have been brought before the general management.”
“My worry,” Tom said, standing up and starting to pace the room, “is how the code was introduced to our systems in the first place.”
“My report is very clear. I believe someone inside is responsible.”
“We do as well, and we also believe Charlie may have been involved.”
“Charlie was involved,” Kyle said. “He discovered a problem and was trying to figure it out when someone killed him. You should also consider that if anyone else in the company is involved, they might have been the one to pull the trigger.” Kyle knew it was a lie. He had just met the person responsible for Charlie’s demise, and he definitely was not an Allied employee, although he believed there was someone else on the inside.
“Let me be perfectly frank,” Tom said, moving closer. “We feel you’re too involved. You seem to be at the heart of everything, and I have to be honest when I say that concerns me a great deal. You have been less than cooperative with the federal agents, a virus of some kind has slipped in here under your nose, and we feel you are withholding vital information. Based on your report, you kept rather shocking facts to yourself for nearly two days. I have to ask why?”
“I’ve already answered that,” Kyle defended. “I’m not one to cry wolf until I know the facts.”
“My point is this,” Tom continued. “I will instruct your team to report directly to Paul Katchem until this matter is resolved. Paul, in turn, will report to Curtis and he is responsible for making the decisions regarding this virus and how best to proceed.”
“So, you want to limit my responsibility to just HSI?” Kyle asked, thinking about the conversation with the man in the limo. Basically, Tom was asking the same thing as the other man had – to back off and leave it alone. It had a strange tone of irony.
“Not exactly,” Tom said, his speech slow, his words well-chosen and methodical. “I am recommending you be temporarily relieved of your responsibilities until more information is forthcoming.”
Kyle stood, causing the others to flinch. “You have no right.”
“I have learned, through a reliable source, that you are actually a suspect in the events which have taken place.”
“A reliable source?” Kyle repeated. “If I were you, I wouldn’t take the word of Rudy Kain.”
Tom winced when Kyle dropped Rudy’s name.
“Sit down, please,” Stacy said.
Kyle resumed his seat, looking around the group. Kurt seemed disgusted with the entire proceeding, but kept his mouth shut. Paul was holding back his euphoria at the opportunity about to fall into his lap, and Curtis couldn’t be more pleased at the way things were progressing.
“The company has been placed in a rather precarious position,” Stacy began. “We must proceed with caution and at the same time meet our commitments. The implications of the past days’ events have profound consequences. If our client’s confidential customer accounts are being manipulated for the purpose of crime or sabotage, then we are liable. Beyond that, something of this magnitude requires a great deal of planning and a lot of players, so it could actually result in the discovery of a conspiracy.” Her line of reasoning suddenly shifted. “I understand Charlie was your best friend. Correct?”
Kyle slowly nodded. “That’s right.”
“It seems odd that you were his best friend and superior and yet didn’t know what he was working on. It’s also strange that the individuals posing as federal authorities specifically selected Charlie’s computer, and yours, to erase. Then when the authentic federal investigators arrive, you’re uncooperative and even combative. Now they consider you to be a prime suspect in a crime that has or will soon take place. We learn you have diverted company resources from HSI, our most critical project I might add, to work on this virus.”
“What is it exactly you’re trying to say?” Kyle asked, already keenly aware of the direction she was headed.
Stacy sat up straight. “If we find that you have a part in some sort of conspiracy to defraud Allied or its customers, we will terminate your employment and pursue legal action against you and all involved. If you are found innocent, you will be reinstated to your current position.”
“So, you actually believe I’m involved?” Kyle asked.
“We must protect ourselves,” Tom said. “It’s in the best interest of the company.”
“And do you think you have the necessary resources to handle both this virus and HSI? And you Stacy,” he said, turning to her, “you told the customer you have an entire team working the issue. Since when did Robert Preston constitute an entire team?”
“I was speaking figuratively,” Stacy retorted. “We are sitting here now, as a team, working this issue. One way or another, both will be resolved.”
“I don’t think so,” Kyle said. “You’re forgetting I have a part in all this. I’ve seen the rest of the code changes for the HSI implementation, I’ve been the one talking with bank reps, both here and abroad, and their IT departments. I’ve talked with Robert and seen the virus code. It’s rather nasty.”
“Actually,” Stacy said, fiddling with her papers, “we know very well you have a part in all this. The virus was introduced under your supervision, so the question boils down to if you knew about the virus before or after it infected our systems.”
Kyle stood. “Let me give you a piece of advice, no charge. Someone’s about to screw with Allied’s custo
mers in ways you can’t even imagine, and time’s running out. Do you think it’s a coincidence that this virus surfaces right when we’re about to deliver final HSI code releases? We call it a virus, but really, it’s code someone spent a helluva lot of time writing specifically to target our customers, and using us to introduce it into their systems. And it will likely spread beyond our customer's systems as it proliferates.”
Paul cleared his throat, then spoke up. “Who better than you and Charlie to provide an avenue for this thing?”
Kyle glared down at him. “I can think of a dozen people, including you.”
“The decision stands,” Tom said with authority. “You will be placed on probation, at half pay, effective immediately. When this blows over and you are exonerated, you may resume your duties.”
“You know, Kyle,” Stacy said, flipping her hair back, “if you are involved and come clean right here and now, we could arrange some sort of deal.”
Kyle smirked. “You’re starting to sound like the FBI. I would have been better off leaving this alone and letting it run its course. Instead I tried to figure out what it is and now I’m being accused of the very act itself.” Kyle paused, disgustingly looking around at his superiors. “You know, I think we can work out a deal right here and now.”
Stacy’s eyes grew big as everyone in the room exchanged worried glances. “What?”
Kyle continued, keeping his voice calm and steady. His usual reaction would be to flare up and fight back, but he was just too tired. The last straw had been the abduction in the limousine. “I hereby resign my position with Allied. I will have a formal, written resignation letter in the mail by morning.”
Kyle turned and started out the door.
“Wait,” Curtis blurted out, standing. “Don’t quit just like that. Why don’t you take the time off we’re offering and let things cool down? We’ll know more by the end of the week and you can start back on Monday.”
Kyle looked at Curtis, seeing the desperation in his eyes. Curtis could align himself with Tom and Paul all he wanted in front of everyone else, but he knew only Kyle could deliver the HSI updates by the deadline. Paul was simply too slow and had other responsibilities, and Curtis knew he was not up to the challenge. Kyle enjoyed seeing Curtis dancing around for him to stay, and saw the effort wore on him.
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