Odessa Strikes

by Bobby Akart

  He paused while he executed several more strokes on his keyboard. He pointed at two of his associates and nodded. They also made several entries and then spun around in their chairs to take additional directives from Azmoun.

  He continued. “At this moment, the administrators of the system, us, have shut off all digital safety equipment like protective relays that monitor for any overloaded or out-of-sync grid equipment. Using another malware called Sandman, we have just cut power to the greater Detroit area. The blackouts will last for many days if not weeks.

  “I have now activated Trisis, a sister malware to Triton. Trisis has triggered a massive call for energy to all substations within the DTE submarket in metropolitan Detroit. The power request is similar to every user demanding air-conditioning on a one-hundred-and-ten-degree day while running every appliance in their residence at the same time. The massive request will overload the systems that have already been cut off as a result of the Triton malware.

  “At this moment, I would expect there are sporadic transformer explosions, sparks on transmission lines, and fires burning at DTE substations. With the built-in emergency shutdown protocols manipulated by our team, we prevent any corrective action from being taken by on-site administrators at DTE. Again, at this moment, I suspect that realization is taking place. This leads to phase two of our operation.”

  “What is that?” asked Wagner.

  The project director responded, “We are shutting off the water supply of the Detroit Water and Sewer Department. Their industrial controls have been manipulated to direct a purge of their storage containers back into the Detroit River as having been contaminated with an unacceptable level of chlorine.

  “This will accomplish a twofold purpose. One, it will deprive the firefighters of water to fight the blazes likely to take place in the vicinity of the city’s transformers and substations. Most of these substations are located in old, urban neighborhoods near the areas identified on the fire-risk map. Old, dilapidated wood structures will never withstand the spreading fire. The firefighters will be unable to stop the blazes with their tanker trucks, which will quickly empty.

  “Second, the Detroit River, swollen from recent rains, will easily flood the homes on Detroit’s east side. These residents will not be aware of the rising water until it is too late. There will be no warning because the power grid has been taken down.”

  The room grew silent as the hackers continued to monitor any attempts to take back control of the industrial control systems in Detroit. Wagner spoke with Derek briefly and then returned to the call.

  “Are you prepared to take the next step in Phoenix, Arizona?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir. We are. The ramifications will be gradually felt for weeks as the poison spreads throughout the water supply.”

  “Release the chlorine,” Wagner said unemotionally.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The Den

  Fort Belvoir, Virginia

  The Den had exploded with activity. Initial reports out of Detroit blamed the power outage on an unexplained sudden surge of electrical demand. Then city officials began to compare notes and determined the outage took place first, minutes before the Detroit Energy computers overreacted and sent a request for one hundred seven times the normal consumption on even the city’s hottest day of the year. The result was the destruction of hundreds of transformers and five substations melting down. The fires spread throughout the inner city, and the firefighters were prevented from battling the blazes, as the water reservoirs had been drained. The FEMA director called it the perfect storm of bad luck.

  Ghost didn’t believe in bad luck. “Jackal, this stinks,” he said to his top aide in the Den.

  “Yes, sir. It’s possible, but extremely unlikely, for the three separate and distinct events to occur.”

  “How are they separate?”

  “Sir, if the information we’ve received is correct, the power grid was taken down throughout the city at the same instant. That’s possible, but there is usually a precipitating event such as violent storms or even a rolling brown-out triggering a total blackout.

  “Under these circumstances, there is nothing of the sort. I even considered solar activity. You know, a geomagnetic storm that dipped to the lower latitudes. I checked with the Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder and found no solar activity at all.

  “That leads me to believe this was part of an orchestrated effort, especially in light of the fact that a massive power urge resulting from a demand for electricity took place within a minute or two.”

  “What’s it all mean?” he asked.

  “Somebody took down the grid from inside and then, most likely, while they were at it, disabled the various safety protocols and protection mechanisms to prevent the subsequent overburdening of the system.”

  “You’re saying they intended to blow up the grid using the system against itself.”

  “Yes, sir. This points to a cyberattack. One that isn’t that much different from what the Iranians have deployed against Israel and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East.”

  “Do you think Tehran did this?”

  “It has all the earmarks of their past cyber intrusions against critical infrastructure. The problem is attribution. It’s nearly impossible to say beyond a reasonable doubt who is responsible.”

  Ghost paced the floor as he studied helicopter video feeds being transmitted to the Department of Homeland Security. Fires had engulfed buildings throughout the city. He pointed toward the screens and looked to Jackal for answers.

  He didn’t have to enunciate his question. She understood. “The first two steps in this attack involved the grid. The third step was taking away our ability to deal with the aftermath. I can’t say with certainty what happened to Detroit’s water reserves. All I know is they dwindled fast, or they’d been emptied somehow. Again, the fact these three rare and unique events coincided leads me to believe they were all part of an overall plan to set the city on fire.”

  One of the analysts stood and got Ghost’s attention. “Sir, I have the team on the line for you.”

  “My office,” he ordered the analyst. He looked to Jackal. “You too.”

  Ghost’s stress levels continued to rise, and his orders were delivered in a tone that reflected his concerns.

  Ghost placed the call on speakerphone and addressed the team as soon as Jackal closed the door behind her. “Talk to me.”

  Gunner took the lead. “We’ve pulled out of the castle and are en route to Salzburg to enter Knight’s offices. There’s been a complication, which will greatly reduce our time to accomplish our mission.”

  “Continue,” said Ghost.

  “The target, Kutcher, their CFO, had the necessary credentials on him to enter the building and travel through the hallways. Cam was also able to extract the username and password out of him.”

  “So what’s the problem?” asked Ghost impatiently.

  “Their computer servers are located in a secure area that requires fingerprints to unlock a biometric keypad.”

  “Oh,” groaned Jackal.

  “You got it,” interjected Cam. “I had to slice off his right thumb.”

  Ghost ran his fingers through his hair and rolled his head around his shoulders. “Did he alert anyone?”

  “Amazingly, no,” Cam replied. “However, the dose I had was designed for a woman half his weight. I was surprised it didn’t bring him out of his sleep. It’s just a matter of time and they’ll know exactly what happened.”

  “What can we do to help?” asked Ghost.

  “First of all, here is the password and user information,” replied Gunner.

  Cam spoke up and provided Jackal all of the information extracted from Kutcher.

  Then Gunner continued. “If possible, can you cut off landline comms from the castle? Cell phones are confiscated at the castle, and you have to be halfway to Salzburg before you can get cell reception.”

  “I’ll do what I can,” said Jackal. “Once
they figure this out, they’ll be on your heels.”

  “Yeah, we know,” said Gunner. “We have to change our mode of entry. There isn’t time for us to make our way through sewer tunnels and carve our way through drainage gates. We’ve gotta walk in the front door.”

  Ghost turned his attention to Jackal. “He’s got Kutcher’s ID badge. Now that you have his log-in info, can you enter the personnel records and replace photographs, description, etcetera?”

  “Bear, how far out are you?” asked Jackal.

  “Seven miles.”

  Jackal mumbled, “Piece of cake. But, Gunner, can you do this alone?”

  “We have a work-around for the second identification. It could get messy. Turn me into Kutcher, and we’ll do the rest.”

  “I’m on it,” she said as she slipped out of the room.

  “Anything else?” asked Ghost.

  “Yeah, it may be nothing, but it has to do with a conversation I overheard inside the castle. Two men, one with an American accent and another with a Hispanic accent. Maybe Colombian. South American, at least. Anyway, the men’s names were Herbert and George. Although it might’ve been Jorge, with a J, if he was South American.”

  “Almost there,” interrupted Bear.

  “What did they say?” asked Ghost.

  “Yeah, this fellow Herbert was authoritative. He mentioned something about Coca-Cola. Anyway, he said he was grooming a replacement for Taylor. The South American, Jorge, asked if he was certain the politician was on board. When it was confirmed, the guy named Jorge said his associates would be pleased.”

  Ghost paused while he made notes. “Did you get a look at them?”

  “Barely. It was pretty dark. The American was short and round. The Spaniard, or whatever, was tall and lanky. How’s that?”

  Ghost paused for a moment and then asked one more question. “Are you certain the man named Herbert mentioned Coca-Cola?”

  “We’re here, guys,” said Cam.

  Gunner quickly replied to Ghost, “Yes. Does this mean anything to you?”

  “Maybe. I’ll have someone look into it.”

  Ghost paused again as he contemplated whether to tell his operatives about the events in Detroit. He opted not to distract the team.

  “Anything else?” asked Gunner.

  “No. Just stay frosty.” Ghost disconnected the call.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Knight Gruppe AG

  Salzburg, Austria

  Bear swapped the caterer’s truck for a sedan provided to them at the CIA safe house. Gunner joined Cam in the back seat to lend the appearance they were being chauffeured. The darkened windows easily hid the trio’s identity as they pulled into the secure parking lot adjacent to Knight Gruppe’s building. They didn’t want to risk the scrutiny associated with the front desk staff and the security team milling about the portico-style entrance.

  Gunner received a text message. “Jackal gave us the green light.”

  “Let’s do this,” said Cam.

  Gunner turned in the seat and looked into his longtime friend’s eyes. “Cam, we gotta play this up. You know that, right?”

  “It’s gonna be weird,” she said, shaking her head from side to side.

  “I agree. We can do it.”

  She tried to smile. Cam took a deep breath and nodded that she was ready. She’d changed out of the evening dress into a business-attire pantsuit and flats.

  Bear wheeled the car in front of the employees’ entrance and scrambled around to the passenger side to dutifully open the door for the couple. Gunner exited the car first and helped a stumbling Cam, who playfully flirted with him. She’d assumed the role of the inebriated, semi-coherent woman quite well.

  Gunner took her into his arms and kissed her. She slumped as her knees buckled, but she managed to play up the sexual connection with Gunner for the cameras.

  He broke their embrace and wrapped his arm around her as he led Cam to the door. He didn’t look up as he made his way to the door in an attempt to avoid making eye contact with the security team undoubtedly watching their approach.

  Cam had briefed Gunner on Kutcher’s sexually aggressive behavior during the cocktail party. She imagined the security team was aware of the chief financial officer’s conquests and therefore wouldn’t be surprised by his actions on that evening. Once Gunner swiped the man’s identification badge, it was likely the name would instantly be recognized by security.

  Once inside the building, the two hung on each other, making out as they stumbled their way through the empty hallways of Knight’s corporate offices. Their original plan, had they had sufficient time, had been to enter Kutcher’s office and scour his files and desk drawers for information. Because of the way Cam had had to deal with her target, they suspected they’d only have ten to fifteen minutes to enter the server room, at best.

  “Let’s split up,” said Cam as she nuzzled her head against Gunner’s neck. “They’ll think you plan on taking me to Kutcher’s office anyway. Drop me off, let me tear the place apart and photograph what I can. You don’t need me to access the server room and work with Jackal.”

  Gunner kissed her again as he dragged her along another corridor toward the executive office suite of the Knight Gruppe principal officers. “It’s too dangerous to split up.”

  She ran her hand inside his shirt and pretended to stumble. He held her up as they approached Kutcher’s office.

  “It’s the only way,” she whispered.

  “We don’t have comms,” he protested. “How will you let me know if there’s trouble?”

  She smiled and playfully swatted at his face as if he was getting too handsy with her. “Silly man. How will you let me know if you are the one in trouble?”

  Gunner laughed and gave her a genuine hug. “Fair enough. It wouldn’t be unusual for Kutcher to head to the lower levels, but it’s not likely he’d drag a drunken conquest with him.”

  “I am not a conquest,” said Cam as she intentionally stepped on his foot while he swiped the access badge at Kutcher’s office door.

  “Damn, Cameron! That hurt.”

  “Oh, it’s Cameron now, is it? I’m glad to see I’m not a drunken conquest.”

  Gunner semi-shoved her in the door and quickly closed it behind them. “Okay, point made. Seriously, we don’t have much time.”

  He made his way for the door. Just as he grabbed the handle, Cam said, “You are actually a pretty good kisser. I can see why La Bambolina couldn’t keep her hands off you.”

  Gunner rolled his eyes and exited the office. While Cam rummaged through Kutcher’s files, he walked deliberately back down the hallway to a stairwell leading to the lower levels of the building. He’d just stepped through the door when he received another text message from Jackal.

  Jackal: I’m controlling the security cams. Landlines are off.

  Gunner replied using voice to text while he made his way downstairs.

  Gunner: Good. Let Cam know. She’s in Kutcher’s office. Headed down now.

  Jackal: I will. BTW, an ambulance was dispatched to Hohenwerfen.

  Gunner picked up the pace and started running down the stairs until he reached a door marked Level 6. He tried to respond to Jackal’s last text, but there was no cell tower coverage at that depth below ground.

  He failed to calm himself, so when he burst through the door into level six, the well-lubricated hinges didn’t arrest the door before it slammed against a concrete wall.

  Gunner grimaced and quickly grabbed the handle to gently close the door, but it was too late. Footsteps were clamoring down the hallway in his direction. His mind focused on his cursory review of the building’s floor plan. He turned left in the hallway, away from the approaching security personnel. He slowed at each door to study the identification plate.

  After several tries, he found it, reading the word aloud. “Technikraum.”

  “Halt!” one of the men shouted at him just as he was pulling Kutcher’s thumb out of his pocket.
<
br />   Gunner never hesitated. He reached into his jacket and drew his silenced weapon out of his shoulder holster. He fired four well-placed shots into the torsos of the approaching security guards. Their forward momentum carried them toward him until they crashed to the concrete floor by his feet. He shot each of them in the temple to confirm they were dead.

  Gunner quickly accessed the technology room. The lights turned on automatically as the door opened. He searched through the room for the workstations that Jackal had suggested would be part of any IT department’s server arrangement. He moved quickly toward the center of the six-foot-tall racks of servers. The air-conditioned space was filled with the slight hum of processors and the fans that cooled them. Multicolored indicator lights filled the space as data was collected, analyzed, and sent off to computers throughout Knight’s business operations.

  “Here we go,” he muttered as he arrived at a single computer station in the center of the room. He slid into the seat behind the keyboard and entered the username and password obtained from Kutcher. He immediately was granted access.

  Gunner powered up his phone and navigated to the Notes app on the screen. He opened the step-by-step instructions provided by Jackal. At this point, he had several options to breach the firewall and allow Jackal remote access to the server. The goal was to download as many files to the Den’s computers as possible before the Gray Fox team was discovered having its way with Knight’s most protected data. Because the information on the servers was secretive, Jackal had to provide different methods for Gunner to gain access, all of which were based upon her best assumptions.

  Ideally, they’d have more than ten minutes. Gunner had no idea he had less than that. He took a deep breath and started at the top.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Knight Gruppe AG

  Salzburg, Austria

  In Kutcher’s office, Cam didn’t even bother taking pictures. After receiving Jackal’s text indicating she had limited time, she began video recording everything she uncovered. She’d then send them to the Den via encrypted text message. She didn’t attempt to read what she discovered in his desk drawers in order to determine the documents’ relevance. She’d leave that to the analysts.