‘But then what about Nikki’s and Gloria’s trips to London?’
‘Nikki and I no longer meet but Gloria is my daughter too. Nikki gets Gloria to London for me to meet her and spend some time with her as a mentor.’
‘Does Gloria know that you are her biological father?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then why did she lie to us?’
‘She has been told what to say when asked about her parents. So it is not surprising that she told you what she did.’
‘That explains it, I guess.’ But Adrian was not entirely convinced. ‘One question crops up repeatedly though. Why did Nikki mastermind the ATM heist, knowing very well that she would be under our watch?’
‘Do you think she is capable of masterminding such a task? A global heist? I’m not too sure about that, Agent Scott. We can ask her that once she wakes up from the coma. Till then, I guess, we have to exercise caution.’
Adrian decided to let that be, and moved on to the next issue.
‘There is a strong possibility that Gillian Tan’s murder and Cotton Trail have something in common.’ Adrian went on to detail all the findings till date.
‘What do you need from me?’ asked Mike.
‘Permission to travel to India. Open back channel communications with the Indian foreign ministry to allow us to investigate. In particular, we will need the assistance of the Indian cyber cell.’
‘Why India?’
‘Because the latest login into the Altoids account is from Mumbai,’ Adrian explained.
Mike said just one word. ‘Granted.’
After disconnecting the call, Adrian looked at Dan. ‘How did Mike Hendricks’ DNA make it on to that database. Does he have a criminal background?’ He also wanted to ask Dan why he hadn’t mentioned this to him. But didn’t. There was no point arguing with Dan.
‘I don’t know,’ Dan responded.
‘What do you mean?’
‘Politicians at this level would have been detained some time or the other in their lives. And the way the law enforcers are zealous about capturing DNA samples for detainees I was sure that Mike Hendricks’ DNA would be in the database.’
‘I don’t understand.’
‘The day Mike Hendricks called you to convey the President’s message to you, I knew something was amiss. Remember, the Pink Elephant. Something was not right about Gloria’s background. The insurance pay-out was the clincher. I threw in the bait. Mike Hendricks knew his DNA was in the database. He knew it would match with Gloria’s because he is her father. What he didn’t know was that the DNA of people at his level is not accessible to anyone below the secretary of defence. He is relatively new to politics. He took our bait and told us the truth.’
‘You lied to him?’
‘A white lie to catch a pink elephant is acceptable. Isn’t it, Adrian?’ Dan smiled. ‘Elementary my dear, Scott. Elementary.’
72
Mumbai
Tanya’s plea to release her mother’s belongings, which were lying with the cops, came up for hearing in front of the holiday bench of the Mumbai court. When the CBI representative did not object, the prosecutor did not contest the appeal. The court ordered the release of all seized belongings of Malvika. Tanya went with Varun and promptly brought them home.
She opened the packet and pulled out a blue cotton saree. It was bloodstained and gave off a horrid, unbearable stench. She fondly hugged it and buried her face in it.
There was a packet of jewellery too. It contained a pair of earrings, a necklace, a mangalsutra. No bangles, no rings. A Corum watch.
‘Malvika sure had style,’ Varun thought.
Tanya put everything away inside a cupboard. She walked to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. The maids had left. They normally left on Friday afternoon and returned on Sunday evening. Tanya preferred it that way as it gave her some privacy, particularly if she wanted to be with Varun.
Varun followed her into the kitchen. He stood there, hugging her for a few minutes. Tanya turned to pull out the jar of tea leaves. The water in the kettle was boiling. Varun took the jar from her hand to keep it back once she was done. As he kept it inside the cabinet, he looked around for something to munch on. He picked up a tin of peanuts and spotted a jar of green-coloured, wasabi-flavoured nuts right behind it. He knew Malvika had liked wasabi. Tanya had told him that. He kept the peanuts back on the shelf and picked up the wasabi nuts. As he was opening the jar, Tanya turned with a cup of tea in her hand.
‘Wait, wait, wait! Where did you pick that from?’
‘From here.’ He pointed to the cabinet.
‘Check the expiry date. Mom used to keep fresh stock on the other side.’ She walked to the other end of the kitchen and pulled out a new jar.
Varun smiled, kept the old jar back and took the new one.
‘I will trash it,’ Tanya said as they sat down at the table, drinking tea. For a long time, she sat like that. Varun got up to keep the tea cups in the sink. He picked up some more wasabi nuts and turned around.
Tanya was crying. Despite her best efforts to be quiet, he could hear her sobbing. Her shoulders were shaking in sync with her crying. He walked up behind her and hugged her gently, kissing the side of her neck.
Tanya turned around and hugged him tight. ‘Promise me you will never leave me, Varun! Promise me.’
He smiled affectionately and hugged her back. She stepped out of his embrace and kissed him on his lips. Varun wanted to kiss her but wasn’t sure if it was the right time. Tanya solved his predicament. She pulled him towards her and kissed him, then pulled him into the bedroom. They made love passionately. Tanya wanted to forget all that she had been through and the best way to take her mind off it was to immerse herself in Varun. Exhausted, they collapsed in each other’s arms and let sleep take over.
It was almost 6 p.m. when Varun was woken up by the incessant ringing of his phone.
‘Yeah, Dad?’
‘Where are you, Varun? Call me when you are free. Need to talk to you.’
‘Okay, Dad, give me half an hour.’
He hung up and looked at Tanya. She looked like a goddess, more so when she was naked in bed. He got out of bed and looked around for his clothes. Twenty minutes and a shower later, he kissed Tanya on her forehead and left.
He took the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator. At the third floor, he saw a man walking into an apartment. Varun stopped for a moment. Their eyes met briefly before the man hurried inside. Varun shook his head, and walked on towards his car.
73
Mumbai
Any investigation by a foreign law enforcement agency in India had to be cleared by the Ministry of External Affairs. In this case, when Mike Hendricks’ office got in touch with the ministry, they were referred to the CBI.
The CBI was quite happy to have the FBI investigate the ATM heist and the possible Cotton Trail linkages in India. They conferred with the director-general of Mumbai Police and assigned Assistant Commissioner of Police Dibanker Shome of the cyber crime cell to work with them.
Adrian had worried that the Indian government would throw a spanner in the works. While seeing him off before his flight to Mumbai, the CBI director had whispered, ‘Mr Scott, the Indian government does not take kindly to surprises. So make sure that there are none. And if there are any significant findings, please keep me in the loop. While it is easy to give permission to FBI, it is easier to deport errant officers. And please, no media interaction. Not a word!’ Adrian nodded. He decided to take it as it came.
When Tony and Adrian arrived at the airport a team of officers from Mumbai Police was there to receive them. They were escorted to the Trident Hotel in the Bandra-Kurla Complex, which would be their home for the next few days.
The biggest challenge for Adrian was that the cops in India hadn’t even heard of bitcoins or, for that matter, Cotton Trail. It took Adrian a fair bit of time to lay it out for them. At the end of it, one thing was clear: ACP Shome couldn’t offer him anything m
ore than logistic support. Tony and Adrian would have to do the actual investigative work.
The IP address from where Altoids had logged in, asking for support to figure out the missing alphanumerics in the private key, had been easy to identify. It was a node on the VTS network, one of the largest telecom service providers in India. It surprised Adrian, and even Dan for that matter, that Altoids had been careless enough to leave a trail. He never expected to be caught.
‘Is it a phone? A tablet perhaps?’ Adrian asked the legal head at VTS, when he met him the next morning.
‘No, it is a leased line. Communication lines that feed corporates.’
‘I know what a leased line is,’ said Adrian. The legal head looked pointedly at ACP Shome who was struggling with these terms. ‘Which company does this leased line connect to?’ Adrian asked. Once he had the name and address of the company on record, he could then track the specific individual.
‘I’ll have to check and get back to you.’
Adrian raised his right eyebrow. ‘You don’t know?’
‘I . . . actually, you see . . .’ stammered the legal head.
Adrian cut in, ‘As in you will have to find out. Or will you have to check if you can disclose the names?’
‘Legally, I cannot give out the information, unless there is a request from the concerned judicial authorities or the cops.’
Adrian looked at ACP Shome. ‘You can instruct him to give us the information, can’t you?’
‘No.’ ACP Shome was apologetic. ‘Need a court order. Even the director-general’s order will do.’
‘How long will it take to get it?’
‘A week,’ said ACP Shome. And then he surprised Adrian further, ‘If we are lucky.’
Adrian could see that VTS’s legal head had a few papers in a folder on his table and that it seemed to contain a lot more than just IP address-related documentation. From where he was sitting, Adrian tried to read the contents of the page on top. He couldn’t. They couldn’t wait for a week.
He got up from his chair, and looked at ACP Shome. ‘If we have your permission, can I have a word with him alone?’ And he pointed towards the legal head.
‘Sure,’ and ACP Shome started to get up from his seat.
‘No, please stay seated. We don’t want to trouble you. Sir, if you don’t mind, can I have a word with you outside?’
The legal head got up and walked out with Adrian.
‘Sir, I did not want to say this in front of the ACP but this is a very important case for the FBI. Anyone who helps us get to the bottom of this will be rewarded . . .’ He paused, and added, ‘. . . in whatever way you deem fit.’
‘I admire your arrogance, Mr Scott.’ The legal head had an angry look on his face. ‘You Americans think you can get anything you want. Yes, there are a few people who will be swayed by your green paper, but not me. I’d rather you left before I report this obstinacy.’
‘Sir, it’s understandable that you are upset but do you realize the good you will be doing? If the US gets to the bottom of Cotton Trail and the people behind it, we will be able to prevent thousands of teenagers from getting addicted to narcotics. Smuggling, pornography, paedophilia—all these evils can be stopped if you help us. All we need are the details of the IP address I gave you.’ Adrian made a moral appeal.
‘I’m sorry, Mr Scott. I’d love to help but our company will provide the details once we are asked to disclose it . . .’ He turned, and added, ‘. . . through proper channels and not a moment before.’
The three of them thanked the legal head and left. In the police jeep in the car park, Adrian asked, ‘Where to now?’
Tony smiled. He pulled out his cellphone and brought up a picture of a paper with an address on it.
‘Here,’ he proclaimed, and looked at ACP Shome, who was trying to conceal a smile. ‘You will get me sacked for sure!’
The jeep pulled out of the parking lot and moved towards the address in the image.
Adrian’s phone beeped. It was a message. From Dan: Get your hands on the latest press release from my unit in FBI. We have a lot of work to do.
74
Cupertino/Mumbai
The press conference at Cupertino, California, was unprecedented. Apple Inc. announced a major overhaul of its operating system. It caught everyone—users, programmers, app developers, competitors—by surprise. A major upgrade of the operating system was not due for at least three months.
The same day, the FBI issued a press release signed off by Dan Malloy.
At the request of Dell, the world’s largest laptop computer manufacturer, the FBI will be investigating the blowing up of over two dozen Dell computers in the west coast of the US and an unidentified number of laptops all over the US and the world in general.
Normally such acts are under the purview of local law enforcement agencies. However, given the suspected cyber terrorism roots and the fact that a much more serious scenario could ensue if such unprecedented acts increase in frequency, the FBI has been asked to investigate.
Dan Malloy, Chief of Cryptanalysis and Racketeering Records Unit at the FBI, will lead the investigation.
When Adrian saw this on his mobile, he was surprised. He couldn’t comprehend what it was about and called Dan. ‘What’s the story, Dan?’
‘You saw the release?’
‘Yes, but what’s it about? Couldn’t figure out much.’
‘It’s not what is in the release that is important. It’s what is not there that raises eyebrows.’
‘And that is?’
‘I spoke with Tim Cook.’
‘The Apple CEO?’
‘Yes. The new version of the operating system released by Apple was created to tackle the overheating problem.’
‘What’s the connection?’
‘There is a malware in the system. No one knows where it came from. There exists no antidote for it. It has infected over 100,000 computers in the US alone. What’s worse is that it is suspected to have infected over 1 million smartphones. All kinds, iOS and Android.’
‘And what does the malware do?’
‘It scans the computers and phones for bitcoin wallets. The moment it identifies a bitcoin wallet on the hard disk, the program steals the private key and transfers all the bitcoins to a clandestine wallet, precoded in the malware. We have no clue how many customers have lost their bitcoins like this.’
‘Shit! That’s dangerous.’
‘Apple is so worried that it came out with a new iOS version, which categorically asks customers to reload all necessary apps. They have taken care to back up and reinstate core data. Any data not in core form and all executable files are deleted. This extensive reformatting is going to inconvenience users for sure.’
Adrian didn’t say anything. He was trying to take in the gravity of the situation.
‘That’s not all, Adrian. The software also leaves an executable file on the system boot disk, which forces the computer to join a network based in Ukraine, whenever it is on the Internet.’
‘A botnet!’
‘Yup, a botnet. Once the system joins the hub in Ukraine, it automatically downloads the bitcoin mining software. This software then resides on the computer. Whenever the computer is in sleep mode, the software takes over and the processing capabilities of the computer are added to the network and used up to remotely mine bitcoins. To get new bitcoins as and when they are issued. It is a Graphics Processing Unit intensive act and heats up the unit. This causes the computers to blow up. It is one of the smartest designed, self-destructing malware I’ve seen. It regenerates every five minutes and, when it does, it destroys the older version, thus destroying any evidence of its earlier presence on the machine.’
‘Doesn’t sound good at all, Dan.’
‘Nope. The only saving grace is that such malware never spreads on its own. Obviously people are clicking on something, which activates its transfer. Hopefully we will find something soon.’
‘Let me know in case you ne
ed our help.’
After disconnecting the phone, Adrian looked at ACP Shome. ‘Let’s not do this in a hurry. I think there’s more to it. Let’s meet our suspect only when we are ready. He isn’t going anywhere.’
Adrian was distressed. His mind was on the malware.
75
Mumbai
Aditya woke up at 6.15 a.m., picked up his Blackberry from his bedside table and walked to the bathroom, scrolling through the mails. The two minutes of tooth brushing time was also Blackberry scanning time.
He went through a few office mails. Nothing urgent. A couple of direct mailers. There was a 50 per cent discount at Shoppers Stop. When was the last time he’d shopped there? A mail from Apple, giving him the daily sales figures of his apps. Another mail. From Apple? He stopped brushing. The subject line just had one word: ‘Congratulations!’
He clicked the mail open. His face broke into a wide grin the moment he read it. Hurriedly, he spit out the remnants of the toothpaste, rinsed his mouth and rushed out. ‘Varun!’ He called out excitedly. ‘Varuuuuun!’
He briskly walked across to Varun’s room. Not there. He dialled Varun’s number.
‘Morning, Dad.’
‘Where are you, Varun?’
God is a Gamer Page 18