by Bobby Akart
“Do they think Hillary will be a tougher President?” asked Bradlee. “She loathes the military as much as her husband did.” Several of the Brahmin nodded their heads in agreement.
“It is hard for me to question their motives, especially in this unholy alliance they have established with the heathen ISIS group,” replied Morgan. “I do know we will be prepared for the events and their aftermath.”
“Our country is in shambles,” said Cabot. “America has never faced so many internal problems. The economic situation for average Americans is dire. Social unrest is out of control. The nation is dominated by the weak, poor and unproductive. There is no unity.”
“I agree with Walter,” said Endicott. “We’ve discussed this ad nauseam. Sadly, our country is in need of a reset. Our politicians don’t have the balls to make the tough choices to set us on a proper course. Perhaps our enemies will force our hand.”
“I agree with Henry,” said Bradlee. “Sometimes a cataclysmic conflict is necessary to change the direction of a wayward nation. Except for Vietnam, this nation has always taken a turn for the better following a war.”
“Wars certainly benefit all of us financially,” added Lowell. Morgan knew the Boston Brahmin shared a commonality of purpose—wealth and power. Regardless of the methods employed, the end result was tantamount.
Morgan continued. “After every shock to America, whether by war or economic calamity, our connections within the government grow stronger and our ability to expand wealth into public-sector assets grows. I am not just talking about the military and industrial advancements. I am referring also to the acquisition of previously owned government assets like bridges, buildings and land.”
“Quabbin Reservoir,” said Cabot.
“Exactly,” replied Morgan. “The acquisition of Quabbin Reservoir and Prescott Peninsula was the result of political maneuvering, but the divestiture was deemed necessary due to government overspending and budget deficits. The timing of the Quabbin matter has proven fortuitous.” Morgan hoped his friends would enjoy a short stay at their new home away from home. Surely they could handle a week or two of roughing it.
Morgan leaned forward and looked each of the Boston Brahmin in the eye. “Gentlemen, I believe we have a short time to get our personal and business affairs in order. In the next two weeks, without raising any alarms that might attract public scrutiny, have your families get ready for a period of unrest and instruct your businesses to prepare for a rough ride.”
“How bad will it get? Do you seriously think our enemies plan to invade the United States?” asked Lowell.
Morgan had raised a sufficient level of concern in all of his associates without causing panic. He needed to keep them on alert. Morgan drove home his point. “It’s coming. We won’t know from where or from whom, but we’ll certainly know when.”
“God help us,” muttered more than one of the Boston Brahmin.
Morgan allowed his fellow Boston Brahmin to reach the conclusion he sought—America needs a cleanse, a purge, a reset.
They just didn’t need to know who was sweeping the broom or pushing the button.
Chapter 44
August 15, 2016
The Boston Herald Editorial Conference Room
Boston, Massachusetts
“Julia, how does Senator Morgan’s people feel about the campaign so far?” asked Sciacca. Julia shifted in her chair as she addressed her chief editor. The morning meetings of the editorial board now stretched for two hours. On any given day, a single major news story might be the topic du jour, but America was experiencing signs of collapse on many levels—complicated by a Presidential campaign deep in the gutter. Of all the candidates, Abbie had the least baggage although she had a major skeleton in her closet—John Adams Morgan. If the media only knew the reach of his many tentacles.
“Joe, Senator Morgan’s campaign people are thrilled that the mudslinging hasn’t tarnished her reputation. She has the highest favorability ratings of any candidate running.”
Sciacca sat in his chair and propped his feet on the table. “What are they saying about the slipping poll numbers?”
“They are puzzled,” replied Julia. “The post-convention bounce enjoyed in past elections quickly evaporated. Some Democrat faithful are blaming the choice of Senator Morgan. Pundits cite her lack of liberal bona fides and question her loyalty to Mrs. Clinton’s vision for America.”
“Some of that is true, is it not?”
“It is, Joe, but on the Republican side, Senator Paul has plenty of reason to demand a departure from the political status quo. He has effectively co-opted the President’s campaign mantra from eight years ago—change. The decline in the democrat ticket is more from a rise in the republican ticket’s popularity than it is from the choice of Senator Morgan. Her popularity proves it.”
Sciacca brought his feet down with a clap on the floor and immediately jumped up to the whiteboard. He scribbled Economy on the board. “Her husband once famously said—it’s the economy, stupid. The White House does an excellent job of manipulating numbers to protect this President, but both Wall Street and Main Street know better.” He drew an arrow pointing downward.
“As Sandra can attest, all world economic indicators are headed south. Ordinarily, the bond market will increase its value to the detriment of the stock market. One nation’s currency devaluation will increase another nation’s. These things tend to have an inverse effect. Over this summer, everything of value has decreased substantially while the price of consumer goods and precious metals has skyrocketed. The stability of the world’s economy is untenable at best.”
Julia interrupted. “This is a major issue in the campaign and the GOP ticket has successfully driven the narrative. With the President nearly out of office and losing support of his own party, they have laid blame at his feet but hung his legacy around Mrs. Clinton’s neck.”
Sciacca addressed Sandra Gottlieb. “What is all of this telling you, Sandra?”
“Joe, the decline of the global economy is unprecedented,” replied Gottlieb. “In 1929, the United States economy fell into a deep recession six months prior to the infamous October stock market crash. The effects of the U.S. recession were being felt in Europe prior to the crash. After World War I, the two economies became increasingly dependent upon each other. We became the primary financier and creditor in postwar Europe. When our economy collapsed after October 1929, Europe and the rest of the global economy followed suit.”
Sciacca leaned against his chair with both hands. “The economies of the world are even more dependent on America’s consuming ways today, are they not?”
“They are, Joe, and the financial collapse of ’08 proved that. Economic collapses happen gradually. I believe we are witnessing the beginning of a major worldwide calamity. Unfortunately, all this fragile economic climate needs is a precipitating event to send it over the cliff.” The room remained silent and Julia looked at the faces of her peers. They know something is coming.
Sciacca walked back to the whiteboard and wrote the words societal collapse. “Speaking of a gradual collapse, is there any doubt our society is disintegrating before our eyes? I’m not speaking rhetorically either. Julia?”
“There is a general destabilization across America,” replied Julia. “The anger has been building for some time but has accelerated in the last six months. Patience has worn thin and adults are responding like petulant children to adverse events affecting them.”
“What do you mean?”
“Here is an example from last Friday,” replied Julia. She shifted through her notes. “As you know, I was interviewing all four nominees over the weekend while traveling with the campaigns across Ohio. On Friday, the Ohio Treasurer halted its EBT payments system due to a cyber attack. Hackers penetrated state servers on the QUEST network that administers the majority of states’ online electronic benefits to recipients. QUEST notified the affected states of the data breach, which included Alabama, Louisiana and Ohio. Alaba
ma and Louisiana were back online within hours, causing only minor inconveniences. Ohio was a different story, and I watched the aftermath first hand.”
“What happened?”
“I was traveling with Senator Morgan’s entourage to a morning rally at Case Western University in downtown Cleveland when the state announced a glitch in the system would cause the EBT payment system to shut down for the day. Within hours, the streets were filled with protestors. They stormed the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and ransacked the building, injuring four staff members. East Cleveland and Shaker Heights had several out-of-control fires. By nightfall, Governor Kasich was calling in the National Guard.”
Sciacca underlined societal collapse on the whiteboard several times. “This sounds like the riots we experienced following the Boston Marathon this spring. These outbursts have grown in intensity and frequency.”
“You’re right, Joe, the thin veneer of civilization is beginning to crack,” said Julia. “The EBT situation in Ohio was a temporary inconvenience to the state. One can only imagine the impact a major catastrophe would have under the present mindset of Americans.”
Sciacca wrote Cyber Attack on the whiteboard and circled it several times. He poked it with his knuckle. “This has become daily news and no country or entity is immune from it. In my opinion, we are in the middle of a world war—a cyber world war.”
“And everyone is in the act now,” added Julia. “Reports out of the Pentagon indicate ISIS now poses a direct threat to America in the form of its rapidly developing cyber warfare capabilities. Its model is different from that employed by other terrorist groups, the Russians or Chinese. Through their effective use of social media, ISIS has developed a cyber army within the United States capable of using cyber attacks to shut down America’s critical infrastructure, including the power grid.”
“How concerned is the Pentagon about their capabilities?” asked Sciacca as he sat back into his chair.
“Intelligence sources tell me they are trying to track the movement of several key individuals who studied computer science in top British and European universities,” replied Julia. “Do you remember Jihadi John, the British national responsible for several high-profile beheadings a few years ago?”
“Yes,” replied Sciacca.
“It wasn’t widely reported in the American media, but Jihadi John had an advanced computer science degree. The Pentagon’s primary concern is the ability of ISIS to use social media to marshal attacks from within the U.S. by these talented sympathizers who have created a diffuse and unconnected network that is virtually untraceable.”
Julia knew the threat of cyber attacks was growing exponentially in America. This was the subject of many late night conversations with Sarge. Recently an ISIS recruitment document was obtained by cyber-intelligence agencies announcing a Cyber Caliphate to be used against the United States—The Great Satan. This had added a terrorist threat our counterterrorism approach was not designed to guard against.
Julia continued. “Their use of the Internet has been described as unprecedented for a terrorist group. The ISIS Cyber Caliphate has taken credit for several high-profile hacks including the email accounts of the British ambassador, the shutting down of a French television network, and the recent shutdown of Sacramento’s smart grid.” Julia caught her breath before dropping the next bombshell.
“My sources tell me the Pentagon has identified a credible threat by ISIS against most of the United States power grid. They want to put us in the dark. They want to provoke the end of the world.”
Chapter 45
August 15, 2016
73 Tremont
Boston, Massachusetts
When Katie was instructed to bring information on the Zero Day Gamers directly to Morgan back in the spring, she assumed he had something in mind. During their brief telephone conversation almost two weeks ago, he was very excited to hear about her discovery. Then nothing, until yesterday when he summoned her along with Steven to his office for an urgent meeting.
“Please come with me,” Lowe announced as he emerged from Morgan’s office. Katie and Steven dutifully followed. Steven grabbed her ass, earning him a slap on the hand.
She whispered, “Don’t fuck around in here. He is very intense.”
“Yeah, yeah,” replied her man-child. Over the summer, Steven had changed with her. He spent every available weekend in Washington with her and sent her text messages constantly. Whatever caused him to become more attentive worked for her. She too was ready to become exclusive. Her days of Fifty Shades of Katie, as Abbie put it, were behind her. She still enjoyed his playful ways, however, just not right now.
“Have a seat,” Morgan said brusquely. “This is important business.”
Katie and Steven settled into the chairs across the desk from Morgan while Lowe sat to the side on the couch.
“Hello, sir,” said Steven. Morgan was Steven’s godfather but not in the Mafioso sense. Steven told Katie the history of the Sargents and Morgans, so she understood the formality. She found herself acting more formal during her meetings with Morgan as well.
“Thanks to the excellent work of Miss O’Shea, we have located the hacker group known as the Zero Day Gamers,” started Morgan. “An Aegis team has been dispatched to surveil their activities continuously. Malcolm, distribute the dossiers. This is to be shared with no one, understood?”
“Yes, sir,” responded Katie. She knew this statement was primarily directed at her. It was a reminder as to who her real employer was.
“Malcolm, tell them what you have discerned about the good professor and his associates.”
Lowe stood and opened a wall cabinet containing a whiteboard listing the names of Andrew Lau and his three graduate assistants who comprised the core of the Zero Day Gamers. He also listed several cyber attacks, some of which Katie was unaware.
“The package of materials will provide you the details,” said Lowe. “Professor Lau formed the group a year ago with the help of Fakhri and Malvalaha. Walthaus is the newest member of the group. We have employed our own team of cyber-security experts to analyze the known activities of this group. While there have been more advanced hacking activities, this group appears to be particularly adept at covering their tracks.”
“It was excellent cyber-detective work on your part, Miss O’Shea, to expose their identities,” added Morgan. Rare praise. Steven unexpectedly squeezed her thigh under the desk, giving her a jolt in more ways than one. “Continue, Malcolm.”
“The Zero Day Gamers have earned a reputation amongst their fellow hackers as being expert in attacking complex, secured servers like those associated with the Nevada Energy power grid and the Callaway Nuclear Power Plant in Missouri. Each of the cyber attacks they perform vary in scope and purpose. It shows versatility in methodology that can be of use to us.”
Katie resisted the urge to ask—what are you guys up to?
“How?” Thanks, Steven.
“We will be hiring the Zero Day Gamers for a task that has a national security component,” replied Morgan. “By its nature, it must be covert and carried out through Aegis. There can be no United States government involvement, or knowledge, Miss O’Shea.”
Katie instinctively covered her ears, which drew a rare laugh from Morgan.
“The purpose of hiring the group is still yet undetermined,” continued Lowe. “Our first goal is to make contact with them and get their attention. They are normally hired anonymously through hacktivist websites. Their payment is made via money transfers to a variety of offshore accounts. We will be taking a different approach.”
Morgan stood and watched the heavy rain blow against the windows, obscuring their view of the State House.
“The term Trojan horse has changed its meaning over the years,” said Morgan. “Initially, it had a military connotation. Today, it is more widely used in relation to cyber warfare. There is a variant of this concept called a Stalking Horse offer. Are you familiar with this term?”
/> Both Katie and Steven shook their heads.
“In the political world, a Stalking Horse candidate is used by a party to advance their choice of candidate by inserting another candidate into the race in order to split the vote of a rival. Arguably, the 1992 candidacy of Ross Perot acted as a stalking horse, insuring the successful election of Bill Clinton. In the present campaign, Donald Trump’s run as an independent would similarly assist Hillary.”
“Makes sense,” said Katie. “We have employed similar tactics in setting up a mole within an organization or a successor to be used by the CIA during regime change.”
“It is designed to conceal someone’s real intentions under a false pretext. We will employ the Stalking Horse tactics in our approach to the Zero Day Gamers,” said Lowe, turning to Steven. “You and I will walk in their front door and make them an attractive offer.”
“One they cannot refuse,” added Morgan.
Chills ran up Katie’s spine.
Chapter 46
August 19, 2016
The Hack House
Binney Street
East Cambridge, Massachusetts
Steven and Lowe exited the elevator and made their way down the hallway to the Zero Day Gamers loft. Both men wore suits and were armed although they did not anticipate any need for their weapons today. A microphone and camera were hidden inside Lowe’s tie clasp.
“Control, final radio check, copy,” said Steven.
“Five-by-five.”
“Radio check,” said Lowe.
“Five-by-five, sir.”
Steven stopped in the hallway. “Why does he get a sir?”