“What account would you normally use for a non-secure transmission?” asked Stanley.
“There’s no such thing,” said Slocum. “But the lowest level of security would be for a status report. They’re generally required every twenty-four hours, and if not encoded as high priority, it would be treated as a routine message. But won’t they be on the lookout for any transmissions associated with this palm unit?”
“We’ve made some modifications to the identifier string. Hopefully we got the sequencing right, otherwise yeah, it could be a problem. Let’s find out.” The appropriate menu selections were chosen, and a new screen immediately popped up, requesting a password.
“This is new,” said Slocum, as he watched the screen.
“Time for the Alpha to contribute,” said Stanley. At the command prompt on the lower half of the screen Stanley typed in the name of a program. Over thirty million strings were generated and fed to the agency submenu before one was accepted. This was recorded for later reference.
“How did you do that?” asked Slocum. “I would only get three chances.”
“We’re not playing by normal rules,” said Stanley. “Our programs are running at a much lower level than what you’re accustomed to. I tricked the security interface into repeating its request for a password, so it continually thought it was asking for the first time. The Alpha kept responding with a different password, until finally one was accepted.”
“But there had to be millions of possibilities. How could it happen so fast?”
“What can I say–computers are fast. Also, I had an idea of what it should look like based on what you told me.” Stanley again turned back to the console. “We’re almost there. Let’s deliver the message.”
***
Norbert was so intent on watching the data stream, that he almost missed it. He actually saw the attempt to access the message system, and was momentarily puzzled when it took so long to complete. He assumed that it was an implementer who had forgotten his password. He kept telling them to commit these things to memory, and they kept forgetting. After a while, though, the system cleared. As he watched his display, a nagging thought caused him to stop and check the message log more closely.
“What…” The log indicated that the messaging subsystem’s resources had pegged at maximum for several seconds. That wasn’t possible. It only took Norbert a second to realize that his system had been compromised. Even now someone was trying to initiate a direct connection to his core processor, and they were using the messaging subsystem to do it.
Time was of the essence, and his console was littered with open files, dialog boxes, and running programs. His panic only slowed him down, as he frantically tried to close one thing after another, only to have his keyboard temporarily freeze when he interrupted a running program. The intruder, whoever it was, had won.
***
Justin looked up as Sharon walked back into the computer center. “Should we just keep watching?” He had detected only minor fluctuations over the past ten minutes, and had been able to garner no further information. Whoever was out there was doing something, but what?
“The local police have been notified,” said Sharon. “The apartment should be surrounded by now. I don’t know what harm they might be doing, so let’s give them another taste of Walthrop’s revenge.”
The Professor looked at Sharon with a smile on his face. “Walthrop’s revenge. I like that.”
Sharon smiled. “Fire for effect, Professor.”
***
“No!” At Stanley’s uncharacteristic outburst, Kayoko came running.
“What happened?”
“I was in. My program was halfway in; then it happened again. That pulse, or whatever it is, knocked us out of the data stream.”
Katherine was in shock. “That didn’t come from the agency, Stanley. It couldn’t have.”
“No,” he agreed. “But where?”
As if to answer his question, from outside the apartment a voice reverberated over a bullhorn.
“This is the police. The house is surrounded. Open the door and come out with your hands up. You have thirty seconds.”
Chapter Nineteen
Everyone froze, and Stanley and Katherine’s eyes locked. Bobby sidled up to his father; even he knew they were in trouble.
“The palmtop,” said Slocum. “That’s what they’ll want more than anything. Let me have it.”
“No!” Kayoko reached for the device, which was still connected to the Alpha. “You can’t give it to them.”
Stanley and Katherine started pulling wires apart.
“I don’t want to give it to them,” said Slocum. “I want to hide it so they can’t get their hands on it.”
Stanley yanked the last wire off and handed the palmtop to Slocum.
“They’ll tear this place apart until they find it,” said Kayoko.
Slocum shook his head. “Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing, but there’s no time to discuss it. I can get out of here, but I can’t take everyone with me.” He looked around at the others. “Maybe just one.”
“That’s real chivalrous,” said Kayoko. “Why only one, and why you? If you have a way out, let’s go.”
“You don’t understand,” said Slocum. “There’s no room, and I’m the only one who has a chance of freeing you guys later.”
“What do you mean there’s no room?” asked Katherine.
“Listen to me,” said Slocum. “I can take someone with me, but it has to be Bobby.”
Stanley looked at his son. “No. I don’t want us to be separated.”
“Do you think they’ll keep you together?” Slocum gestured towards the front door.
Stanley looked at his son, then back at Slocum. “You take care of him.” It was an order.
“Don’t worry. Everything will be okay,” said Slocum. “But we have to hurry.”
“Dad, don’t leave me!” Bobby grabbed onto his father. Stanley hugged him, and then gently removed the boy’s arms from around his waist. The last thing in the world he wanted was to leave his son, but he wouldn’t risk letting the agency get their hands on him.
“It will only be for a short time, Bobby. You’ll be safe with Mr. Slocum.”
His son looked up at him, suddenly seeming much older than his ten years. “But what about you?”
Stanley smiled. “I’ll be fine. You have to go now.”
Slocum slid the palmtop into his pocket, and took Bobby by the hand, leading the way into the basement, while Stanley and the two women headed for the front door.
“He’ll need some time,” said Stanley. “I’m going to stall the police as long as I can.” He opened the front door a crack, and could see several officers outside.
“Be careful,” said Katherine.
Stanley motioned for her to stand back. He opened the door a bit wider and stuck his head out. “Don’t shoot! We’re coming out, but we want some assurances. Is there someone in authority I can talk to?”
A voice responded from the darkness. “Everyone comes out now, or we’re coming in.”
“But we haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Then just come out, and everything will be fine.”
“Just a minute.” Stanley closed the door and turned towards Katherine and Kayoko. “I don’t think they’ll wait much longer.”
“Every second counts,” said Katherine. “Let’s get the Alpha shut down, then wait for them to call us out again.”
There was no time for anything fancy. Stanley quickly disabled all system accounts, and Katherine switched a few of the cables. They had just finished when the police beckoned again.
“This is your final warning.”
Stanley looked at Katherine and Kayoko. “We’ll go out in twenty seconds,” he said. They stood near the door as Stanley counted down. At twenty, he opened the door and they slowly emerged.
“Remember,” he whispered. “Stall.”
***
Norbert wouldn’t catch it in
time, and he knew it. Whatever was being forced into his system, it couldn’t be good, and based on what he’d seen so far, it would also be thorough. He wasn’t totally helpless, but his options were quickly changing from prevention to recovery. Then came the pulse again.
It was as if he had called the cavalry, and just like a ‘B’ movie, they had arrived in the nick of time. The intruder was knocked out of the data stream, the download discontinued. Norbert was amazed, but could spare no time for celebration. He immediately shut down all his portals until he could figure out what was going on. With the system secured for the time being, he called Mason to report the incident.
Mason was not pleased. “I’m disappointed, Norbert. I thought you were the best.”
“I am the best,” he replied. “They failed,” he added, lamely.
“Don’t play games with me. You got careless, didn’t you?”
Norbert hesitated. “Maybe a little distracted. But I have to tell you, these guys are good.”
“Good? From what you’re telling me, they almost cooked our goose.”
“Yeah.” Norbert felt his face redden. “Anyway, I don’t know who’s responsible. The pulses of garbage are coming from the FBI, I think. But this other stuff…” He didn’t finish.
“I don’t want to take any chances with this, Norbert. Find out who it was that breached our system.”
“That was going to be my next move,” said Norbert. “But they aren’t likely to stop their attacks. There’s a risk they could succeed next time.”
“Just find them.”
“Suppose I get their IP address. What then?”
“Like I said–no chances. We use our strongest weapon.”
For a moment Norbert wasn’t sure what he meant. Then it dawned on him. “Pascua?”
“Yes. Keep an outgoing portal open for my exclusive use. Call me when you have the target’s IP address.”
“It could be a while,” said Norbert.
“Let me know when the portal is activated.”
“I’ll take care of it right now.”
***
“Agent Sharon, call for you.” Justin indicated that it was on line two.
Sharon went to an unused station and picked it up. “This is Agent Sharon.”
The voice on the other end was male, and husky, probably either from chain-smoking, or a cold. “This is Chief Reskowski. We picked up that gang for you.” There was more than a little sarcasm in the man’s voice.
“How many were there?” asked Sharon.
“Three; a man and two women. They didn’t seem very dangerous. No weapons or anything. Their biggest concern was that no one hurt them. You can have them whenever you want them.”
“Thanks, we’ll send someone down. What about the scene?”
“What about it? Seemed like a normal apartment house, and like I said, there were no weapons or anything.”
“You searched it?” asked Sharon.
“My men checked every room, peeked into the basement, looked under all the beds. We found three people.” The chief was getting irritated.
Sharon pressed him. “What about computer equipment?”
“What about it?”
“Was there any?”
“Yeah, now that you mention it, there were a few pieces in one corner. Looked like a bunch of junk, though.”
“Is the house still secured?”
The chief sniffed. “Look. My men have better things to do than nurse a house all night. If you want your people to go over the place with a fine-toothed comb that’s fine. Get a warrant and have a ball.”
“Can you put a couple men on the house until my people get there?” asked Sharon.
“Fine. You have two hours.”
“Thanks.” Sharon hung up and dialed another number. The legal department said that he could get a warrant, but he would have to hurry if he wanted it in time to get to the apartment while the police were still there.
Before leaving he looked at Justin. “Any more activity in the data stream?”
“Nothing unusual. Just the healthy throbbing of normal Internet traffic.”
“That’s very poetic. Keep an eye out, though. I’m going to check out the apartment.”
“Could I tag along?” asked Justin. “I’d love to see what kind of setup they have.”
“Sure. We shouldn’t be gone too long.” He looked at the Professor. “Can you hang around a while? If I need you to do anything, I’ll call.”
“No problem. The rest of your staff is here, and the bad boys are in custody now.”
Sharon nodded his thanks, as did Justin, and the two left. Walthrop leaned back and placed his feet on the desk, hands clasped behind his head. He figured he might as well enjoy his few remaining hours as a G-Man.
***
They sat in two separate cells. Katherine and Kayoko were together in one, while Stanley was alone in another. They were close enough to be able to talk without being overheard.
“What happens now?” asked Katherine.
Stanley leaned towards the bars. “We have to assume that the agency will try to get their hands on us. Maybe it’s time to tell our story.”
“No one would believe us,” said Kayoko, looking around nervously. “Besides, sooner or later they’re going to realize that I was involved in that so-called accident near the agency. They were calling it a homicide on television.”
“It hasn’t been on the news recently,” said Katherine. “Maybe they won’t make the connection.”
Kayoko simply looked away. She knew the agency better than that. The fabricated story was exactly what they would use.
“Let’s at least let’s get our stories straight,” said Stanley.
“We aren’t in control here,” said Kayoko. “Besides, what could we say that would matter?”
“If our story sounds credible, they’ll have to take time to check it out.”
Kayoko looked at Stanley in disbelief. “Where have you been lately? There won’t be any investigation. No one is going to believe a story about a secret agency that taps into the Internet to create a societal profile. Especially not coming from accused murderers.”
“Whoever sent out those pulses would believe it,” said Katherine.
Kayoko shook her head. “You yourself weren’t certain what that was. Don’t you see? The raid on the apartment, our arrest, and now the awaited arrival for someone to retrieve us; it has all the earmarks of an agency operation. It’s the same thing they did to Slocum.”
Stanley leaned back against the wall. Kayoko was right. Whoever came for them, they wouldn’t be from legitimate law enforcement. It would be the agency’s people, and their instructions would be to bring them in.
“That’s it, then,” he said. “These local cops have their orders, which they certainly consider above reproach. They would have been warned to expect illogical ranting from us.”
This time no one disagreed, and the cold reality of what lay ahead only served to dampen an already somber mood.
***
In a small, coffin-like space, three feet below the floor of the basement, Slocum and Bobby waited in the darkness. When he had prepared the secret storage space a year earlier, Slocum had envisioned using it as a last ditch hideout from any of several individuals who might want to do him harm. He never dreamed that he would end up using it to protect a palmtop and a ten-year-old boy. He could feel Bobby shaking, and repeatedly whispered that everything would be okay.
When sufficient time had passed, he carefully worked the lever that moved the false floor to the side. The basement seemed well lit in comparison to the inky blackness from which they emerged.
“Come on, Bobby.” They struggled to their feet, and Slocum motioned for Bobby to be still while he listened for sounds from the apartment above. All seemed quiet.
With Bobby right behind him, Slocum slowly climbed the steep wooden stairs that led out of the basement. He paused at the top, and hearing no sounds, cautiously opened the basement door
.
Everyone was gone. He looked out from several windows, noting that even the police had left. This he found strange, since all of the computer equipment remained.
“Bobby, I need you to stay calm. If I tell you to do something, don’t question me–just do it. I want to get your father and the others back, but first we need to get out of here. Understand?”
Bobby nodded, and took Slocum’s hand. They walked out the side door, pulling it closed as they left. It was dark, and Slocum quickly led Bobby to Katherine’s car, and motioned for him to get in. They soon disappeared around the corner.
A few minutes later the police cruiser assigned to watch the house arrived and took up position across the street. The officers settled in for their two-hour wait.
“Should we check the grounds?” asked one of the cops.
“Nah. The chief said to watch it, not search it.” He took out two doughnuts, giving one to his partner, who handed him a coffee in return.
“Tough job.”
“Somebody’s got to do it.”
***
Charles Mason could be very patient; he was also a quick study. The video of Norbert’s explanation of Pascua was a great asset in his current undertaking. He had watched certain portions more than a dozen times, always referring back to his notes, and to the source code that Norbert had provided.
Mason wasn’t technically gifted; not like Norbert. But he could take a small amount of information and extrapolate the bigger picture in a very short time. Pascua was complex, no doubt, but Mason was only concerned with a very small part of it–the targeting mechanism.
If Pascua were launched, it would require several parameters to accomplish its mission. First, it would need the Internet address of the destination. This could be a range of addresses as well as a single target. Second, the degree of damage to be inflicted had to be indicated. Third, the activation date had to be selected. The program would reside on the infected computer in a state of dormancy until the activation date arrived. On that date and time, the program would come to life, attacking its host in accordance with the level of damage specified. Mason had all of the information necessary to accomplish what he had in mind, but the program had certain built-in safety protocols that limited his ability to implement it. The code behind those protocols had eluded him–until very recently.
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