An hour later, Zaida rejoined him in her living room, carrying another satchel and her purse. She was gorgeous as usual. She wore a cream colored silk blouse that was tucked in to a black and cream flower-patterned pair of loose capris. Her shoes were narrow, pointed-toe beige pumps with heels so tall and thin, he imagined she was really just walking on her tippy toes. Her silky hair shone like black glass. Her makeup was perfect, and yet something was off about her. She was quiet and her dark eyes weren’t as sparkly as he’d come to expect from her.
She’d built new walls around her, separating her from him. It shouldn’t have hurt, but it did.
“We aren’t coming back here afterwards,” he said. “You have everything you need? I’m not sure when we’ll get back.”
She nodded. “I packed a few more things.”
He opened her door and held it for her. It locked behind them. He had to respect her walls, even if it killed him. “Where do you hold your meetings?”
“At the office. We meet in the front room.”
It was a short drive over to her office. Upstairs, Zaida made a pot of coffee and another pot of hot water in case anyone wanted tea. She looked over at Levi. He met her gaze. She broke contact first. What happened this afternoon had shaken her. She’d never been with someone like him, and that scared the hell out of her. Even now, though only a few dozen feet separated them, she wished he was closer, wished she had the right to stand next to him or hold his hand.
She felt as if she’d been steamrolled, and the worst was that she didn’t know why she felt that way at all. Maybe because it was easier to be alone when you’d never been with someone you wanted to have in your life. But once you’d sampled paradise, not having it was torture.
When the coffee and water were brewing, she took a seat. He’d taken another pass through her office and now came back into the room. They exchanged looks, but didn’t speak.
No one came early. No one came on time. No one came ten minutes late. No one came at all. This wasn’t their regular night to meet, but Zaida had texted the group to come together tonight, that she had a conflict with keeping their next meeting date.
There was no RSVP system, though she had sent a reminder earlier about the changed date. Word had gotten out about Levi and his investigation. Finally at a quarter after the hour, Zaida heard someone coming up the stairs.
One woman came in, carrying her large purse and wearing a hijab. Mina. She was one of Zaida’s friends. She sometimes ran the groups for Zaida. Mina gave Levi a quick look, then focused on Zaida. In Arabic, she said, “Hidaya gave me her laptop to give to you.”
Zaida reached for it. “How did you get this?” She was torn about mentioning what had happened to Hidaya and Abdul. If Mina didn’t already know, she didn’t want to scare her.
“She gave it to me this morning. She said you’d called everyone in, but she knew she couldn’t make it—I don’t know why. She asked if I was coming tonight.” She looked at Levi again. “I wasn’t going to, especially after hearing what happened here earlier. But then something happened to Hidaya and her brother. I don’t know what—I’ve only heard rumors. I don’t know what’s going on, but I thought you might need this.”
“Thank you. I do.”
“What is going on, Zaida?”
“I don’t know. Not all of it.”
“Are we in danger?”
Zaida nodded. “Yes. Very possibly.”
“Why? What have we done?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all. But that doesn’t mean someone can’t point the finger at us and blame us for things we haven’t done.”
“I’m tired of looking over my shoulder.”
“Yes. We all are.”
She nodded toward Levi. “Is he driving this?”
“No. He’s trying to resolve it before it blows up into something much bigger.”
“Zaida,” Levi said in English. “Tell your friend to keep her eyes open.”
“For what?” Zaida asked.
“Anything. Anything at all.”
Zaida relayed that info, though she needn’t have. Mina was fluent in English. She gave Zaida a quick hug, then left. Levi took the laptop and plugged in the flash drive that his friend in Wyoming had given him. Zaida looked on nervously. What was he going to find? And what would it mean for Hidaya?
Levi’s phone rang. “Go, Max… You sure? Okay… Uh-huh… I see… Thanks.” He hung up, then sighed. “This is it. Ground zero for the worm.”
“How do they know?” Zaida asked.
Levi shook his head. “Something about information it left behind. Stuff it harvested from your computer. He’s following the threads to see what it did with that info. He said it was looking like a form of spyware. Was this your computer at one point?”
Zaida nodded. “I did some of my early writing on it. Since it was just going to be used for translations, I thought it would still be fine for light usage.”
“You let Hidaya work off-site?”
“Yes. She needed it for school. I didn’t run this one through the literacy foundation that I did with the others. Hidaya and I have been friends for a long time. I just loaned it to her. Kind of permanently. Or at least, for as long as she needed it.” Zaida crossed her arms. “What does all of this mean? Maybe Hidaya didn’t know she released a worm.”
“Maybe. What does her brother do?”
“He’s a student at Colorado State.”
“Majoring in…?”
“Computer science.” She covered her mouth. “He didn’t do this. He wouldn’t, Levi.”
“Okay. We can’t jump to any conclusions. We know who and what, but not when or why. We only have a partial picture so far.” Levi frowned down at the computer. “You said Jamal said he had Hidaya and Abdul and was keeping them for their own safety, right?”
“Yeah. Maybe Abdul is one of his students.”
“One of the things that I never understood was how a back-level version of one of your books was popping up in the terrorist camp in Syria. Was that version on this computer?”
“Yeah. I had some stuff on there that I never took off. Hidaya wouldn’t have sent it to anyone. Why would she? Who would she send it to? I don’t think she knows anyone from Syria. She and her family came from Iraq when she was a kid.”
Levi’s phone rang again. “Hold on, Max. I’m putting you on speaker. I have Zaida here with me. Go ahead.” He closed the door to Zaida’s office suite.
“Did some more digging into exactly what that worm was doing,” Max said. “It’s basically collecting certain information and passing it along to a database on a private server. That server wasn’t hard to get into, but it also wasn’t widely accessible to general users. You had to know what you were doing to get into it.”
“So, what kind of data was it collecting?” Levi asked.
“The worm seems to be doing some analysis on whether the user of a computer is a potential Muslim terrorist,” Max said. “It gathers info from emails, social media accounts, bank and credit card accounts, mortgage accounts. Basically, it evaluates all the info it can find and determines a terrorist quotient from one to ten. Anyone with a quotient of 5 or more gets their data sent to this server. Your girl’s data is on that server. The worm gave her a terrorist quotient of seven.”
Zaida gasped.
“Obviously, I need to do more analysis of what it’s doing in order to really understand how those quotients are determined. Be advised that I’m likely not the only one who’s been able to get in to this server. The worm began a month ago and has already traveled from the U.S., across Europe, gone through the Middle East, Far East, Russia, and has come back to the U.S. It also appears to have some ransom code that locks up a person’s computer for a day, alerting them to the fact that they’ve been identified as a potential terrorist and ordering them to pay a fee to keep their info hidden. If anyone attempts to pay that fee, however, the link they’re provided doesn’t work. The database does keep track of those who click it. If people
think your girl’s started this, well, she’s made a world of enemies.”
“Shit,” Levi said. “What would make them think she started it?”
“Hers is the first record in the database. She’s ground zero, like I said. Fun stuff. I’m digging it.” Max laughed. “I’ll get back to you soon.” The call ended.
Levi stared at his phone for a long moment, then he said, “I need to check in with my people.” He dialed another number. This time, he didn’t put it on speaker. “Commander, Jones here. We found the starting point of the Freedom Code worm. Zaida didn’t start it—the computer wasn’t in her control when it was set loose… Right… Jamal has tried twice now to take Zaida. He said he’s got a brother and sister, friends of Zaida’s, and is keeping them for their safety. No idea what he means by that. One of his students, Abdul Baqri, is the brother of the woman who had control of the computer when the worm was released.”
Zaida listened while Levi and the commander, whoever that was, talked about what Max had discovered on the server connected to the worm code. “Zaida’s stuff was in the database of content that had been scrapped from high-quotient computers. Hers was the first record stored. Max said it wasn’t hard to get into the server and he likely wasn’t the only one who had reverse engineered the worm code to find that database. That explains why Zaida’s early version manuscript was found in the Syrian camp. And it explains why Mike Folsom had come back here to talk to her… It might explain why he was attacked, since the Syrians have friends here in the States following the same trail Mike was following… The FBI, huh? So Jamal’s legit? Copy that…” Levi gave her a dark look. “Yes, sir. I’m out.”
Levi’s expression was frightening. He stood. Zaida watched him warily. “Jamal’s working with the FBI. Commander Lambert’s handing your parents over to him and his team.”
“Will they be safe?”
“Yes. Lambert wants me to leave you with Jamal.”
“No.”
“I know where Jamal is. Let’s go talk to him. You’ll be able to see your parents and friends. Then we’ll decide.”
She caught Levi’s arm. “He’s already tried three times to take me.”
“Only been twice. The men who broke into your place are confirmed terrorists.”
Zaida wrapped her arms around her waist. That news was terrifying. She looked at Levi, realizing he was the only one she truly felt safe with. “Don’t leave me with him. Please?”
“I need to see him to get a read on the situation. If I feel you’re safe there, leaving you with him—and with your parents and friends—frees me up to go do some hunting. We’ll decide it together. My contact said Jamal’s working with the FBI on this. Makes me feel a lot better about him. And if he really does have your friends, then at least they’re safe.”
Zaida dumped the coffee and hot water she’d made for the group meeting. “If he has them, then who tossed their apartment? Did the FBI do that?”
“Good question.”
Zaida faced Levi. “Just because Jamal’s working with the FBI, doesn’t mean he’s all in with them. I don’t trust him.”
“Why not?”
“I know how single-minded he can be. With him, the means justify the end.” She shut off the office lights as they went into the hall, then locked the door.
“But that doesn’t include harming you, does it?”
She met his hard gaze. “It never has before. But then, there never was a time when people were dying all around me. I’m just saying something is not right with all of this.”
13
Levi and Zaida drove across town and pulled into the parking lot of the Mountain Suites Hotel. They walked straight through the lobby, past a man in a suit who was reading a newspaper. Everything about him screamed Fed. He’d no doubt already reported their arrival up to his teammates in Jamal’s rooms, but he didn’t try to stop them.
They took the elevator up to the fourth floor where another man greeted them. He didn’t search either of them, but perhaps that would come in Jamal’s rooms. Either that, or Lambert had cleared the way for him.
Their escort used his room key to open the door. The suite Jamal was in consisted of two rooms off a central living room and kitchen combination. The space was packed with people. The Hussans were there. As were Abdul and his sister. Plus Jamal and three agents.
Zaida hugged her parents, then went over to hug her friends. Levi noted she only nodded at Jamal. Everyone was talking fast in Arabic; it was hard for Levi to keep up. Zaida’s father came to greet him. His dark eyes were sharp. The distaste he felt for Levi was clearly broadcast from his expression and the rigid way he moved. Levi shook hands with him.
“So you’re the farmer,” Zaida’s dad, Darim, said.
Levi grinned. “Yes, sir.”
“I expect you’re treating my daughter well,” Darim continued.
“He’s been the complete gentleman, Father,” Zaida said, coming to Levi’s rescue.
“Mr. Jones.” Rayna, Zaida’s mom, followed her daughter over. “It’s very nice to put a face to a voice.” She held out her hand as she gave him the piercing look of a protective mother.
Jamal joined them. Levi and he exchanged hard looks. Levi tried to get a read from Jamal on what he was up to, but the professor carefully schooled his expression.
“Where are Zaida’s things?” Jamal asked. “In the car?”
“She may not be staying,” Levi said.
“You were ordered to leave her with us,” Jamal said.
“It was a suggestion…and I haven’t decided to take it or leave it.” Levi downplayed the directive he’d been given. “What I care most about is her safety.”
“And I don’t?” Jamal’s eyes narrowed at the perceived slight.
“After I hear more of what’s going on, I’ll let you know her status.” Levi excused himself so he could go meet Abdul and Hidaya. They were young, earnest, and scared as hell. Hidaya wore a soft peach hijab and a long black dress. “Glad to see you’re both safe. When we went by your apartment, it had been tossed.”
Their frightened faces turned to Jamal then one of their FBI handlers. “We didn’t toss it,” one of the suits said. “You were there while we searched your place.”
“I’d already given my computer to my friend to give back to Zaida,” Hidaya said. “I’m sure that’s what they were looking for.”
The agent who spoke came over and introduced himself to Levi and Zaida. “I’m Special Agent Jack Graham. Thanks for joining us,” he said to Levi. “I’m glad for your help.”
“Glad to be of help,” Levi said, then walked over to the counter in the little kitchenette and leaned against it as he faced the room. “Jamal, bring me up to speed.”
“What do you already know?” Jamal asked.
“I know that a spyware worm called Freedom Code was released into one of Zaida’s old computers about a month ago,” Levi said. “I know that worm makes threat assessments of the computer owner’s potential for being a terrorist, terrorist supporter, or potential victim of one. I know that worm has circumnavigated the globe and has returned here to Colorado.”
Levi looked at Abdul. “I suspect it’s your pet project.” He then looked at each of the FBI agents. “And I suspect that your agency is highly interested in the worm’s findings. I also know that the worm locks down computers it considers pose a significant threat, blocking that computer from being used for a period of time. This worm has made enemies around the world.”
Abdul sighed. “I wrote it, yes, but I never intended to set it loose.”
“It was my fault that happened,” Hidaya said. “The worm was on a flash drive that I used on Zaida’s old computer. I didn’t know it was there at the time or I would never have done that. When I came to you, Zaida, I didn’t know about any of this.” She looked at her brother. “I didn’t know you’d created such a thing.”
Abdul nodded, looking upset with himself. “And I didn’t realize Hidaya had taken my flash drive. We hav
e several—they all look the same,” he said. “One day, data started showing up on the server I’d set aside for the project.”
“I thought you didn’t intend to use the worm,” Levi said, catching Abdul on that point. If he hadn’t meant to release it into the world, why did he need a repository for its data?
“I didn’t. It was my end-of-year project. I couldn’t turn it in with only a theoretical construct. It was a practicum—I had to have a fully functioning prototype. I worked for months on the design with Dr. Abd al-Mukhtar. All of us in the course were working on interesting technical solutions to real-world problems. My project led a discussion about the ethics of such a project, why it couldn’t be released without proper search warrants. We discussed as a class the data analysis I’d written the worm to perform. It was supposed to collect and analyze the social behavior and financial health of each person whose computer it visited in an attempt to identify people who had the psych profile of terrorists or who were at risk of being exploited by terrorists. For each computer it accessed, it gave a value of one to ten, ten being someone with a high probability of being an active terrorist; one being a non-threat. It didn’t store information on anyone whose score was five or below. If someone was scored six or above, then the information the worm used to make its assessment was stored in the database I’d built. As it migrated from machine to machine, its understanding of threats versus non-threats improved. The worm was teaching itself.”
“It was brilliant…and illegal as hell,” Jamal said. “I read his code and his written analysis and was blown away. Nonetheless, I believed we were still in the realm of hypothetical…until the day Abdul came to me to tell me it had been released inadvertently. Already, a month had passed.”
“I should have reported it sooner,” Abdul agreed, “but I was scared. It ran through our community first, collecting info on Zaida and me and many others. I didn’t want anyone to know that I had done this. I didn’t even talk about it with Hidaya. But then, I began to see some new data coming in, data that came from men in the Middle East and Africa, locations that I knew were terrorist hotbeds. They’d begun hacking the database. I had protections in there so that none of the data could be modified except by me. Above that, my system recorded any attempts at penetration from anyone who wasn’t me.” He looked around the room. “I didn’t want any of my classmates to mess up my project. But when I began to see that it was getting attention—and returning results—from real terrorist groups, well, then I knew I had a serious problem on my hands. I went to Dr. Abd al-Mukhtar and told him everything.”
Freedom Code Page 13