“Jes, Mr. Williams. Good joo called.”
“Whatever you want I will give you. Just don’t hurt her. But, I’m not sure I know how to do it. I’m not a techie.”
“I do not think I believe joo.”
“If you hurt Vinny, you will regret it.”
“That eez really up to joo, Mr. Williams.”
The live feed reappeared on the computer screen. The sight of Vinny strapped into a chair rattled Raja.
“I can’t give you what I can’t find.”
“That eez all right. My boss eez confident that Miss Moore will be able to help.” The man ripped the duct tape off Vinny’s mouth.
Vinny spit at him.
The man slapped her hard, drawing fresh blood from her nose. In doing so he also stepped in front of the camera long enough for Raja to recognize him. The wife-beater shirt, the slick wavy hair. It was Fernando Hierra Lopez, the man who killed Ramona Griggsby.
“I would not waste time if I were joo,” said Fernando. “He eez not a patient man.”
“Who?” Raja and Vinny said in unison.
Fernando reached for and pressed a button somewhere near the computer camera. “Go ahead, sir.”
A gravelly voice that sounded electronic spoke. “First, you are going to make an internet connection. An IM will do.” An instant message appeared on Raja’s screen.
“Please accept,” said the voice.
Raja pressed yes.
“Very good. Now, I’m going to need Miss Moore to let me into her system.”
“The hell I will,” shouted Vinny. She looked straight into the video feed. “Don’t do it, Raja. Take these bastards down. Forget about me.”
Another slap from Fernando interrupted her.
The gravelly voice continued calmly. “I will walk you through it. May I call you Raja?”
“Call me whatever you want, but don’t hurt Vinny.”
After having Raja connect Vinny’s computer to an online network, the voice said, “Very good, Raja. Now all we need is Miss Moore’s backdoor password.”
“No,” said Vinny, shaking her head vigorously. Fernando approached her with his hand ready to strike.
“Give it to him,” shouted Raja. “Give it to him now. We’ll find another way.” Then he spoke softly. “Please, Vinny. Don’t do this to me.”
Vinny stared into space for a moment, and then sighed. She explained the backdoor she had built into her system that would tunnel past all the security encryption. Thirty seconds later, the glass screen in front of Raja whirred into action, with data flashing and disappearing from the screen. Whole files were being deleted. Raja looked at his watch. He needed more time. He needed a plan.
Five minutes later, the screen image stopped shifting. The voice in the box said, “Ahhh, that wasn’t so hard now, was it? We are all professionals. And, Miss Moore I must tell you, your skills are impressive. Under different circumstances, we could have made beautiful music together. Because of that, I do regret what now must happen. But, I’m afraid Fernando is a much different sort of creature than you or I. He has two main appetites—pain and sex. The prospect of both he finds irresistible.”
“You’ve got what you want. Let her go,” said Raja angrily.
“I’m afraid it is out of my hands.”
Fernando sneered and pulled something from his pocket. With a sudden flash the thin blade of the stiletto knife snapped into place.
“Okay, chica, joo might as well get comfortable. Joo and I are going to be here a while,” said Fernando, smiling.
“You bastard,” Raja shouted, impotently.
Fernando reached toward the camera and the connection went blank.
Raja’s heart sank.
Chapter Thirty-eight: Back Door Man
After doing everything he could think of to find Vinny, Detective Rafferty needed a break. He hadn’t eaten all day. So it was, he was sitting in a booth at the Denny’s on Sunset Boulevard enjoying the dinner special when his phone beeped. It was a text message.
The thing was, he never got text messages. He didn’t even know he had text on his phone. Rafferty swallowed a mouthful of mashed potatoes and squinted at the tiny screen. The text said, “Tommy. It’s Raja. I need your help. Vinny is in trouble. Call me. Hurry.” That was it. When he called the number, there was a series of strange beeps and clicks, and then the call disconnected. When he called again, the number was busy.
Rafferty knew how hard Raja was taking this whole mess. What the hell did Raja expect him to do? Rafferty chewed on another piece of Salisbury steak and pondered the message, finally deciding it must have been an old one. He was about to ask the waitress for the check, when his phone rang. It was the computer forensics department at the police station.
“Detective Rafferty?”
“Yeah.”
“This is Lieutenant Fong. You won’t believe what just happened.” The computer technician launched into a story that meant little to the detective until Fong finally got to an address in Los Angeles, a location where Vinny might be found. Rafferty jumped up and dropped a twenty on the table, and ran out while the lieutenant continued his technical explanation.
“Tell me later,” said Rafferty. “Call for backup to that address. Code Two—no lights, no sirens. I’m on the way.”
Rafferty got there first. It was a small, one-story garden apartment building with a central courtyard on North Figueroa near Mount Washington. No way he was going to wait for anyone else to arrive. Rafferty pulled out his gun, and prowled cautiously into the courtyard. He located the door numbered 7. The shades were drawn, preventing him from seeing inside. Rafferty released the safety on his gun, kicked in the door and yelled, “Police,” surprising Fernando who stood over Vinny on the far side of the room. Rafferty saw the knife rise up and pulled off two quick shots, one that hit a shoulder and spun Fernando around, and one in the chest that finished him off.
In three strides Rafferty reached Vinny’s side. He looked her over, checking for major damage. Her blouse was torn open and there were several small cuts above her right breast. The tear and mascara stains on her cheeks told the rest of the story. Rafferty untied her and covered her with his suit jacket.
By the time Raja arrived at the scene, Rafferty was standing near the door of the apartment giving a statement on the shooting to a Force Investigations officer from the LAPD.
“Is she okay?” asked Raja.
“Yeah, she is.”
“How the hell did you find her?” asked Raja.
“Ask her,” said Rafferty, thumbing toward Vinny. A medic was putting the finishing touch to a butterfly on Vinny’s chest.
When Raja walked over to her, Vinny stood up.
“I almost lost you,” he said dramatically.
“True dat, boss.”
Raja hugged her tightly.
“Hey, you’ll smear my makeup,” she said.
Raja held her away from him, looking her in the eye. “Vinny, what are you grinning about?”
“The data.”
“How is that funny? I thought it was all erased.”
“So did they, Raj, so did they. I had to make it convincing. How did I do?”
“You mean it wasn’t erased?”
“Yes, technically it was, but the program simultaneously made an undetectable mirror copy of all the data on a separate cloud.”
“How is that possible?”
“I’d tell you, but then I would have to kill you.”
“Speaking of getting killed, you almost were.”
“Like you always say, almost only counts in darts and hand grenades. By the way, don’t count on getting your deposit back on the BMW.”
“My god, girl, I love you.”
“Yes, you do, bro. Yes, you do.”
Despite Vinny’s protests, Raja insisted on a trip to the hospital for any care that she needed after her ordeal with Fernando. He waited while the doctor ran a few tests and checked her bandages. Confident that she would be okay, Raja drove her
back to the loft. The police had already disposed of the crushed car cube when they pulled into the garage. Raja wanted to help Vinny out of the car, but refrained, knowing it would offend the tough-guy attitude she maintained about herself.
Once inside the loft, Vinny plopped down on the couch, happy to be home. Raja exhaled loudly, relieved that she was safe.
“Vinny, I know what you can do with a computer, but how in the world did you manage to send your location to Detective Rafferty while you were tied up in a chair?”
“I didn’t. It is an automated security program I designed and linked to your phone and to the computer system at the loft. Unless I manually enter my code, one minute later the counter-measures of the security program execute. When I first got to Los Angeles, I set the program to contact the LAPD computer tech division in the event of any unauthorized use of my backdoor, giving them any relevant GPS coordinates. I counted on them acting, which they did.”
“Here’s the message it sends.” Vinny activated something on the computer. A recording of Vinny’s voice said, “This call means that my computer program has been compromised from an outside source. I have initiated an automatic satellite trace from my terminal to this phone and to an outside line. You will be able to triangulate the locations using the following frequencies.”
“The rest is technical,” said Vinny, “and that went to the computer tech division. They did the rest. It even instructed them to contact Detective Rafferty.”
“Just where would you get access to a satellite?”
“You wouldn’t believe how many satellites are up in orbit around the earth. You can take your pick, if you have the frequency and an access code. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.”
“You could get in trouble.”
“Not if you don’t get caught.”
“I suppose not.” Raja did not always approve of Vinny’s use of what she called shortcuts, but today he was glad she did what she did.
“You can pick on me, or thank me,” said Vinny.
“You’re right. I’m just glad you are okay. Thank you.”
Chapter Thirty-nine: Gangrene
While Vinny sifted through information, Raja worked on arranging a meeting with Sue Storm. After Vinny’s ordeal, Sue was more gun-shy than ever. It took every bit of Raja’s empathic skill to convince Sue of two premises. One, that Raja and Vinny were exactly who she thought they were, and two, that meeting with them would not result in anyone’s immediate death. Although he had suggested a neutral meeting place, she preferred coming to them. If premise one were correct, she could control when and if they met. If not, premise two would be a dismal failure any way you sliced it.
One night just after two in the morning, Vinny got a text message. “Downstairs,” is all it said. One minute later Vinny stood outside the elevator in the garage. No one appeared, so after a minute she stepped back into the elevator and turned the key to the loft. Just as the doors came together, a hand stopped them. Vinny pushed the open button. The doors parted and a blond woman in a brown leather bomber jacket holding a motorcycle helmet stepped into the elevator, pushed the close button and flattened herself along the side wall of the car.
“Nice to meet you, Vinny,” said Sue Storm, keeping her eyes on the doors until they were completely closed.
“Ditto,” said Vinny.
When the elevator moved upward, Sue exhaled and began to relax.
Vinny noticed her dark roots were showing, but with the jagged short haircut it gave her an emo look.
When the doors opened onto the loft, Sue looked around and said, “So this is the bat cave. Nice digs.”
“Raj, she’s here,” said Vinny. She had woken him before going downstairs.
“So we finally meet,” said Raja. “I’m glad you came.”
“I’ll hold my applause until later, if you don’t mind. But, it is good to see you two.”
“We have been going through the files you sent. Thank you, by the way. I thought it would be good to talk directly about what conclusions you have made.”
“I suppose I should start at the beginning. Let me preface by saying that I have been strongly pro-environment my whole adult life. I consider myself a full-fledged tree hugger all the way. I have been a strong advocate of alternative energy.”
“Go green,” said Vinny.
“Yes, go green and all that. So, for me it was eye-opening to find out there were some glitches in the green energy industry as it currently stands. The CEO of Solex Industries, a developer and manufacturer of storage batteries, gave me an inside glimpse into the current scene. While his solar battery was promising, it was not yet able to meet the specifications required for successful application by a major green energy provider.”
“Any new industry has its R & D phase,” said Raja.
“True. But, the demand for energy is enormous, especially in this country. As other countries modernize, their demand grows geometrically. The Chinese are already the #1 consumers of energy, blowing right by the U.S. in 2009. The Chinese have been quietly buying into all forms of U.S. energy. Millions of acres in Texas, Michigan and Ohio for shale oil drilling. Billions of dollars into oil and gas deals from Canada to Texas. And, besides buying into major oil companies, they are investing in green energy companies who are desperate for research and development money.”
“That should help the green energy sector,” said Raja.
“Yes, an infusion of money is very much needed. The government grants are also meant to help in that area. However, the ability to fill the demand for energy without interruption and viably is the real make-break for any energy provider, green or otherwise.
“With huge government grant money at stake, several companies were submitting doctored specifications to make their projected numbers work. Most of the green energy projects are new and highly technical. There is no track record for officials to look at to determine if a company can actually do what they propose. And those who see the green energy companies as a necessary salvation for this planet are not going to look too close.
“The dirty little secret I came across is that for every company legitimately trying to make green energy work, there are ten other companies set up to reap the government windfall in short term cash flow, with no chance of success. While long-term government mandates make investors feel safer, the company still has to produce energy profitably at a reasonable, competitive cost for it to work. Unfortunately, savvy Wall Street players know when to get in and out to rape the profits from the government subsidies, and leave the smaller investors and taxpayers holding a bag of hot air. Think of the dotcom boom and bust and you have the basic picture.”
“Companies like Solyndra,” said Raja.
“Yes.”
“I’m not so sure I would agree,” said Vinny. “Companies can be mismanaged. But the sun is a permanent and unlimited source of free energy. Surely there is a viable way to harness it.”
“The problem is not just where and how to store it, but how to absorb enough energy when it is available. The old saying ‘Make hay while the sun is shining’ takes on a whole new perspective.”
“Anything has to be better than coal and oil and the environmental damage they do,” said Vinny.
“Definitely. But sometimes there are unforeseen consequences. Look at the nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan. That was a good plan to provide energy with a much improved carbon footprint over fossil fuels. Result: disaster.”
“But wind and solar don’t have the liability of nuclear radiation,” said Raja.
“No they don’t. Sometimes it is a matter of infrastructure and cost. We might be able to provide enough electricity with wind if we covered the country with windmills. Who will buy or lease the land? Who will pay to build the infrastructure? And, do we want a countryside with wall-to-wall windmills?
“Universal green energy will be achievable at some future point, however investors don’t like to bank on a promise and a prayer.
“My point is, I don’t thin
k it’s a simple or one-sided argument on either side of the issue. And please understand. My story is not about whether green energy is good or not. It most certainly is good. My story is about the color of greed blended with the color of green energy in an unholy mix that is unpalatable to any sane person or group.
“I can’t say yet who is behind the fraud, but there are indications that the governor is up to his ears in this mess. He ran on a business rejuvenation platform for California, and the green energy sector looks to be the basket he put most of his eggs in. What I can tell you is it is bigger than just John Smiley and Solex Industries, and there is someone determined to keep things from unraveling. Determined enough to kill.”
Chapter Forty: Love Stinks
Governor Robert Black sat in his office wondering what his next move should be. As usual, he thought immediately of Stanley Bryce, his top aide, and told his secretary to call him in. His office had been contacted regarding a campaign finance issue, something Bryce would know more about than anyone else, including himself. There had been a number of potential disasters in recent months, but, so far, Bryce had kept the vultures from feeding on the governor’s career.
“Stanley, you told me you took care of the Jennifer Gowan mess. You said that her death, while unfortunate, would put the matter to rest. When it didn’t, you said that there was no evidence, nothing to tie me to her.”
“Yes, and—”
“I’m not done,” said the governor, as if talking to a disobedient child. “Now I have the attorney general’s office asking about campaign contributions, and mentioning both Judge Griggsby and Jennifer Gowan in the same call.”
“I can handle the campaign questions, as I always do, Robert. As for the judge and the girl, I assure you, the video has been destroyed. The girl is dead. Remember the underage dancer in the Bahamas? Well, no one else does. We got past that, and you can weather this, too. It will be a short news cycle. We stay on point and—”
“That is the point, Stanley. People have died. This isn’t going to go away. Someone has to be held accountable. Someone is accountable.”
The Color of Greed (Raja Williams 1) Page 15