Winds of Change Book Two

by Melissa Good

  Kerry grinned.

  “Same thing for Gerry’s project, but that will be a mesh. We already talked about it. They’re going to house the central database in the Pentagon.”

  “Good.” Kerry headed west on the causeway. “I’ll work with them in a remote support circuit for you.”

  Dar grunted in contentment, then glanced down as her Handspring buzzed. “Ah.”

  Hey, boss. Pete’s in with the big dude now. He’s going to text me when he gets out. He told him he found an old config saved to a switch NVRAM.

  She reached around Mocha and typed a response.

  If the dickwad kicks him out, have him come over.

  You got it.

  Dar thumbed through her messages and frowned. In the light of day she realized her attitude toward the problem had changed a little. Maybe Kerry’s uncertainty had affected her, but she had to acknowledge a sense of irritation in her when she thought about having to dedicate her personal resources to a company that now held very little affection in her heart.

  It felt fickle. She wasn’t entirely happy with her motivations. She felt caught between guilt and outrage and it was giving her a stomach ache. “Hey, Ker?”

  “Yes, o love of my life?”

  “What do you think about us getting a datacenter for test systems? Not ever hosting clients there? I don’t know that I want to be in the services side of the house.”

  Kerry considered that as she turned into Coconut Grove and headed for the office. “You mean just do what our web site claims— custom systems and solutions? Deliver it and the only support we do is for the software itself?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “Hm. Let me think about it.”

  “If we did that, there’s no way ILS could ever come back at us because we’re not doing anything they do,” Dar said. “Matter of fact, I don’t want to do any of the stuff they do because I’m kinda tired of being on the hook for everyone’s bottom line.”

  “You’re just deciding this now?”

  “This router thing is pissing me off,” Dar admitted. “I’ve been thinking about it since we got up. I just get madder and madder when I think about that warthog trying to weenie waggle to make his bones and then becoming a neuter when it comes to taking responsibility for it.”

  Kerry pulled into one of the parking spots. “Colorful,” she said. “Let’s just get past the next seven days, then we can talk about it, okay?” She patted Dar’s leg. “I’m going to call Richard, though, and let him know what’s going on.”

  Dar got out and put Mocha down, then retrieved her backpack and got it settled. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll all go away.”

  “Really think that’s going to happen?”

  “Meh.”

  DAR ROLLED HER trackball a little, moving the wire frame diagram across the screen and observing the results. She switched over to a command line session and pecked out a few commands, then switched back, issuing an approving grunt and rerunning the process.

  It wouldn’t be an elegant demonstration. Dar looked at the plain screen, which was a simple black background with fields in magenta, green and yellow. It used very straightforward instructional text and the boxes and outlines around it were only there to make it look relatively functional.

  She typed in a query and ran it against the test repository in the server room. The screen chewed over it for a minute then spit out a response.

  “Hm.” Dar went back into the command line screen, revised some of the lines, recompiled it and tried the query again. This time the results were more acceptable and she moved on to her next task.

  She heard Kerry talking with someone next door and recognized the other voice as Colleen’s. Their relaxed tones and the crinkle of paper meant that lunch was probably going to be delivered to her any minute now.

  “Hey, hon.” Kerry entered, carrying a bag. “Tacos.”

  “Yum.”

  “Making progress?”

  “Yep.” Dar slid her chair sideways and moved over to the open area of her desk. “I’ve got the query engine working at least. I still have to figure out how to demonstrate the autonomic parser.”

  “Oh. Sexy.” Kerry sorted out her tacos and put her drink down. “That small business conference called back. They already have a

  keynote speaker. I think this guy must have seen that Miami Herald piece because he told me he’d like you to do a half hour presentation on anything you want—if you want.”

  Dar chuckled.

  “Do you want?”

  “I want,” Dar said. “Tell them I’ll do...” She pondered a minute as she unwrapped a taco. “Thirty minutes on using B to B networking to boost business between small business owners.”

  Kerry eyed her. “Really?”

  “Sure.” Dar licked a bit of sauce off her fingers. “C’mon, Ker. It’s a small business convention. I can’t go in there and start talking about routing tables or database structures.”

  “No, that’s true,” Kerry said. “But I think that’s more a speech I would give.”

  Dar’s eyebrows twitched. “So then you give it? Think up a topic for me and just let me know what it is.” She swallowed then chased the mouthful down with a sip of ice coffee. “I can do one that’s IT related, but I think general’s better.”

  “Let me think of one.” Kerry reached over and ruffled her hair. “It’s next Monday and Tuesday, then Maria has our flights booked on Wednesday for DC.”

  “Cool.”

  “I’ve got a project management meeting with two clients this afternoon. I’m going to have Mayte sit in with me and see if I can let her run with them.”

  Dar lifted one hand with her thumb pointed up. “You should see if we can get her PMO certified, and then get her some baby PMs to work with her.”

  Kerry smiled, then waggled her fingers goodbye and went back to her own office.

  Dar finished her tacos and sucked the last of her coffee down, disposing of the wrappers in her cobalt blue garbage can before she turned back to her screen and started up her program again.

  White on black or black on white? Dar pondered the difference, calling up an image in her head of doing a presentation. For the military guys, white on black. For the politicians? “Hey, Ker?”

  “Yes?” Kerry stuck her head in the door opening.

  “What’s your mother’s favorite color?”

  “What?”

  DAR SET HER backpack down near the receptionist’s desk and diverted around the hall, walking to the side corridor and passing the closed door to the HR department. She went a little farther and slowed, pausing at the door to the tech support office and sticking her head inside.

  Scott was at his desk. He was still the only support person on staff so the other cubes were empty, but there were a few things on the shelves of his, a cup, a little canteen, and a rock. He didn’t hear her stop, his head was bent over an open PC case and he was carefully assembling the parts inside.

  Mark was reasonably satisfied with his new guy. Scott had performed the several maintenance tasks he’d been given with competence and he’d been on time every morning.

  More than on time, actually. Mark said he’d been on the front porch waiting when the first person had gotten there, freshly showered and ready to work.

  Dar leaned against the door frame watching him work. She sensed a contentment in him she couldn’t have imagined seeing before.

  Not wanting to disturb that, she silently pushed off the frame and headed back to the empty receptionist’s desk where she spotted Kerry and their kids waiting for her. “Hey.”

  “Potty break?” Kerry asked.

  “No...wanted to see how our new tech was doing.” Dar picked up her backpack and slung it on her shoulder then took Mocha from Kerry’s arms. “Seems okay.”

  “Col said he doesn’t talk much.” Kerry opened the door for her. “Just comes in and sits there and fiddles with things.”

  “Exactly what you want a tech support guy to do.” Dar close
d the door behind her. “Mark said he was working on something, that he’d close up.”

  “Any word from Peter?”

  “Nope.” Dar opened the back door of the SUV for Chino and then got in the passenger seat with Mocha. “He knows how to get in touch if he needs to. I don’t want to push it.”

  “Wise woman.” Kerry opened the driver’s door and paused as she caught motion from the corner of her eye. She turned, half closing the door against her legs. “Dar.”

  “I see.” Dar put Mocha in the back seat and opened her own door, sliding out and coming around the front of the SUV to stand between Kerry’s door and the oncoming figures.

  “Who said chivalry was dead?” Kerry leaned her arms on the door frame.

  Dar cleared her throat. “What can we do for you, folks?” She addressed the group of veterans, who had come just close enough for her latent defensive instincts to prick, making her hands flex.

  “Got the cops on the speed dial,” Kerry said. “So don’t get too spunky.”

  “Look,” Joe, the group leader aka pastor said. “We’re not gonna hurt you.”

  “No, you’re not,” Dar agreed readily. “I’m not in the mood for you. You’re standing between me and a romantic dinner with my spouse and

  I’m going to kick you in the head if you don’t clear out.”

  The pastor put his hands on his hips. “Look, lady, cut the crap, okay? I just got a question for you.”

  Kerry saw it start to happen and debated closing her eyes. She heard Chino bark in outrage just as Dar moved. The next moment the Labrador squirmed past her and out the door, racing over to get in front of Dar with a growl.

  Joe jumped back and held his hands up and Dar made a grab for their unexpectedly ferocious pet. “Chino!”

  “Growf!” The large dog bared her teeth and the thick fur along her spine lifted up.

  The other men just blinked at her. “Holy shit you weren’t kidding,” the one who’d been fighting in front of the office said. “Keep that dog away from us.”

  “I’m not kidding,” Dar said. She warily watched them. “I’m tired of you all messing with us. Leave us the hell alone.”

  “You’re the one who keeps screwing with us!” the man said, edging in front of Joe. “What did you do with Wheels, huh?”

  “His name is Scott,” Kerry said.

  “What?”

  “His name is Scott,” she repeated. “And what we did with him is we hired him.”

  “That little son of a bitch...he crossed us,” the man said to Joe. “You said he was going to hold out.”

  Dar got her hand on Chino’s collar and backed up until she hit the front of the SUV with her butt. “He didn’t. No reason for him to. This is a right to work state. I can hire whoever I want.”

  “He said—” Joe started, then stopped. “We ain’t seen him for a few days.”

  Dar shrugged. “Not my problem.”

  The other man eyed her. “You hired, Wheels?”

  Joe stepped up and got in front of him. “Never mind that, Cliff. If he screwed us, he did. Just let him know not to come back around looking for us, lady. He won’t get any more help.”

  “Great,” Kerry said. “I bet that’ll make all of us happy. But in answer to your question, Cliff, we really did hire him to do tech support for us and so far he’s done a good job.”

  “Let’s go.” Joe turned and shoved him and pointed back the way they’d come. “We found out what we come to.”

  Dar stayed where she was until they disappeared, then she turned and regarded Kerry. “They made our dog growl.” She looked down at Chino, who had seated herself on the tarmac, tongue lolling. “I never heard her do that before.”

  Chino looked up with innocent brown eyes.

  “They did,” Kerry said. “And you know, I think we might have done some good this time. Maybe these guys’ll leave him alone now.”

  “Mm.” Dar didn’t sound convinced, but she opened the back door again. “Get in there, madam ferocious.”

  Chino jumped up and sat down, wagging her tail and sniffing at Mocha who scrambled back to join her.

  Dar went around and got in the passenger seat, her head bent as she texted. “Just want Mark to know what happened so he can tell his newbie to watch his back.”

  “You think they’ll do anything? I think they’re all talk.” Kerry started up the engine. “Just like that guy was when he broke into our office. All bullshit.”

  “That could be,” Dar said. “Let’s get out of here before something else happens.”

  “You got it.”

  “Ker, they made our dog growl.”

  Chapter Ten

  DAR WALKED TO the bow of the boat, using the freshwater hose to rinse off the fiberglass as the early morning sun bathed her. She whistled softly under her breath, glancing around at the crowded marina as she continued to work. Dar was glad she’d gotten out early before everyone started moving about.

  Seas looked good offshore and after she finished cleaning and stocking the boat she and Kerry planned on a reef trip off Key Biscayne and a picnic lunch on the water.

  Their gear was already out on the bench seats and there was a basket of grapes and apples sitting on the waterproof table awaiting her attention.

  She worked a grape off its stem and popped it into her mouth, enjoying the crisp coolness of it as she bit into it. She paused to take a second, then stood quietly as she noted a man walking down the dock with a purposeful stride coming in her direction.

  Wasn’t someone she knew. He had a pair of dark blue sweatpants and a white sweatshirt on and he came right up to the slip and put his hand on one of the piers, leaning in toward her. “You, Roberts?”

  A number of answers occurred to Dar, who didn’t feel like she wanted her Saturday morning to start with an asshole. She sighed inwardly, though. “Yes.”

  He nodded. “My name’s Roger Post. I know you’ve got no idea who I am, but a friend of mine who works for A&T said he knows you and said I should talk to you,” he said. “And coincidentally, I was in the market and heard you call in for supplies so I asked them where I could find you.” T

  “C’mon aboard,” Dar said in a genial tone, indicating the two chairs on the deck. “I’m going to head out in a while, but I’ve got a few minutes to talk.”

  The man nodded and stepped over onto the transom, then onto the deck with the skill and ease of someone well used to boats. “Thanks.” He held a hand out. “Sorry to just barge in here. Thanks for being decent about it.”

  Dar took a seat and he did also. “What can I do for you?”

  “Here’s the thing,” Post said. “I won’t waste your time, or mine. But I’m bankrolling a startup who’s going to offer private networking and Internet surfing to high end clients.”

  “For what purpose?”

  “Avoid the snoopers,” Post said promptly. “You’ve seen the headlines, people wanting to be able to watch where people are going, snoop into their business. I want to make systems that let people go where they want on the Internet and not be afraid of someone watching them.”

  The irony made Dar smile. “I can see there would be a market,” she said. “Why hunt me down? In case you missed the story in the Herald, the government’s one of my clients.”

  “I know,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I want to hire you to tell me how to get around things.”

  Dar studied him. “Around what things?”

  “Come on,” he smiled at her. “We all know they’re tapping the Internet. My buddy at A&T told me they’ve got those big black boxes looking at everything.” T

  Dar was almost shocked until she remembered who had suggested that to the government. “Well.” She laced her fingers. “If they have big black boxes in line at the ISP level, you can’t get around it.”

  Post gazed at her. “Can’t?”

  Dar shook her head. “Can’t. If the data stream goes through those boxes you can’t avoid your traffic going through
them. The only way to get around that is buy point-to-point circuits between your clients and whatever they want to connect to.”

  “That’s expensive.”

  “Yup,” Dar said. “And not very practical if you want to surf the Internet.”

  “Damn. That’s what Chuck said.”

  “Even if you encrypted the channel,” Dar said. “A good hardware based decrypt encrypt card with spoofed certificates could get around it. My advice to you and your clients? If you want something to stay private, don’t let it out of your control. Don’t use the Internet to send it.”

  He frowned.

  Dar studied him for a moment. “Or have their porn or pirated stuff delivered on a hard drive. I mean seriously,” she said with a smile. “Just don’t do it.”

  “They’re not doing illegal things,” he said. “They just don’t want anyone to see what they’re doing. They think that’s a right, you know?”

  “I do,” Dar said. “Why not talk to my former employers? They can set up a private net if they’re serious about that and can pay for it. With a proxy out to the Internet on their own backbone.”

  “Yeah?”

  “ILS,” Dar said. “They absolutely can do that.”

  The man thought about that for a minute. “Would they want to do that?”

  Dar lifted her hands and then let them fall. “Depends on what the project scope was. There’s nothing illegal in setting up a private Internet. They would want common carrier protection, though. They wouldn’t want to know what you were running over it.”

  He paused and thought again. “Can’t we just do...what do you

  call them, a virtual private thing?”

  Dar’s eyebrows twitched a little. “Sure. You can make a VPN to a specific end point. That encrypts the traffic from you to that endpoint, but then you still need to go out onto the Internet.”

  “Huh.”

  “Mm.” Dar’s eyes twinkled a little bit. “Most of the time people we...I mean, that I used to deal with when doing projects for ILS, were more concerned about not letting their people surf things on the Internet than protecting them while they were doing it.”