Trident Code (A Lana Elkins Thriller)

by Thomas Waite

  The paper noted several jihadist references to a “new” weapon for suicide bombers, which now had Lana, Galina, and Jeff researching what could possibly constitute the latest development in suicide bombs. In just the past year and a half, jihadists had gone so far as to stuff a nuclear weapon into a backpack.

  Could it actually get worse than that?

  Lana had her doubts. And jihadists weren’t above using disinformation against their enemies. They’d become savvy enough to provide it in heavily encrypted communications, with the understanding that the harder the threat was to decipher, the more it might be valued.

  But she and her colleagues could take no threat lightly, not after witnessing worldwide devastation from the lethal combination of cyberattacks and kinetic warfare.

  Personally, Lana felt fortunate. Her family had not only survived, it had thrived. Don was living with Emma and her, along with Esme, Tanesa, and Esme’s sister and her four children. Esme and her sister’s homes in Anacostia had been destroyed in the flood, and even when their insurance money arrived, which was slow in coming for claimants everywhere, the women would be hard-pressed to find affordable housing. But they didn’t need to: Lana wouldn’t hear of their displacement. Her large house finally felt fully used, and her guests were welcome as long as they needed shelter.

  So was Don, she recognized more every day. Last weekend he’d taken her for a cruise on Chesapeake Bay. At first Lana refused to entertain the idea of pleasure boating. But Don told her they’d combine work and fun because he’d contracted with the navy to inspect smaller harbors on Maryland’s central shore for newly submerged pilings that could scuttle watercraft.

  Don and Lana had motored out on a thirty-four-foot, aluminum hull boat that the navy had stripped of its .50 caliber and 7.62 machine guns, along with the forty-millimeter grenade launchers.

  “Too bad,” Lana had joked when he’d told her the military had figured he could do without the heavy weaponry.

  The day was brilliantly sunny and unusually warm for mid-November. After Don checked on three harbors, they stood gazing at a sailboat in the distance.

  “You envious?” she asked.

  “Not at all. I’m with you.” He slipped his arm around her back. “I’m never going to let you go,” he added softly.

  “It’s not me I’m worried about,” she replied. “It’s Emma. She’s growing closer to you. She needs you. I never would have believed that before you came back, but she does.”

  “Me either. And it kills me that I missed so much of her growing up. I was a fool. Believe me, I could never leave you guys again.”

  She slipped out of his grip, but turned to look him in the eye. “You vowed never to leave me once before.”

  “I’m a different man now. I hope you can see that.”

  And he was different, it was true. He was brave and loving, but most of all he was with her and the child they had borne.

  She took his face in her hands and kissed him.

  Three hours passed before they noticed the sun dipping below the western shoreline.

  “We better get back,” Don said.

  “I think we’ve already started,” Lana replied, smiling.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I’d like to thank my literary agent, Howard Morhaim, who represents me well and provides valuable feedback on my writing. Thanks also to his assistant, Kim-Mei Kirtland, who ensures that no detail is overlooked.

  I wish to also thank Jason Kirk at 47North for his enthusiasm for my work and helpful editing of my manuscript. I would also like to thank the rest of the 47North team, particularly Britt Rogers and Ben Smith.

  Most of all, I thank my readers for their encouragement and their word-of-mouth support.

  A number of people were particularly helpful to me in researching and writing this novel. For details on technology and cybersecurity, I thank Andrew J. Cordiner, Jr., Supervisory Special Agent, FBI Cyber Division, Cyberterrorism Unit (CTU); Corey E. Thomas, President and CEO of Rapid7; Benjamin Johnson, Chief Security Strategist at the software and network security services company Bit9 + Carbon Black; and Roger A. Grimes, author, speaker, and a twenty-five-year computer security consultant.

  For insights into naval affairs, I thank Admiral William A. Owens, U.S. Navy (retired) and former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Vice Admiral N.R. Thunman, U.S. Navy (retired); and Shawn P. Kelly, submarine officer, U.S. Navy (retired) and CEO of Active Grid Technology.

  Any factual mistakes in this novel are mine.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Photo © 2012 Allana Taranto, Ars Magna Studio

  Thomas Waite is a best-selling author of cyberthrillers. His debut novel, Terminal Value, was critically praised and reached #1 at Amazon. His best-selling second novel, Lethal Code, was also widely acclaimed.

  Waite is the board director of, and an advisor to, a number of technology companies. His nonfiction work has been published in such publications as The New York Times and Harvard Business Review.

  Waite received his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin—Madison and was selected by the English Department to participate in an international study program at the University of Oxford.

  Trident Code is Waite’s second Lana Elkins Thriller.