Cipher

by Robert Stohn

  As they drove along the docks and towards the Galata Bridge, the distinct smell of the salty sea rushed through the open car windows. The breeze felt good on Jonathan’s face, and he smiled. It had been a long time since he had felt a sense of peace. Maybe getting out of New York was the best thing he could have done for himself. He closed his eyes and tried to think back to his dingy Brooklyn apartment. He tried to picture that place again and his mentality there. He wasn’t happy there. He hadn’t been happy for a long time. This was what he needed. He finally got the chance to travel and work at the same time. Life couldn’t get any better, he thought. It doesn’t get any better than this.

  He whipped out his phone to check to see if he had any messages, as they crossed the short Galata Bridge, and arrived on the other side of the narrow strait. Based on his maps, the university was only a 15-minute drive from where they were so he checked his messages. He had forwarded all of this phone calls from his number back home to his international number he had secured when he arrived. He dialed into the voicemail system that was setup on the new number. He had a message from Don Cicerone.

  Kid. We gotta talk. Call me.

  In the excitement of arriving in Turkey, he had forgotten to check in with Don Cicerone. He quickly dialed the number back.

  “Hello?” said Vinnie on the other end.

  “Hey, it’s Jonathan Grace.”

  “Oh, hey. Hold a moment,” he said, and passed the phone to Don Cicerone.

  “Kid?”

  “Yeah, I’m here,” said Jonathan.

  “What’s the status? What’s the scoop?”

  “I located the doctor. In fact, I’m enroute to meet with her right now.”

  “Don’t screw this up kid. Word on the street is that the doc might be in hot water. Be careful.”

  “What do you mean?” If the Italians were telling him to be careful, then something must be wrong, he thought.

  “Look, kid, just be careful. And, check in with me from time to time. I need to know what’s going on. Also, don’t you dare come back here without that cipher drive. I don’t care what it takes.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You know what I mean kid. Look, come back with the cipher drive or it’s your neck.”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  He had already hung up the phone when Jonathan lobbed that last question. It was almost rhetorical. He knew he was being threatened. He wasn’t sure why he had even asked that question. As he looked out the window again, almost in another world, the beauty of the city slipped through his hands and worry creeped in. When they finally pulled up to the University a few minutes later, he dialed Dr. Cobalt on the phone. She didn’t answer, but she sent him a text asking him to come inside because she was wrapping up a lecture and that class had started late.

  Jonathan paid the cab, and walked inside the university. He made his way through the hallways, following the directions on the text, and found the lecture room where Dr. Cobalt was teaching. He silently walked in and took a seat in the back. The students were so enthralled with the lecture that they barely noticed him slip through the door. He sat there carefully watching her as she spoke. He couldn’t understand the language, but he looked on with a silent determination. He was captivated by her liveliness. She was so energetic and enthusiastic.

  When she finished up and the students left, he walked down to the front of the class room from up the stairs in the back. “Hey,” he said.

  “Hi. I’m really sorry class went over. I ended up getting in pretty late.”

  “It’s okay. It was fascinating to watch you teach. I mean, I didn’t quite understand a thing that you said, but I was still fascinated by it.” Jonathan looked at all the formulas on the chalkboard that she was busy scribbling on during the lecture. “Hey what is all of this stuff?”

  “Just some advanced mathematics. Algorithms, some calculus, you know, boring stuff,” she said. She laughed silently to herself, then touched her hand to her neck. He made her nervous.

  Jonathan smiled back. “Looks like pretty advanced stuff. I’m sure most of this would just go right over my head.”

  “It’s really not that complex when you get into it. I can imagine looking from the outside in, but it’s not really that bad,” she said. She had her hair in one of those long ponytails that really made her look casual. But, even in her attempt to look casual, she was still striking. Jonathan just stared at her. He couldn’t help himself.

  “What? What is it?” she asked.

  “Oh… sorry… nothing. Do you want to go get that drink now?”

  “Yeah. Sure, that sounds pretty good,” she said.

  They walked out of the university together and she wrapped her elbow inside his, as if she wanted him to guide her out. Jonathan looked at her for a moment and butterflies filled his stomach. He smiled at her. They piled into her car, and headed down the road. Within moments, they had arrived at the restaurant on the water.

  “This is my favorite place to eat. I hope you like fish,” she said.

  “Yes, absolutely. I love fish.”

  “Then you’re going to love this place,” she cooed. “The fish here is fresh and it’s caught the same day it’s served. It’s absolutely incredible.”

  They were seated on an outdoor raised terrace overlooking the water, which was separated from the restaurant by a two-way road. “Wow, it’s incredible here,” Jonathan said. “The view.”

  “I know. I love it here. Isn’t Turkey beautiful?” she asked.

  “Yes. In fact, ever since I arrived, I’ve felt so much more alive. It was as if I was dead inside back home. Does that make sense?”

  “How so?” she asked.

  “I don’t know. I guess I’ve just felt dead inside lately. The past couple of years have been rough on me.”

  “Oh. I’m sorry. Do you want to talk about it?”

  Actually, Jonathan didn’t want to talk about that. He just wanted to talk about her. He wanted to know everything about her he could possibly find out. He was so intrigued by her. Her beauty. Her intellect. Everything about her attracted him; everything about her sung to his heart. “Two years ago, I lost my wife to cancer.”

  “Oh. Oh my. I’m so… I’m… I’m really sorry. That’s just terrible. How long were you… how long were the two of you?”

  “It was hard,” he replied softly. “It was really hard. In fact, it was the hardest thing I ever had to go through my entire life. I guess you just don’t imagine how something like that could ever happen to you until it does. It was as if she went from being completely fine, to crippled and unable to care for herself within a three-month period. I lost her so fast. It was almost as if, as soon as she found out bout it, she all but gave up. It was as if she just threw in the towel and quit when the doctor gave us the bad news. It was hard. You should have seen her. You should have seen the look on her face when the doctor told us. It was as if she had seen a ghost; her own ghost.”

  Jennifer put her hand to her mouth. The news was heartbreaking. She had never lost anyone close to her like that in her life. She wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond. She looked into his big brown eyes and admired his boyish good looks. “I’m so sorry… that sounds… awful,” she added.

  “It was awful. You couldn’t even imagine how bad something like that could be until it happens to you. And seeing that cancer take hold and suck the energy out of someone… you don’t realize the power of it until you see it. It was awful. I can’t tell you just how awful it was.”

  She reached over and placed her hand on top of his. She looked into his eyes. He had such big brown eyes; they were puppy-dog eyes. And, she felt sorry for him. She utterly and truly felt sorrow deep down inside for him. All she could do was look at him. She just continued to look at him with sorrow in her eyes for him. “That makes me feel sick to my stomach.”

  “You know? I’m sorry I’m bringing all of this sad stuff up. We barely know each other and he
re I am pouring my heart out to you. I’m so silly.”

  “No. Please don’t say that,” she said. She threw him an exaggerated frown and squeezed his hand.

  “But really. What I really want to know more about is you. Tell me about you? Ever since I met you, I’ve just wanted to know more about you. I know that sounds strange,” he said.

  She smiled at him, and then turned her head towards the ocean. She was distracted by something. It was as if something was bothering her; something was eating away at her. Jonathan could see it in her eyes. There was this emptiness and he related to that. He didn’t know exactly what it was. He didn’t know exactly how to put his finger on it. Ever since he met her in person, he could sense it.

  “Merhaba, hoşgeldiniz,” said a server who appeared before them. Jonathan smiled politely.

  “Merhaba,” he said back.

  “Ne Içiyorsunuz?” asked the server.

  Jonathan looked a little dumbfounded. The words were a little beyond his comprehension of the Turkish language.

  “What do you want to drink?” Jennifer asked with a wink.

  “Oh, maybe a bottle of red wine? Do you like wine?” he asked her.

  “Yes,” she said. She turned her attention to the waiter and did some ordering in Turkish. “I’ll order us some food too,” she told him. “They usually bring out small plates here. Almost like a tapas style. You’ll love it.”

  “Great,” he said.

  The wine and appetizers landed in front of them. The assortment of cheese in small dishes, along with a variety of meats, and small fried appetizers, looked delicious to him. Then came the fish. He ogled the plate in front of him like a man who had just suffered through the perils of a long and arduous famine.

  “Wow,” Jonathan said.

  “I just ordered some small starter plates, then a few main course plates. Everything is delicious,” she added, dishing out some of the food onto her own plate.

  “It looks that way.” Jonathan virtually shoveled food into his mouth. He certainly looked famished. He tried to eat slowly but he never could. He always had a hard time savoring things like food. He seemed to rush through life at such a breakneck pace. He knew he needed to slow down. He knew that. But he never seemed to be able to do it. “This food… it’s… it’s incredible. I’m sorry I’m eating like a pig.”

  “No, it’s quite alright,” she said. “Please don’t apologize. I’m glad that you’re enjoying it.”

  “Yes, definitely. Thank you for bringing me here. I guess there’s nothing like having a local take you to their favorite restaurant in town is there?”

  “No there probably isn’t,” she said, smiling at him as she placed another morsel of food into her mouth.

  “So, did you grow up here? What’s you’re connection to Turkey?”

  “Well, don’t you know?” she asked. “I mean, you tracked me down and all. I figured you would have known everything about me,” she added.

  “Well… no… I mean… I don’t,” he said, stumbling for words.

  “Yes. To answer your question, I am from here,” she said. “I moved to the states to attend university and get my doctorate degree. I’ve lived there for 15 years and only recently took a small sabbatical back home here, to Istanbul. My mom is starting to get to that age where I really need to spend more time with her. I’ve always wanted her to come out to the states, but it’s too late for that now. Her English isn’t very good so, all my immediate family is here.”

  “How about your husband?” Jonathan asked. He looked for a ring but couldn’t find one so he knew she wasn’t married, but he was curious about her past.

  “I’m not currently married except to my work. It’s hard to find the time to balance a relationship with my work schedule. It’s always so taxing to be able to keep a social life, let alone have a husband in my line of work.” She seemed distant as she said the words, as if there was something she wasn’t telling him. He didn’t feel like she was lying to him, but just that she was maybe leaving some things out.

  “I don’t understand. How could someone as beautiful as you have never been married before? That’s hard to believe.”

  “Well, I didn’t say that I was never married, just that I’m not married right now. I was married… yes… I was and I would rather not talk about it,” she said as she scooped another morsel of food into her mouth.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you… I mean… I understand that you don’t want to talk about it,” he said.

  “No, that’s okay. Don’t apologize. I didn’t mean to come across rude. I guess there’s just certain things that… I would rather not think about right now,” she said.

  “I understand. I guess I still can’t believe that you’re not in a relationship or something. I’m sorry I’m probably just stumbling on my own words. I feel silly.” Jonathan eyed a piece of fish on his plate, and placed it in his mouth. It melted like butter and he had to close his eyes to finish savoring it.

  “No. It’s okay. But, believe it or not, balancing a relationship with my kind of work is hard. People don’t seem to be able to understand the passion that I have for my work. I’ve been called everything from selfish, self-entitled, mean, and everything in between. It’s really not worth it for me. Relationships really haven’t been worth my while. I guess if I had met ‘Mr. Right,” so-to-speak, maybe… maybe things would have been different.”

  Jonathan had a hard time believing that the stunning beauty sitting before him wasn’t married or in a relationship. He realized there was probably a lot there that he just wasn’t seeing because he was too blinded by her beauty. He knew that it could get him into hot water, but he continued to stare at her like a teenager with a crush. She could tell he was into her. She could tell how much he was attracted to her, but she was used to that. She was used to the unwanted advanced of men all her life.

  “Tell me more about your work? I’m fascinated by it. Seeing you there, teaching, at the university, was inspiring. I’ve never met someone like you before. I guess that’s what it is,” he said. He raised his glass to meet hers and stared straight into her pale blue eyes. “Cheers,” he added.

  “Cheers,” she said. “About my work? I guess you already know a lot about it. I’m very much into applied mathematics and advanced algorithms. I spent a couple of years in the lab in Virginia working day and night, and I guess I got burnt out, which is why I came back here.”

  “What exactly were you doing there?”

  “I was working on a project, which I told you about, but it got out of hand. Everything got out of hand. The pressure was unbearable, but the pay was terrific. I was always married to my job, but this was extreme even for my own standards. I was working day and night, and would only go home to literally sleep. I woke back up the next day and did it all over again. It was a never-ending cycle. I felt trapped. I’m so happy that’s over with for now. Right now, all I want to do is just relax, spend time with family, and catch my breath.”

  It was the exact opposite of how Jonathan had been living his life. He almost felt guilty for living in such utter disregard for others and himself. He hadn’t worked hard at all; he was just on a downward spiral that seemed to have no end in sight.

  “How about you?” she asked.

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, what’s you’re deal? Why are you really here? I know you didn’t come all the way over here just to track me down just so that you could get to know me better.”

  “Well… I’m looking for something?”

  “Oh,” she said, but she didn’t look surprised.

  “I’m looking for something you helped to create,” he said. He took a big swig of his wine and poured himself another glass.

  “And what’s that?”

  “The cipher drive. I’m looking for the cipher drive. Jen you’re in danger and I need to find the cipher drive.”

  “Well… I don’t have it.”

  “Who does?”

  “I don’t know
. It was taken from the lab in Virginia. All I know is that they told me it was stolen from there after my work had been completed; after I had already left the country. I’m not about to go back now. It’s their problem. I did my job. I did the work that they forced me to do.”

  “Forced? Stolen? By who?” Jonathan wondered if it was the Italians who stole it. But, if they had stolen it, then someone must have stolen it from them. He hated being in the dark about the information. He hated not knowing what really was going on. He realized he should have prepared better for the meeting. He should have asked more questions and done more research. He started feeling stupid and sorry for himself.

  “I don’t know who stole it. I have no idea,” she said. “All I know is that whoever has that cipher drive, if they know just how to use it, it could be catastrophic.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Think about it, Jon – that cipher drive has an advanced-algorithm deciphering system that can crack the most advanced RSA secure server technology through brute force in under 30 minutes. Do you know what that means? Could you imagine what someone could do with that technology?”

  “Isn’t that what hackers can already do today?”

  “No. It doesn’t work that way. Hackers usually use sophisticated measures of phishing to gain employee access credentials to servers. Then, they get in and do their best to do the most amount of damage as quickly as possible, but once it’s discovered, the game is usually over. This is different. This is a method of hacking using brute force attacks on secure servers. It doesn’t matter if the hacker has credentials. As long as they have an IP address for the machine, they can force their way inside. Normally, this is not that easy, especially when you’re dealing with the ultra-secure servers that are load-balanced to withstand brute-force attacks. This goes after the secure layer, and it’s effective. It’s very effective. With that cipher drive, and the right person operating it, you can hack anything. Any database in the world can be broken into. Think about it – financial intuitions, government institutions, the NSA, the CIA, the FBI, any Fortune 500 company, anything Jon.”