Amir was waiting for him at the banquet room entrance, and dutifully escorted Jake into the large dining room and to a round table with eight seats. Five of the chairs were already occupied. The other three chairs were tilted forward against the table, the universal sign that the seats were reserved. At least this custom was the same in Kazakhstan as in the U.S.
Amir directed Jake to the middle vacant chair, and took one of the other chairs. Jake introduced himself to the five table guests already seated, three women and two men. All were around the same age as Jake, give or take a few years. In introducing himself, Jake gave his name and said that he was from the U.S. The five recipients responded in kind, but said nothing more. All were from Europe; none seemed to speak much English, at least not that they were willing to admit. Amir did not introduce himself, and no one acknowledged his presence. For the next few minutes, the conversation was confined to those at the table who already knew one another, or were able to speak in a common language. Jake felt left out.
Moments later, Cipher appeared and took the last empty chair, greeting each of the individuals at the table. He seemed to know them all, and was able to speak their native tongues, at least superficially. Jake was impressed—and envious. Americans sure can’t do that.
For the next few minutes, Cipher was engrossed in his smartphone. Lunch was served, and people ate mostly in silence, Cipher included. Finally, he turned to Jake and asked, “What do you think of our little event so far, JK?”
“I’m impressed,” Jake said. “The morning session was over the top. I think it’s safe to say I’ve never attended anything quite like your convention before.”
“Yes, I think over the top is a good way to put it,” Cipher responded. “Nilsen always creates quite a reaction, not only because of his physical presence, but even more so by the controversial things he says and does. I always like to begin our events with him.”
“I’m also amazed by the international flavor of your audience,” Jake added. “They seem to come from everywhere.”
“Everywhere except the U.S. You are our only American guest. I think that is because few in the States are familiar with the dark web, the only place on the internet where we’re active. Earlier today, I asked you what brought you to us, but there was no time for you to answer. Perhaps you’ll now tell me why you are here.”
Jake thought about how best to respond to Cipher’s inquiry. The image he decided to present was that of a naïve young puppy dog, who posed no threat to anyone. People like puppy dogs, especially ones that are quiet and don’t bite. He figured this approach was his best shot at endearing himself to Cipher, persuading him to let down his guard, and possibly offer Jake something useful. One generally catches more flies with honey than with vinegar.
He said he wanted to pursue a career in cybersecurity, in particular the prevention of election fraud. “I just assumed the dark web was the place for me to hunt around. I found a lot of discussions on the subject, including mention of you and your convention. Lars Nilsen was also mentioned in several instances. I decided this was the place for me to come. Fortunately, one of my college professors had some grant money he would provide to cover my expenses, in exchange for my agreeing to share my experiences here for a book he is writing.”
Cipher stared at Jake, but didn’t say anything. There was a bit of an awkward silence.
Jake felt he needed to keep the conversation going. “I also saw a bunch of chatter on the dark web about a man by the name of Leonid Gradsky. He seems to be highly respected in the field of election fraud. Do you know him? Will he be here at KHC? I’d really like to meet him.”
Cipher continued staring at Jake, as if he were deciding how to reply. Jake could almost see the wheels turning behind Cipher’s eyes. Finally, he said, “Yes, of course, I know Gradsky. He’s quite extraordinary, but very private. He seldom attends events like this. I don’t believe he’s registered for our program this year. Still, he always manages to stay at the forefront of computer technology. I would not be surprised if he is in high demand, and very busy leading up to next year’s elections.”
“I’m sorry you don’t expect him to be here. I really was hoping to meet him. I’m also hoping to meet Mr. Nilsen. Could you provide me with introductions to these gentlemen?”
“Lars will be staying overnight because he is on the program again tomorrow. I’ll see if he would be willing to meet with you. I’ll reach out to Leonid and see if he might be willing to speak with you as well. I’ll let you know, but you shouldn’t get your hopes up. He’s pretty reclusive.”
“Thanks. I appreciate whatever you can do, on both counts.”
Cipher suddenly stood up, said he had things to do, wished everyone well, and departed.
Amir leaned over to Jake. “Cipher like you, Mr. JK. Not usually talk so much with strangers. Come, return to auditorium for afternoon talk show.”
There were a lot of useful technical presentations in keeping with the general subject of hacking activities in the afternoon, but nothing quite as exciting as the morning session had been. And his possibly budding relationship with Cipher as well.
CHAPTER 18
November 19, 2019, Late Afternoon—Same Day
TURGENEV PONDERED THE ENCRYPTED email he had received from Ivanov and Melchenko, the two engineers he had assigned to the Gradsky project. While he was very satisfied with the Gradsky arrangements, as a matter of completing his due diligence, he had sent Ivanov and Melchenko to attend the KHC now underway, just in case they might pick up something the three of them had possibly overlooked. In their email, they reported about an impressive presentation on election hacking, made by one Lars Nilsen—a severely physically challenged individual from Denmark. Unfortunately, they were not provided the opportunity to vet Nilsen’s technology, but his election hacking demonstration seemed every bit as exciting as Gradsky’s.
Turgenev wanted to discuss this live with the two engineers on their return to Moscow. As far as he knew, the Gradsky program was in place, but Gradsky, to his credit, had placed himself beyond Turgenev’s control. That was not Turgenev’s style. This Nilsen provided a possible backup alternative. And Nilsen, because of his physical limitations, could not readily run and hide. A fundamental issue would be whether the two technologies would be complementary, or contradictory.
Turgenev sent an encrypted reply, asking Ivanov and Melchenko to set up a meeting with Nilsen.
IN THE COMPANY OF Amir, who always seemed to be at Jake’s side, Jake approached Cipher at the end of the afternoon session.
“How did you like the afternoon session, JK?” Cipher asked.
“Very good.” But nothing like the morning session. Absent finding a way to make contact with Gradsky, I’m guessing the remaining three days of the KHC will be anti-climactic, at least for me.
“I have good news for you. Lars is a bit fatigued, as you might understand, but he has agreed to visit with you for a few minutes in his room at six o’clock this evening.” Cipher gave Jake Nilsen’s room number.
“That’s great. And Gradsky? Were you able to reach him for me?” Jake asked.
“I was. But I’m afraid the results were not as favorable. As you will recall, I speculated it might be the case, Leonid was not interested in meeting with you. He said he’s simply too busy at the moment. I made the point that you are barely an hour’s flight away from him at the moment, and that you and your teaching sponsor might offer some worthwhile visibility for him, but that didn’t seem to make any difference. I’m sorry. I did try. Maybe another time.”
“I understand. Thank you for trying.”
I wonder just when he did try. Between my request at lunch and his negative report to me now, he’s been totally preoccupied with his conference. “I think I’ll run and get a quick shower before my visit with Mr. Nilsen.”
“You’re welcome. Enjoy your visit with Lars and your evening. See you tomorrow.
IT TOOK SOME DOING, but Jake persuaded Amir that it might be be
st for him to visit Nilsen by himself, and that he was tired, wanted to skip dinner, and turn in after the visit with Nilsen. Amir looked disappointed, but acquiesced. They agreed to meet for breakfast the next morning in the hotel coffee shop.
JAKE KNOCKED SOFTLY ON the door of Nilsen’s hotel room at precisely six o’clock. The door was opened by one of Nilsen’s assistants. “Mr. Klein?”
“Yes,” Jake answered.
“Please, come in. Professor Nilsen is expecting you. However, this visit will have to be brief, as the professor is laboring after his travels here yesterday and his presentation this morning.”
“Of course, I fully understand.”
The assistant brought Jake into the living room of the large suite and introduced him to Nilsen, who was arranged in the same life support equipment as he was during the program. This time, however, the laptop screen in front of Nilsen was turned around so it faced outward, as the assistant positioned Jake in front of the laptop screen.
Almost immediately, the following words appeared on the computer screen:
HELLO, JK. IT’S A PLEASURE TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE. CIPHER SAID SOME VERY NICE THINGS ABOUT YOU. I UNDERSTAND YOU ARE FROM THE U.S. YOU HAD A LONG JOURNEY TO GET HERE. HOW WERE YOUR TRAVELS?
“The pleasure is all mine, professor. My flights were uneventful, as I always like them to be. I’m still not quite on local time, but I’m managing. I must say, I was completely blown away by your presentation today.”
THANK YOU SO MUCH. WITH MY TECHNOLOGY IN PLACE, THE RESULTS ARE ACTUALLY QUITE EASY TO ACHIEVE. MAY I ASK, WHAT IS YOUR INTEREST IN MY TECHNOLOGY?
“I’m trying to launch a career in cybersecurity. It would really help me to understand the inner sanctum of your technology as much as possible.”
I SEE. THAT MEANS WE ARE POTENTIAL OPPONENTS. NOT IN THE SENSE THAT YOU WISH TO DEVELOP A TECHNOLOGY TO COMPETE WITH MINE, BUT RATHER, THAT YOU WISH TO DEVELOP A TECHNOLOGY TO DEFEAT MINE. THAT’S PERHAPS EVEN MORE THREATENING TO ME. AM I NOT CORRECT?
“Well, I would hope not. Today, when asked if you intended to use your technology to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections, you seemed to answer in the negative. In that regard, I was hoping you might have no objection to joining me in putting together a capability to prevent any fraud in the upcoming U.S. elections.”
Nilsen seemed to be losing his patience:
FORGIVE ME, JK, BUT THAT DOES SEEM A TRIFLE NAÏVE ON YOUR PART. I ANSWERED AS I DID TODAY BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT BE ADVISABLE FOR ME TO SAY OTHERWISE PUBLICLY. THAT IS NOT TO SAY THAT I WAS COMPLETELY CANDID IN MY REMARKS. WHILE I DON’T DIRECTLY INTERFERE WITH ANY ELECTIONS FOR MY OWN ACCOUNT, I DO HAVE CLIENTS WHO OFFER ME A GOOD DEAL OF MONEY TO ASSIST THEM IN DOING SO. MEANING, LICENSING MY TECHNOLOGY TO THEM AND TEACHING THEM HOW TO USE IT. WHAT THEY DO WITH THE TECHNOLOGY IS NONE OF MY CONCERN, BUT IT COULD PROVE HAZARDOUS TO MY HEALTH IF I WERE TO DO ANYTHING CONTRADICTORY TO THEIR USE OF MY TECHNOLOGY AS THEY SEE FIT. AS YOU CAN SEE, MY HEALTH IS ALREADY AS COMPROMISED AS I CAN AFFORD. PLEASE NOTE MY CAREFUL CHOICE OF WORDS. WHAT I SAID WAS OFFER. I DIDN’T SAY PAY. I MAKE NO SUCH ADMISSIONS, EVEN IN PRIVATE.
Well, you can’t blame a fellow for trying. “I had hoped for another answer, professor, but I do follow your thinking, and your choice of words.”
The assistant stepped forward and explained to Jake that they needed to wrap up the visit.
Nilsen made one more statement on his screen:
THANKS FOR COMING TO VISIT, JK. PERHAPS WE’LL SEE ONE ANOTHER AGAIN IN THE MORNING. IF NOT, I WISH YOU A SAFE JOURNEY HOME AND THE BEST OF LUCK IN YOUR CAREER.
“Thank you for seeing me, professor. Please be well.” Jake noticed Nilsen had closed his eyes before Jake finished his final remark.
The assistant showed Jake out of the hotel room and closed the door—perhaps in more ways than one.
CHAPTER 19
November 22, 2019, Three Days Later
JAKE FOUND THE REMAINDER of the KHC relatively fruitless. It was full of awesome gimmicks, gadgets, displays, and exhibits that would round out Jake’s skill set and laptop content, but it offered Jake nothing tangible in terms of election fraud. The conference was over. Jake had checked out of his hotel and settled up with Amir, who was now with Jake at the airport.
“You very nice man, Mr. JK. Miss you already.”
“Me too, Amir. Perhaps you will come to America and visit me. Then I can show you around.”
Amir said that he would. Little did Jake know how soon that would be.
JAKE’S SHORT CONNECTING FLIGHT to Frankfurt landed a little more than one hour ahead of the scheduled departure of his Lufthansa flight to D.C. He needed to switch terminals and caught an airport shuttle, checked in, got his boarding pass, and cleared security with forty minutes to spare. He walked the half-mile to his gate. He was hungry, but there was no time to get something to eat at one of the many inviting restaurants he spotted in the terminal. He’d wait until he could get something on the plane.
He had barely found a nearby seat and set his duffle bag and backpack on the empty seat next to him when he saw the message on the overhead digital screen. His flight was delayed one hour. All passengers were invited to freshen up in the complimentary Lufthansa VIP Lounge normally reserved for first and business classes. Might as well check out the lounge not typically available to this economy traveler. He picked up his gear and found his way to the lounge. He was impressed with the complimentary food and drink, and filled a plate.
He was half dozing when he heard the page: “Passenger Klein, please report to the nearest terminal phone and announce yourself. Passenger Klein, please report to the nearest terminal phone and announce yourself.” He picked up a nearby phone. “I heard the page. This is Jake Klein.”
“It seems we have overbooked your flight. Your seat is no longer—”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“—available. But not to worry, we were able to upgrade you to business class—at no additional charge, of course. Please check in at the gate before the flight is called for boarding, and you will be given a new ticket and boarding pass.”
“Great. Thanks very much.”
“Have a good flight, Mr. Klein.”
Jake decided to take advantage of the free Wi-Fi in the lounge to check his email. He deleted all the unsolicited junk mail and texts, and quickly replied to a couple of friends, including one from Kelly. Have to deal with that, but not long distance. That left two more emails—one from Professor Carter, and one from Leah.
The one from Carter was brief:
HOPE TRIP WAS PRODUCTIVE. HOW ABOUT AN UPDATE?
MATT.
His reply was equally short:
VERY. DETAILED WRITTEN REPORT FOR YOU ON MY RETURN.
JK.
The email from Leah was in typical Leah fashion:
HEY BABY BRO, HAVEN’T HEARD FROM YOU IN A WHILE. ARE YOU JOINING US FOR THANKSGIVING? YOUR ROOM AWAITS YOU. LET ME KNOW. HOPE ALL IS WELL. LOVE YOU, SIS.
Jake fired off a quick reply:
PERFECT TIMING. YES. JUST BOARDING LUFTHANSA FLIGHT 6743 FRANKFURT TO DULLES. CAN SOMEONE PICK ME UP WHEN I LAND? I KNOW, I KNOW—WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING IN FRANKFURT? FLIGHT BEING CALLED. WILL EXPLAIN IN PERSON. JK.
JAKE HAD STOWED HIS bags in the overhead bin, fastened the seat belt in his aisle seat, and closed his eyes when he heard the soft voice: “Excuse me. I believe that’s my seat.”
Jake opened his eyes. “I’m sorry,” Jake said. “Perhaps I misread my ticket.”
“No, no,” she smiled. “I mean the seat next to you, by the window. I’m sorry to disturb you.”
“Not at all.” Jake unfastened his belt and moved out into the aisle. “Can I help you store your wheelie?”
“How kind, but I can manage it. Thank you, though.” The young woman stowed her bag and stepped through to the inside seat.”
She was quite an eyeful—long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and dressed in tight jeans, boots, and a sweater that showed off her features.
“Hi, name’s Jake. Jake Klein. Friends call me JK.”
She nodded slightly, but didn’t say anything.
Jake wasn’t prepared to give up that easily. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said. “What’s your name?” he asked.
“My name’s Anya.” That was all she said. No last name. Nothing else. She didn’t seem interested in making conversation.
Jake reminded himself this was a long flight.
JAKE STOOD UP AND stretched after the “Fasten Seatbelts” lights were turned off. He pulled his laptop down from his stowed backpack and tried to outline the report he would be writing to Professor Carter. It was no use. He couldn’t concentrate.
After a while, he gave up, closed the file, and clicked on the ebook reader on the laptop to a novel he had started on the way over to Kazakhstan. It was easier than trying to work on his report.
“May I ask what you’re reading?” Anya said to Jake.
“The Eighth Sister,” Jake replied. “Do you know it?”
“I think I do. It’s by Robert Dugoni, right?”
“Yes. Have you read it?”
“I have, because it takes place both in my home country, and in the country in which I am now going to study for a year. I think Mr. Dugoni is a good writer. The Eighth Sister is an exciting story.”
“Oh, I think he’s an okay writer,” Jake said. Actually, I really like Dugoni and know the sequel will be released next year. “But I’m more interested to know how you speak English so well if your home is Russia?”
“That’s very kind of you to say, but my English is not very good at all. I am a language major. I have been in Germany the last year practicing my German. I will now be in the U.S. for the next year working on my English. Then I will return home to Russia.”
JK's Code (Brooks/Lotello Thriller Book 4) Page 7