“Devon really is a talented, or dangerous hacker, depending on your point of view. He had found the unit you served with when you disappeared. There was no trace of evidence from your MIA so it seemed suspicious. As a result, Devon was tracking the movements of what he thought was your former unit. He started to get suspicious of your commander, this Jaber, you mentioned.”
Pele answered, “Really? He tracked me down to where I served in Jaber’s unit. Wow. Why was he suspicious of Jaber?”
“I wouldn’t say ‘was,’ ‘is’ is more accurate. Jaber’s correspondence with his relatives outside seemed benign enough, but Devon thought he started to notice patterns. Then he was sure it was some kind of code. He and Rane had been working on breaking the code when we got the news of your return.”
“Devon has access to where Jaber was sending messages? That alone could be very valuable. I need to talk to Devon right away.”
Keece answered, “How about tomorrow? I’ll take you to the training center where the children are all getting specialized tutoring. I hired a former Navy Seal to mastermind their training, Drew Johnson. I think you’ll like him.”
She added with a hint of sarcasm, “This may surprise you, but some of the children—Cole’s, Radi’s and ours—seem to have some pretty remarkable talents.”
Pele seemed to consciously not react, “Really?”
Keece started tickling him, “Oh don’t act all innocent, I know all about CodeY. Poor Cole was the only one left to keep that secret and was quite relieved to hear I knew!”
Pele, squirming and giggling, but still a little concerned, “How did you know?”
Keece, “Well, luckily, I caught our two primary snoops before they got to reading the file, but Devon and Rane basically led me to it.”
Pele was a little shocked, “Oh wow, I’m very glad you found it and not them.” He paused and then asked nervously, “Are you mad at me for the whole craziness? You know I never took it very seriously. The only serious part was how in love I was with you.”
Keece kissed him, “Fortunately, your friend Cole filled me in. And got me our money back! For so many years, I thought you took it and I struggled. I’m telling you, it’s a good thing Radi’s dead, or I might have killed him!”
“Oh my God Keece. I can’t believe he did this to us. Maybe if I hadn’t been so against leaving you, Radi wouldn’t have come up with such a crazy scheme, but I’m still angry with him, both of them.”
Pele still could not believe his friends were capable of the cruelty of their actions.
“Forgive Cole,” Keece said gently. “He got caught up in Radi’s web. I think he sincerely tried to stop Radi. And neither one of them imagined you would go MIA. That was the unfortunate wrinkle that completely screwed up Radi’s plan.”
“Yes, but Radi still should have never done it. I know they were both going through some rough times with Radi’s recent divorce and Cole newly separated, but still…I’ll let it go with Cole since he did try to stop it, but it was a pretty horrendous experience for all of us. And if there’s an afterlife, and I run into Radi…well, let’s just say that might not go well for him.” Pele’s voice was laden with the anger of missing his family all those years.
“So, tell me more about this crazy tutoring scheme you’ve got going,” he deftly changed the subject to happier thoughts.
Chapter 14
Pele slipped out of bed. He still had trouble sleeping some nights after his return. His thoughts seemed to jump from the unbelievable happiness of being back with Keece and his children, to concerns about military maneuvers.
He sat where he could watch Keece sleep and also gaze out at the night sky through the window on the far side of her. He often spent many hours just watching her, amazed that he once again had the opportunity to share his life with her. He would never let a day go by again without showing her how happy he was to be back by her side. He’d had eight horrible years of hardship and loneliness, but he felt very fortunate now to have her and his wonderful family back.
He wanted nothing more than to protect them, to ensure their safety and happiness. His thoughts jumped back to his military pursuits and concerns. The military had given him back pay for the eight years he was considered MIA. They also were quick to offer him a position at DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, where they had been continuing the equipment development, he had started over twenty years ago. Now that he also had field experience using the gear, he was especially valuable to the development team. He told them he would think about it, but right now, he simply needed time off to spend with his family. But the opportunity kept lurking in the back of his mind, especially as he heard more rumors about ISEX rallying forces and recruiting more and more into their cult-like training.
He had also connected with Devon on getting more information about Jaber. Devon showed Pele some of the patterns he saw in Jaber’s messages that had raised his suspicions.
“Do you mind if I share this information with the Defense Department? They may have more pieces of the puzzle that could help us break the code,” Pele asked Devon, knowing he did not really need his permission, but he wanted Devon’s support, and potentially his involvement.
“No,” Devon responded cautiously. “Not as long as I can still be involved. Can I see the information they have?”
“I can’t promise they can share everything, but I’ll do my best to get you as much as possible.” Pele continued with a wry smile, “It might mean I have to accept the job they offered me.”
They both chuckled, knowing the military would be much more forthcoming if they could get Pele back working for them.
“Right?! You sure you’re ready to give up your free time?” Devon asked, teasing Pele.
Pele had been making the most of his time off. He was thoroughly enjoying spending time going to soccer games, polo matches, car races, school activities, anything to spend time with his family. He could not help but feel guilty about all the hardships Keece and the children had endured while he was away. He’d had no idea his friends had also hidden all their money. He totally adored Keece before his false arrest, but now, knowing all she had given up to support the family and make sure the children thrived, made him love her even more. He did everything he could now to try to make it up to her, to make her life easier, even in small ways.
It was strange, and, if he was honest, somewhat of a relief that Radi was gone. Pele was not sure how he would have handled seeing him. He was very angry at Radi. He knew Radi was the mastermind. Pele could not get over how unbelievably cruel the whole scheme had been.
Cole had called Pele shortly after his return. He told Pele he understood if Pele never forgave him. But he wanted Pele to know how terrible he felt about all that had happened, and that he would never forgive himself. He wished desperately he had tried harder to stop Radi. Cole also expressed how much he had missed Pele, and how much he appreciated Keece and all she was doing for the kids. Pele could not bring himself to forgive Cole on the spot, but he missed him. He believed in time he would forgive and reconnect with Cole. But not yet, he wasn’t ready yet.
The tutoring program was in full swing now. Pele jumped in and helped as much as he could, so he too got to see the talents of all the children. As much as he regretted CodeY, he could see it had been effective in creating some very special, incredibly talented children. Every parent thinks their children are especially gifted, but Pele could see that these all had some real talents.
Several weeks after Pele’s homecoming, Rane had one of her big games in the Junior World’s tournament. The team lost, which was a great disappointment, but the worst part was how Rane had played.
Pele talked to Keece about the game later that night, “I feel so bad for Rane, but it seemed like she was really off her game. And the team didn’t look nearly as in sync as I’ve seen them in practice.”
Keece replied gently, “Do you think the problem could have anything to do with her trying too hard to impress her
father?”
Pele, surprised by this, “Me?”
“Yes,” replied Keece with a slight smile, “She never normally tries to be the star of a play. She often is, simply because of her skills, but she normally will not dominate the ball at all. She can’t afford to really. If the other teams think she’ll dominate the play they start to slide tackle her, and she’s not strong enough relative to the boys to take much of that. I honestly think she was trying too hard to show you how well she plays, and that’s what threw off the team.”
It had not occurred to Pele that he could be part of the problem, “I never thought of that, but you might be right.”
He kissed Keece on the cheek and then went to find Rane, who was moping in the living room, studying tapes of the competitive teams.
Pele interrupted her reverie, “You haven’t had enough soccer for one day?”
“No,” responded Rane in a pouty, frustrated tone.
Pele, trying to speak gently so as not to upset her further, “Honey, I know it was a big match, and you tried very hard to win.”
“I played horrible and may have ruined our chance to win the whole tournament!” Rane exclaimed.
Pele, more firmly now, “Well, first of all, it can’t be all your fault. It is a team effort after all. Why do you think you played poorly?”
Rane in tears now, “I don’t know. I wanted so badly to play well today, but the harder I tried, the worse everything went! I was so hoping you’d see how well I could play, but instead I was terrible!”
“You don't need to impress me. I’m already impressed with how awesome you are. You’re smart, a good person, beautiful, and an incredible player. I don’t know if you noticed, but there aren’t any other women out there who can keep up with the boys. You are incredible.
And even if you were a lousy soccer player, I would still be impressed and love you to death,” Pele replied warmly.
Rane cried more and buried her face in his chest.
Pele, holding her tight, “Do you know what happened once when I tried to impress your mother?”
Rane, smiling now, “No.”
“I fell off a horse,” he answered, shaking his head and smiling at the bad memory. “Let’s just say it was not one of my finer moments.”
Rane, relaxing some now said, “Do tell.”
Pele rolled his eyes and tried to squirm his way out of recounting the story, “I think I’ll let your mother tell you that one.”
Rane, having none of it, “Oh no, I think I should get your version first and then ask Mom.”
“You sound like you’re trying to get me into some kind of trouble!” exclaimed Pele as he started to tickle her. She struggled back. He marveled at how strong she’d gotten. To help protect himself and control her wiggling, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder.
“Wow, you’re a lot bigger than you used to be!” he exclaimed as he hoisted her up.
“With much longer arms!” squealed Rane as she reached down and started pinching his butt.
“Hey!” Pele cried out. And they both collapsed into the couch laughing.
“Rane,” Pele said in a more serious tone, “I just want you to know that no matter if you have one bad game or a zillion, I know you are a fabulous player. You are an incredible motivator and leader for that team. You’re the conductor and inspiration. Let the other teams dance to your music.”
“Thanks Dad. It’s great to have you home,” Rane said sincerely.
Chapter 15
Rane played better in the next game, but her team had to work their way back up to get into the finals. For one clutch semi-final game she plotted with the coach to take her out—supposedly because she was “injured” and not playing well—but the real reason was that the other team was so geared at stopping her and the way her team operated off her cues, that she knew it would completely throw them off their game plan if she wasn’t in. She still strategized and helped her team from the sidelines through their earphone system. The ploy worked perfectly, and they won easily. After the win, Rane’s team was officially in the finals. They were headed to Saudi Arabia where the finals were being played.
The news media went crazy. A woman in the Men's Junior World Soccer Championships! Countries from all over the world complained and threatened to boycott, but FIFA stood behind Rane, saying she would not be competing if she had not been on the winning team.
During the lead up to the finals, Pele had told DARPA he would work again on the weapons projects, but not until after the Championship matches. He would start once those were over. In the meantime, he had told his former commanders about Devon’s success at hacking Jaber’s emails. The military already had access to most of them but had not noticed the patterns Devon was seeing. They shared all the intel they had on Jaber, which was minimal, but enough for Devon, with a little help from Rane and Sanji, their linguist expert, to figure out a decoding system. Messages sent to two “family members” in particular were clearly communicating military secrets when decoded.
Tracking down where the emails were being sent, Devon started hacking into servers and systems that appeared to lead to ISEX users. As Devon decoded and Sanji translated the messages, it seemed clear there were communications between members of ISEX military operation.
Pele had already been talking with Drew Johnson about his experiences fighting in Jaber’s unit. Drew was a former Navy Seal, familiar and interested in military actions and events. Pele decided to talk with Drew about Devon’s recent findings. They started to track ISEX’s activities and compare them with the messages Devon and Sanji were intercepting. It soon became clear the messages were accurate indicators of ISEX’s actions.
They continued to monitor the messages closely. Devon, reviewing some of Sanji’s recently translated messages, called Pele over, “Pele I think you should see this. It seems like ISEX is getting ready to launch some major attack, something big that they have been preparing for many years.”
Pele leaned over and scanned the messages, and then started reading them more carefully, “You’re definitely right. It seems like they are referring to the components of a major plan coming together. Do you see anything about a time or place?”
Devon continued to study more messages, “I haven’t yet, but Sanji is still translating a bunch of emails I recently decoded. We’ll likely get more info with those.”
As he finished, Sanji walked into the room with the next batch of translated messages, “Oh, you’re not going to like this.” he commented gravely.
Pele looked up sharply. Sanji pointed to an exchange that clearly stated that the “big event” would take place soon. The time and place were the end of the Men’s Junior Soccer Championship’s final game. Symbolic because of ISEX’s stance against women’s rights. The whole world would be watching.
The blood slowly drained from Pele’s face. He was horrified. He could not pull Rane out. That would be a victory for the opposition. Besides, it was not going to stop ISEX. If not this event, they would pick another. Of course, his whole family and many of their friends were attending.
Cole and Pele were on amiable terms again. Cole booked flights last week for his family. Even Ava was going. Now that the children were a little more manageable, and Cole was working again, the two of them seemed to be communicating better. Too early to tell if it would lead anywhere, but it was good for the children to see their parents talking instead of fighting.
Devon had also asked to go, so Keece had checked with Sophie to see if all her children could go. Drew Johnson and one of his assistants were going too, to help organize the crew.
Pele did not want to involve the children any more than absolutely necessary with his concerns about the battle and ISEX. Devon and Sanji obviously knew because of their work helping break the codes, but Pele quickly swore both of them to secrecy. Pele did not want word to get out about the battle being set for Rane’s soccer match finals until they had a plan.
Pele found Drew to talk strategy. “We
don’t know exactly what ISEX has planned. Devon and Sanji are trying to get more information, but so far, we know the information Devon’s been getting by accessing Jaber’s messages has been pretty accurate. We’re hoping they don’t suspect we can do this, or who knows, they might have started giving us fake messages, but they seem real, especially with the amount of decoding and translating we have to do. Devon also got into another ISEX guy’s computer through Jaber’s messaging trail. We can’t tell for sure, but this guy seems to be Jaber’s CO. Unfortunately, the two of them only have limited levels of clearance and ISEX appears to be keeping the details of this operation tightly controlled. Devon’s working on getting in through another avenue, but no luck yet.”
Drew, “Do you think we’re ready to alert the military about this?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. I haven’t ruled it out, but I think we should be careful. If we give them enough information, ISEX might figure out how we found out, which will not only shut down our lines of communication, but, if they trace the leak back to us, might also endanger us all.”
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