Eisenhower widened his stance. “I would suggest we hand this breach off to the Marshals and get you back to your assignment. Thing is, you’re the most qualified person in DHS to lead an investigation of this magnitude. Plus the hack poses an imminent threat to lives, making it a top priority. As of now, you’ve got lead if you want it.”
Sean suppressed a victorious smile. Even with Eisenhower’s blessing, that didn’t mean Sean was in. He was part of the C3 elite Cyber Crime Unit that included ICE, FBI, DHS agents, and Deputy U.S. Marshals located in D.C., with additional agents embedded in law enforcement offices all across the country. Sean was sure the Marshals would fight for lead on a hack of one of their databases.
He sat forward. “You think the head honchos at the Marshals Service will go for that? I wouldn’t if I were them. I’d do anything to be the one to apprehend the criminal who threatened my witnesses.”
“It’s my job to convince them that you’re better than any of their staff, and it’s in their best interests to let our team handle the breach.” Eisenhower’s persuasive skills exceeded any Sean had witnessed before. Odds were good that Eisenhower would make that happen. Still, there was bound to be tension with the Marshals.
“I’ll cancel your training for tomorrow so you can focus on this,” Eisenhower added. They’d traveled from D.C. to Seattle to do a West Coast training on detecting cyber intrusions, ironic considering this situation. “And I’ll get the access you need when I notify the Marshals Service of the breach.”
Sean gave a clipped nod. “Any idea how long that will take?”
Eisenhower glanced at his watch. “I’ll start at the top, but at this time of night, I’ll have to hunt someone down. They’ll have to do the same thing. And so on. You know the drill. The big machine never moves as fast as we would like.”
Frustration had Sean shooting to his feet. These witnesses were counting on him now. Him! He couldn’t let them down. “Lives are depending on us moving faster. At a minimum we need to contact the database administrator and have it taken offline before additional data is stolen.”
“Then I need to get to it.”
“After I have access to the files and have a handle on the size of the problem, I’ll let you know the resources I’ll need beyond the RED team.” Sean was already thinking about assigning tasks to his teammates on the Rapid Emergency Deployment team, fellow FBI agent Kiley Dawson, Deputy U.S. Marshal Mack Jordan, and FBI Analyst Cameron Linn. They were already at the hotel, but he would get them back to the office ASAP.
“Be sure you’re only working this investigation, not the Montgomery Three case.” Eisenhower eyed Sean.
“Understood.” Sean lifted his shoulders into a firm line until his boss walked away, then his thoughts shifted to the Montgomery Three investigation where the team had failed big-time. After months of work, they were still unsuccessful in locating three abducted teens in Montgomery, Alabama. Becky, Felisha, and Izzie—girls just learning who they were and beginning to discover who they might be—were still missing.
Was it over for them? Were they alive and waiting for Sean to find them?
He should have worked harder. Smarter. Faster. Before Eisenhower pulled the plug and closed the investigation. Everyone on the team was still bitter about how things went down and couldn’t leave it alone. How could they when the faces of these innocent girls haunted their dreams?
Sure, Eisenhower had forbidden them to work on the case. So what? The missing teens still needed them, and they wouldn’t give up until the girls were found. The team got together off-site each week to work old leads. Eisenhower knew what was going on, yet he’d turned a blind eye.
But now? With this hack? That changed things. Heads would roll if he caught them even talking about the Montgomery Three during this investigation.
No matter. If a lead turned up, Sean wouldn’t promise not to talk about it.
But now he needed to get moving on the hack. Discover the list of vulnerable witnesses and make sure they were protected. He glanced at his watch. Nine-thirty. No biggie. The team remained on call twenty-four seven and would respond.
He grabbed his phone and tapped the keys.
Urgent. New assignment. Report to office immediately. Confirm text received.
The affirmative responses came quickly, and his teammates arrived within thirty minutes. Looking wide-eyed and alert, Kiley was the first one through the door to the small room. Not unusual for the team night owl.
“You look jazzed about this assignment.” She dropped her computer case on the desk and twisted her dark, nearly black shoulder-length hair into a bun and stabbed in a pencil to hold it in place. Her working mode, she always said.
She eyed him. “Well, what are you waiting for? Tell me about it.”
Excitement over a new challenge hummed through his veins. He wanted to share, but they were a team. That meant not showing her favor and letting her in on it early simply because she was a longtime friend. “We’ll wait until the others get here.”
“Aw, come on.” She dropped into a chair and pulled an energy bar from the pocket of her cargo pants. “We’ve been friends for years. You can tell me.”
“Nice try, but no.” He smiled at her but wouldn’t give in. “This is so big I want everyone to hear it at the same time.”
She chomped a bite of her bar and crossed her arms, chewing and staring at him. She liked to control every little thing and being in the dark about their assignment put her on edge, but he couldn’t help that. He had to be the kind of leader he always knew he would be once given the chance. One who played fair.
Sporting a frown and rubbing his eyes, Mack entered the room. He held a can of Red Bull, his go-to drink, which was crazy if you asked Sean. Mack was always on the move and looking for a thrill—he didn’t need the help of stimulants.
“This better be important.” The words dragged out in his deep Texas drawl. He dropped onto a chair as if he had all the time in the world, and his long legs stretched out making the small computer room feel even smaller.
“It’s important.” Sean left it at that even though he wanted to say more. He and Mack had been in competition since the day they’d met, and Mack repeatedly pushed Sean’s buttons, leaving constant tension between them.
Scratching his full beard and yawning, Cam strolled in. “Figures. I decide I’m finally going to get to bed at a decent time tonight and then you call.”
“Define decent.” Mack lifted the Red Bull to his mouth and chugged.
“Midnight,” Cam said.
“Nothing decent about that.” Mack propped his scuffed cowboy boots on a chair. They looked like he’d just climbed off a horse at one of the rodeos he occasionally entered.
“Right, I forgot. Old men like you need far more sleep.” Cam laughed and perched on the desk. “And energy drinks to keep up with the rest of us.”
Kiley frowned at them. “Give it a rest, guys. Sean has something important to tell us.”
Sean would like to think she was trying to help him out, but in fact she’d spent more of her life with computers than people and didn’t like small talk and was moving them on.
He looked around to be sure no deputies were within hearing range. “It goes without saying that this is for your ears only. At 20:00 I discovered that someone hacked the WITSEC database and confirmed that they’re selling witnesses’ data on the dark web for ten grand each.”
Kiley shot up in her chair. “Seriously? For real? Hacked?”
“Seriously.”
“Man.” Cam shoved a hand in his dirty-blond hair, already a tangled mess. “On a difficulty scale of one to ten, hacking that system is like, what, a twenty? Not many people could do that. Besides me, of course.” He puffed up his chest and grinned. Cam was easy to work with, but he made sure people recognized his skills. Sean believed it came from Cam being the middle child in a family of five.
“No kidding. It’s a stellar hack,” Kiley said, awestruck. “Could be his motive for doing
it. Just to say he could. Well, that and the money he’s making from selling the data. That’s a hefty price for one record.”
“Agreed,” Sean said. “But I figure the hacker’s testing the waters with this amount and will adjust as time goes on.”
Mack dropped his boots to the floor to sit forward. “Please tell me we got the assignment and we’re gonna go after the jerk who did this.”
“We did, and we are.”
Kiley clasped the arms of her chair. “And you’re taking lead?”
“I am.” Sean glanced at Mack and found the frown he expected.
“So where do we start, boss?” Kiley asked.
Sean explained the details of how he’d discovered the hack. “Eisenhower is obtaining access to the logs, and until then we can only speculate on an action plan. But we all know gaining access to a tightly controlled database like this one is only possible with inside help.”
“Something we need to watch for in reviewing the files.” Kiley took another bite of her energy bar and chewed thoughtfully.
“Either way, it’s the work of an extremely sophisticated hacker,” Cam said.
Sean agreed. But who? “There’s only one hacker I can think of who could pull this off.”
“Phantom,” Kiley said.
“I’d love to have a crack at nailing him.” Cam’s eyes narrowed. “He’s been on the top of C3’s most-wanted list for years. Seriously, the only thing they have on him after all that time is a witness sighting of a man fleeing a raided warehouse in Philadelphia where they found Phantom’s hard drives and the partner Phantom’s suspected of murdering.”
“Been a while since we worked an investigation where a hacker turned killer,” Kiley said. “They’re few and far between.”
Sean nodded. “It’s also been a while since we went after a seriously paranoid hacker like Phantom. This guy gives paranoia a new meaning.”
Kiley frowned. “He thought the partner was trying to take over when in fact the partner hadn’t done anything wrong.”
“I heard something happened in his childhood to make him this way.” Mack rubbed a hand over his wide jaw covered in whiskers, a ruddy red that matched his hair. “And he thinks everyone’s out to get him. He’s tuned in to even the remotest possibility of that and is ruthless when it comes to someone betraying him. Which is why we don’t know more about him.”
“What information did the recovered drives contain?” Kiley asked.
“Nothing of value in the hacking world.” Frustration deepened Cam’s voice. “He had a disk-wiping program running. By the time techs arrived on-scene there was virtually zero hacking info left to find. They did gather communications where Phantom calls out this partner and threatens his life. Agents tried to track the communications, but it didn’t lead anywhere.”
“Go ahead and get his physical description for me,” Sean said. “It’s at least something to start with.”
Sean turned to Mack. “Once Cam obtains Phantom’s file, check to see if they ran a ViCAP search on the murder. If not, run a current search and get the particulars entered. Maybe we’ll come up with a similar murder.”
Sean didn’t need to explain ViCAP to Mack or anyone on the team. They were all familiar with the FBI’s database designed to track and correlate violent crime information, especially murder. Current cases could be compared to others to see if their killer had struck before.
Finally looking alert, Mack set down his Red Bull can. “We should also consider witnesses in WITSEC. The majority of them were engaged in criminal behavior before they entered the program. It’s not farfetched to think they might exploit their situation.”
“Yeah. I can see that,” Sean said. “Someone with strong hacking skills forms a grudge against the deputy assigned to them or simply hates their new life.”
Kiley’s eyebrows rose. “And that’s a recipe for someone motivated to breach the system.”
“Hang on. I’ll check for any witnesses whose past crimes involved hacking.” Sean logged into the WITSEC database and searched for anyone fitting the criteria. Several names populated the screen, but he quickly reviewed the details of their crimes and there was only one person with the skills to perform such a difficult hack. “One name fits the bill. A Dustee Carr, currently located in Portland, Oregon.”
“Portland.” Mack arched an eyebrow. “That’s a three-hour drive at max. We can interview her while we wait for database access.”
“I’ll go.” The thrill of the hunt had Sean sitting forward, and he scanned Dustee’s case notes. “Check this out. She once partnered with the FBI in an undercover sting to bring in Phantom.”
Kiley leaned forward as well. “What happened?”
“She came close to infiltrating his organization, but he caught on to her and threatened her life.”
“After he brutally murdered his partner, there’s no doubt he’d follow through and kill her,” Kiley said.
“Is that why she’s in witness protection?” Cam asked.
“Yes.” Sean turned to the team. “A connection to Phantom and WITSEC with the same person? That’s highly suspicious.”
Mack scowled. “Phantom could have her on his payroll. Offer her more money than she’d ever see in a legitimate enterprise. The whole WITSEC thing could be a smoke screen for her to help him gain access to the database.”
“I need to head to Portland right away,” Sean said.
“Good luck with that.” Kiley shook her head. “If you want to talk to her, you’ll need permission from the deputy in charge of her security, and that’ll likely take a VIP to approve.”
“We’ll see.” He turned back to the screen to access the deputy’s contact information. He took one look at the data and sat back, stunned.
“No. No way, Sean Nichols.” Kiley scooted her chair forward. “Don’t you gape at the screen like that and not say anything.” She pushed past him to view the record. “It’s Taylor? The deputy is Taylor Mills?”
“Yeah,” Sean said, trying to make sense of it. “What’re the odds of us knowing the deputy in charge of this suspect’s protection?”
Cam shifted, planting his tactical boots firmly on the floor. “She was a big help on the Montgomery Three investigation—getting Harold Wilson settled safely in Portland and keeping him alive.” Their prime witness in the investigation feared the person who abducted the girls would come after him, and he refused to talk until he was placed into witness protection.
“She’s the best of the best.” A fond smile erased Mack’s scowl. “That’s why I asked Eisenhower to have Wilson put under her protection in Portland.”
Taylor and Mack had been friends since deputy training academy, so of course he would recommend her when they’d needed to place Wilson somewhere safe. But friends or not, Sean had agreed that her stellar qualifications and record made her the right deputy to take on Wilson’s protection. And she had the necessary clearance to be read-in on the investigation and become a temporary member of the RED team so she could help coordinate between the team and Wilson for the duration of the investigation.
Sean had formed a virtual friendship with her during the investigation, and they’d kept it going. Yet he’d never met her in person. Never talked to her. Mack handled all of that. Sean had never even laid eyes on a picture of her, despite the many times he was tempted to find one, but they’d agreed not to do so. To remain semi-anonymous. An odd relationship to be sure, but it was working.
“Want me to give her a call and tell her you’re on the way?” Mack asked.
“No!”
Kiley’s eyebrow rose nearly to her hairline, and she gave him one of her famous interrogating stares.
Sean had kept his relationship with Taylor from them because of his unease with Mack, and Sean didn’t need them to discover it now. If it got back to Eisenhower, Sean would be off the investigation without question. No way he would let that happen.
He took a breath to calm his nerves. “You can’t tell her about the hack on
an unsecured line, and I don’t want her sitting for hours and wondering what I need from her.”
Mack nodded, but a frown said he didn’t much agree with Sean’s plan.
Sean tried to turn his thoughts back to the investigation, but all he could think about was heading to Portland to see Taylor.
Taylor.
He lived in D.C. She lived in Portland. He never expected to meet her face-to-face.
Never.
Well, that was about to change.
“I’ll get that file you need, but it’ll take all of an hour, if that long,” Cam said, already sounding bored. “What else do you want us to do while you’re gone?”
“Would be good if you familiarized yourself with the WITSEC program. That way, when we get access to the logs and code, we’ll be a step ahead.”
“And the training tomorrow?” Kiley asked.
“Eisenhower’s canceling it.” Sean stood. “Hang tight while I request your access to the database.”
The Assistant Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal was burning the midnight oil, and Sean went to his office to arrange the necessary permissions, all the while his thoughts remaining on Taylor.
He really would see her. Unbelievable.
He imagined stepping into her office. Saying hello. Her surprise. Would it be a good surprise for her or a bad one? He really didn’t know. It was odd to even think about seeing her. She’d probably have the same reaction.
She seemed to get him in a way no one else did, and he’d shared personal things that he hadn’t told a living soul. A cold ball of dread formed in his stomach, and he grabbed a roll of antacids he made sure to carry in his pocket since the failed Montgomery Three investigation. He popped a minty tablet into his mouth and chewed.
Could he even look at her and not think about all he’d shared? He hadn’t yet given her details, but he alluded to things he’d hidden from so many others. His mother’s habitual lying. Her betrayal of everything a mother stood for. His fiancée’s recent affair with his best friend, confirming for him that almost everyone lied, or if they didn’t, he lacked the ability to figure out which people didn’t and had the misfortune of surrounding himself with people who did.
Seconds to Live Page 2