Netminder

by Jeff Adams

  Traffic was light, so the ride to the park was easy. I locked up the bike and helmet on the first rack I found. I wasted no time in getting the sunglasses and hat on.

  A playground at one corner had the most activity with younger kids having afterschool playtime. Elsewhere some people my age or older played Frisbee and others walked around with dogs or in small groups talking. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

  I went to an empty picnic table and was happy to see someone else with their laptop and a coffee preferring the fall afternoon outdoors to being in a coffee shop. It made it less weird that I pulled my laptop out.

  I planned to spend thirty to forty-five minutes in the park seeing if I could infiltrate the building and affect a rescue. I wanted Mitch free. While they could recapture him, I hoped that he’d be safe with Boston police back home.

  I’d used Google Street View to examine the building and surroundings as best as I could before I left the hotel and luckily nothing had changed since Google’s last drive-by. Three plain stories with tinted windows—a drab office building. No exterior signage save for the address stenciled on the glass over the door. The front door was steel with no window and a simple handle. As I passed on my bike, I saw a keypad as well. That small detail wasn’t on Google.

  I had tried to get Street View for around the building, but apparently the Google car hadn’t gone down the alleys on the side or back of the building. The satellite view didn’t provide useful details.

  What was going on inside? The lenses could help figure this out. I accessed the menu and viewed the electrical currents.

  Out here there were a lot of currents to see from the buildings, traffic signals, underground and above ground electrical wires, and even the tiny energy readings from cell phones and other devices in people’s pockets. I went back to the menu and selected the zoom option.

  Zoom was my least favorite mode. It was bizarre having my vision get closer to something without moving. The lens design let me draw a box around the part I wanted closeup, and it would come forward. Everything else stayed as it would normally appear, letting agents keep their peripheral vision. I found it disorienting, but the field testers reported liking it.

  The building used a tremendous amount of electricity, particularly the back half of the first floor. Perhaps it was some sort of data center. I couldn’t see exactly what was happening, but it looked like electricity flowed to things that were stacked up, which would be consistent with server racks. The rest of the building had a more standard flow, with what was likely electrical outlets and lighting.

  More important to me than the energy flow was data. I switched the lens from looking at energy to fiber optics. The amount of fiber optic activity on the first floor validated my hypothesis on the energy usage—it had to be a cluster of servers. Were they running the internet disruptions from here? Or was this something else? TOS kept its systems distributed around the world, so this could be one part of an elaborate network.

  Next, I looked at the Wi-Fi signals. The building was covered in it—all one network, but there were six repeaters on each floor. I didn’t see spots with no coverage.

  Since I’d taken possession of these new lenses a few weeks ago, I used this function a lot. Studying Wi-Fi networks in public spaces fascinated me, especially seeing the names they had. Every time I found an unsecure one, I fought the urge to tell the owner to fix that. So many networks crossed my vision now, but it was easy to home in on the one that I wanted because of the built-in color coding—each network had its own color.

  The lenses gathered information about the hubs, so I had the names and IP addresses. Combining the Wi-Fi and fiber optic information, I could see how it all worked together from a single source.

  I didn’t want to connect to any of the Wi-Fi hubs. Blackbird no doubt had those well secured.

  Getting inside the building was the way to go. I could get Mitch out and then find a place to hardwire into their system.

  Returning the contacts to normal vision, I connected the laptop to the park’s Wi-Fi and made the computer look like it was in Kansas City. This would be easier if I could see the data flow as I worked, so I engaged that on my left eye while leaving my right with normal vision. I stared at the building and waited for my eyes to adjust.

  I found a second data connection I hadn’t seen originally because it had far less traffic. Another IP came into the building and didn’t appear to go into the main servers, but it did run throughout the building. I sent in some bots to explore the new address, which was an open connection.

  Security used this, and it was connected to cameras, card readers, and a couple of fingerprint readers.

  Perfect.

  I discovered the master security control panel. Why this was accessible from the outside baffled me, but doors could be accidentally left ajar and I was lucky enough to find this one.

  Or maybe luck had nothing to do with it. A trap, perhaps?

  They wanted me here and maybe they thought I’d walk in the front door. But I had no intention of turning myself over without knowing Mitch was safe. So, it didn’t matter why this loophole existed because I had no choice but to exploit it.

  Dozens of security cameras covered the building inside and out. I brought up a grid of those to look around. Immediately I looked close at the external cameras and breathed a sigh of relief that I was not on camera from my position in the park. The cameras mostly watched over the immediate sidewalk around the building. Inside a single larger room ten people worked—some at whiteboards and others at terminals. Elsewhere I found a couple of dozen other people in smaller groups. I didn’t see Westside anywhere. Of course there could be an area with no cameras and lots more people, but given the data, it didn’t seem likely. I studied each room with people individually.

  Mitch!

  I’d envisioned him being bound to a chair with a gag stuffed in his mouth—a byproduct of too many movies. Instead he paced a small room. He sported a swollen eye and a cut on his cheek that had a butterfly bandage on it. That must’ve happened in the fight Westside had alluded to.

  Where was he in the building? There were no windows in his room, so he’d be on an interior hallway or facing the building next door.

  Looking through the control interface I found a floor plan that indicated camera location. Camera H35 was on the second floor. Now I had a map of the building. With the TOS phone, I snapped pictures of the floor plans. There were two exterior doors, the one in the front, facing the street and one in the far back corner. The map let me confirm that there were few spots inside the building that weren’t covered by cameras.

  What was on the roof? The building next door was tall enough and close enough that I could jump over if there was an entry up there.

  I pulled up Google Satellite. With the image I could line up what I saw on the roof with the plans I’d acquired and find a way in.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE BUILDING next door to Blackbird was full of professional offices, and it was easy to walk in and go upstairs. The guard didn’t seem to care where I was going, which was perfect.

  The stairs went up to the roof where the door was ajar. I expected maybe an alarmed door, some kind of fire exit. Of course, this door could be like this all the time. I took a breath, ready to deal with whoever I might find on the other side.

  Apparently, the roof was an often-used area. A place for smokers stood away from the door with a couple of ash cans. A small deck sat to one side, complete with a pergola and two picnic tables. Thankfully no one was on break. I didn’t want an audience who might call the cops on the kid jumping between buildings.

  The gap between the buildings was about ten feet and from this high my heart leapt in my chest a little bit as I surveyed the space. It’d been a long time since I had to do a long jump, probably back in elementary school phys ed. I knew a guy on the McKinley track team who long jumped twenty plus feet. Surely, I could do half since falling three stories wasn’t something I wanted to
try. I’d been getting some TOS field training over the past year, and I mentally added some instruction on this kind of scenario to my to-do list.

  My heart thumped hard as I backed up to get a running start. I took off, ran a dozen or so feet, and leapt right at the edge, pushing off as hard as I could with my right foot.

  Crossing the gap, I swallowed a scream. I thought about contestants on American Ninja Warrior who misstepped and ended up in the water.

  I hit the roof on the other side, bending my legs to absorb some of the impact. Once I stopped, I exhaled in relief.

  As I’d seen on the satellite view, there was a small, closet-sized area where the door went into one of the main staircases. Hopefully it was unguarded—and no one was on a break.

  Adjusting the lenses, I went to heat-vision mode to see if anyone would appear. This function had given us the most trouble to implement, especially when used outdoors. I quickly saw what they meant because there were patterns all over my vision and none of them looked like a person. Clearly still a work-in-progress. Exiting from heat vision, I moved across the roof as stealthily as I could. Each time my shoes crunched on the tar and gravel surface, I flinched and tried to walk lighter.

  “Stop where you are.” The voice came from my left, and I froze.

  Crap.

  “Winger?” I recognized the voice, and I was as surprised as they sounded.

  “D-Man?” I asked as I turned slowly.

  He holstered his gun under his coat, and we stepped forward to embrace. Thank God.

  I hugged him tight—tighter than I probably should’ve, but I was thrilled to finally see a friend and colleague.

  “My God, I’m happy to see you,” I said, my voice breaking as I released him.

  “I’ve no idea what’s going on. I followed Mitch to this location after he was taken. I saw the news about…. Is it true about Shotgun?”

  I shrugged and felt the sting of tears the thought of John triggered. “I hope I got him help in time… but he ordered me to go.”

  Coach nodded and drew me into another hug, which I happily accepted.

  “Do you know about anyone else?” I said with my face plastered against his shoulder. I didn’t name specific names, news of anyone would be good at this point.

  “Snowbird contacted me last night and told me you were on the move. When I got to your house there were a ton of police. I knew you’d been there, but you covered your tracks well. I haven’t been able to reach anyone from TOS in—” He looked at his watch. “—nearly a day now.”

  “I’m here for Mitch too. They left a message with Iris. I’m supposed to turn myself in or they’ll hurt him.”

  “I wondered why they didn’t make more of an effort to take her. They knew you’d see the news and get in touch with her.”

  I nodded. “They want me. I’ve had conversations with Westside. Remember him?” Coach looked shocked but nodded. “He fried my computer earlier today when I wouldn’t do what he wanted and then he upped the pressure. So, do you have a plan for getting into this place?”

  Coach shrugged and rolled his eyes in a combination that under other circumstances would’ve made me laugh. “I figured the roof was better than the front door, and I was just going to go for it because sometimes that’s all you can do. What about you?”

  “I’ve got a few ideas.” I squatted and pulled off my backpack to get the laptop. “I gathered intel from across the street. It’s better than nothing, I imagine.” I walked him through what I had.

  “I’m going to use the camera interface to create a loop on the stairwell cameras. It’s dark, and it’ll be easy to do. I can’t do that to all of them. Most of the other cameras show people. I pushed the security console to my phone so I’ll be able to look at individual cameras as we move, and I might be able to manipulate some of them. It depends on what’s in view.”

  “That plan is about as good as it gets. At least we’ll have eyes. Ready when you are.” It took a couple minutes longer than I’d anticipated to get the video to accept a five-second-infinite loop as the input for the stairwell cameras, but I felt pretty sure that I hadn’t alerted anybody. I wanted to do the same thing to the camera in Mitch’s room. But he never stopped pacing, and I couldn’t risk any stuttering glitches.

  “What do you know about this door?” I looked to Coach for the answer. Maybe he’d studied how to get in before I got here. I packed the laptop away as he talked.

  “It looks like a regular fire exit. If it’s up to code, there’ll be an alarm on it. But if it’s like so many that I’ve seen, the alarm’s disabled to allow people to come up and chill.” He gestured with his head to the building next door. “You saw the one over there—not secure at all.”

  “Let me see what’s around this door.” I changed one of the lenses to show me data and electric flow. “It looks like there’s a door sensor as well as one in the locking mechanism.”

  “Who are you with this x-ray vision?”

  I got another surprised look as I pointed out the exact spots.

  “Luckily when Blackbird ransacked my room, they didn’t get everything.” I didn’t go into a ton of details because these lenses were still classified.

  “I don’t think the app that I’d normally use to disrupt alarm current around the door will work given the network outage.”

  I considered a moment. Trying to hack the alarm would take longer than I wanted to spend. “Give it a shot. Many of the apps don’t need the network.”

  He pulled out his phone, unlocked it and flipped through a couple screens. “All right. Point out where those sensors are again.”

  He put the phone up to the door, read the display, and tapped the screen. I didn’t recognize the app other than it had some design features common among TOS apps. Coach tapped the screen and the energy flow changed so it bypassed the door sensor and created a loop.

  “One down. Where’s the other?”

  I pointed out the one that was near the latch.

  If we got out of this, I’d have to find out how that worked. Redirecting the energy flow like that without a disruption was clever. The second one took longer, but he ultimately succeeded.

  “Nice of you guys to design for a little resiliency. Just in case.” He put the phone away. “Now we go old-school.”

  He pulled out a small leather pouch and bounced it a couple times in his hands. Unzipping it, he retrieved what he needed to pick the lock.

  It took less than thirty seconds by my count for the lock to click. We smiled about the small victory.

  “Any idea what’s on the other side of the door?”

  “Stairwell with doors at each level and, it’s a safe bet, sensors on the doors. There are cameras on each floor and on both sides of the door.

  Coach repackaged his picks. “And Mitch?”

  “Second floor. Four doors down from the stairwell.” I used the phone to show what was outside Mitch’s door. “The hallway doesn’t have too much activity, but there is this one guy who must be assigned to guard him.”

  He nodded. “Did you have a plan for dealing with him?”

  “Nope.” I shrugged. “I figured I’d make it up when I got there.”

  “If the hallway stays empty, maybe I can be the distraction you need.”

  “Two on one is better than one on one.” It felt like a weight had lifted off my shoulders with Coach here. I hoped I was making the right choices, but having someone else to work with made this feel a lot more under control. “At least we have an idea what we’re walking into.” I held up my phone since that was our window into what was inside. “Let’s do this.”

  Coach took the lead. It was standard protocol for senior agents plus they were expected to offer protection for techs, and in this case, I welcomed it.

  The staircase flooded with light as we entered. Not knowing much about what was below, I hoped the light didn’t travel far. None of the cameras showed activity on the stairs. I made sure the door didn’t make noise as it closed.
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  We moved slowly down. The door on the third floor had a small vertical window that looked into the hall. Coach saw nothing as he looked through.

  Coach looked down to the next floor and he motioned for us to keep going. I held the railing as we descended since I was watching the monitors on the phone.

  The second floor still showed one in the hall except Mitch’s guard. All of the doors were closed, and at least the ones I saw on the monitors didn’t have windows. What each of them did have was some kind of keypad or card reader.

  From below, a door clanked open and then shut followed by voices of at least two people. Coach held up his hand in a fist, signaling we should stop. My heart somersaulted as a flock of butterflies cut through my stomach.

  With the limited space on my phone screen, I’d been focused on the second floor, but I quickly changed my view to look at all the cams and zoomed in on the one for the staircase.

  A man and women were on their way up. If they didn’t go directly into the second floor, they’d see us. I pulled on Coach’s jacket, hoping he’d understand to back up.

  We retreated far enough that they didn’t see us when they went through the second-floor door. Changing camera views again, I watched the two go into a room just across from where Mitch was. They also seemed to say hello to the guard.

  “Okay,” Coach said softly. “We can’t stop this time.”

  I nodded. “It looks about as clear as it’s ever gonna get.”

  We nodded and went to the second-floor door.

  I took a moment to check for any energy signatures or data flow around the door and found none. Coach tried the push bar and it easily moved.

  “Keep an eye on the screen. I’m going to do something”—by the sound of his voice he was extremely unsure what that something was going to be—“to take care of that guard so you can get in. What will you do about the reader at the door?”

  “Let me see?”

  I nudged him aside to look out the stairwell window. Across the hall was a keycard reader and I didn’t have a tool for that with me, so I’d have to hack on the fly. I shrugged in response.