Authors: Don Bruns
I punched the code slowly, as if each number and the final two letters were precious cargo and I was scared of breaking them.
305-805-500-1SC
Nothing happened. I stared at the screen, concentrating with all my might. I thought that if I focused all my energy on that code it would complete the cycle, and we’d be inside Conroy’s information bank.
Then, as if hit by a sudden bolt of lightning, the screen went black. Dark, dark black, and I felt my heart drop into my stomach. I could almost hear the power system drop away to nothing. “We’re screwed, James.” For a second I couldn’t breathe. “Really screwed. Honest to God. It’s gone. The entire computer just shut down.”
“No.” James took three big steps and came to the back of the desk, peering over my shoulder. “Oh, shit. This can’t be good.”
“It could get worse. Tomorrow morning he’ll know someone tried to hack the system.”
“Damn. What if it alerts him at home? I mean right now. Could this system alert the cops? Jeez, Skip, would that be possible?” His eyes were wide open and I could see his fear.
“We are so screwed.” I wanted to bolt from the office, run screaming down the hall, grab Em, and get out of the front door before anyone had a chance to react. The screen had shut down, gone black, and everything was deathly quiet. There was no hum of the computer, not even the sound of James breathing. I was shaking and my palms were moist as I watched a gradual gentle light spread across the computer’s flat screen, and a soft green background frame the emerging words.
Welcome Sandler. What program would you like to open?
“I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to.” James was taking deep breaths of relief as he spoke. I knew exactly how he felt.
“Donnie Darko, right?”
“Pard, I don’t even know what movie it’s from right now, but I am extremely excited to see that screen light back up.”
“Brings up another point, James. He still may have something on here that tells him a program was compromised.”
“We’re inside. That’s all that matters right now.”
I studied the screen. A list of prompts was lined up on the left side, and I read each one carefully.
“Codes.” James was ahead of me.
I hit Codes and watched the screen open up. There was a series of numbers, each one highlighted with a name. Number seven on the list was 305-805-500-1SC (computer code).
“And look at that. There’s the safe combination. Where the hell does he have a safe?”
“James, we could break into just about anything this guy has. How can someone just leave this stuff on his computer?”
We read through the list. There were codes for ATMs, savings accounts, checking accounts, market accounts, insurance accounts, and several coded accounts that I didn’t understand.
“You know, we don’t get it, because we’re not there yet.” James tapped his fingers on the desk, still over my shoulder and breathing down my neck.
“We’re not where?”
“If we had the kind of money this guy has, maybe we’d understand.”
“No. If I had the kind of money this guy has, I’d be protecting my codes. That’s what I’d be doing.”
“Dude, he is.”
“Is what?”
“Protecting his accounts, his codes, man.”
“James, we’re reading his private information. How is that protecting his accounts? I can see every one of them. If I can break in, then—”
“Skip, think about it. If we hadn’t had a camera on the ceiling, this stuff would be totally private.”
You can’t plan on everything. And you never planned on a ceiling camera. James had a point. “So you’re saying no matter how secure you are, you can never be as secure as you need to be?”
“I’m just saying, pardner.”
“You’re probably right.”
“Try DOD.”
It seemed as good as any other. I moved the arrow to DOD and pushed enter. A small box flashed in the lower left-hand corner.
Blocked
“Won’t open.”
“Two minutes ago you said the same thing about his computer.”
“James,” he was frustrating at times. Most of the time. “I don’t have a clue how to unblock this.”
I could feel his hot breath as he leaned in closer, scanning the computer screen. “There’s an open box in the upper right-hand corner. See it? It says ‘information.’”
“So?”
“Type in DOD.”
“What the hell is DOD?”
“We’ll never know if you don’t get busy and type that in.”
I did.
“Push enter.”
I did. The screen went black, and I’ll admit that my stomach knotted up and my chest was tight, but I had faith this time. The screen opened back up.
“There it is, pally.”
The words on the screen explained a lot. Department of Defense. DOD.
I dragged the arrow to enter. The next page opened like an orchid blossom, and I watched as the words spread into outline form on the screen.
“Can we print this?”
“James, if we try to print this—”
“We don’t have time to read it all here.”
“Why should we read it at all?” I was getting cold feet. Hadn’t heard from Em in seven minutes, and every tick of the clock was pushing us to the opening hour.
“Read it, but do it fast.”
We both stared at the screen, reading the first page.
Ralph Walters: Original contact person with DOD (too many questions)
Jason Riley: DOD contact
Tony Quatman: Developer (wants a larger cut)
Feng: Contact between project and Chen’s group
Chen: Contact to China group
Riley says DOD has made a decision to change computer codes once security system is installed. Necessitates stepping up date to receive current codes.
Feng must impress importance on Riley. Convince Riley that we need to go into system early, preparing system for security software.
I turned and looked at James. “There’s a Chinese group involved.”
“And what does that have to do with stepping up the timetable on codes?”
“Damned if I know.”
James stayed over my shoulder, and I could almost feel his eyes boring into Conroy’s computer screen. “How do you see this, Skip?”
“It seems that the Department of Defense is going to do the same thing Synco Systems is doing with our security system. Right now, while we’re installing the system, things are a little loose. As soon as we activate the controls and Synco changes all the codes, it will be very hard to get into this facility.” I sat back in the chair, rereading the first page.
“And when Synco Systems gets the codes for the Defense Department computer system, things will be a little loose over at the DOD.” James was tapping his fingers on the desk again. “Then, when Synco finishes the install, the department will change all the codes and it will be next to impossible to break into their computer system, right?”
“Right.”
“We waltzed in here tonight because things are loose.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Only temporarily, James. But you’re right. They’re very loose.”
“So someone could conceivably waltz into the Defense Department during that lapse between security systems.”
“They could. Their computer system will be vulnerable.”
“How about Feng? Chen?”
“You think—”
I jumped when I heard the sharp rap on the door.
“What?”
James bolted from behind the desk and had the door open in two seconds.
“A car pulled up. Yellow Lotus or something very fancy.” Em’s eyes were opened wide and she was short of breath.
“It’s Conroy. What the hell is he doing here at this hour of the morning?”
“What the hell are we doing here?”
“Em, is he coming in?”
“Skip, I don’t think he pulled into the lot to stargaze.” I hit the shutdown button and watched the flickering light go dark. This time I was thankful for the blackout.
“Where do we go, amigo?”
I grabbed my laptop, and the three of us walked out of the office, carefully closing the door behind us.
“The rear hallway, behind the offices. It leads to an emergency exit. We can hide back there.”
“If he—”
“He won’t. There’s no reason for him to go back there.” My heart was racing as I led the way.
“If it’s an exit, why don’t we—”
“Because I don’t have the code.”
Em put her hand on my arm. “What happens if we just push it open and walk out? Do you need a code to exit?”
I thought about it for a second. “I don’t know. But if we try
that,” I glanced over my shoulder as we hustled toward the rear of the building, no sign yet of anyone entering the building, “there’s a good chance that an alarm would go off.”
“We don’t need that to happen on top of everything else.” James shook his head.
“Right here. He’ll never come back this far.”
“You’re sure?”
“Won’t happen.”
We were quiet, the only noise that I could hear was that of the air-conditioning system and our heavy breathing.
Then came the footsteps, slapping on the tile floor. More than one person. And laughter. A woman’s high-pitched giggle.
In a whisper James said, “Sarah’s with him.”
I considered the possibilities. Conroy had forgotten something from his office and Sarah had been with him when he remembered. Or maybe they had a room here. Maybe one of the offices I hadn’t seen yet. A love nest. At this level of money and power, anything was possible.
Their muffled conversation echoed as they entered the work area. And then as if someone flipped a switch, their voices were crystal clear.
“So I had the one kid in here tonight.” Conroy’s voice. “That smoke detector they put in my office went off for no reason. Scared the crap out of me. Thing must have had a short in it or something. It wasn’t his fault, but I chewed his ass out anyway. This whole project has got me on edge.”
I waited for a response, but no one else spoke. Maybe he was on his cell phone, telling someone else the story.
He started again. “If DOD hadn’t demanded the system be updated, we wouldn’t have to worry about these bozos. They’re idiots. The other kid runs into the parking lot thinking he’s got a bomb in his hands? What was with that?”
Then the female voice. “They’ll be out of here in two days. And when this all comes down, they’ll be part of the confusion. They won’t have a clue, but they’ll be up to their necks in this. Trust me. This will work.”
James frowned, looking at me as we pressed our backs to the wall. He shook his head back and forth, and I knew exactly what he was getting at. Conroy wasn’t with Sarah. The woman’s voice belonged to his wife, Carol Conroy.
“I have a bad feeling about those two.”
“If you hadn’t had Feng put the GPS unit under their truck, nothing would have happened.”
The room was cool, but there was a cold sweat on my forehead. I wiped it with my hand, and listened intently to the movement of the voices. I was guessing they were now in Conroy’s office with the door open. Maybe only twenty feet from where we stood, but around the corner and inside the office. We could still make out the conversation, but it was more distant now.
“He didn’t trust them.”
“He didn’t trust me either. Trying to put a GPS on my car in the middle of Miami.” She laughed again. “He almost got caught.”
“Yeah. And what were you doing with the kid? At some dive like the Red Derby?”
“Setting him up, Sandy. I told you. When it all shakes out, you’re going to be very pleased. Just get the codes, get the passwords, and get out of the way.”
“Setting him up?”
“I don’t know how to say this any other way. Get out of the way and just do your job. Understood? After everything you’ve done, I don’t think I have to explain myself to you.”
Silence. I figured they walked out of hearing range. Then Conroy spoke up. “You’ve got it all worked out with Chen and his group?”
“Honey, stay out of the way.”
“Your dad is not going to go down easy.”
“My father isn’t going to know what hit him.”
“Carol, tell me there won’t be anymore like Ralph Walters or Tony Quatman.”
Everything was still, and I wiped my brow again. Em just stood there, bathed in the eerie security lights, and James was chewing on his bottom lip.
“There’s over seventy-five million dollars at stake here, Sandy. I’m not promising anything.”
I saw James whip his head around and stare in my direction. Almost as if he thought I knew about the money. I’d never in my life heard figures like that being tossed around. $75,000,000?
“Babe, I’ve got this feeling that the two kids—” He paused, and I knew he was talking about James and me. “Those two punks are keeping an eye on me.”
“You’re imagining things.” She was quick with the comeback. Almost too quick.
“Am I?”
“They’re not bright enough to keep an eye on anybody. And after what happened to them tonight, I don’t think they’re going to give us any trouble.”
“What happened?”
“There was a little warning.”
“Oh, man. What kind of warning?”
“Trust me, they’re going to go about their business very quietly from this point on. They’ll finish the installation, and
we won’t hear from them again. When the entire plan unfolds, they’ll appear to be right in the thick of it. Just drop it, okay? All I want you to worry about is getting those damned codes. I trust you haven’t told anyone anything they didn’t need to know?”
“For your eyes only kind of stuff, yeah. Feng is the only one, and since he’s our main contact—”
“And sweet little Sarah? She’s none the wiser?”
Now the voices were traveling, more and more distant and muffled as if they were headed for the exit.
“She knows there’s a bonus and that I’m taking her away from all of this.”
“You were a fool to ever get involved.”
“We’ve been through this—”
“I know. But I’m not going to forget that it happened. I will never forgive you for that. Never. Regardless, your Sarah will be the easiest one to take a fall. I wish I could—I wish we could be here to see it.”
I was straining to hear their words.