Harbinger

by S L Shelton

  “She’s gone,” I said into my phone’s hands-free. “Go ahead and change into your Frump Loeff disguise.”

  “I’m changing now. Go ahead… I’ll be ready,” Kathrin replied.

  She ended our call before I exited the vehicle. She would need to have her phone free for the voice confirmation that would certainly be required when I showed up for my “meeting” with Frau Loeff. I strode into the building, stopping at the security desk.

  “William Stark to see Frau Loeff, please. Suite 419a,” I said as I signed the guest log book. I noted the pages weren’t numbered and I was only the second entry on the page.

  “I’m sorry, but I believe she has left for lunch,” the guard replied, looking at the clock on the wall.

  “I have an appointment,” I said confidently. “Would you try her number, please?”

  He pulled up the directory listing and then dialed the number. A surprised look crossed his face when she answered.

  “Frau Loeff? A William Stark, to see you here in the lobby,” he said. “Danke.” He hung up the phone.

  “I apologize. She has not left yet,” he said to me. “She will be down presently.”

  “Thank you,” I replied and then set my coffee cup on the edge of the reception desk.

  Within a few moments, the chime on the elevator sounded. “Herr Stark?” came a voice I barely recognized.

  The guard and I turned simultaneously toward the voice. However, in turning, I knocked the coffee cup over the edge of the reception desk, sending warm coffee splashing all over the guard, his computer keyboard, and the papers in front of him.

  I immediately went to his aid. “Oh shit! I’m so sorry. Let me help you with that,” I said, oozing apologetic sincerity.

  While his attention was diverted, I ripped the guest log page from the binder I had just filled in.

  “Herr Stark. I am behind schedule. Please!” Kathrin said from around the corner, sounding just like the brusque Frau Loeff.

  “It’s quite all right,” the security guard assured me as he mopped at his crotch. “I’ll be fine. You shouldn’t keep Frau Loeff waiting.”

  While his attention was on the wet spot on his groin, I said, “Again, I’m so sorry,” and then disappeared around the corner, ducking into the elevator with Kathrin.

  On the fourth floor, we proceeded into Suite 419a. Thanks to the surveillance system, we’d been able to determine that she did not share her office. Outside the door, I stood to the side, partially obscuring the view from any passerby. Kathrin deftly worked her lock picking skills, gaining us entry within a few seconds.

  Just as the latch opened, someone emerged from another office on the opposite end of the hallway.

  “Guten Morgen, Frau Loeff,” the man called down the hall.

  Kathrin raised her hand and waved without turning. “Morgen,” she said gruffly, slipping Loeff’s voice on again before closing the door behind us.

  After the door closed, I heard a muted beeping.

  “Alarm panel,” I hissed.

  Kathrin quickly pulled the cover from the entry pad while I opened my briefcase and pulled out connector cables. I stepped up next to Kathrin and located the alarm maintenance jacks before clipping two micro-connectors to the board. The binary reader on my iPhone popped up as soon as I plugged it in, giving me access to a command emulator—I was going to fool the alarm panel into thinking I was an alarm tech.

  “It’s been thirty seconds,” Kathrin whispered.

  “I know,” I said calmly as I found the command line I needed and put it into a diagnostic loop. The system would reset every fifty-five seconds without recording the action. I set my phone on top of the box and stepped back, waiting for it to go through its first cycle.

  “Fifty seconds,” Kathrin said.

  I nodded and then breathed out in relief as the system status light flashed green before flashing intermittently in yellow.

  “Whew!”

  “Let’s hurry,” Kathrin said. “I don’t know how long we have before they start looking for lunch delivery Kathrin.”

  The suite consisted of an entry room, two offices, and a small conference room. Kathrin quickly went to the closed office door. It was locked.

  She began to pick that one as well.

  “Take your time. We should have more than an hour,” I said.

  She grunted, but she continued to work frantically. Within a few seconds, she had the second door open.

  “Okay. I should go back down now,” she said as I pulled my computer tools from my briefcase. “I left my clothes and delivery bag in the third floor ladies’ room.”

  I nodded. “I’ll be down shortly. Whistle if you see anything.”

  She nodded as she touched her Bluetooth to reconnect our phones. I answered on the first ring.

  “Hello,” I answered before she smiled and leaned over to kiss me.

  “I’ll meet you out front when you’re done,” she said before turning for the door.

  I put my gloves on and then went right to work as she wiped the surfaces we had touched so far. When she was done, she slipped silently out of the office.

  Loeff had left her computer running—that was good news. I didn’t need a password as long as it was running. I slipped the thumb drive into the USB port and listened as the poison worked its way into the system.

  “Open your doors and let me in, or I’ll huff and I’ll puff,” I muttered before her computer beeped at me and a password screen appeared, “and I’ll add an admin account to your system.”

  I smiled as I entered the password the virus had just inserted.

  “Let’s see what naughty things you’ve been up to,” I said to the absent Frau Loeff as I brought up the explorer screen.

  I quickly scanned for company information and found what I was looking for: accounts management data, listed in a massive spreadsheet on her recent documents list. The number of accounts and the sheer size of the totals sent a jolt of adrenaline through me…there were billions of dollars represented in these accounts.

  “Holy shit,” I muttered.

  “What’s wrong?” Kathrin asked into my ear.

  “Nothing,” I replied absently as I began to grasp the scope of the criminal endeavor we were facing. “I think we found the right place.”

  There were enough funds in these accounts to buy a small country. No—there was enough there to buy all the countries, if distributed strategically.

  “Bingo,” I muttered and began downloading it to the thumb drive that was still inserted in the computer.

  All the files would eventually be sent through the Internet to Storc’s servers…the virus would do all the heavy lifting. But I wanted an advance copy of the highly attractive account files. The virus was doing its job, slowly rewriting certain system files and the firmware on the hard-drive. As soon as it was complete, I would be able to exit quietly with time to spare.

  Just as I moved the last of the account files I could find onto the thumb drive, Kathrin whispered into my ear. “She’s back,” she said with some urgency. “Just drove around the corner. You have less than five minutes.”

  My stomach tightened as I looked at my watch. “She’s twenty minutes early,” I hissed into my headset.

  “Well, I’ll walk over to her and complain,” Kathrin said. “Get out of there.”

  Something must have given us away.

  The virus was still writing. That in itself was not a problem, but it needed to finish and reboot before it would work. I pulled the thumb drive from the system, leaving the virus running in memory as I packed up my gear and shoved it into my briefcase.

  I checked the status of the virus and clenched my jaw tightly. “Hurry,” I whispered to it.

  I could only hope the restart went smoothly. If it hung up for any reason, Loeff would be alerted to a change.

  Gotta chance it, I thought.

  I wiped the knob on Loeff’s inner office, locked it, and then closed the door. As I did so, I couldn’t help bu
t feel I was leaving a mistake behind me.

  I hurried to the outer office door before looking at the alarm panel. I had to wait until one of the fifty-five second recycle routines started over or I’d risk setting the alarm off…if it reached the end of a cycle after I pulled my phone off, the alarm would go off as soon as I opened the door. I stood there, waiting for the light to change.

  The seconds ticked down, each one feeling like a ten-pound weight being added to my chest.

  “She’s through the gate,” Kathrin said. “Are you out yet?”

  “Not yet,” I muttered, the tension in my voice reflecting my anxiety.

  “Hurry,” she hissed.

  Eight more long seconds ticked by before the light flashed green and then intermittent yellow again. I yanked the connectors from the panel and clicked the cover back on.

  “Was the panel door open or closed before you took it off,” I asked.

  “Open,” Kathrin said.

  I flipped the panel door up and then wiped the surfaces that Kathrin couldn’t have hit with the panel exposed before exiting to the hallway. I paused in the recessed entryway after closing the door. I nervously rewiped the knob—even though Kathrin had already done it once—, took a deep breath and then strode calmly into the hallway as if I belonged there.

  “I’m out,” I said. “How much time do I have?”

  “She just went in,” Kathrin replied. “You’re fine.”

  I strode down the hallway and around the corner toward the elevators and the stairwell. There, waiting for the elevator, was the man who had said “good morning” to Frau Loeff—or rather, to Kathrin pretending to be Frau Loeff. I realized I was still wearing my black nitrile gloves and quickly peeled them off before he looked my direction.

  He smiled at me and nodded as I stuffed the gloves into my pocket. I was headed for the stairs, but just as I was reaching for the door, the elevator opened. He swept his hand toward the elevator door, allowing me to go first. I have time, I thought to myself.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  His eyebrows went up. “American?”

  “Yes,” I said. Damn. A conversation, I thought. Not what I need right now.

  “Where you are from?” he asked. His English was barely understandable.

  “Connecticut,” I lied.

  “Cone-ekt-cut?” he replied.

  “Close enough,” I said, smiling.

  “What is bringing you to Zurich?” he asked. Kind of nosy for the normally private Swiss.

  “Money,” I said, hinting that it was a private subject.

  “Ah,” he said and looked forward tensely, taking the hint.

  The elevator reached the first floor and the doors slid open. My heart skipped a beat—Frau Loeff was standing there, waiting.

  “Ah. Frau Loeff!” the man said. “I was just talking to your American friend.”

  A confused and startled look appeared on her face. Think quick.

  “No. I’m afraid I haven’t had the pleasure,” I said, smiling at her before I turned to the man and winked. “It was a pleasure speaking with you.”

  The wink, a tradition in so many cultures. Able to imply a simple flirt or convey an entire conversation. He instantly took my wink to mean that indiscretions should be left private as well.

  “Oh. My mistake. Quite right. I was confused,” the man stammered out, embarrassed. “Good day to you.”

  I tipped my hat to both of them and strode through the lobby at a leisurely pace. As I passed the security desk, I made sure to nod my head in apology to the security guard once again.

  “Okay, no offense to you, but a really sexy man just came out of the building,” Kathrin said into my ear as I stepped outside.

  “Best be quick then before some other frau picks him up,” I said with a grin as I caught sight of her across the street, leaning against a mailbox.

  “Oh, don’t worry,” she replied as I crossed the street away from her. “I’ll put him on a short leash.”

  “Woof,” I barked and then turned the corner, flashing a smile as I disappeared.

  A moment later, she rounded the same corner and met me back at the SUV.

  “Let’s get out of here,” she said. “I’m starving.”

  I tossed her the keys over the hood after unlocking. “You drive,” I said as I climbed in and then proceeded to access the slow drip feed that the virus should be sending from Loeff’s computer by now. I held my breath, still feeling very uncomfortable that Loeff’s system hadn’t rebooted by the time I left. I breathed out in a long slow breath when I saw that the proxy buffer was filling with data.

  Whew! That’s one catastrophe off my mind.

  There was no sense watching it. The virus could take days to finish moving the entire contents of Loeff’s computer to Storc. Instead, I switched over to the building’s security network.

  Kathrin pulled into traffic as I quickly scanned the security video and marked all time stamps for each appearance either Kathrin or I made on the cameras. Once they were all logged, I copied them into my hex code fixer and let my worm go to work removing and then replacing the footage. Instead of Kathrin or me, the video would now play back a copy of the previous few seconds of footage. It would look like a simple recording slip…with no traces of me or Kathrin. While the worm was busy erasing and rewriting, I went back to the contact directory and reentered Frau Loeff’s actual telephone number before manually removing the log entries of the changes from the building’s computer.

  “And that’s it,” I said as the hex worm backed its way out and then self-destructed. I left an inactive version of it on the drive that I could activate to check security footage later. “We weren’t there today.”

  “Good,” she said as if in passing…as if it were no great achievement.

  “Good?” I asked.

  “Ja,” she said, nodding her head. “das ist gute.”

  I shook my head as she pulled us into the parking lot of a restaurant.

  “Why are we stopping?” I asked.

  She grabbed her delivery bag and began transferring her Frau Loeff clothes from it to her oversized shoulder bag. She stopped midway and sniffed the skirt.

  “Does this smell like sausage?” she asked, sticking it in my face.

  It did a bit. I shrugged.

  She finished transferring the clothes and tossed the empty delivery bag into the backseat before getting out.

  “What are you doing?” I asked before she closed the door.

  “I’m going to change in the ladies’ room and then get some food. I’ve been delivering meals all day and the smell has made me hungry,” she replied with a grin, shouldering her bag. “Care to join me?”

  She closed the door without waiting for an answer.

  “I guess we’re eating…again,” I muttered as I pulled out my phone and tapped out a message to Storc.

  “New feed with Predator Virus. Should be delivering already. Let me know as soon as you sort through it all…looked promising to me. Chat soon. S”

  I hit send and tucked my phone into my pocket before grabbing my briefcase from the backseat. I couldn’t leave it sitting in the car…it had my iPad and my Glock inside.

  I stepped out of the Mercedes. “Hey! Hold up,” I yelled at Kathrin’s back.

  She waved at me dismissively without looking and disappeared through the door. Can’t stand between a woman and her lunch, apparently.

  **

  4:00 p.m.—Zurich, Switzerland, Frau Loeff’s Office

  FRAU RACINE LOEFF ached to leave the office. She had an uneasy feeling tickling the back of her mind. Unable to put her finger on the source of the discomfort, she set about synchronizing Combine’s accounts to her smartphone before closing her briefcase and walking to the door. She stood in the doorway of her inner office for several minutes, listening to the soft hum of her computer and feeling as if she had forgotten something.

  She looked back to her desk before opening her handbag and searching for her keys. Af
ter finding them, she remained standing, staring, bothered.

  It’s just the hours, she thought. Herr Braun is too demanding of my time. He robbed me of my noon meal, and now he’s robbing me of my peace of mind.

  She fidgeted with her keys and then shook them, letting them dangle from her fingertips as if teasing a cat with a toy. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had forgotten something…that something wasn’t quite right.

  Perhaps it had been the appearance of that American boy that had her troubled, or the strange way Herr Moffit had acted getting off the elevator with him. In either case, her stomach was distressed and her shoulders were tight. She needed to get away from the office.

  This is too much, she thought as she set the alarm on the office and then locked the door behind her. Too much.

  She’d never envisioned her small company would be handling so much business. Her late husband had been the one who began helping less-than-legal organizations move money. She often suspected one of those organizations to be responsible for his untimely demise. She wasn’t heartbroken about his death…it had been a loveless marriage of convenience. But the thought that their business had caused his death left her frequently tossing and turning, sleepless. And sometimes, just sometimes, she felt isolated in their house without him there.

  She reached the tile landing in front of the elevator, her sensible shoes clacking to a halt.

  And now…now I’ve only one customer, she complained to herself. What if they leave?

  “My lunch,” she muttered bitterly. How dare Herr Braun presume to call me anytime of the day or night like I was some servant?

  Her disrupted lunch routine added to her physical discomfort. She was a highly regimented individual, and her system was quite susceptible to discomfort due to a change in schedule…particularly if that change was accompanied by stress. As she stepped into the elevator, her stomach gurgled and churned, reminding her of the unpleasant phone call she had received from Braun.