Technical Risk (Aegis Group Task Force Book 3)

by Sidney Bristol

  Zora smiled, but it was frosty. “That’s not pertinent.”

  The hell it wasn’t, but Miles knew he wouldn’t get more out of her. His gaze slid toward Diha before he could stop himself. What were the chances she’d divulge more? Like last night?

  “It is our hope and goal that combining our knowledge and resources with MI5’s will result in the capture of the hacker Valentino,” Zora said.

  And what else?

  It was hard for Miles to believe that was all they wanted, what with the secrecy.

  “Do we have any leads?” he asked.

  Zora nodded her head, once, and looked at Diha. “As a matter of fact, we do. Diha?”

  “Oh.” Diha sat up a little straighter while hiding a yawn behind her hand. “Yes. Last night with the help of Mr. Green I think I know how Valentino hacked the system.”

  “What?” He sat up, frowning.

  “Zora?” Diha nodded at the other woman.

  Zora picked up a small remote and activated a TV that served as a monitor for the room.

  Diha stood, smoothing the material a bit as the screen filled with a video loop of a woman carrying some sort of case down a hall. Her face was obscured by a hat and her figure distorted by baggy, ill-fitting clothing. Miles had seen the video plus hundreds of hours of other footage. It had all begun to blur.

  Diha gestured at the screen. “This young woman is on the roster of people MI5 hasn’t been able to speak with. The security footage puts her near a server room, where the video was conveniently corrupted. It’s a bit of a long shot, but I have one usable frame of her face and am running facial recognition on her now. I suspect she is working with Valentino. We’ve had no indication that Valentino runs a team, but the derailment hack was a big job. He could be deviating from normal and using people.”

  Miles knew his mouth was hanging open. He could feel the air on the back of his throat.

  Was it that easy? Had she figured it out?

  They still didn’t know who it was or where they were, but it was more of a theory than they’d had before. It was a solid lead. Something they’d been sorely hurting for.

  “That’s amazing. Good job,” he said.

  Diha glanced at him and smiled, albeit fleetingly. “I also think that Valentino is still in the country. After analyzing cell phone data around the time of the hack, there’s one number that came up. A phone registered in Brighton. Three different burner phones called it. Once before and twice after the job.”

  Miles sat back. How had she found all of this out? Where had it come from? Why hadn’t his people connected these things?

  “The phone is a landline that goes back to a warehouse turned condo,” Zora said, drawing all eyes to her. “It’s a rental. The name of the person who has leased it is a dead end which makes me wonder, who is staying there? I’d like to send our people there to gather intel on the ground before Valentino knows we’re onto him. Which means, Logan? I want your team on the road in an hour. Miles? I’m going to need support from your side.”

  He nodded. “I’ll handle it.”

  Zora peered around the room at each of them. “We don’t know for sure if this is our guy, but it’s a lead. A lead we need.”

  Damn, but it stung.

  They’d been at a dead end for weeks and this team waltzed in and figured it all out in a matter of hours.

  No, Diha had figured it out. He’d known she had to be brilliant to be part of Zora’s team, but this just proved that Diha was a force all on her own.

  He studied her out of the corner of his eye. She’d sat back down and slumped to one side while looking at Zora. Diha was running on fumes.

  Wasn’t anyone going to give her a meal that wasn’t just empty carbs?

  She had to have been there all night, and that was after a trans-Atlantic flight.

  If he had his way, he’d poach her. Bring her onto a team that could appreciate her and not run her to death for the sake of work. Of course he couldn’t work with her. He was too aware of her, too attracted to make that mistake.

  “Miles?” Zora looked at him pointedly.

  He cleared his throat. “Yes?”

  “We are going to need surveillance support,” she said.

  Zora and Miles launched into hashing out details. There were travel arrangements for the team plus coordinating with local authorities to ensure they were all working together and aware of what was going on. It was a lot to make happen in a very short amount of time, but they had motive. All in all, the meeting wrapped up much faster than Miles would have liked. While they’d made strides, he still didn’t know more than before.

  He had questions. He wanted to know more about their next steps, but Zora was all about acting.

  As the others headed on to their assignments, Miles approached Zora.

  “Agent Clark, do you have a moment?” he asked.

  She didn’t glance up from the pages of her notebook. “No, I do not.”

  He opened and closed his mouth.

  “Whatever questions you have, direct them to Diha. I have to get moving.” She straightened and met his gaze. “Good luck, Mr. Green.”

  And then she was gone.

  He stood there staring at the door swinging shut. He’d been told to get more information and he had very little, other than the interesting story about the thermostat and that the Americans had two informants. It wasn’t good enough.

  Miles turned his attention on Diha carrying her tablet and coffee back to the room she’d taken as her office.

  He was conflicted about approaching her. When they spoke, he couldn’t help his mind drifting. But he had a job to do. Tired as she was, maybe she’d let something slip?

  He disliked the idea of using her exhaustion against her, but they all had a job to do here. And he was in enough hot water. If he didn’t give his boss something, he might find himself at the end of the line.

  “Ms. Balakrishnan?” He caught up to her at the door to her office.

  She turned and blinked up at him.

  He opened and closed his mouth. He knew what he should say, it just wasn’t coming out.

  “Good job today,” he said instead.

  “Oh, thank you. Really, it was just guesswork. I got lucky.”

  He frowned and spoke before he could stop himself. “Don’t do that.”

  “Sorry?” Her dark eyes widened.

  His mouth moved, and he was powerless to cut off the words. “Don’t degrade the work you do. Never apologize for being good at your job. Regardless of what information you have that we don’t, you might have just cracked this.”

  And damn it if that wasn’t hot as hell.

  4.

  Tuesday. Thames House Security Service Headquarters. London, United Kingdom.

  Diha stood just inside her lab, looking up at Miles. There was something about being the focus of his attention that made her heart speed up, stomach tie in knots and her toes wiggle. He was an intense man.

  If it weren’t for Harper and the others, she might have caved under a stare like that. She wouldn’t exactly thank Harper for toughening her up.

  “T-thank you, Mr. Green.” Her knees were a bit weak. She’d been up far too long, and wouldn’t have the chance to crash until much later.

  Her stomach growled, but she hoped he didn’t hear over the other sounds of people talking and moving about the office.

  Miles’ gaze dipped down. It was so fast she would have missed it if she weren’t watching him. “Ms. Balakrishnan?”

  “Diha, please?” She was rather impressed he hadn’t stuttered over her surname once, but it was a mouthful.

  He paused, as if considering the request. Would he refuse? Was it odd to suggest her first name?

  “I take it you had quite a long night. I hate to ask this, but I need to better understand how you arrived at this conclusion.”

  “Of course.” Inwardly, she groaned. There went her dream of a twenty minute face down on the desk cat nap.

  Miles glance
d at his wristwatch. “It’s early, but I think I can get take away from a place near here. My Nan swore it’s the only place in all of London that makes authentic Indian food.”

  “Your grandmother?” Diha had to wonder at that little fact.

  He opened and closed his mouth, blinking as if surprised he’d said that much. “Yes, ah, my Papa was stationed in India for ten years, married my Nan and when his assignment was over she moved here.”

  She felt air hit the back of her throat. Her vision of him changed, shifting slightly.

  His coloring made so much more sense now.

  He added in a rush, “Of course I can probably find something else if you prefer?”

  Diha smiled. He couldn’t know she lived at home, with her parents and a mother who cooked every meal for her because that’s what mothers did. Traveling was always the worst because she missed those meals. “That would be great. Thank you, Mr. Green.”

  “Miles.” He held out his hand.

  She took it and smiled. He gripped her palm in a firm squeeze and her knees just about knocked together. She was torn between enjoying the attention and wishing it to go away.

  “As your host, it’s my job to make sure you and your team are taken care of. Can’t have the star of the day starving on us.” He let go of her hand and pulled out his phone. “The menu isn’t lengthy, but the food is very good.”

  She opted for a basic curry dish. How bad could it be? Even if it wound up being bland, it was better than donuts and food from the vending machines. With meal selections made, Miles excused himself and the room suddenly felt larger.

  Diha exhaled and put a hand on her head.

  “Oh. My. God.” Cat swooped in, hooking her arm in Diha’s. “Was he flirting with you? I couldn’t tell. It was hard to see around those huge, muscular shoulders.”

  If only.

  “No. No, he was talking about work.”

  Then again, if Miles flirted with Diha, she’d probably turn into a puddle on the floor. He was too perfect, in a way. She couldn’t actually imagine a flirty Miles. No, he was better admired from afar, like when he hadn’t even noticed her. But that ship had sailed.

  “You should go for that one. Have a hot fling, then tell me all about it,” Cat gushed.

  “Me?” Diha glanced at Cat. “Why not you?”

  Jealousy bit Diha hard and to the bone.

  Cat threw her head back and laughed as if Diha had made a joke.

  “Oh, that would never work out for me. Promise.” Cat giggled, a strange and undignified sound coming from her.

  Diha stared at the woman and wondered if she’d become possessed or something. Cat was always eccentric, but this was very odd behavior.

  “Did something happen last night?” Diha asked slowly, not sure if she wanted to know. Sometimes Cat shared her antics and Diha had to wonder if they were true. But Cat always had proof. She was just odd, which was what made Cat so endearing.

  “Nothing like that.” She sighed. “Okay, boss, what’s next?”

  Diha slid her arm from Cat’s grasp and pressed her fingers to her temples. It would be easier to think if her stomach would stop growling. “I need you to monitor the team and write up a report about this morning and our action plan. Mr. Green’s team will want documentation. I don’t want to give them ammunition to use against us if things go sideways.”

  “Understood.”

  A knock at the door made them both turn.

  Miles stood there, a laptop under one arm.

  Diha’s mouth dried up.

  He wanted to know things now, not later. So much for hoping Cat’s report would stave off this meeting.

  “Cat?” Diha turned toward the other woman. “Do you think you can set up in the next room?”

  Cat grinned. “Sure thing.”

  Diha was half surprised that Cat was leaving without some parting comment. Then again, Diha was grateful her friend didn’t say anything.

  It took Cat mere moments to scoop up her laptop and things, then waltz out, leaving Diha alone with Miles. More alone than before, since those who had gathered for the morning’s briefing had drifted out and back to their own workspace.

  Diha gestured at the other two desks. “Have a seat?”

  What the hell was she going to tell him? How much could she get away with telling him?

  It would be nice if Zora could loosen up a bit, but Diha knew she couldn’t. They were racing against the mole in their organization. Eventually that mole would learn about what they were doing and the road bumps would start. It was Zora’s job to stay ahead of all that, which meant she was carrying a huge burden. Whole paths of the investigation were under her purview only because they couldn’t risk the leak. Not now. Not yet.

  Miles grabbed a rolling chair and dragged it over to sit at the side of the desk Diha had taken over. She sat and smoothed her hands down her thighs, wishing that she’d gotten either Cat or Zora to bring her a change of clothes that morning. Diha felt so frumpy sitting there in wrinkled clothes next to this perfectly polished man.

  What a silly thought.

  She was here to do a job. A job that didn’t depend on how she looked, only the sharpness of her mind. And besides, it might be good for her if she got over this Miles crush. It wasn’t like anything was going to happen between them. All she’d really wanted was to have her moment, and the way he’d looked at her yesterday was everything she could have wished for. Anything more would be imprudent. She didn’t have the heart for a wild, passionate fling. That was better left to those like Cat and Harper.

  MILES SET HIS LAPTOP down on the empty corner of the desk, then leaned forward, elbows on his knees. He had to keep his head screwed on straight for now. There was simply too much to learn.

  “Can you walk me through, step by step, how you arrived at your conclusion?” he asked.

  “Sure.” She moved her notebook and pen around the desk, seeming to search for just the right spot before leaving them alone. “Where to start? Okay.”

  “Do you want some coffee or tea?” He mentally kicked himself for not offering first.

  “No.” She chuckled and glanced at him, those warm eyes of her glowing. “If I have any more, I’m not sure I’ll be able to sit.”

  “They only believe in the strong stuff around here.”

  “I learned that lesson.” She cleared her throat and turned toward him. “Like I said during the meeting, all I started off doing was going over the list of people who haven’t been accounted for yet. It’s my theory that one of the reasons Valentino is so hard to trace is because he doesn’t always do these jobs from afar. There isn’t an ISP to track because he’s there.”

  Miles steepled his fingers. “But you said it was a woman.”

  “Yes. I can only guess that this woman managed to plug into something and Valentino remoted into that access point.”

  He thought through what she was saying. He knew it made sense, but he wasn’t a tech guy. He could get around on a computer and knew how to do some fairly advanced things, but what Diha did might as well have been magic to him.

  “Okay, have you ever had a computer problem and needed to call IT?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Well, have they ever used a software to take control of your mouse remotely and fix issues without being there?”

  Oh, shit.

  The pieces fell into place. He could see it now.

  Miles opened and closed his mouth. “This woman plugs into the system somehow and he takes control of the computer, hacking it directly.”

  “Yes. Which is why it’s hard to track him. We now know how he hacked the system. Zora didn’t say this, but Cat’s writing up a report for your team about it. He exploited drivers that were out of date. Specifically for an old printer model that their accounting department was using. It’s essentially the same thing with the thermostats. He piggybacked on that driver update and when that installed it pushed that to the rest of the system, corrupting it with the code that woun
d up derailing the trains. All total, it took maybe forty-five minutes from beginning to end.” She held up a hand. “I’m basing that on time signatures from security footage.”

  He sat back. It was an easy answer, and no one had been able to come up with it until her.

  Out of date printer drivers.

  Valentino would have had to know the printers needed the update. There was still information leading up to the attack that they didn’t know. That they’d need to find out. But if all went well, Valentino could answer those questions for them.

  “The woman? Any luck with her?” Miles asked.

  “Not yet. We’re using international databases and our own. It takes a lot of time. The phones were easier. It was just a process of looking at phone records and connecting the dots.”

  His gaze narrowed. “How did you get access to something like that?”

  She sighed again and peered at him through her lashes. “Your office cooperated with a request we made months ago when working another case. It granted me access to cell phone data. You just never revoked that access.”

  It was his turn to open and close his mouth like a fish.

  “So the US isn’t monitoring our citizens?” he finally asked.

  She shrugged. “Why should we when you’re doing it?”

  He rubbed a hand over his brow. “Alright then, that’s how you arrived at this theory.

  “It’s just a theory. I could be wrong.”

  “Do you think you are?”

  She considered that question a moment. “I’d say my odds are fifty-fifty.”

  “That’s quite generous.”

  “If I’m not generous to myself, who can I be generous to? You did say to not apologize for doing my job well. I think there’s something to this. It’s a gut feeling.”

  It was hard to not believe her when she sounded so certain of herself.

  Damn, he hoped she was right. Even if that meant ceding that the Americans had the upper hand on this operation.

  “Sir?”

  He turned toward the door. A young man, likely an intern, stood there with a familiar white plastic bag in hand.

  “Ah, there’s lunch.” Miles stood and took the bag from the young man. “Thanks.”