by Bella Juarez
“Okay? So?”
“The data you’ve been putting in has been nice and neat. It’s not random.”
“Anna, I’m not following you. What’s your point?”
“I’m sorry, Captain, never mind,” Anna said, returning the folder.
Jack instantly regretted his tone. “No, explain what you’re trying to say. I don’t get it,” he said a little more softly.
“It was nothing really. I just thought I might have seen something else,” Anna said, turning to the security logs.
“Anna, this is important. What did you see?”
“With all due respect, sir…” Anna hesitated.
“Go on, please. I’m stuck here and I’m frustrated.”
“Isn’t the very nature of an audit its randomness?”
She kept using the word random. Jack thought about the word for a moment. Random? Why is this important? Random. It suddenly hit him because he understood her point exactly. Anna was right. An audit was indeed random.
“Yes. Yes it is,” Jack said, turning back to the workstation.
“Well, putting in fiscal months, and quarters, or even years. It’s not very random, is it?”
“No, it isn’t,” Jack said, seating himself hurriedly.
Jack reached for the faxed report and looked at the date. March 7, 2008. He typed in the query box “03/07/2007” and then for the next box he typed “03/07/2008.” He hit enter and waited.
“Son of a bitch!” Jack whispered. “Anna! How do I print the results?”
Thirty-three irregularities popped up on the screen. Total funds paid, 1.2 million dollars. Anna rushed over and looked at the screen.
“See what I mean!” Anna exclaimed quietly.
“How do I print this out?” Jack demanded once more.
“Right here, sir.” Anna started to print the query results.
Jack waited anxiously as the printer shot out a four-page report. He reached for it and read it quickly. He sat behind the computer and put in another set of random dates. More mismatches in the system were located. Jack printed the results again. There were a couple of more results, but for the most part, the same companies appeared on both lists. Jack sat back and thought a moment. He input one more set of parameters, a fiscal quarter. There were no results, no mismatches in the system. What the hell?
“Did you see that?” Jack asked Anna.
“Sir?”
“Watch this.” Jack entered a random set of dates.
The report popped up. The random set of dates seemed to give a more concise picture of actual discrepancies. The dates that were more in line with clean fiscal cutoffs revealed no errors or discrepancies. This must’ve been what tipped off the contacting auditor. Jack had a sneaky suspicion that this was an inside job. Someone knew how to manipulate the system and this guy just happened to stumble on it.
“Yes, sir. I saw that yesterday. That was the problem I was having and what I was trying to tell you. I don’t understand what it means,” Anna said.
“Wait a minute,” Jack said as he focused on the screen. He cleared the query fields and continued. “Now watch this.” Jack typed. The same results came back and he looked up at Anna. “What’s wrong with this thing?”
“I don’t understand. Isn’t this what was happening?” Anna asked.
“Exactly. There’s a pattern. Why?”
“I know. That’s the problem I was having yesterday. The one I told you about last night, I thought you understood,” Anna repeated more emphatically.
Jack looked at her. “I guess I didn’t.”
“I–I think there’s a bug in the code.”
“Obviously. Is this accidental or is it intentional?”
“May I, sir?” Anna asked as she indicated her intentions.
Jack stood and Anna took the seat at the computer where he’d been working. She started typing in dates and she was getting the same results.
“Sara, would you come here, please?” Anna asked.
Sara came and stood behind Anna. Sara hadn’t really been following what had been happening.
“Watch this.” Anna duplicated the output of the program.
“Obviously a bug in the code.” Sara shrugged.
“Yeah, we got that far, Chief. Which report is right? And is it intentional?” Jack asked.
“Let’s see if we can track the modification dates,” Sara said.
“That’ll be a little hard. This OS will only tell you the creation date and the last time it was modified,” Anna said.
“Get a forensics expert to look at this. In the meantime we’ll start with the last time it was modified on that guy’s computer,” Jack ordered.
Anna accessed the duplicate drive that Sara had made. The original drive had been locked up. “Got it, Captain. Looks like it was modified on September 7, 2007, at 12:01 p.m.”
Anna stopped and looked at Jack. He could tell by her expression something had struck her as odd.
“What is it?” Jack asked.
“Could this be the problem? Could this be what he saw in those reports and maybe just blew it off thinking there was a bug in the code?” Anna asked.
Jack looked away and thought about what Anna had just said. “Anna, grab those reports and come with me.”
* * * *
Anna picked up the reports that Captain O’Malley had printed and followed behind. He was deep in thought as he walked and Anna had to almost run to keep up with him. When they reached Admiral Campbell’s office, Captain O’Malley blew past his secretary’s desk. She hesitated.
“Go on, honey, they all do it. I don’t stop them unless he’s got the door closed,” the secretary said.
Anna smiled and cautiously followed Captain O’Malley inside. He was talking to the admiral as she entered. Anna stayed at the threshold of the doorway.
“Like I said, something’s going on. I’ve just spent the morning trying to figure out what the hell it is,” Captain O’Malley said. He looked behind him. “Anna, the reports.”
Anna walked inside and handed the papers to him. She shrank back to the threshold.
“Come on in, Anna, and have a seat at the table. Let’s all talk,” the admiral said.
Admiral Campbell came from behind his desk and seated himself, as did Anna. Captain O’Malley, however, continued to walk around the room as Admiral Campbell scanned over the reports.
“Two of these I know for sure are dirty. The rest we can check out,” Admiral Campbell said.
“Yeah, but that’s not the weird part,” Captain O’Malley said.
“Oh? There’s more?”
“It’s the way that stupid program works.”
“Macro, sir,” Anna corrected.
Anna wanted to kick herself. The two men looked at her. Why did I say that?
“Come back with that?” the admiral asked
“Sorry, sir. It’s not a program. It’s a macro. There’s a difference,” Anna said as she looked down at the table.
“Okay, without getting too technical tell me what the difference is,” the admiral said as he sat back in his chair.
“Well, sir, a macro works within a program and combines a bunch of functions together, like adding, subtracting, printing, and others all at the touch of a key. A program is much more powerful and broader,” Anna said.
“Huh, learn something new every day.” Admiral Campbell eyed the report.
“This macro isn’t consistent. It was modified right before the end of the fiscal year in 2007. I’ve asked Sara to call in a forensic expert to take this thing apart. It’s very old, and that’s a problem. Or maybe we just figured out what this guy had discovered. He may have thought this was a bug in the program but in reality it was accurate,” Captain O’Malley said.
“I’m holding you two over until the expert gets here. In the meantime, Anna, dig in and see what you can find out. Markie!” Admiral Campbell yelled.
The elderly secretary walked into the office.
“Yes, Admiral,”
Markie said.
“Extend their orders another week,” the admiral ordered.
“Nice to see you’ll be with us a while longer, Captain,” Markie flirted as she walked past Captain O’Malley.
“Thank you, Markie. I’m looking forward to it,” Captain O’Malley flirted back.
Anna was shocked as Captain O’Malley walked out with the secretary to the outer office. She cleared her throat and the admiral spoke again.
“Good job, Anna,” Admiral Campbell commended.
“Thank you, sir.”
“Sara’s had her hands full. She seems to be finally treading water now and you’ve been a big help,” Admiral Campbell said.
“Thank you, sir.”
Anna glanced at the door where Captain O’Malley had disappeared. She heard Markie giggle seductively in the outer office.
“How long have you been doing this kind of work, Anna?” the admiral asked, drawing her attention.
“About three years, sir.”
“At Randolph?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Would you consider leaving?”
“Sir?”
“Would you consider leaving Randolph and coming here to work?” Admiral Campbell asked.
“I don’t understand, sir.”
“What don’t you understand?”
“What you’re asking, sir.”
“I’m offering you a job here, working with Sara.”
Captain O’Malley walked into the office.
“Uh…” Anna started as she looked at Captain O’Malley.
“Do you have a husband and family you need to talk with?” Admiral Campbell asked.
“No, sir. I’m not married,” Anna said.
“Good! Well, think about it. You have a week,” Admiral Campbell said as he looked at Captain O’Malley.
“Anna, I need to talk to the captain. I’ll let you know if there’s anything else,” Admiral Campbell said.
“Of course, sir,” Anna said.
Captain O’Malley followed and closed the door behind Anna.
* * * *
“I offered her the job,” Dixie said.
“And?” Jack questioned.
“She’s thinking about it. I hope you’re right about this, Jack. I fucking jumped major hoops with SOCOM for that position. If she’s in with them, I’ll be the one to pin the tail on the jackass,” Dixie warned.
“Seriously, Dixie?” Jack asked sarcastically.
Admiral Campbell looked down at the papers in front of him and smiled.
“I don’t believe she is. Besides we saw this little problem way before Anna Santiago.” Dixie looked up and frowned slightly. “Quantico, remember? Engineering firm run by terrorists, we helped Badass when we were at Dam Neck. That’s how we got a lead on Bakri and all that money that was being redirected. Marco Lima was involved in that incident, too. Government contracts, stolen money, computer hacker, it’s all beginning to come together. I’m glad we scheduled that conference with our buddies from Beaumont,” Jack said.
Dixie sat back in his chair. “Rock, tie this up and end it now. Mummar and Abdul are enemy combatants but they still have rights. Figure out how the hell this all ties together, without violating their rights.”
“We’ve already scheduled a little fishing trip,” Jack said.
“I don’t give a shit what you do. Tie this up and make sure Anna Santiago is not involved with them. I’ll hang you if she is, Rock,” Dixie warned.
“She’s not involved, Dixie, and they might come after her. I think the way we’re handling this is better,” Jack said.
“I’ll bet you do,” Dixie said with a smile.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“I saw the way you looked at me when I asked her if she was married,” Dixie said, looking directly at Jack.
“She’s not my type, boss. You know that.”
“Then you need to broaden your horizons, boy. I’ll bet she’s something when she takes off those glasses.”
* * * *
Anna stood in front of Markie’s desk as she gave the secretary her information to extend her orders another week. Her mind was elsewhere, thinking of Admiral Campbell’s job offer. It had taken her by surprise and she was seriously considering it. This job would get her away from a lot and maybe it was just what she needed. California wasn’t where she necessarily wanted to land, but it wasn’t bad. Captain O’Malley opened the door and smiled at Markie.
“Get what you need?” Captain O’Malley asked Markie.
“Not unless you’re coming back, Captain.” Markie smiled as she winked at Anna.
“As for the orders, you’re all set. Just pick them up at travel,” Markie said to Anna.
Anna smiled in return, saying nothing. Captain O’Malley started to steer Anna from the office. As they were leaving he turned around.
“I’ll be back, Markie,” Captain O’Malley said over his shoulder.
Anna looked at Captain O’Malley in shock.
“Great job, Anna. You’ve been key in getting us a leg up on these guys,” Captain O’Malley complimented.
“Thank you, sir.”
“The admiral said he offered you a job here. How do you feel about that?” Captain O’Malley asked.
“I’m thinking about it, sir.”
“Really? Would you move here?”
“I’m thinking about it. I guess I need more details, Captain.”
“Okay. You’ll need to stick with me for a while in San Antonio. Until we have this one cleaned up.”
“That would be okay. It would give me some time to get some things organized.”
* * * *
Jack was surprised. He wasn’t sure how to take what she was saying. Anna seemed okay with cutting ties in San Antonio. His memory reached back to the flight when they had been talking. What had happened? He’d been so involved in working he hadn’t called Mac and now that call was overdue. He escorted her back to Combat Systems and told her to find out how that macro was different than the original. As soon as he was out the door, he was on a call to Mac.
“Howdy, boss, how’s Cali?”
“Talk to me about Anna Santiago. Why would she be okay with moving here?” Jack asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Give me her recent history. What’s happened over the last ten years?”
“Okay.” Mac hesitated.
Jack could hear typing in the background.
“She was married to one Marc Santiago, an attorney, who later became a state district attorney for the State of Texas. She was married for seventeen years. They had one child, a girl, Alyssa Maria. During that time Anna was the executive chef at the Rancho Viejo Resort down near Brownsville. That gig lasted for about eight years. While she was there, she invested in a catering company, which she still owns. She was on the cover of Texas Monthly about seven years ago. About that time her father died. She quit the resort and started working at the catering company,” Mac said.
“What happened to the husband and kid? Where are they?”
“I’m getting there, boss. Hold your horses.”
“Husband and kid were killed in a head-on collision about five years ago. She moved back to San Antonio and according to this got her a couple of computer certifications and applied for a GS-0200-07 training position and got her GS-09 last year. She’s been working civil service for about three years now. She started at Lackland and moved to Randolph last year when she got her nine. She just bought a house in April in Seguin, Texas,” Mac informed.
“Seguin? Where’s that?”
“Let’s see here. Just down the road on FM-78, about thirty miles east of here. Let me look up the address.” Mac paused. “It’s a house with a few acres and it’s out in the country. But she’s not living there right now. According to personnel she’s living in San Antonio.”
“She just bought a house she’s not living in?”
“Don’t sound right, huh?”
“Find out exactly wha
t happened to the kid and husband. Look into this catering company, too. Take a drive out to the house. Tell me if anyone’s out there.”
“What’s the deal, Rock?”
“Call me back when you have my answers.” Jack ended the call.
Chapter 17
Naval Special Warfare Command
Visiting Officer’s Quarters
Coronado Naval Amphibious Base, California
August 9, 2008/1358 Zulu
“That’s all?” Jack demanded.
“Yes, sir, Captain, that’s all I’ve got right now,” Mac replied
“And you took the drive out to that house? You didn’t send somebody else?”
“No, sir. I went myself and walked around and took a peek inside.”
“What about the catering company?”
“It’s legit. I can’t find anything dirty and the husband and kid were killed, just like I said, in a head-on collision. The drunk driver was killed as well. It was pretty bad, boss. The kid died on the operating table. She was twelve years old. The papers had a field day with it. It seems like her husband was a pretty important guy. Anna did get one hell of a settlement from the accident. The drunk driver was the mayor of Brownsville and pretty well connected from the looks of things. I can understand why she moved and why she ain’t got no problem doing it again.” Jack said nothing for a moment. “Boss?”
“I’m here, Mac. Keep digging. Make sure there’s nothing dirty there. Check her family in San Antonio and check into her late husband’s family as well. I need to cover myself on this one,” Jack said.
“Okay, Captain, but you’ll need to give me a little more time on that one. But for now, she’s clean.”
Jack ended the call with his command master chief and decided to spend some time with Anna tomorrow. He knew he needed to talk with her one-on-one to see if she would tell him anything. She had a tendency to be very reserved about herself and her life. He was thinking about how to proceed with Anna in order to glean more information when he found himself in front of her door. It suddenly occurred to him that he’d promised to spend today with JJ, his former chief. He hesitated for a moment before knocking on her door. The door swung open and Jack was speechless for a moment. She was wearing those damn jeans and T-shirt!
