No Strings Attached

by Julie Moffett

  “What’s happening?” he asked.

  “Two policemen have entered the house. They just encountered Rock. One of them is talking to him and Shi, while the other one is going through the house, checking things out and presumably finding the others trussed up like turkeys.”

  After another couple of minutes, the outside camera showed another car pulling up and parking across the street as the driveway filled up with cars and flashing lights. Beau hopped out, still obviously winded. He’d taken off his jacket, mask and comm link, so now he wore only a white T-shirt, dark jeans and tennis shoes. As he approached the house, a policeman got out of one of the cars and stopped him.

  “Hope he’s persuasive and can tell a good story,” Slash said.

  “He can.”

  We watched as Beau flashed his badge and started talking. After a moment, the two of them entered the house and we followed them into the living room where Rock was still giving his statement to the other policemen. Beau and Rock hugged and I smiled. My two brothers were earnestly talking to the policemen when yet another police car drove up.

  “And so the real party begins,” I said leaning forward with a full-fledged smile as Slash put his hands on my shoulders. “Now we wait.”

  * * *

  It wasn’t safe for us to leave with so much police activity going on nearby, so we waited. I was glad because it let me keep an eye on Rock and Beau.

  I called Elvis and put him on video. “Hey, Elvis, did you see what happened?”

  “I sure did. I watched the whole thing unfold on camera, just like you. When I saw Jiang Shi drive up, I almost crapped my pants.”

  “Join the club,” I said.

  “Man, that was an unexpected variable,” Elvis said. “Will his presence change anything about the plan?”

  Slash had grabbed a bottle of water and now sat on a duffel bag, resting against the side of the van. “Absolutely. All kinds of US agencies must now get involved in the investigation, which actually turns out to be a stroke of luck for us. This situation becomes even more high-profile than we could have hoped for now that Shi is directly involved. It was a clever plan.”

  “Even if they won’t be able to link him to anything that happened in that house?” I asked.

  “Even then.” Slash stretched his legs out in front of him. “I assure you, the fact Shi was caught entering the house won’t go unnoticed by the Chinese government. He’ll have a lot of explaining to do, especially since we believe the Chinese government doesn’t know most of what Shi is up to, including murder.”

  “What about Rock?” Elvis asked.

  “Beau will fill him in on what happened later,” I said. “For now the official story is that Beau received an anonymous tip about Rock’s kidnapping and location. Since Beau happened to be in the area at the time of the tip, he alerted the police that he was on his way to rescue his brother. However, by the time he got to the house, he found the police already on the scene and all the kidnappers tied up and restrained. His brother, Rock, had apparently just been freed by a mysterious group of apparent do-gooders who must also have been the source of the tip to Beau. Rock will be able to innocently and accurately corroborate Beau’s story.”

  Slash took a drink and lifted his water to me in a toast. “Even better, as soon as the FBI and NSA discover Feng Mei is involved—and I’ve already helpfully provided a tip to that effect—they are going to be all over this and, by extension, Shi.”

  “How can we be sure something will happen to Shi?” Elvis asked. “Given his skill, he has to be considered an asset by the Chinese government.”

  “Only if his usefulness continues to outweigh his liability,” Slash said. “I wouldn’t count on Shi coming out of this unscathed, especially after we destroy the Red Guest with the dark code.”

  I leaned forward in my seat. “Speaking of Shi...he’s coming out the front door now. It looks like he’s going to make a phone call.”

  Slash quickly rose to his feet. “Magnify,” he ordered leaning over my shoulder.

  I magnified the view as Shi raised the phone to his ear.

  “Can you record the conversation?” he asked me.

  I tapped a few keys. “It’s recording, but we’ve got visual only. What’s the point? We can’t hear what he’s saying.

  “No, but we can read lips.”

  “Not helpful if he’s speaking in Chinese.”

  Slash grinned at me. “We’re the NSA, cara. We have an app for that.”

  We watched as Shi spoke, becoming increasingly furious. After a few minutes and several explosive hand gestures, he hung up.

  “He probably called the embassy,” I said. “Someone has to come vouch for him.”

  “I don’t think so.” Slash leaned over me and tapped on the keyboard, retrieving the file and sending it somewhere. “Either way, we’re about to find out.”

  “How long does it take the app to work?” I asked.

  “It’s pretty fast. It is not always accurate, but you generally get the gist of what they are saying. Stand by.”

  After a couple of minutes, the results were back. I scooted over in the folding chair so he could have half of it.

  He typed in a few commands and the file popped open.

  “What’s it say?” I asked.

  Slash was silent for a moment and then spoke. “Shi is instructing someone to release a code against us.”

  “A code?” My eyes widened. “What kind of code? A black code?”

  Slash raised his eyes from the monitor to meet mine. His expression was grim. “Si, and it appears we have one hour to release ours first.”

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  “What are you doing?” I asked Slash as he climbed to the front of the van and slid in behind the wheel.

  “We’re leaving.”

  “Is it safe?”

  “We don’t have any choice. We’ll have to risk it.”

  I pulled up the front door camera. There was still a lot of police activity in the driveway, but the street was not blocked off and no one seemed to be watching the street.

  “Okay. Let’s do it. I don’t see anyone who will stop us.”

  I pulled up video as Slash pulled away from the curb. “Elvis, are you there?”

  His face came into view. “I’m here.”

  “Have you been listening?”

  “I have. What do you want me to do?”

  “Well, we’ve got to make sure the police can’t track this raid back to us and we’ve only got one hour to release our code before they release theirs.”

  “Don’t look at me to release the code.” Panic crossed his face. “I don’t have a clue where or how he intends to release it. Man, that’s all in Slash’s head, not mine.”

  “I know. Get started on erasing the security video starting about ten minutes before our appearance and up to just before Beau’s arrival. Make sure to leave Shi’s phone call.”

  “Ok, I’m on it. Shouldn’t be an issue. All of the video is shipped off-site for cloud storage.”

  I peered at the monitor. “Slash, is there any way for us to release the black code from this laptop?” Even as I asked, I sincerely doubted it. The black code would require specific release architecture and protocols that were not present on my laptop.

  Slash shook his head. “No. We’ve got to get back to the hotel room and quick.”

  Swallowing my panic, I turned to Elvis. “We’re on the way back to the hotel. Assemble the code and do a final check, okay? It’s got to be ready to go.”

  “Understood. Anything else?”

  “Watch for any escalation or preparation for an attack. Pull in Xavier to help monitor.”

  “Got it.” He clicked off.

  I leaned forward, my hands on the back of Slash’s
seat, looking out the front window. “Is anyone following us?”

  Slash glanced in the rearview mirror. “Not yet.”

  “Well, there’s that at least.”

  “Cara, listen to me carefully. There is something I need you to do right now.”

  “What?”

  “Get to the keyboard. You need to send a message.”

  I scrambled back to the chair, the laptop nearly sliding off the table as Slash took another corner hard. “Hey, take it easy. We almost lost the laptop.”

  “Sorry.”

  “To whom am I sending this message and from what account?” I asked.

  “Get an anonymous account. I’ll provide the email.”

  “An anonymous account is going to take time.” I blew out a breath of frustration. “Time we don’t have. Not to mention, all I’ve got is a weak signal.”

  “Do your best. Just get me something.”

  I dived into the web, hopping around with the speed of a sloth until I finally had something to work with. “I’ve got something. Not perfect, but it should do.”

  “Is it traceable?”

  Panic was combining with irritation. “Anything is traceable, Slash.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “We’re good for now. I can work on fixing it later. It doesn’t really matter, does it? They will know you sent the message, right? Just give me the address.”

  He gave it to me and I typed it in.

  “Now what’s this message supposed to say?” I steadied the laptop as it slipped sideways. I was practically typing one-handed in order to keep the laptop steady.

  Slash spoke clearly and deliberately. “We have indisputable evidence that in less than one hour, the Red Guest will release a malicious code called Nightfall. At this time the US has elected not to respond preemptively. That may change if action is not taken to stop this. We will respond to any attack. Do not doubt that we have the capability. This is one last chance at a stalemate and an understanding that the ability for mutual assured destruction is so terrible neither of us should use it. If Nightfall is released, it will be a cyber catastrophe for both countries, and by extension, the world. We do not have the luxury of time as we just became aware of the pending attack. If we don’t hear from you within the next forty-five minutes or see any evidence of an escalation leading to an attack, we will respond accordingly.”

  I typed the final letter and then sat back, my mind reeling. We were teetering on the brink of cyberwar. History in the making in the back of a van with my fingers on the keyboard.

  “Do I press Send?” I asked, my voice wavering.

  “Immediately.”

  I sent it and then double-checked to make sure it went. “It’s gone. To whom did we just send it?”

  “I’ve been cultivating an online relationship with a certain Chinese official.”

  “That guy at the embassy? Chunlin? The one with whom you were talking about cyber détente?”

  “He’s the one.”

  “Wait. We’re trusting him?” I sat back in stunned surprise. “You do understand that he is the Minister of Security. That means he’s in charge of the secret police and does, you know, democratic suppression and all that.”

  “I’m well aware of that fact.”

  “Well, what if it’s his very department that’s financing the development of China’s black code. He could be the money mind behind the very operations of the Red Guest. How can you possibly believe he’s trustworthy?”

  “I’m not certain he’s trustworthy.” Slash maneuvered forward, barely squeezing between a few cars that had pulled over to let us past. “But Chunlin isn’t stupid. He understands the consequences of a war at this level. It’s just a hunch. Sometimes you have to operate on faith.”

  “That’s so not logical.”

  “True. But sometimes it’s all you’ve got.”

  Before I could respond, we came to a screeching halt. I fell out of the chair, twisting my body so I protected the laptop that fell with me. My head clunked the side of the van.

  “Ouch!” I sat up, rubbing my head. “That hurt. What happened?”

  When Slash didn’t answer, I scrambled to my feet and looked with horror at the line of cars stretched ahead of us.

  A horrible, impossible Washington, DC, traffic jam.

  We’d never make it in time.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  “Oh, dear God,” I said. “How are we going to get to the hotel in time?”

  Slash slammed his hand on the steering wheel and let out a long stream of words in Italian. I was pretty sure he wasn’t referring to kittens and unicorns.

  Behind us I heard the wail of sirens.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  Slash looked in the rearview mirror. “Fire engines coming up behind us. There’s probably an accident ahead.”

  My mind raced. “Wait. Beau borrowed this van from the Baltimore PD, right? It’s a police van. Quick, check under the seat to see if it has a portable flashing beacon light. Hurry. I’ll look back here.”

  I started going through boxes when I heard Slash say, “I’ve got one. I think I know where you’re going with this.”

  Slash rolled down the window and slapped the blue flashing beacon on top of the van. It was already spinning and flashing.

  “I guess it would be too much to hope for a siren,” I said.

  “We won’t need one,” he said. The fire engines screamed as they got closer.

  I leaned forward to the front seat so I could see the passenger-side mirror. The traffic was pulling over to make room for the fire engines.

  “Ready?” I asked him.

  “Ready.”

  As soon as the fire engines passed, Slash yanked hard on the steering wheel, falling in directly behind the engines.

  “It’s working,” I shouted as the traffic parted as we moved forward on the tail of the engines.

  It took us seven minutes to get to the scene of the accident. As we blasted past the scene and shot forward, we got surprised looks from the police on the ground.

  “Good thing they’re too busy to follow,” I said. “I hope.”

  Slash didn’t answer. We raced down the street, weaving through traffic and turning down side streets so he could keep us moving. We kept the light flashing so people stayed out of our way and no police cars started chasing us.

  Yet.

  “Time?” Slash asked curtly.

  I glanced at the laptop. “We have thirty-seven minutes left.”

  “Check the account. Anything?”

  I pulled up the account from which we had sent the email. “Nothing.”

  We were still at least twenty minutes from the hotel. I called Elvis, using the video cam. “How’s it going?” I asked when he popped up.

  “What kind of question is that? I’m sitting on a nuclear bomb. I’m nervous as hell. When are you guys getting here?”

  “We ran into some traffic. Is the code ready?”

  “As ready as it can be. You do realize Slash didn’t even have time to review what we did.”

  I swallowed. That was the truth. That meant he had to trust we did it right. If we didn’t, the mistake would cost the world more than was imaginable. My mind raced through all sorts of doomsday scenarios until I shut it down. I couldn’t dwell on that now. Strain was evident on Elvis’s face. I figured I had the same look.

  “Time?” Slash asked again.

  I looked at the computer. “We have twenty-four minutes. Slash, we don’t even know if the Red Guest is going to release it exactly on the hour or whether they’ll just let it go whenever it’s ready.”

  “We can’t worry about that now.

  “Any answer to our email?”

 
I checked and shook my head. “No. No response yet. Elvis, any evidence of escalation?”

  “None that we see. We’re in a holding pattern.”

  I glanced at my watch. “We’ll be there as soon as we can. Stand by.”

  “Trust me,” Elvis said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  I clicked off. Slash had made good time, but it was going to be tight. He rocketed down the streets, going through red lights and stop signs. I closed the laptop, put it in its bag and looped it over my shoulder.

  Within minutes we were coming up on the hotel. “I take it we are not going to park in the garage,” I said.

  “Hell, no,” Slash said, turning the wheel hard, causing me to slide to the other side of the van. In the back, the folding table hit the side of the van and collapsed.

  “You ready to hop out?” he asked me.

  “I am.” I glanced at my watch. “Seven minutes.”

  “It’s enough if they don’t jump the gun.”

  “I hope you’re right.” I squeezed the laptop to my chest.

  He screeched to a halt. He’d pulled up to the curb near the hotel. I scooted to the back just as he wrenched open the door and extended a hand.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  We dashed across the street and into the hotel lobby. I pushed the button, waiting impatiently for the elevator to arrive.

  Just as it dinged its arrival, a voice said, “Don’t move. FBI.”

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  I whirled around and saw Slash and an FBI agent pointing guns at each other. The agent was young, dressed in a jacket and tie with a shock of blond hair and flushed cheeks. Definitely right out of freaking college. His hand trembled as he held the gun on Slash, but he tried to look authoritative. He failed miserably.

  “Cara, get on the elevator,” Slash said in a calm voice.

  I stuck out a hand to stop the elevator from closing when the agent shouted. “I said don’t move.”

  “Here’s the situation,” Slash said evenly. “I could shoot you before you got a shot off at me. Even if you were faster on the trigger—which we both know you aren’t—you can’t shoot us both. You have to trust me when I say that we are in the middle of an important matter of national security. So, she’s going to get on that elevator and you and I will have a discussion after she leaves. Do you understand me? Go. You know what you have to do.”