“Not that particular turn of events, no, but a forensic exam of their books could reveal any of a number of illicit accounting practices. You’d be surprised how often that’s a precursor of more serious crimes.”
“Okay, proceed with that review, Agent Blackwell. Cragmire, you still don’t have any of Summit’s research notes available, do you?”
“No,” replied Cragmire, “and Gromov confirmed she doesn’t have the encryption code. She said Summit never shared it with anyone.”
“I see. In that case, you and the Gooch can work together.”
“What’s our mission, boss?” asked the former Marine.
“We spent a lot of time yesterday examining the lab and Summit’s office,” said Delaney, “but not so much in the rest of this building. I want you and Cragmire to conduct a thorough review of the remaining offices and storage closets for anything we may have overlooked yesterday.”
The Gooch nodded, but Cragmire looked uncertain.
“What exactly are we looking for?” asked Cragmire while pocketing his omnipresent cellphone.
Delaney straightened in her stool. “Start by looking for evidence of forced entry into any of the other rooms. Then look for anything missing, like the computer that used to be in Summit’s office. And check for anything the perps may have accidentally left behind. In all the chaos, they could have dropped something or placed down an item and forgotten it. If something, anything, just doesn’t look right, make a note of it.”
“I can help the team later,” said Tuttle, “but first I need to wrap up my research into local plants Dr. Summit’s kidnappers might be able to use as a stop-gap asthma medicine.”
“How’s that coming?”
Tuttle shook his head. “Not well, I’m afraid. So far, I haven’t found any that’d be of any medicinal use.”
“That’s too bad,” said Delaney. “What about Gromov. Have you heard from her?”
“Yes. She hasn’t found much either, so she’s following up with some colleagues in Europe. And I still have more research to do. I’m not writing the cause off as hopeless just yet. Dr. Summit’s life may hinge on our efforts.” His voice had cracked, and he paused a moment before continuing. “I’m taking a look into a different family of plants: the Asclepiadaceae, better known as the milkweed. My notes on this family are down at my bungalow, so I’m going to head down there to continue my research. I’ll come back once my research is complete.”
“Sounds good,” said Delaney. She turned to the rest of the group. “Okay, team, any questions?”
When no one spoke, she continued, “I’m going to test the broken lab equipment for organic residue, and you each have your assignments. Let’s get busy. We’ll have a roundtable again around noon.”
Alton dismounted his stool and entered the lab, making a beeline for the back wall, where a row of lab benches had escaped the break-in’s general destruction. Taking a seat at one of the tables, he powered up his laptop and set to work analyzing Summit’s message. He took an occasional sip of the now-tepid coffee while whittling the list of potential ciphers down to just a few. Crossing his finger, he reset the digits, ran the decoding sequence, and scanned the output. “Bingo!”
“What is it?” asked Delaney, striding over.
“I got it. I decoded the message…finally. Sorry it took so long.”
“Excellent. Agent Vega said you’re one of the best he’s ever seen when it comes to this sort of thing. That must have been some puzzle.”
“It was. For starters, I didn’t know how many characters were used in the encryption key itself. It turned out to be a strictly alphabetic string, but I didn’t know that going in. It’s usually alphanumeric with special characters thrown in to boot. I had to consider all possibilities. A second challenge was the way the data itself was encrypted.”
“What do you mean?” asked Delaney with a cock of her head.
“A common decryption technique involves looking for patterns in the characters,” said Alton. “The most common letters tend to appear more often, so we can infer the true characters from the frequency of the scrambled ones. For instance, if you’re trying to unscramble a message, and you see the letter ‘x’ appear a lot, you know it probably stands for ‘a’ or ‘e.’ Summit’s encryption program inserts a bunch of random characters throughout the text. The superfluous characters are intended to throw that pattern-recognition technique out of whack, and it works. The decryption key I just identified had to do more than just decrypt the individual characters. It also had to tell me which ones constitute the actual message and which ones to ignore.”
Delaney nodded. “I can see how that would be a challenge. So now the big question—”
She stopped midsentence as her cellphone began to ring. Withdrawing it from her pocket, she arched an eyebrow in surprise and answered the phone. “Good morning, Senator Jackson.” Listening in silence, she nodded several times. “No problem. Give me three minutes to gather the team, and we’ll connect on your secure channel.”
Ending the call, she turned to Alton. “Can you round up the others while I boot up my laptop? Richard Jackson wants to have a chat with all of us in three minutes to discuss the status of our investigation.”
“Sure,” replied Alton. He limped down the hall and collected the rest of the team, returning just as Delaney established a live link. The group assembled in front of Delaney’s computer, where she had set up a portable camera to accommodate a video conference. The senator and his office were already displayed on the laptop screen. The clarity of the image surprised Alton, considering their remote, Pacific-island location.
“How can we help you, Senator?” asked Delaney.
The politician glared into the camera. “I’d like to know what the holdup is in finding my wife.”
“Perhaps there’s been a misunderstanding. We’ve had no holdup. The investigation is proceeding—”
“If there’s no holdup, why haven’t you located Jan? What’s taking so long?”
Delaney held her gaze steady into the camera. “Your wife was kidnapped less than four days ago. Since that time, we’ve assembled and deployed an on-site team, identified the number and gender of attackers, and sent a package of evidence to the FBI forensic labs in Washington for analysis. Any one of those pieces of evidence could provide essential clues. In the meantime, we’ve been reviewing the scene again and working to decrypt the message your wife sent to you the night she disappeared.”
“Holy shit! You mean you still haven’t decoded that? Who’s working on it?”
Alton limped forwards several steps. “I am, Senator.”
The politician raised an eyebrow in disdain. “This guy has arguably the most important job? With all the resources of the Federal government, this is the best we can do?”
“You’re right,” replied Alton in an even voice. “Let me send your wife’s message back to you. I wish you good luck in decoding it.”
Anger flared in the senator’s eyes. “Don’t be a smart-ass with me, Agent…?”
“I would never do that, Senator,” replied Alton, ignoring the question of his name, “but I would suggest you focus on my qualification to perform the assigned mission, not some James Bond-inspired fantasy of what members of an NSA mission team should look like.”
The senator still looked skeptical. “Agent Delaney, can this guy make sense of Jan’s message?”
“Mr. Blackwell has already decrypted it,” said Delaney.
“Well, don’t just stand there!” said Summit, straightening in his chair. “What does it say?”
“Why don’t we ask Mr. Blackwell?”
“Let me get my laptop,” said Alton. Returning in seconds, he read the terse message. ‘Lab is breached. Research archives are stored in usual spot, the tunnel.’” He raised his head. “There isn’t any more.”
CHAPTER 14
“But what does it mean? ‘Research archives are stored in usual spot’,” said Senator Jackson.
“I was ho
ping you could tell us,” said Alton. “I haven’t seen anything here resembling a tunnel.”
“What about the rest of you?” asked the senator. “Have you seen a tunnel?”
They all shook their heads.
“So we’re no better off than if she hadn’t sent the message at all,” said the politician, leaning back in his chair with a sigh.
“I wouldn’t say that,” said Alton. “There are a few facts we can infer.”
“Such as?”
Before Alton could respond, the NSA team witnessed a chaotic scene in Jackson’s office. A silver-haired man who could have passed for an NFL lineman in his youth strode across the room, while a heavyset matron with a navy-blue power suit and determined eyes pistoned her arms in an effort to keep up with the intruder.
“Senator Leach,” said the lady, presumably an administrative assistant, “Senator Jackson is on an important personal call—”
“I don’t give a shit if he’s talking to the president,” snapped the new arrival. “I’d like to know what the hell he’s doing holding up my agriculture bill in committee.”
Jackson turned to his colleague with a glint of steel in his eyes. “Leach, do you see these people I’m videoconferencing with?”
“I don’t care—”
“They are investigating Jan’s abduction.”
“What?” said Leach. “She’s missing?”
“Yes, someone attacked her research complex a few days ago, and she’s disappeared. We don’t know if she’s kidnapped or…worse.” Jackson’s voice faltered.
Leach paused. “Tough break. I hope they find her.” His reaction seemed a bit less empathetic than Alton would have expected.
“I’m discussing her recovery plans with these people,” said Jackson, gesturing to his monitor. “Get the hell out of my office so I can keep working on it.”
Leach took a few steps, hesitated, then began walking again, exiting the office within seconds.
“Other side of the aisle?” asked Alton, who had already experienced interparty warfare firsthand during his stint as manager of Kruptos’ Washington office.
“Yes,” replied Jackson. “We go way back.”
Alton detected lingering animosity in the senator’s icy voice, so he let the conversation drop. Even for the contentious halls of the Capitol, the men’s acrimony seemed particularly intense.
“So you were saying there might be some information to glean from Jan’s message?” asked Jackson, straightening in his chair again.
“That’s right,” said Alton. “The message is twelve words. That’s not a lot, but she was aware of someone assaulting the building yet took a moment to type it up. This indicates she thought she had a little time before they would reach her. The evidence we’ve seen here supports that idea. It appears the perps broke into the lab while she was locked in her office. Perhaps your wife hoped to use that time to get away.”
“She must not have made it, though,” said Jackson, “or she would have contacted me by now.”
“True,” said Alton. “Her message also indicates that she thought her research vital, important enough to risk a possible escape to send a message about its location.”
“I wish to God now she hadn’t stopped to send it,” said Jackson, resting his forehead on his palms for a moment. “Why didn’t she just get the hell out of there?”
“Senator,” said Delaney, “we’re doing all we can to find her. I know you and I spoke in detail before I came down here, but have you thought of anything else, anything new that might help us locate your wife?”
He shrugged helplessly. “I wish I had. I’ll certainly let you know if I do.”
“And I’ll let you know if we have any breakthroughs. For now, though, I suggest we wrap up this call so my team can get back to work.”
“Yes, of course,” replied Jackson. He gazed with anguish into the camera. “I know Jan felt passionately about her research, but at this point, I couldn’t care less. Just…find my wife, please.”
CHAPTER 15
Delaney ended the video conference.
Alton turned to her. “Summit’s research notes were also encrypted. The e-mail cipher I just discovered was probably the same one she used on her notes. Why don’t I decrypt those, too? That’ll give Cragmire something to sink his teeth into.”
Delaney nodded, while Cragmire added, “Works for me. I’d rather be doing that than crawling around on the floor looking for who-knows-what.”
“Speaking of that, have you found anything yet?” asked Delaney.
“Yeah. Five mouse turds.”
“Nice. Have you finished your room-by-room search?”
“No,” said Cragmire, “but I’ve been thinking…why don’t I meet with Gromov? She can get me up to speed on the specifics of the research being conducted here. That way, when Blackwell decodes Summit’s files, I can hit the ground running.”
“Good idea,” said Delaney. “We want to minimize the time required to interpret her research notes. Call Gromov and ask her to come here as soon as possible.”
“Will do,” said Cragmire, exhibiting his first signs of enthusiasm.
“I’ll wrap up the search of the remaining rooms,” said the Gooch.
“And I’ll finish my initial exams of the physical evidence you’ve been gathering,” said Delaney. “I’m just about caught up—finally.”
“I’m going to get back to my audit of the financial records,” said Mallory, heading towards the administrative offices.
The group broke up.
Alton carried his laptop back to his previous spot against the back wall, where an open spiral notebook lay covered with scribblings from his decryption efforts. He brought up the last file Summit had backed up on the site’s servers, then ran the decryption program. A loud beep sounded within seconds. Alton loaded nine other files, older ones, with the same result.
“Crap,” he said, running a hand through his hair.
“What is it?” asked Delaney, who looked up from a microscope resting on an adjacent lab bench.
“She changed the cipher,” replied Alton. “The code Summit used on her e-mail message is different from the one used for her research notes.”
“So it’s going to take longer to decrypt?”
“Yes, but probably not as long as her e-mail message did. Now that I know the general parameters of her technique, I can hone in on possible solutions much faster—assuming she didn’t change those parameters as well.”
“Is that likely?”
“Normally, I’d say no. But I’ve never seen a non-IT person so concerned about data security, so it’s possible.” Alton drummed his fingers on the table. “On the other hand, we know she used a program that let her provide her own ciphers. The program—not Summit—would determine the encryption parameters, so more than likely, it’ll follow the same technique over and over. If that’s the case, I don’t think it’ll take too long.”
“Good,” said Delaney. “With any luck, her research files will move our investigation forward. And give Cragmire something to do besides complain.”
Alton chuckled. “I’ll let you know as soon as I have something.” He settled into the task, ignoring the warm rays of tropical sun shining in through a nearby window onto his neck and back.
A couple of hours later, Mallory approached Alton’s table. “How’s it coming?”
“Pretty good—just eliminating possibilities. I don’t think it’ll be too much longer now.”
“Do you need a break?”
Alton sat up and stretched his back. “To be honest, yeah.”
“Why don’t we go pick up some lunch for the team? It’ll only take fifteen minutes or so if we go to that little roadside restaurant, that one near the creek we passed on the way from Puerto Ayora. We could both use the mental break. Your leg would probably benefit, too.”
Alton nodded. His wife knew him well. His damaged leg always grew sore if he let it fall into disuse for too long, and he tended to solve probl
ems faster if he occasionally let his foot off the mental gas.
Alton and Mallory informed Delaney of their errand. They passed Cragmire and Gromov huddled in deep conversation, exited the building into the bright sunlight, and climbed into their Highlander.
Alton steered the rental down the facility’s narrow drive, then revved the engine as he pulled onto the main road, a serpentine trail of asphalt curving around the base of mountains. Within minutes, the road curved into a parallel track with the coast. Alton enjoyed alternating views of distant, verdant hills and the deep, blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The couple drove in silence to the restaurant, enjoying their much-needed break. They purchased an assortment of fresh fruits, a dozen tortillas stuffed with rice and chicken, and several prepackaged bags of papas fritas, potato chips.
They embarked on their return journey. After driving five minutes in silence, Alton asked, “Have you found anything in the financial records?”
“No, it’s all perfectly normal,” replied Mallory.
“You sound disappointed.”
“Well, yeah, I am. I had hoped to find something.”
“Like what?”
The SUV swung around a curve, sending Mallory pitching towards her husband. “Suppose a person or business owed money to Summit’s facility,” she said while straightening up in her seat. “What if they didn’t have the money? What if they kidnapped Summit instead so they wouldn’t have to pay her back?”
“Why would someone owe money to Summit? She’s not selling anything, is she?”
“She’s not, presumably. But what if someone on her staff decided to skim off some of the expensive equipment or supplies and make a buck selling them in the black market? I saw that kind of thing all the time in the Army.”
Alton nodded but kept his eyes on the road. The tires squealed a bit as he rounded another corner, this time sending Mallory leaning against her door.
“If black market dealers bought stuff from the lab illegally,” he said, “they may have kidnapped Summit even if they did have the money, just to ensure she didn’t find out and call the police.”
The Evolution of Evil (The Blackwell Files Book 6) Page 7
