Chapter 15
Elle had just finished drying her hair after her shower when Mason called. She felt more relaxed than she could remember since beginning training, so of course he had to call then.
“I need for you to meet me at the library on the naval base.” As usual, he got right to the point. “Eleven am in the Maps Room.”
Well, that was a new one. Elle sent Raleigh an email saying she had a meeting (the two best things about email were that she didn’t have to explain herself in detail and she didn’t have to talk to Raleigh at all) before leaving her apartment.
As she made her way through the library on the navy base, she realized why Mason would want to meet here. There was no possibility of being overheard. It was at the end of a hall in the back of the building. Screw the white noise machine. And the library itself was virtually deserted, unlike the one at the university, which always bustled with students and staff during the day.
She knocked on the door to the Maps Room, which had a “reserved” sign on it, opening it even as she heard Mason call out for her to come in. He and Preston were sitting at a large table in the middle of the room. Preston nodded at her, his expression neutral, while Mason just watched her sit down. It was a relief the table was large: she didn’t have to sit right next to either one of them.
She could practically feel Preston studying her face. Could he detect her slightly swollen lips? Well, even if he could, it was none of his damn business.
“I’ve reviewed your analysis of the data we retrieved in Montreal,” Mason began. Elle had run a decryption program on the data and uncovered, well, a lot of data. Again. “As well as discussed the network issue with our computer experts.”
It was interesting he said “retrieved.” The truth of the matter was that they had stolen it, but that was part of the espionage business. It still felt a little weird to her, but she was getting used to it.
“Things are worse than we feared.”
Preston remained non-expressive. Elle was the same, but her curiosity was piqued. Mason wasn’t into hyperbole.
“This data confirms a massive security breach of several United States intelligence agencies,” he continued. “There are the names of CIA officers, CIA agents, NSA staff, and FBI agents, and details about active operations, as well as information from the Department of Defense, including several top secret weapon designs.”
He paused as if to let that sink in, eyeing each of them in turn. Preston didn’t react, so neither did Elle.
“Tell us about blended threats.” He was looking at Elle, so she assumed the question was directed at her, especially since Preston was now looking at her, too.
Blended threats. They weren’t part of her Information Science training: computer science people knew a lot more about them, but she had some familiarity with the concepts. Her college boyfriend, Adam, used to talk about that stuff. “Sophisticated combinations of Trojan Horses, worms, and viruses. Not to mention some malicious code. They can destroy computers, entire networks if they contaminate them.”
Mason nodded and held up a usb flash drive. “This contains one of the worst blended threats ever created. It’s for sale, along with the data from the security breach.”
“Is Elle going to create something to counteract the blended threat?” Preston asked.
She felt her heart jump a bit at the thought. There were enough questions about her competence already: the last thing she needed was to be given a task she truly wasn’t trained to do. “That’s outside of my area of expertise-”
“I know.” Mason nodded. The idea of something beyond her area of expertise likely thrilled him to no end, but this wasn’t the time to try to show him up. “We have a contractor working on it, using this one as a prototype.”
He paused again, eyeing them both. For Mason this was almost melodramatic. “A breach this extensive indicates it’s the work of more than a few individuals. We also have indications that other countries have been compromised as well.”
“Are we talking double agents? People who’ve been turned?” Elle asked. She knew the agencies kept an eye on employees. In addition to each agency’s informal security teams, the FBI was the organization that did the official monitoring. They watched people at all of the agencies, including places like the NSA and the Department of Homeland Security, not just the CIA. Although the idea made her extremely uncomfortable, she knew the FBI likely monitored her in some way on a regular basis. If she did something to arouse suspicion, it would be the FBI who arrested and interrogated her.
“Has to be both.” Preston spoke up. “Ultimately, all the background checks and evaluations in the world don’t really tell you who a person is.”
Elle glanced at him before looking away. “True- sometimes you just have to wait until people show you who they are.” She had always known, intellectually, that they were a fling, but she had never imagined Preston would dump her out of the blue the way he did. She didn’t know how he was “supposed” to have done it, but he had shocked her. Thoroughly.
Preston shrugged. “Sometimes it’s hard to see beyond what you want to see.”
Elle knew nothing good would come out of any further comments, so she kept her mouth shut. She would remain professional if it killed her.
“For all the evaluation and testing we do,” Mason said, “the only real way to know people is to watch them in action. It’s the only meaningful indicator we have.” He made sure to hold Elle’s eye for a moment. What the hell was he trying to imply now? “As for the network: all indications are that this network is used to transmit this data, which means stealing it off of that one computer wasn’t enough.”
“So we need to locate the organization behind this and take it down,” Preston said.
Mason nodded. “From what we can tell, this is not government-sponsored: none of the usual suspects, like the Chinese or the Russians, seem to be behind it. It looks like terrorists are advancing beyond blowing things up to taking advantage of technology. If they manage to infiltrate some government networks, they could cause mass chaos: sabotage financial systems, disrupt things like the water system or the power grid for millions of people, not to mention what they could do to intelligence operations.”
As his words sunk in, Elle realized she was involved in a huge op.
After a pause, Mason continued, “Neither one of you are identified on the list of operatives. It’s imperative your covers remain intact. Stay out of Washington. We’ll meet here or at Camp Peary if necessary. If you’re approached by anyone who seems suspicious or tries to turn you, report it to me immediately rather than following the standard protocol of notifying security.”
“What about all the people identified in these lists?” Elle asked. “What are they going to do?”
“Each agency is handling it differently,” Mason explained. “For us, it means recalling a number of officers and replacing them with new ones. Sometimes we can do things like give them new identities. I’m guessing that’s what organizations like the NSA and Homeland Security are doing with their people: relocating them, giving them new identities.”
Elle wondered what it would be like if she had to “disappear” like that. What would her parents do? They may not be terribly close, but would they just shrug and go on with their lives? She couldn’t imagine even them doing that: eventually they’d realize six months or a year had gone by and they hadn’t heard from her. Yet they didn’t have any of her addresses since they hadn’t made it out to visit her: the most they could do was call the Library of Congress.
Marni and Tina would be the ones to raise the alarm, along with Betsy in Norfolk. The thought of not seeing them again made her feel nauseous.
“It’s highly unlikely an operative in your position would be targeted.” Preston caught her eye, his tone relaxed with just a hint of soothing in it. Talk about condescending. “You don’t have access to much, and if you had to be relocated, it would be easy to do and still keep you nearby.”
She
shrugged, doing her best to look nonchalant, as if she hadn’t even considered the possibility. “Good to know.”
Mason said, “Our mission is threefold: stop the sale of this intel to those outside of the network, implement a safeguard against the blended threat, and learn more about this network: take it down if we can. There has to be a server somewhere: we need to locate it and destroy it. We’re tracking the terrorist whom we believe is heavily involved in all of this: as soon as we locate his position, we’ll be out there. Meanwhile, the two of you need to do some recon up in Massachusetts.”
Preston’s gaze sharpened. “On domestic soil?”
Mason didn’t back down. “Yes. I’ve already received the necessary authorization. We don’t know the extent of the leak, so we’re involving as few operatives as possible from all of the agencies.”
The CIA was forbidden to conduct any operations on domestic soil, so this was big. Elle felt a sinking sensation in her stomach even as she felt more alert. Scary. Exciting. This was what she’d signed up for.
Mason explained, “We think there’s some key information at a university in Massachusetts: increasingly students are being used as spies, and some information was flagged that fits the type of data that was stolen. The two of you need to retrieve it and wipe all traces of it from the computer as well as the network.” He dropped two briefing folders on the table; Elle and Preston each took one.
“You two are on your own for this op,” Mason continued. “I have a meeting at Camp Peary. Contact me as soon as you return. Keep your noses clean while you’re there: get the intel we need and get out.” He rose to leave. “Prepare to fly out of Hampton Roads Naval Base at twenty-two hundred hours.”
At least he hadn’t said anything more about them being made on the last op. It couldn’t be that bad if she was still being given field assignments. Of course, if a lot of operatives’ identities were compromised, it may have been a matter of not having any other choices. Well, this would be her opportunity to show what she could do, even if she had to do that with Preston.
Chapter 16
The cool breeze and crunch of dry leaves underfoot in Cambridge reminded Elle that it was indeed fall. She could even see the bright yellow of the leaves from the glow of the street lights. Virginia’s warm weather made it easy to forget the changing seasons. The leather jacket she wore may have been an extravagant purchase, but it was worth every penny with the blustery wind that was blowing. She’d only lived in the southeast for a year but was already shivering in a temp that would have felt brisk when she lived in the midwest.
Even though this was the second fall where she didn’t start a new school year, it still felt weird not to be gearing up for another semester of new classes, yet school and classes also felt like a lifetime ago.
“I know that glow.” Preston gave her a knowing once over as they walked towards a campus building. He seemed determined to keep the mood light and friendly between them. It was better than hostile, she guessed.
She felt herself blushing: could she blame her blush on the chill? Probably not. “We need to stay focused.” After last night with Reese, she wondered if she looked almost radioactive. It was probably for the best that she had to work this evening; she wouldn’t have been able to say no to his text otherwise. Hook ups were addictive.
He looked her up and down again as he held the door to the building open. They were both in jeans, sweaters, and leather jackets. They even had backpacks, so they blended in with the collegiate crowd.
“I’m focused.” He winked. “What’s his name?”
“I guess I should have specified what we need to focus on.” She shook her head but couldn’t hold back a smile at his persistence. She wasn’t about to get into a discussion about her current fling with her former one, even if they weren’t on coms. “Isn’t the lab on the eleventh floor?”
He nodded as they reached the elevator. “And here I was beginning to seriously suspect you had spent the past year pining for me.”
She rolled her eyes as the elevator dinged. “Why is it when I tell you ‘I know the score,’ you don’t believe me?”
He shrugged.
They got into the empty elevator. It was a good thing it was fairly early in the semester, when it was less likely to be busy in the evening, unlike other times of the year, like the end of the semester, when class projects were due and exams were looming.
“Did you ever call that guy whose card you had?”
He wasn’t going to let this go, was he? She reminded herself he was trying to get them on friendly terms. “Called. Dated. Now I’m on to the next guy.”
“The next guy. You learned more from me than I thought.” He actually grinned. Was that a flash of pride she detected in his eyes?
She decided not to dignify that comment with a response.
The elevator dinged again as the doors slid open, much to her relief. They were on the third floor. She started off towards the left, which was where the computer lab they wanted to reach was located. A familiar picture caught her eye, causing her to pause.
It was Adam’s picture. The board had photos of all the grad students in the department.
Of course she knew Adam went to this school, and this was a likely building he would be in, given his specialization in computer science, but seeing his picture made the realization that they could encounter each other very real. If she ran into him here, she’d have some quick thinking to do. If they were still dating, she would have visited here, been a familiar face in these halls.
Something about this was downright creepy. She actually felt a bit of tingling in her arms and prickles on the back of her neck. It was like peeking into an alternate life she would have had if she’d stuck with the ten-year plan she’d developed while still in college. She needed to get a grip.
“What?” Preston looked over her shoulder.
“Nothing.” She started walking again. They were looking for a Professor Richard Smythe’s lab. She ignored his chuckle as he caught up with her.
“The blasts from the past keep on coming for you, don’t they?” he asked as she got out the key card they needed. This university was far too high-tech to use regular keys.
Of course he’d seen the picture.
“And here I am just trying to move on,” she said as the light on the lock glowed green. The telltale click of the lock told them the door was now open. They were in.
As expected, the computer lab was empty. Their briefing packets identified the computer that held the code they needed to retrieve: the farthest one on the left against the back wall. Elle could see why it would be a favorite one to use: it had plenty of table space next to it. She sat down and used the login Mason had given her while Preston pulled out the chair at the computer next to her. He sat sideways in the chair, facing her rather than the computer he sat in front of, as if poised to run at a moment’s notice.
“Always ready to bolt, aren’t you?” She spared him a quick glance with a smirk of her own before focusing on the computer monitor again. She’d memorized the path to where the file with the code was stored. They couldn’t take their briefing materials in the field with them in case they were discovered.
Was that a flash of hurt in his eyes? She gave him another smile to make it clear she was teasing.
“Thinking about the road not traveled?” he asked.
Where did that come from? She could feel his inquisitive gaze. The man was too perceptive. Damn spy. Being on a college campus and seeing Adam’s picture were both jarring. Eighteen months ago she’d been a student. Less than two years ago she’d been excited about her practical ten-year plan. Then super sexy secret spy Preston swept her off her feet with her first fling, setting off a chain of events that led to her being a CIA operative herself and enjoying a fling with a hot Navy SEAL. If someone had told her how things would turn out two years ago, she would’ve wondered what they were smoking, yet here she was.
“I chose the right road.” She began going through the
chain of folders she’d memorized to find the right one.
“You chose an interesting road-”
She glanced away from the screen just long enough to catch his knowing look.
“- but just like with any choice, there’s a price.”
“I’ve got it.” She found the right folder and began copying it to her flash drive. Hopefully this would distract him from his personal analysis. Once the code in the folder was copied to her flash drive, she deleted the one on the computer.
While reviewing the briefing file, she found it surprising that someone would leave such sensitive code on a public computer, but then again, this was a student. It was also a smart way to keep from being discovered: trying to prove who specifically had left this information on the computer would be extremely difficult, since it was a public one. If students were part of this terrorist network, tracking them would be extremely difficulty.
It also just seemed wrong for espionage to be taking place on college campuses. College was supposed to be a safe place for people to study and have their first experiences away from home. Yet when it came to technology, students often knew as much, if not more, than the professionals, since they had the free time to play around and try a lot of different things.
“What’s the problem?” Him and his damn perception again.
“Let’s go.” She pulled out the flash drive before standing. “We’re done here.”
“Are you sure everything’s okay?” He stood as well, not taking his eyes off her.
“We have what we need.” She made sure her voice sounded firm.
He seemed about to ask her again when the door opened to let in two guys. They looked like regular college students: jeans, graphic tees, baseball caps, backpacks, and laptop bags. Elle nodded at them as she walked past, Preston right on her heels.
When she reached the picture display of faculty and students, she couldn’t stop herself from studying the grad student pictures again, looking at Adam in his jeans and rumpled t-shirt, as she hit the button for the elevator. He looked so normal. She once would’ve looked like she belonged next to him in that picture.
Covert Cover Cracked Page 12
