JK's Code (Brooks/Lotello Thriller Book 4)

by Ronald S. Barak

  Might have been a random accident, but not likely. If intentional, my uninvited intruder will be back. Gde raki zimuyut. I will find and punish you severely for this.

  His curiosity—and rage—got the better of him. He was too incensed to recognize that curiosity sometimes killed the cat. But not this cat!

  JAKE WAS OUTSIDE THE entrance to Gentry’s in less than eighty minutes. He located the bookstore next door, but Anya was nowhere to be found. He sat at a table near the entrance and waited. She walked in ten minutes later.

  “Sorry to be late,” Anya said. “I was told growing up that the girl always has to be fashionably late. But not too late.” She smiled.

  “Oh, you’re perfect,” he responded ambiguously. They were both dressed in jogging suits, her’s a bit more chic than his. “Looks like great minds think alike. Do you actually like to run?”

  “Nothing serious, but a little, just when I’m feeling like I need some exercise,” she answered.

  “There are some very scenic running paths nearby,” Jake said. “Perhaps we can give one of them a try sometime.”

  “If you’re not too forward for me. Wait, I mean too fast for me.” She blushed. “If you don’t run too fast for me. You can see why I need to study my English.”

  “I understood what you meant the first time. I promise not to be too forward or too fast for you.” Jake smiled. So did Anya.

  They had tea and talked—in English, and perhaps in some other unspoken dialect. Certainly not in German or Russian.

  Abruptly, Anya looked at her watch. “I’m late. I have to go. The people I’m staying with are leaving for the holiday weekend.”

  “Are you going with them?” Jake asked.

  “No. I’m not included. They weren’t expecting me to arrive here so soon.”

  “That’s too bad. Are you going to be alone for our Thanksgiving holiday?”

  “I am, but it’s not a problem. I’ll be able to keep myself occupied.”

  Jake paused. “Would you like to join my family and me for our Thanksgiving dinner? Nothing formal, but we have a nice time.”

  “That’s a very nice offer, JK, but I couldn’t possibly intrude.”

  “You wouldn’t be. Our family is very easy going. They love making new friends, like I do.”

  “Are you sure?” Anya asked.

  “I am. I have the address you gave me where you are staying. How about if I pick you up tomorrow at three o’clock?”

  “That’s very kind, but not necessary. I’m actually quite independent, you know. I have a car and my GPS. Please just give me the address and tell me what time I should arrive.”

  Jake gave her the address and suggested she arrive anytime fashionably late—around 3:30 pm. Anya smiled. She seemed to smile easily. Jake paid for the tea, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, and they headed off in their separate directions.

  JAKE SAILED HOME. HE bumped into Leah as he entered the house.

  “Where’ve you been?” Leah asked.

  Can’t keep taking a steady diet of all these questions. “Just having tea with the girl who sat next to me on the flight here from Germany.”

  “Tea? I’ve never seen you drink tea,” Leah said. “Very proper of you. You must like this young lady quite a bit.”

  More questions, even if veiled. “Well, she’s very nice, and she’s a visitor from a foreign country. It was the least I could do. By the way, she was going to be by herself on Thanksgiving, so I invited her to join us. I hope that was okay.” Leah would never say no. Besides, now she’ll be able to satisfy her motherly curiosity for herself. She never trusts what I say anyway.

  “Well, of course it’s okay. By the way, what’s your friend’s name, and where’s she from?”

  “Anya. She’s from Russia,” he added in passing. He headed off to his room—and his next date with Cipher—before Leah could ask more questions.

  JAKE SLIPPED OUT AFTER dark and headed straight for the St. Michaels Starbucks. He wondered if his nighttime absence would be noticed by anyone at home. He wouldn’t be gone that long, three hours tops. If asked where he was, he’d think up something to say.

  Traffic was light, and he reached his destination in short order. Were it not for Mossad’s software, he would have needed to have actual physical access to Cipher’s computer. In that event, he had his own software that could have copied whatever was on the computer, and also retrieved whatever might previously have been deleted from the computer. While there was no way he was going to get his hands on Cipher’s computer, thanks to Abelson and the Mossad software, actual physical possession of Cipher’s computer was no longer necessary. It was as if he did have physical possession of the computer. One might call it virtual possession.

  Once again, he was back inside Cipher’s computer in a matter of seconds. Once again, he easily circumvented Cipher’s password. He spent the next hour scouring the computer—just as if he were sitting right in front of it—but to no avail. There were folders with a number of names—more precisely, initials. Unfortunately, all the folders were empty. One of them was identified as “GL.” After a moment’s hesitation, the possibility occurred to him: Gradsky, Leonid. But who was represented by the other sets of initials?

  He made good time on the drive back home as well, during which he reaffirmed his prior tentative decision on what he was and was not going to report to Professor Carter. He would tell him everything that was publicly available from the KHC, nothing more, nothing less.

  That meant he would effectively summarize the Nilsen presentation. He would also report what Nilsen had alluded to in their personal meeting. Professor Carter would be able to report in his soon to be published manuscript that technology capable of manipulating the 2020 U.S. election results definitely existed, and that there were those who intended to apply that technology to the election.

  He would not speculate in his report to Carter who that might be, or how they might be stopped. To the extent he might be able to put that together, that was his and his alone.

  It was a long night, one that would be short on sleep, but Jake finally put his Carter report together, attached it to an email addressed to Carter, and hit send.

  CHAPTER 24

  November 28, 2019, One Day Later

  JAKE HEARD THE DOORBELL. “I’ll get it,” he said. He opened the door, smiled, and told Anya how nice she looked. He invited her in as she returned Jake’s smile.

  Leah and Madison had followed Jake to the door. “This is my sister, Leah, and my niece, Madison,” Jake said.

  “Welcome to our home, Anya,” Leah said. “It’s so nice to meet you.”

  “Hi, Anya,” Madison added.

  “Hello. Thank you for inviting me, or allowing JK to do so. I wasn’t sure what to bring. I hope this will be okay.” Anya handed the gift wrapped bottle of wine to Leah.

  “How sweet of you, we’ll drink it tonight.”

  “Your accent is cool,” Madison said.

  “Thank you for saying so.”

  “Please come in and let me introduce you to everyone,” Leah said. She took Anya gently by the arm, and led her into the living room. “Everyone, I’d like to introduce our special guest, Anya Lebedev. Her family name means ‘the swan.’”

  “Oh, I see you know Russian,” Anya said.

  “I don’t, but Google does.” Leah smiled.

  Everyone in the room stood.

  This is my husband, Frank Lotello. He’s Madison and Charlie’s father, and a homicide investigator with the D.C. police. You’ve already met Madison. This is Charlie.”

  “Welcome,” Frank said.

  “Thank you for including me,” Anya answered.

  “Hey,” Charlie said.

  Madison intervened. “This is my friend, Cassie Webber, and her parents and grandparents.” Names and smiles were exchanged. Anya and Cassie looked like they might have been sisters, but Cassie’s smile didn’t quite match Anya’s when the two were introduced.

  “And,” Leah resum
ed making the introductions, “these are our very dear friends, retired Judge and Mrs. Brooks. Judge Brooks may be retired from the bench, but he is anything but retired—or retiring. He has been professionally involved with Frank and me for years.”

  “Hello, Anya, I’m Eloise Brooks. Please call me Eloise.

  “Dobryj dyen Anya, menya zovut Cyrus, Cyrus Brooks said. Rad vstreche,” he added.

  “Spasebo, thank you, Judge Brooks. Your Russian is fantastic.”

  “Nonsense, but thank you for saying so. I only know a few words. Please call me Cyrus.”

  “Anya, come sit here next to me,” Leah said. “How was your flight? Have you been here before?”

  “My flight was fine. Thank you for asking. This is my first time in America.”

  The conversation continued for a few minutes, most of it directed toward Anya since everyone else knew each other. Anya tried to keep up with a few polite questions of her own.

  After a few minutes, Leah invited everyone to move to the dining room. “It’s buffet style, everyone, so fill your own plates and sit anywhere.”

  The dinner conversation was pleasant. Anya was deferential, but politely held her own. Only once was she completely silent. That was when Leah tried to enlist Judge Brooks in her attempt to keep Jake in school. Leah struck out.

  Brooks said to Leah, “I am reminded of the story about two youngsters, a brother and a sister, a couple of years apart in age. The younger one was already talking and walking more than the older one. The mother spoke to the children’s doctor about it. He responded that she should not worry about it, that you soon won’t remember which one was the first out of the gates. In this case, the older slower one became the captain of his high school debate team and went on to become an Olympic athlete.” He softly added, “I have no doubt that Jake will find his own best way in his own time.”

  “Cyrus, I think you may have made that story up for my benefit, or for Jake’s,” Leah said. “I don’t necessarily agree with you, but I get the point.” Leah told Anya that Cyrus rarely lacked for a point—or two or three.

  Brooks didn’t quibble.

  “However,” Leah continued, “speaking of the Olympics—Anya, you might be interested to know that Cassie is a world-class golfer, and is a shoo-in to be on America’s next Olympic Team.”

  “Wow, that’s incredible,” Anya responded. “I love playing golf. Do you get to travel a lot?”

  “A little,” Cassie said. “I’ve already been to Russia once, and I will be there to play in a tournament again next year. Maybe you could come watch the tournament as my guest?”

  “That would be very nice, but I’m afraid I’ll still be here in the U.S. working on my English. Perhaps another time.”

  The evening ended after lots of sweets and coffee and tea, as nicely as it had begun. Anya made her excuses and was the first to leave. “I have many chores to take care of tomorrow. Thank you all for a lovely evening, and for making me feel so welcome.”

  Jake walked Anya to her car. “I’m glad you were here. I hope to see you again soon.”

  “Thanks for inviting me, JK. I had a really nice time.”

  Before she got in her car and drove off, it was Anya, this time, who gave Jake a kiss on his cheek.

  CARTER PUT DOWN THE printed copy of Jake’s report. Even though it was not everything he was hoping he might get, it would definitely make a superb addition to his manuscript. He would complete the inserts within the next two days and make the submission deadline imposed by his publisher with a few days to spare.

  His book would be finished, but that didn’t mean he was.

  CIPHER CLOSED HIS COMPUTER. As he expected, the hacker had returned for a second bite at the apple; “like the insect helplessly drawn to the spider’s silky web by its electrical pull,” he softly muttered to himself. How apt, thinking of myself as the spider attracting this foolish insect into my electronic web. As near as he could tell, the intruder hadn’t stuck around for very long, and had not yet likely found his way to anything particularly useful. So far, he was just dipping his toe in the water, feeling his way, experimenting. His appetite not yet satisfied, he would be back. And then I will capture him, this intrepid insect. He re-read the short encrypted message:

  NAME’S JAKE KLEIN. I THINK YOU KNOW HIM. WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW IS THAT HE MIGHT BE TROUBLE. BIG TROUBLE. BETTER GIVE IT SOME THOUGHT.

  CHAPTER 25

  December 3, 2019, Five Days Later

  JAKE HAD ENJOYED A lazy Thanksgiving weekend with the family. Mostly, he had watched football and basketball games on television with Frank and Charlie. Madison was out and about with Cassie, doing whatever it was that teenage girls did on school holiday. Leah was catching up on client work she had let slide, which gave Jake some respite from her continuous hammering on him to stay in school. He and Frank also shared a few buckets of balls at the local driving range. Definitely was not ready for a prime time round of golf with Cassie.

  In between television and Thanksgiving dinner leftovers, Jake’s mind vacillated back and forth between his Mossad classmate, Abelson, back at school and Anya, but not necessarily in that order. He called Anya a couple of times, but she didn’t answer, and he didn’t leave any voicemail messages. Gutless wonder! He managed to do a little research on long-distance remote retrieval of deleted computer files. This definitely was cutting edge stuff. He hoped the Mossad software would help him out, save him a bunch of time.

  He also read some online news sources, mostly politics, something he usually didn’t have time to follow. It looked like Baker and the Democrats were on an impeachment collision course. He was not a politician; he couldn’t appreciate why. To him, Baker looked guilty as hell, mostly because of the quid pro quo call to the Ukraine president, and his subsequent attempt to conceal the transcript of that call. On the other hand, why would the Democrats waste time and resources when there was no chance that the GOP-controlled Senate would convict Baker? Most objective media pundits said it was nothing more than a clear attempt to jump start the 2020 presidential campaign.

  Jake agreed; it wasn’t like it was rocket science. What annoyed him most was that the politicians were just wasting time and taxpayer money on all this nonsense, instead of doing their jobs—working on immigration reform, homelessness, tax restructuring, saving the planet, lowering the cost of health care and prescription drugs, redoing highways and other infrastructure, and cleaning up the “swamp” and other white-collar crime, to name just a few important topics that seemed obvious to him.

  He knew he didn’t have the patience to become active in the political scene, at least not directly, but he might be able to do his part if he could assure the honesty of the 2020 election. Good for me and good for the country. When he first began this journey, it was all about himself. Now, he was beginning to recognize that there was a more noble cause he might also serve.

  Until after the first of the year, however, with most of the country shut down for the holidays, he thought things were largely going to be a matter of hurry up and wait. He decided to enjoy the respite while he could.

  CHAPTER 26

  December 4, 2019, One Day Later

  BIANCHI HAD MIXED VIEWS. She personally believed that impeaching Baker would be a mistake. Baker would be acquitted by the GOP-controlled Senate. He would then send out tweets for the entire world to see that he was innocent, a mere political victim of the Democratic Party. Not only would he get to play the martyr card, but many of those on the fence about how to vote might well be persuaded that he was the righteous candidate. They might decide to support him in his bid to win re-election. The whole charade could end up backfiring.

  But there was no convincing the outspoken progressive extremists in her party. And she needed their support to hold on to her coveted position as House Speaker. If the Democratic Party defeated Baker and maintained control of the House, she would be only two heartbeats away from the presidency. Given the age of the likely Democratic nominee, she could easily be
come only one heartbeat away from the presidency. Stranger things had happened. Stranger things could happen.

  Against her better judgment, and in spite of the fact that Baker would be acquitted, she would have to clear the way for Baker to be impeached. She would make sure the country knew the impeachment was due to Baker’s increasingly deplorable conduct and fell squarely on the shoulders of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

  If I play this right, I will come across solely as the loyal soldier, and not the one to be blamed for initiating this patently political waste of the country’s resources.

  CHAPTER 27

  December 7, 2019, Three Days Later

  AMIR HAD EYES IN the back of his head. Or so it seemed to him. It had been more than three days since he first gleaned that someone was following him. Actually, there were two of them, although they were not always together. When he was on foot, so were they. When he was driving around town, he noticed the same dark SUV in his rearview mirror.

  The first day, he thought it might be his imagination. Not the second day. Do they think they’re fooling me? Do they think I don’t see them?

  What he didn’t know was why. Why were they following him? And why now? Why not earlier? Who were they? Was he in danger? In Kazakhstan, one could never be sure. One could never be safe. Certainly, he couldn’t. It was not unusual for things like this to happen in Kazakhstan. No longer part of the Soviet Union, but was it really so different? The Soviet Union no longer existed, but Russia did.

  Again, he wondered, why now? Was it something to do with Cipher? Or the American JK who he had guided through his city?

  The real question was what to do about it?

  JAKE WAS BERATING HIMSELF. Okay, wuss, no more excuses. Two days dead time. Call Anya. Now! She may still be sleeping. I’ll give it another couple of hours. Maybe we can go for a jog. Have lunch. He waited two hours and tapped in her number. Anya didn’t answer. He got a default recording.