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

by Ronald S. Barak

  Jake concluded that the one to fear, so long as he safely made good his escape from the Molloy home, would not be Molloy but rather his client—Turgenev—who was seeking to control the 2020 U.S. election, ostensibly on Russia’s behalf. Realistically, however, he concluded that it would be in Molloy’s best interests to keep his client in the dark about any such breach.

  Jake would have to sleep on all of this and go through it again. Not just once, but several times. He wanted to make his way in the world, and his fortune, but was this really the way? My God, I’m a computer guru, not a home invasion burglar!

  CHAPTER 48

  February 3, 2020, One Day Later

  MONDAYS WERE JAKE’S BUSIEST days of the week at school. He thought through his approaching gambit on his morning run. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like it could work. And he couldn’t think of any other way to meaningfully hack into Molloy’s computer long term.

  But he had to return to Monday’s real world. He had to shelve his planning for at least one more day. On top of everything else, Carter had sent him a text early this morning requesting his presence to go over his portion of Carter’s pending manuscript. He got through it fine; it just took more of his precious time.

  CARTER THOUGHT ABOUT HIS meeting with Jake. I was hoping for an opening to go further into what Jake is up to, but he just played it so close to the vest. Didn’t give away a damn thing. I couldn’t be any more obvious than I was. I need to come up with some other tactic.

  OBLONSKY WAS PARKED IN his rental car, immediately behind the Maryland Starbucks. His laptop was, fittingly, open and sitting on his lap. He expected to find the Starbucks Wi-Fi connection to the internet fully unsecured. Were that not the case, the multitude of Starbucks customers who sipped on their posh coffees while they checked their email and did some of their work would not be possible.

  After briefly updating himself on the status of the silly Baker impeachment trial, Oblonsky was into the Starbucks computer. It was password protected—but as was a poorly guarded secret, the password used on most Starbucks computers was “PASSWORD.” How fucking dumb is that?

  From his laptop, he hunted around the Starbucks computer. He found it quickly enough, a folder entitled “Surveillance Tapes”, another not so brilliant name. I guess the Starbucks IT folks are not that well compensated.

  There were subfolders for inside the café and for the surrounding parking lot. He first tried the videos inside the café.

  He found the surveillance tape that bore the date his predator last hacked into his laptop. He calculated back from the Kazakh time the hacker was on his computer to what the local time then was in Maryland. He fast forwarded the video to that time and started watching as the camera rotated around the café. It took only a few minutes. He froze the video and backed it up several frames and froze it again. He didn’t really need a copy of the video, but he was there, and it just required a few clicks and he had it saved on his laptop. Never know when it might come in handy.

  Oblonsky, more commonly known in his circles as Cipher, sat staring at the frozen image of his predator. Why am I not surprised? He was looking at none other than the infamous intermeddling Jake Klein. The question is what to do with him now that I know it’s him?

  CHAPTER 49

  February 4, 2020, One Day Later

  THE GRU LIAISON IN the D.C. Russian Embassy reported to Turgenev every day by diplomatic pouch for his eyes only. By custom, if not law, these pouches were the property of Russia, as if an extension of the country itself and the Russian property on which the D.C. Russian Embassy stood.

  One week before the January 16, 2020, commencement of Baker’s impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate, Turgenev’s daily pouch included a copy of the supposedly confidential opening brief of the DNC trial managers. Confidential, my ass. What a joke. He had ordered the opening brief leaked to the media because it was the safest way for him to make sure that Baker’s lawyers had plenty of advanced notice of what the DNC’s case would be without the intelligence being attributed to him.

  Turgenev knew there was no chance that Baker would be convicted tomorrow, but the DNC had compiled quite the case against Baker as a form of early election campaigning to damage Baker’s bid for re-election in November, and to embarrass Russia at the same time for allegedly using its resources on Baker’s behalf. The result of the trial would be exactly as everyone knew it would be before Baker was impeached in December, but to the DNC’s credit, the trial had been drawn out way longer than he thought the GOP should ever have allowed.

  He had a lot of money invested in Baker’s re-election. He had wanted to do everything he could to undermine the credibility of the impeachment trial. Every day for the past month—once it became apparent that Bianchi had reversed her original position out of her own political necessity, and was going to allow the impeachment trial to proceed—tens of thousands of social media comments and print journalism op-eds were posted every day from one end of the U.S. to the other by Russian bots posing as Americans highly critical of the Democrats for their obvious political mischief.

  Ironically, Baker constantly tweeted about all of the “fake news” being directed at him, but it was only a fraction of the pro-Baker fake news Turgenev was mounting on Baker’s behalf and there was not a damn thing the Democrats could do to stop it. When they put out one fire, two more cropped up. Why not? The Democrats were guilty of the very same chicanery. At least here in Russia, we are not such hypocrites as the American politicians are.

  Turgenev’s assistant entered his office and handed him a printout of a text that had just arrived and was marked “urgent.” He accepted the printout and read to himself:

  IT HAS COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT AN AMERICAN WHO ATTENDED MY KAZAKHSTAN HACKERS CONFERENCE LAST NOVEMBER, AS DID TWO OF YOUR REPRESENTATIVES, HAS BEEN HACKING INTO MY COMPUTERS. THIS AMERICAN’S NAME IS JAKE KLEIN. AS I HAVE PREVIOUSLY ASSURED YOU, THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY HE CAN UPSET YOUR PLANS, WHICH ARE PROTECTED BY MY ENCRYPTION SERVICES. I HAVE THE MATTER UNDER CONTROL, BUT I THOUGHT YOU WOULD WANT ME TO LET YOU KNOW. YOUR FAITHFUL SERVANT, CIPHER.

  The only one he faithfully serves is himself, and he has a big mouth to boot. If he had the matter under control, Klein would not be inside his computer. Nor does Cipher seem to recall that he foolishly mentioned Klein to my comrades when they attended his conference in November. Does this imbecile truly believe that I would entrust my interests to him to protect? I suspect I know more about Mr. Klein than he does. But perhaps not as much as I should.

  Turgenev did not respond to Cipher’s text. Let him worry about what I’m thinking. But then, he remembered his investment in Gradsky—and Cipher—and that they had him at their mercy. Up to a point!

  JAKE WATCHED THE NEWS that the impeachment trial was expected to conclude the next day, February 5, 2020. He had watched snippets of it on the news every day, but it had been hard for him to take it very seriously. As he had explained to Anya during the course of their preceding weekend visit, he was convinced that it would be nothing more than political playacting, and so it appeared to him to have been. Still, only two presidents before Baker had ever been subjected to an impeachment trial—Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Guilty or innocent, it was obvious that Baker would be acquitted. The GOP controlled the Senate, and that was that. He had paid attention to the trial as much as his time permitted, and he would watch the formal vote tomorrow, but only because it might well impact the November election, and his own future destiny.

  This brought Jake’s mind back to Molloy. He revisited the decision he had recently made.

  CIPHER HAD DELIBERATED BACK and forth. He had wanted to send Klein an unsigned anonymous text to shake him up. He had even drafted it:

  I KNOW WHO YOU ARE. I KNOW WHAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING. I’M COMING FOR YOU.

  But to what end? Maybe, if they were still in Kazakhstan together, but here in the U.S., they were on Klein’s turf. The words were empty. They might even violate some U.S. laws
for all he knew—something he studiously avoided doing. He had decided long ago not to have to function as a ghost. He enjoyed his open goodwill. No, he had accomplished what he came to the U.S. to accomplish, and he electronically documented what he found.

  He had informed Turgenev of what he learned, but he had not shared his digital records with him—the time stamped surveillance tapes of Klein at the precise time someone had hacked into his computer. At least not yet. He would wait and watch to see how Turgenev might deal with Klein. His records weren’t going anywhere. He could always produce them later if it proved beneficial.

  Oblonsky boarded his return flight to Moscow. On arriving, he made the short trip from Moscow to Kazakhstan.

  CHAPTER 50

  February 5, 2020, One Day Later

  JAKE WAS CHOMPING AT the bit. He had previously made up his mind to chase down Molloy’s computer contents, but had decided it would have to wait until after today’s anticipated verdict in Baker’s impeachment trial. Jake had known the trial was going to be a daily media circus, literally on television 24/7, live coverage during the day and replays at night. Given Molloy’s presumed stake in the November elections, Jake assumed that Molloy would stick around his home and closely watch and record all of the hoopla and goings on.

  If Jake chose to make his Montreal journey during the course of the impeachment trial, he would very likely have had to hang around north of the border for an undefined period of time before he achieved a reliable window of opportunity during which to execute his break-in strategy—if he received any such opportunity. That was not possible.

  He might have been able to head to Montreal today, following the announcement of the impeachment verdict, but Anya had invited him to be her guest at a special weekend Harvard open house this coming Saturday and Sunday. He had been forced to decline several of her recent invitations to visit her—he hadn’t had the heart to say no once again. If he flew to Montreal today, it would only leave him two days in Montreal before he had to get back to Harvard. That was not enough time.

  Given his current school schedule, he would now have to wait still another couple of weeks before he could create a block of time sufficient to pull off the trip north, including travel time and time required in Montreal. Have I just been a gutless wonder, conjuring up one excuse after another not to make my home invasion debut? Aarrgh!

  Just as all of the news pundits had predicted, notice of the announced verdict flashed across his smartphone screen. Baker was acquitted. With a couple of minor exceptions, the vote was strictly along party lines, the culmination of run-of-the-mill politics at the huge expense of “we the people.”

  TURGENEV WATCHED THE VOTE on his television monitor. Maybe we can finally get on with things now. About fucking time.

  CIPHER WATCHED THE RESULTS of the vote. Kinda wished Baker had been convicted. Would have made all the stress about Klein moot. Wonder if Molloy has already reached out to Turgenev. If not, he probably will now.

  MOLLY TURNED OFF HIS large-screen monitor. Game still on. My software is still needed. It might have been a nervous time if Baker was convicted and Turgenev had no further need for me. Time for me to talk to him now about Klein.

  CHAPTER 51

  February 9, 2020, Four Days Later

  JAKE SAT LOST IN thought on the two-hour train ride back from Boston to New Haven. Anya had met him on Friday evening when his train arrived in Boston. She drove them the short three and a half miles to her Cambridge apartment on the edge of the Harvard campus.

  He had wondered whether he would be staying with Anya or at a nearby hotel. Anya had apparently not given that question a second thought, nor did she make any pretense about his staying in the spare bedroom in her apartment. It did strike Jake as a natural evolution of their relationship, but it was an exciting beginning to the weekend nonetheless.

  They had a nice dinner out and walked around parts of the town, chilly as the night air was, before retiring for the evening. A cozy fire in the apartment and some very pleasant recreational activity on the inviting rug in front of the fire made up for the chilly night air outside.

  The rest of the weekend was divided between Harvard’s open house events, sightseeing around Cambridge, and more downtime in her apartment.

  Anya filled Jake in on her language studies. He could see firsthand her growing command of the English language. He imagined that she would be quite fluent by the end of the school year.

  She said the thought of returning home to Russia when her time was up would now be quite difficult, if not impossible, given their blossoming relationship.

  Her curiosity about Jake’s career plans for the future seemed quite natural, and Jake did not hesitate to share some of his thoughts about his future. It had been a fantastic weekend, but somehow, he just wasn’t quite ready yet to share all of his most intimate plans—including his pending trip to Montreal.

  CHAPTER 52

  February 10, 2020, One Day Later

  ANYA SAT IN FRONT of her keyboard, struggling with exactly what to report:

  KLEIN SPENT THE WEEKEND HERE IN CAMBRIDGE WITH ME. I INVITED HIM TO STAY AT MY APARTMENT AND HE DIDN’T HESITATE TO ACCEPT. WE DID THE TOWN, BUT WE ALSO SPENT CONSIDERABLE TIME IN THE APARTMENT. I AM GETTING CLOSER TO HIM, BUT HE STILL SEEMS RELUCTANT TO SHARE HIS FUTURE PLANS WITH ME, IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT I CONTINUE TO PROBE AS MUCH AS I CAN.

  The reply was even less favorable than she had expected:

  WE NEED MORE RESULTS. WE ARE RECEIVING CONSIDERABLE PRESSURE FROM ABOVE. ARE YOU PERHAPS ENJOYING YOUR ASSIGNMENT TOO MUCH?

  That last suggestion had angered her, but she had to be careful and not forget who she was talking to:

  WHAT MORE DO YOU EXPECT OF ME? I’M DOING EXACTLY WHAT I WAS ASKED TO DO. YOUR SUGGESTION IS INSULTING. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FURTHER DEMONSTRATE MY LOYALTY?

  The reply came more rapidly and more tersely:

  WATCH YOUR TONGUE, LIEUTENANT. MY JOB IS TO EXPECT—AND OBTAIN—THE RESULTS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN ORDERED TO DELIVER, NOT TO TELL YOU HOW TO DO YOUR JOB. THAT’S FOR YOU TO DETERMINE. AS YOU HAVE BEEN TRAINED TO DO. AND AS YOU HAVE AGREED TO DO. STOP TALKING. AND START DELIVERING. SOON.

  She said nothing further. She knew from experience when it was best to let her handler have the final say.

  CHAPTER 53

  February 17, 2020, One Week Later

  TURGENEV RETURNED FROM A short trip to the Mideast, and he was not in a good mood. Do I have to do everything myself? Things in Syria are a fucking mess. Baker had allowed his impeachment trial to drag on forever, instead of just ending it. And now, this report about Lieutenant Lebedev’s lack of results. What is it about this American Jake Klein? First, he seems to be having his way with Cipher, and with Gradsky as well for all I know. Now, he’s having a wonderful time with one of my best agents, and I’m getting no useful results. Other than reports that she’s trying. Whatever the hell that means.

  He fished the olive out of his drink and swallowed it down. The vodka flavor was soothing. Maybe I need to take this into my own hands. It would not be difficult to arrange a simple car accident to take care of Klein. I have to keep Gradsky and Cipher alive. But I don’t have any need to keep Klein alive. To the contrary, his continuing presence is proving to be a considerable nuisance.

  He finished off his drink and thought a bit more about the troublesome Klein. Yes. I think that might work. He reached for his phone.

  CIPHER WAS INCREASINGLY RESTLESS. His recent text to Turgenev hadn’t technically called for a response. Still, I had hoped.

  And then there was Klein. He wondered what Klein was doing. He hadn’t seen any sign of him since his most recent hack into his computer. His quietude may be even more worrisome than Turgenev’s.

  And then his phone rang—the number very few people had.

  CHAPTER 54

  February 19, 2020, Two Days Later

  TURGENEV WAS PACING ABOUT his office when his secretary escorted Barovsky into his oversized office. Turgenev took h
is seat. “Good morning, Barovsky.”

  “Good morning, Mr. President. I understand you have been waiting for an update of the effectiveness of our social media and print propaganda campaign relating to the—”

  “Yes, yes,—”

  “—November U.S. election?”

  “Of course, but I have something of more immediacy to discuss with you.”

  “Yes, certainly.”

  “Let me first say, I read your daily reports and know our U.S. impeachment trial and election efforts went well, even though Baker and his compatriots allowed the trial to drag on much longer than it should have. I also see that your election promotions are proceeding as expected.”

  “Thank you, Mr. President,” Barovsky replied.

  “However, on a different subject, does the name Jake Klein mean anything to you? He’s an American college student in Connecticut studying computer science. He seems skilled beyond his years.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t believe I’ve ever come across that name.”

  “No reason to think that you had, but I didn’t want to waste time on background if you already knew of him.”

  “I’m confident I do not. May I be of some assistance, Mr. President?”

  “As you know, we have two separate and distinct programs concerning the U.S. election, the program you are heading to influence how Americans choose to vote, and a second program—a digital program—to control actual votes. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss how you might help us with our electronic objectives.”

  “I’m happy to help in any way I can, but I’m afraid my technology skills are rather limited.”