Black Pawn (Michael Cailen Book 1) (32 page)

Andrei and Dmitri stopped at their seventh motel trying to
track down Michael and Jessica.  Dmitri knew Michael was long gone, as did
Andrei, but he insisted on checking around locally before moving on to the
Boston area.  He wanted to waste as much time as possible so Michael could make
a clean break.  Andrei was getting impatient.

“I'm telling you, they're not here!”  Andrei growled angrily
after they walked back to the car.

“And if they are?”  Dmitri asked as he opened his door.

Andrei glared at him and got in the passenger's side.
“They're gone.  They've probably gone back to Boston.”  He was becoming
increasingly agitated.  He knew Michael wouldn't have stuck around after he
rescued Gomez and he knew searching motels was a complete waste of time.  “This
is the last stop.  We either go to Boston right now or I call Vlad.”

“And tell him what?”  Dmitri asked calmly, unfazed by the
threat.

Andrei didn't answer.  He shook his head in disbelief as he
stared out the window.  “I do not understand what Vlad sees in you.”

“Perhaps you should tell him that.”  Dmitri smirked as he started
the car.

No matter what Andrei thought of him, he would never tell
Milovich.  Milovich trusted Dmitri and held him in high regard.  To question
Milovich's judgment would be a grave mistake.

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Dmitri's phone rang.  He
looked at the number, but didn't recognize it.  “Hello?” he answered.

“It's me,”  Michael greeted him.

Dmitri closed the phone and stuck it back in his pocket. 
“Must have been a wrong number.”  He shrugged it off.   “Tell you what, we'll
stop at one more motel and then we can go to Boston.”

“It's a waste of time!”  Andrei looked like he wanted to
kill him.

“Fine, then I'll go in and you can wait in the car.”

“Whatever.” 

Andrei stared out the window completely disgusted with
Dmitri.

They arrived at the motel a few minutes later.  Dmitri got
out alone and walked to the office.  He handed the clerk a ten dollar bill and
asked to make a phone call.

Michael had stopped at a pay phone on the way to the club so
he could call Dmitri with his new number and to touch base. When Dmitri hung up
on him, he knew he wasn't alone.  He waited by the phone for a few minutes in
case he called back.  He was getting ready to leave when it rang.

“It's me,”  Dmitri spoke in Russian.

Michael wasn't quite sure why, but he replied in Russian. 
“Just thought I'd check in and give you my new number.  Did I catch you at a
bad time?”

“Well, my job just got a whole lot more interesting.”

“What's going on?  And why the Russian?”

“I'm in a public place.  Don't want eavesdroppers.  Vlad
called in some extra help to find you.  A GRU kid.  I've been stuck with him
ever since you rescued Jessica.  I knew about the hit on Gomez, but I could do
nothing to stop it.  I heard you got to him first and was very relieved.  I
don't have much time.  He's waiting in the car for me.”

“All right, I won't keep you then.  Just wanted to give you
my new number.”  Michael rattled off his phone number.

“Got it.  We're heading to Boston now.  Anywhere I should
stay clear of?”

Michael told him some of the areas they frequented, roads
they traveled and about where they were staying.  Dmitri said he would do what
he could to keep away from those areas.  He also gave Michael a description of
the car they were driving and the plates so he could be on alert.  Michael
thanked him and they hung up.

Kevin arrived at the hacker club and waited in his truck in
the parking lot across the street.  Michael and Jessica arrived shortly after. 
Kevin lit up when he first saw Jessica, but then almost as quickly his expression
turned to concern and anger as he viewed the bruises on her face.  He walked
quickly to her and took her in his arms, grateful she was alive.  They
continued walking together to the back door.

Kevin went directly to the back room where the computers
were.  Michael glanced around the club, then his eyes fell on Jessica.  She
nervously wrung her hands as she aimlessly paced.

Michael stepped over to her.  “Are you okay?”

She took a deep breath.  “I'm okay.  Just nervous.”

“These are your friends, Jess.  From what I saw, they care
about you a great deal.  I don't think you need to worry about what they'll
think of you.”

She closed her eyes and nodded.  She didn't want her friends
to see her all beat up.  She was imagining their reactions and she dreaded it. 
She felt embarrassed and weak because she couldn't protect herself.  It was
something she struggled with since she was a child being used as a punching bag
by her father.

Michael looked at his watch. “They should start arriving
soon.  I'm going to check the surveillance video.”

Michael went to the back room where Kevin was turning on the
computers and looking over the security feed.  He looked up as Michael entered
the room.

“I'll keep an eye on the cameras,”  Michael offered.  “Why
don't you keep Jessica company?”

“Sure.”

“Don't let anyone in unless I say to,” he instructed.

Kevin stopped in the doorway and turned to him. “Are you
expecting trouble?”

“I'm just being cautious.”  Michael didn't take his eyes off
the monitor.

Kevin watched him for a few more seconds and then joined
Jessica in the club.

Suki was the first to arrive.  He knocked on the back door
and Michael hollered that it was okay to let him in.  He greeted Kevin with
such warmth and enthusiasm, you would think they were related if it weren't for
the dramatic difference in their looks.  His happy, carefree mood changed
quickly though when he saw Jessica.

“Oh my god, baby doll what happened?!”  He ran over to her,
his face filled with deep concern.

“I'm okay.  Just a car accident.”  She tried to shrug it off,
but couldn't hide her nervousness.

“Car accident, my ass!  Who did this to you?”

Jessica started trembling and felt like she was going to be
sick.  This was exactly what she had been worrying would happen.

Suki turned to Kevin, who gave him a look telling him to
stop talking.  He looked back at her and didn't know what to say.  With little
options left, he reached out his arms and gave her a hug.  Another knock came
at the back door.  Michael said it was okay and in came Jinx.   She greeted
Kevin a little more sedately than Suki.  However, she quickly noticed Jessica's
condition and Suki protectively hovering and became just as concerned and
distressed as he was.

“What happened?” she asked softly as she reached out and
touched her arm.  “Did Jake do this to you?”

“Jake?”  Jessica forgot that Michael had introduced himself
as Jake and for a second didn't know who she was talking about.

“Your boyfriend?”  Jinx replied, confused, not realizing
that Michael was there.

“No.  No, Jake didn't do this.”  Jessica caught herself and
managed to recover by acting as though her confusion was because Jake would
have never hurt her, not that she didn't know who he was.

“Guys.”  Kevin motioned for Suki and Jinx to come to him. 
They reluctantly stepped away from Jessica. 

“Look, she's been through a lot.  Just ease up a bit.  We'll
explain it all when everyone is here.  For now,”  he looked over at her, “stop
asking questions.”

Suki and Jinx looked at each other and then back at Kevin
and nodded.  Jinx offered Jessica a drink from the bar, which she readily
accepted, and the three sat down as Kevin continued to man the back door.

Phuzz and Snipe arrived together, and Sun showed a few
minutes later.  Kevin gave them the same pep talk he gave Suki and Jinx before
he let them inside.   Once everyone arrived, Michael emerged from the
backroom.   He said hello to everyone at the bar and then walked over to Kevin.

“I'd like to meet in the back so I can keep an eye on the
security feed.”

“Oh, there's no need for that.”  Kevin went to the computer
room and a minute later the surveillance feed appeared on the flat screen TVs
scattered around the club.  Kevin returned a few seconds later.

“Nice,”  Michael remarked.  “You could have done that
sooner.”

“Sorry.  I didn't think of it.”

Michael gathered everyone to one of the lounge areas just
under one of the TVs. 

“Thank you for coming.  Summer and I appreciate it.”

“What's this all about?” Snipe asked.

“We need your help with something that's not legal and not
exactly safe.  There is a lot of risk involved.  If you don't want to take part,
then you should leave now.”

Sun and Jinx shifted nervously in their seats and they all
glanced around at each other and then back at Michael.

Snipe sat forward in his seat.  “You didn't answer the
question.”

Michael looked directly at him.  “No. I didn't.”

He panned the room making eye contact with everyone and then
continued.  “What I'm about to tell you could put your lives in danger.  I need
you all to understand this.  There is no turning back.  Just knowing what I'm
about to tell you will put your life at risk without you even doing anything. 
We really need your help or else I wouldn't involve you at all.  We're going to
be careful, but the danger is real and it is serious.  Am I clear?”

“Who the hell are you and what did you get her into?”  Snipe
asked, clearly agitated.  He verbalized what many of them were thinking.

“This isn't Jake's fault.”  Jessica spoke up.  “He saved my
life.  More than once now.  He's trying to help me.”

Kevin was confused by the name change.  No one had told him
that Michael was using an alias, and he wondered which name was Michael's real
one.

“What if we want to back out after hearing what you want us
to do?” Phuzz asked.

“That's fine,”  Michael replied. “However, you will still be
at risk because you will know the situation.  That's the point I'm trying to
make.  Once you know, you could become a target.  Whether you help us or not.”

“How would anyone know that we know?” Jinx asked.

“If someone gets sloppy.  The more people who know, the more
risk there is of that happening.  If any one of you slips up, it could endanger
everyone here.”

“I guess we better not slip up then,” Suki replied
confidently.  “I'm in.”

One by one everyone agreed.  Michael began the story in
China and ended with Gomez's rescue.  He left out some details like names and
how many people he'd killed already.  He also didn't go into great detail about
Jessica's abduction, mostly glossing over it.  Jinx reached out and squeezed
her hand while he explained what happened to her.  He told them of Jessica's
desire to hack into the CIA to get the proof they need.  He finished speaking
and waited for reactions.

It was quiet.  Sun, Jinx, and Suki glanced around at Jessica
and the others while Snipe and Phuzz stared at the floor.

“We're going to need a lot of bots,”  Snipe said still
staring at the floor.

Suki smiled.  “Attack of the zombies.”

“You think this is a joke?”  Michael snapped, not
understanding why they started talking about robots and zombies.  They looked
at him confused.

“They're talking about computer bots,” Jessica explained,
knowing Michael wouldn't have a clue what they were talking about. 

“A bot is simply software that works over the Internet
running automated tasks.  A zombie is a computer that's been infected with a
bot and can be used without the owner's knowledge.  A botnet is comprised of
many zombie computers being controlled by one entity, also known as a zombie
army.”

“I guess you weren't far off when you likened it to a military
operation.”

She smiled.

“So how is this going to work?” Michael asked.

“Two ways,”  Kevin stepped in.  “One, with thousands or
hopefully, hundreds of thousands of computers at our disposal, we'll have the
computing power of a super computer, or two.  That should help us with cracking
through their security and also with the search of their servers.  Second, we
can use the rest of the army to cause a distraction, making obvious attempts to
wreck havoc that should divert their focus while we sneak in the back.  The
longer we can keep them from noticing us the better.”

“That sounds too easy.  Why hasn't anyone else done it?” 
Michael asked.

“Because it's not that easy,” Jessica answered.  “There is a
lot more to it.  Programming the bots, controlling the bots, breaking through
firewalls and encryption protocols and searching their servers for the relevant
data.”

“And all that has to be done in just a few minutes,”  Jinx
chimed in.  “Even if we do manage to break in, they will not put up with a
sustained attack.  If they can't stop it, they will lock down their networks
and cut all outside lines until they can plug the holes.  Most of our work will
be in prepping with the programming so we can automate the attack.”

“I think we can also guarantee they will eventually trace
the hack.  We can't do it from here,”  Phuzz added.

“I've been working on that,”  Kevin stepped forward.  “I'm
hoping to have everything lined up by the end of the week.”

“How?”  Michael wanted to know how Kevin would secure a
location without any trace to himself.

“I've been hacking into utility companies to get power and
fiber optic access at an abandoned industrial building.  They should be
installing the fiber optic cable later this week.  We probably have a month
before they notice what happened.”

Michael was impressed.  He glanced around at the others. 
“So?  Who's in?”

“We all are, dog,” Suki spoke for everyone.  “But we're
going to need more help.”

Michael turned to Kevin.  “Thoughts?”

“I have three others in mind.  Element, SpaceBird and
ClosedCasket.”

Michael must have been the only one there who didn't know
them.  Everyone but him nodded their heads in agreement.

Kevin continued.  “We've known all of them for a long time,
and they're trustworthy.  Element is a hacker in South Africa.  He has a decent-sized
botnet and the skills we need to help pull this off.  ClosedCasket is in
Australia.  We could really use his programming skills creating a program to
control the bots and make them do what we need them to do.  SpaceBird is in Norway
and has the largest botnet out of all of us.  His alone is bigger than the rest
of ours put together.”

“How many does he have now?”  Sun asked.

“Over half a million last I heard.”

Suki and Snipe whistled.

“So wait, you guys have your own botnets?”  Michael asked. 
He knew they were hackers, but he didn't realize to what extent.

“We share one,” Kevin answered.

“What do you do with it?” 

 Michael wasn't even sure he wanted to know the answer to
that question and quickly decided he didn't. 

“Actually, you know what, I don't want to know.  Do you
think they'll help us?”

“I'm sure they will,” Kevin answered confidently.

“All right.  Tell them only what they need to know.  I'd
like to minimize our exposure where we can.”

Kevin nodded.  “We can get started now if everyone is game.”

“Let's do it.”  Snipe stood up.  The others soon followed
and headed towards the computer room.

Kevin turned to Michael.  “I'll need Jessica's help.”

“Yeah, sure.  We can stay.”

“There's a remote behind the bar.  If you get bored, you can
watch TV.  You can help yourself to the bar as well.”

“I'll pass on the booze, but thanks.  I'll be fine.” 
Michael smiled insincerely.  He knew what he was in for.  Hours of nothing.