Cipher (8 page)

In Washington DC, at a secret NSA
meeting called by the Director of the National Security Agency himself, the underground
digital war room was lined with fresh-faced analysts paying close attention to
Director Peter Edwards’s speech. The enormous digital screen on the wall behind
him had a map with a photo of Boris
Medviek,
the
criminal mastermind who had orchestrated this network of worldwide coordinated
attacks. The screen also displayed the names of his criminal network of cohorts
that included names, locations, and additional intelligence on his likely
targets.

“Okay people, listen up. Here’s what we have. Boris Medviek.
Russian descent. 42 years old. Brilliant hacker. Current location is believed
to be in Istanbul, Turkey right now. We’ve located a superyacht, which we
believe to belong to him, but he’s a master of disguise people. We need to find
him, as this is our top priority. We believe that Medviek is working on
infiltrating high-level government databases for the purposes of securing a
list of agents in the field he’s selling on the black market to the Saudis.
We’re also aware of recent infiltrations that we believe can be traced back to
him. We believe that he’s going to strike again very soon. This is top-level
priority people.”

A securities analyst by the name of Kate Jenkins, seated in
the second row of analysts that lined the room from front to back, 7 per row, 6
rows deep, spoke up. “Sir, what if Boris already has the list with him? What if
he’s already infiltrated the databases? I found this,” she said, punching some
keys into the keyboard in front of her,
then
hitting a
button to send the details to the screen up above. “I show infiltration points
here, here, and here,” she said referring to different databases across the
NSA, CIA, and FBI.

“What’s your name analyst?”

“Jenkins, sir. Kate Jenkins.”

“Well, Jenkins,” said the Director, “Those security points
were breached, but no data was taken, however we can’t be too caution on this
one. Let’s double and triple check all databases for security. I also want to
gather a team of our best IT personnel to review security procedures for the
data. He’s somehow getting into our systems and we’re unable to lock him out.”

“Sir,” Jenkins continued, “I’ve done some further analysis
on this, and it seems as though it’s a special kind of brute force attack.”

“What’s your background Jenkins?”

“Advanced Cryptology and Applied Mathematics, sir. I did my
thesis on advanced cryptography ciphers, and I have to say that the techniques
being used to gain access look extremely advanced. We can see here, on the Air
Traffic Control Systems’ coordinated hack that the brute force attack came in
over a secured 1024-bit RSA key server. It’s virtually impossible to hack a
load-balanced server by brute force because they can normally withstand those
types of attacks. This attack was either coordinated with several servers
attacking all at once, or some other sophisticated method was used that I’ve
never seen. But the fact that this type of attack has worked across the board
tells us we’re dealing with one very sophisticated cipher,” said Jenkins.

Another analyst in the room named Geoff, seated in the back
row, also spoke up. “Sir, Geoff Steiner here,” he said.

“Go ahead Steiner,” barked the Director.

“Sir, I’ve located some information that may be deemed
useful here. We have a lab out of Arlington, Virginia called Advanced Biogenics,
which was working on a technology for advanced ciphers. The team was led by
this researcher,” he said, punching some keys on the keyboard that brought up
Jennifer’s photo on the screen in front of them. “Her name is Dr. Jennifer M.
Cobalt. She has a Harvard degree in Applied Mathematics and we have reason to
believe, sir, that she created a new advanced algorithm that can hack a
2048-bit RSA key in less than 30 minutes.”

The room grew silent after Steiner spoke. They looked at the
screen with the doctor’s photo on it, and the director took off his
prescription lenses for a moment to wipe his eyes. “If this is true,” said the
Director
,
then we’re in trouble people. Do you realize
what this means? This means that any institution, public or private, from
financial to media, and everything in between, can be hacked. I want all of you
to find out everything you can about Advanced Biogenics. I want to know
everything about this doctor, and the team that worked on this project. I want
to know how the hell Boris Medviek has this technology, if he in fact does.”

“It all makes sense, sir,” said Jenkins, “It’s much more
plausible to be able to launch a coordinated attack with technology like this.
This would be impossible to do otherwise.”

“Like I said people, I want everything. I want absolutely
everything we can rummage up. I want to know where she is, what she eats for
breakfast, her first boyfriend’s name. I want to know everything. And, we need
eyes in the field. Let’s get on this before it’s too late.”

The Director left the room, and the analysts dispersed. Kate
Jenkins and Geoff Steiner walked out of the room together, trailing the rest of
the group.

“So what do you think of all of this?” asked Steiner.

“I think that if Medviek has this kind of technology we’re
all screwed. It’s going to be virtually impossible to stop it from leaking out,
if it already hasn’t. If this isn’t a matter of national security, then I don’t
know what could be,” Jenkins replied.

“So, this can’t be a software-based cipher, can it?” asked
Steiner.

“Well, I think it may be a hard-encoded cipher. It must be
some new form of algorithm. I wouldn’t know unless I could get a chance to see
the research that went into it. But, most likely, it’s a cipher sitting on a
circuit. If that’s the case, and there’s multiple devices like this out there,
then even if we get Medviek, we’re not solving our problem.”

“That’s scary stuff,” he said as they rounded the well-lit
hallway enroute to their section in the underground spy station.

“I know,” said Jenkins. “I did my master’s dissertation on
advanced ciphers. It seems hard to believe that someone could crack a 2048-bit
RSA key. It was supposed to be virtually impossible. Well, at least not
possible for years to come. I don’t think this has anything to do with Moore’s
law. They’ve found some sort of key that can unlock these ciphers. It’s like a
master key of all ciphers. I have to sit down and think of it. I have to draft
out my ideas,” she said.

“Yeah, me too. Okay, well let’s get to work,” he replied.

“Okay, we’ll regroup later today to review what we’ve
found,” said Jenkins as she rounded her way towards her office. The pair split
up. It was clear they had a lot of work to do; they had a whole lot of work to
do.

Jonathan Grace ran through the gears
of the BMW as they sped through the city of Istanbul. He was at the wheel
again, while Jennifer sat in the passenger seat, helpless with her arm in a
sling, unable to drive the vehicle herself. Jonathan looked over at her sitting
there
helplessly,
her pale blue eyes sparkled in the
late morning sun of the city. The light Sunday traffic made navigating the
streets much easier than normal. They whipped through cobble-stoned streets,
along major highways, across a bridge over the Bosporus, and back onto more city
streets.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Back to my hotel,” he said.

“But it’s not safe there. What if they’re there waiting for
us?” He could see the tense look on her face. She was stressed out and
rightfully so. They had been through quite an ordeal, and it was taking a toll
on her. He could see the look on her face. She turned her eyes out towards the
city. “How do you even know where you’re going?”

“I know it’s through these streets, on this side of the
Bosporus.”

“Good memory,” she said. She cracked a half-hearted smile.

“Thanks. But, what the hell are we going to do? We need to
get out of here. This guy isn’t going to stop until we’re both dead.” Jonathan
felt the gun that was now between his legs. He hadn’t held a gun in a long time
and he knew that it was no toy. But, the fact that they had a gun made him feel
much better. They were certainly going to need it. He held the brushed steel
silencer of the gun in his hand for a moment and double-checked the safety.
They were safe for the time being, but for how much longer? How much longer
would it take
for them
to find them again? Were they tracking
via satellite? Did they have the license plate of the car?

“We have to ditch this car,” he said. “Especially with these
gunshot holes in the windshield. We’re going to be a pretty obvious target.”

“I know. But, what are we going to do without a car? We need
a car.”

“We’ve got to find a different one,” he said. “There’s so
much to do, but first things first is we need to get to the hotel, and we need
to find that cipher drive.”

“The cipher drive?” She looked at him with a puzzled
expression. “How do you expect us to find that? It could be anywhere by now. It
could be thousands of miles away,” she said.

 
“We have to try.
We don’t have any other choice. It’s why I’m here. That’s the whole reason why
I’m here. I didn’t say anything earlier but I was sent here to find you because
they thought you would know where the cipher drive is.”

“They?” she asked. “Who the hell
is
they?” She looked at Jonathan with incredulousness.

“They… um… okay I guess I should come clean,” he said, as he
spun the car around another bend along the meandering road that ran along the
Bosporus.

“Spit it out.” She wasn’t in the mood.

“Okay, so here’s the whole situation. I was paid to come
here and find the cipher drive. My client gave me your information. I was
supposed to find you and locate the drive, then everything else happened, and
now we’re in this sticky situation.”

“Sticky situation? You don’t say.” She laughed to herself,
but it wasn’t a funny laugh, it was more of a satirical laugh. She wasn’t
amused.

“Yeah… I guess… I’m having trouble finding the right words.”

“I’ll say.”

“Okay,” he continued, “Here’s the situation. My life has
been pretty screwed up the past couple of years. I guess this is no excuse, but
this job was my ticket out of the hellhole that my life had become. There’s a
million dollars on the line.”

“A million dollars?
For what?
For
information leading to me?”

“No, no. That’s not it,” he cooed. He cranked the gears as
he sped down the road, turning up another street, and driving away from the
ocean and in towards the city and the hotel. “The million dollars is for bring
back the cipher drive.”

“Look. The fact that forced me to take my research and make
it into a cipher drive didn’t surprise me. I guess I just didn’t foresee
all of this
happening. I wasn’t thinking properly. I wasn’t
thinking at all when they forced me into this. Advanced Biogenics – the
lab that contracted my work – paid me a lot of money too... In fact, it
was so much money that I would never have to work another day in my life. It’s
not that I foresaw this happening. And there’s something you should probably
know.”

“Okay? What is it?” Jonathan asked, quickly glancing at her
as he drove the car through the city.

“There was a break-in at the lab; shortly after I had left.
It was maybe a couple of weeks later, after I was gone
..
Someone broke in and ransacked the lab. My research was stolen; at least that’s
what they told me.”

“Did they tell you exactly what had happened?” he asked.

“No. They kept me in the dark. But, I found out from a
colleague of mine. She probably wasn’t supposed to tell me, but she was a good
friend.”

“Was?” Jonathan asked.

“Yeah. Well, I haven’t heard from her in ages. Her number is
disconnected and the email bounces. When I tried to reach her at the lab, they told
me she was no longer working there.”

“But, your research? Who stole it? What happened to it?”

“First, you need to tell me who sent you here to find the cipher
drive. Don’t you think that would give you some clues?”

“I was sent by the Italian mob,” he said, as he pulled the
car up to the side of the hotel, and parked it on the street a block away from
the entrance. He didn’t want to pull up with the vehicle right in front of the
hotel and make their entrance obvious.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Well, it sounds more sinister than it is… I mean… I
guess it is somewhat
sinister come to think of it.
Anyways, Don Cicerone is a client that’s used my services in the past. It’s
been a couple of years since they had contacted me. I was a little bit
surprised that they were willing to give me this job after not having had
contact with them for so long. But, I think they felt sorry for
me or something
. I didn’t really ask questions. I took the
job and I’m here.”

“I see. Well, now what? What’s your brilliant plan?” she
asked.

“We have to find the cipher drive. That’s our only way out
of this mess. Without it, we’re toast. Whoever has it, wherever it is, whatever
it takes, we need to find it. Do you have anything we can go on? Do you have
any possible access to someone who might know about its whereabouts?”

“Maybe,” she said. “Let me think about it. I could probably
call Paul; he was in charge of another research unit at the lab. I could try to
get in touch with him. Maybe he knows something. That would be my only option.
But, why would you still want to go after this thing after all we’ve been
through? Aren’t you a little bit concerned for your life? I know I’m certainly
concerned for my own life at the moment.”

They sat there in the parked car looking at each other as
they spoke about their circumstances. Jonathan couldn’t help but feel attracted
to her, even in that situation of heightened senses and nerves. He knew it was
wrong on a professional level, but he couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t help
the way that she made him feel; he just couldn’t. And, she could sense his
attraction; it was clear. She was attracted to him too. After
all
they had been through in such a short period of time,
something somewhere along the way happened. It was something electric. He could
just sense it in his bones and feel it in his heart.
 
It was as raw and real of emotions that
he had experienced in a long time.

“Yes, of course I’m concerned,” he said. “But, just know
that I would never let anything bad happen to you. I won’t let anything bad
happen to you. You have to trust me on this.”

“Why don’t we just leave Istanbul all together? Why don’t we
just get out of here? It’s safer that way. Wouldn’t you think so?” she asked. “If
we just stay here, we’re going to get in more trouble. I have money. We can
leave. We can get out of here. Don’t you think that’s the best thing to do
right about now? Sticking around isn’t a good idea. I’m telling you this from
experience.

“I don’t know… I gave my word to Don Cicerone. I can’t let
him down. I mean
,
it’s my neck on the line. It’s not
just about collecting the million dollars. I made a promise, and with all of
the promises that I’ve broken in my life, I wanted to make a clean start. I
want to make things right. I need to make things right.”

“Maybe you should speak to him then. Maybe you should
explain the situation to him. Tell him your life is in danger. Tell him our
lives are in danger,” she said.

“I spoke to him already. He told me that I might be in some
danger; that you might be in some danger. I brushed it off. Now I know to take
things seriously. But, things are different now. We’ll be more prepared than we
were before. No more mistakes. We’re going to figure this whole thing out. I’m
not sure how, but we are.”

“Jonathan?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you remember in the news, that coordinated hacking
effort that happened?”

“Yeah.”

“The way they described that. The things that they said
about it in the news piece leads me to believe that whoever did that is the
person that has the cipher drive. Whoever orchestrated those attacks has what
you’re looking for,” she said. “If we can somehow find out who did it, then
we’ll have something to go on so that we’re not shooting around in the dark
here.”

“Okay, at least it’s a start,” he said.

“But I still think that we should just leave. I think we’re
taking a huge risk by sticking around,” she said. Her sullen look was
indicative of the mood.

“I don’t want to run. Running isn’t going to get us
anywhere. I’m tired of feeling like I have to run away from things. I don’t
want to do that. I refuse to do that, in fact. No, we have to stay and figure
this out. Look, we’re intelligent people, we can put our heads together and
sort this out if we really wanted to. Don’t you think?”

“I suppose so. I guess maybe you’re right,” she said.

They got out of the car and casually walked into the hotel.
Jonathan carefully scoped out the streets as they made their way in through the
front door of the luxury all-suite hotel. His dark aviators made it easy for
him to keep a careful eye on things while not alluding to his paranoia. He
tucked the gun into his black backpack that was now slung over his shoulder. He
pulled it tightly to his chest as he slipped the hotel room key into the door
and heard the customary double-chime before the green light lit and the door
was unlocked.

Inside the hotel room, Jonathan looked through his phone. He
thought about
who
he needed to call. He thought about
who could actually help him in that situation. And, at that very moment, he
knew what to do.

“I’ve got it,” he said to Jennifer.

“What?” she asked. She looked at him with a puzzled
expression.

“You call Paul from the lab, while I’m going to get on the
phone with Ed Perkins, a friend of mine who works at the Times in New York.”

“Okay, got it.
But,
first
I need to lie down. Do you mind if I get a bit of
shuteye here? I’m exhausted,” she said.

“Sure, I’ll head down to the hotel bar so that I can give
you a chance to rest,” he replied. “I’m going to take my backpack with me.
Don’t open the door for anyone. I’ll knock twice,
then
three times, then once – that’s the code to open the door. 2-3-1,” he
said.
 

“Okay. I’ll be okay. If I’m not awake, call my phone. You
have the new number from the clean SIM card.”

“Sounds good,” he said. She had already slipped into the bed
as he closed the door. He pulled his backpack tightly to his chest as he walked
down the long hallway clad in a crimson red carpet. The dimly lit passage and
red carpeting gave a certain elegant flare to the hotel.

When he got to the bar, he took a seat there amongst the
busy crowd. It was high season after all and the hotel was pushing maximum
occupancy. The crowd was that elitist jet-setting type, and he heard the gamut
of languages from English to French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Russian.
Istanbul was certainly a melting pot for an eclectic mixture of tourists from
all regions of the world.

He pulled out his phone as he sat at the white stonewashed
marble bar with its inlaid swirls of greys, blacks, and specks of silver. The lighting
in the bar was just as perfect as it was throughout the rest of the hotel. He
searched through his address book for Ed’s phone number, found it, and then
dialed the number.

“Anything to drink?” asked the bartender.

“Whiskey sour please,”
Jonathan
replied.

“Hello?” said the voice on the other end of the phone.

“Ed?”

“Who is this?”

“It’s Jonathan Grace.”

“Jonathan?
How the hell
are you? Do
you realize how early it is here?” he asked.

Jonathan hadn’t thought about the time difference. He looked
at his watch and it must have been around 4 o’clock in the morning. “Jesus, Ed,
I’m really sorry. I didn’t realize how early it was there.”

“Where are you? Where are you calling from?”

“I’m in Istanbul.”

“Why? For what?” he asked.

“On assignment. A job.”

“Jesus, good for you. Glad to hear you’re working. How’s everything
been since… well… since?”

“It’s been okay. Thanks for asking. I still miss her every
single day, but it’s getting a little easier,” Jonathan said. “It doesn’t hurt
as much anymore, but it’s hard to forget something like that. It’s hard to be
reminded of the reality of my life each day I wake up. I’m sorry if that sounds
so heavy.”