Dominant Deception [Black Ops Brotherhood 3] (Siren Publishing Classic) (16 page)

Of course I did. What the hell do you think I’ve been doing all day
? Jack wanted to snap because he was getting more frustrated and aggravated by the second. “What do you mean? Explain.”

Anna walked to Sara’s desk and pulled a file.

“I don’t know, but I thought I read in the audit report that the reason he was he visited Fort Sam in San Antonio was because there were some inconsistencies in payouts and the people that were supposed to receive the materials in question did not get them or they were getting things they didn’t order. The dates were not so…clean,” Anna said.

“Okay? So?”

“The data you’ve been putting in has been nice and neat. It’s not random.”

“Anna, I’m not following you. What’s your point?”

“I’m sorry, Captain, never mind,” Anna said, returning the folder.

Jack instantly regretted his tone. “No, explain what you’re trying to say.
I
don’t get it,” he said a little more softly.

“It was nothing really. I just thought I might have seen something else,” Anna said, turning to the security logs.

“Anna, this is important. What did you see?”

“With all due respect, sir…” Anna hesitated.

“Go on, please. I’m stuck here and I’m frustrated.”

“Isn’t the very nature of an audit its randomness?”

She kept using the word
random
. Jack thought about the word for a moment.
Random? Why is this important? Random.
It suddenly hit him because he understood her point exactly. Anna was right. An audit was indeed
random
.

“Yes. Yes it is,” Jack said, turning back to the workstation.

“Well, putting in fiscal months, and quarters, or even years. It’s not very random, is it?”

“No, it isn’t,” Jack said, seating himself hurriedly.

Jack reached for the faxed report and looked at the date.
March 7
,
2008
. He typed in the query box “03/07/2007” and then for the next box he typed “03/07/2008.” He hit enter and waited.

“Son of a bitch!” Jack whispered. “Anna! How do I print the results?”

Thirty-three irregularities popped up on the screen. Total funds paid, 1.2 million dollars. Anna rushed over and looked at the screen.

“See what I mean!” Anna exclaimed quietly.

“How do I print this out?” Jack demanded once more.

“Right here, sir.” Anna started to print the query results.

Jack waited anxiously as the printer shot out a four-page report. He reached for it and read it quickly. He sat behind the computer and put in another set of random dates. More mismatches in the system were located. Jack printed the results again. There were a couple of more results, but for the most part, the same companies appeared on both lists. Jack sat back and thought a moment. He input one more set of parameters, a fiscal quarter. There were no results, no mismatches in the system.
What the hell?

“Did you see that?” Jack asked Anna.

“Sir?”

“Watch this.” Jack entered a random set of dates.

The report popped up. The random set of dates seemed to give a more concise picture of actual discrepancies. The dates that were more in line with clean fiscal cutoffs revealed no errors or discrepancies. This must’ve been what tipped off the contacting auditor. Jack had a sneaky suspicion that this was an inside job. Someone knew how to manipulate the system and this guy just happened to stumble on it.

“Yes, sir. I saw that yesterday. That was the problem I was having and what I was trying to tell you. I don’t understand what it means,” Anna said.

“Wait a minute,” Jack said as he focused on the screen. He cleared the query fields and continued. “Now watch this.” Jack typed. The same results came back and he looked up at Anna. “What’s wrong with this thing?”

“I don’t understand. Isn’t this what was happening?” Anna asked.

“Exactly. There’s a pattern. Why?”

“I know. That’s the problem I was having yesterday. The one I told you about last night, I thought you understood,” Anna repeated more emphatically.

Jack looked at her. “I guess I didn’t.”

“I–I think there’s a bug in the code.”

“Obviously. Is this accidental or is it intentional?”

“May I, sir?” Anna asked as she indicated her intentions.

Jack stood and Anna took the seat at the computer where he’d been working. She started typing in dates and she was getting the same results.

“Sara, would you come here, please?” Anna asked.

Sara came and stood behind Anna. Sara hadn’t really been following what had been happening.

“Watch this.” Anna duplicated the output of the program.

“Obviously a bug in the code.” Sara shrugged.

“Yeah, we got that far, Chief. Which report is right? And is it intentional?” Jack asked.

“Let’s see if we can track the modification dates,” Sara said.

“That’ll be a little hard. This OS will only tell you the creation date and the last time it was modified,” Anna said.

“Get a forensics expert to look at this. In the meantime we’ll start with the last time it was modified on that guy’s computer,” Jack ordered.

Anna accessed the duplicate drive that Sara had made. The original drive had been locked up. “Got it, Captain. Looks like it was modified on September 7, 2007, at 12:01 p.m.”

Anna stopped and looked at Jack. He could tell by her expression something had struck her as odd.

“What is it?” Jack asked.

“Could this be the problem? Could this be what he saw in those reports and maybe just blew it off thinking there was a bug in the code?” Anna asked.

Jack looked away and thought about what Anna had just said. “Anna, grab those reports and come with me.”

* * * *

Anna picked up the reports that Captain O’Malley had printed and followed behind. He was deep in thought as he walked and Anna had to almost run to keep up with him. When they reached Admiral Campbell’s office, Captain O’Malley blew past his secretary’s desk. She hesitated.

“Go on, honey, they all do it. I don’t stop them unless he’s got the door closed,” the secretary said.

Anna smiled and cautiously followed Captain O’Malley inside. He was talking to the admiral as she entered. Anna stayed at the threshold of the doorway.

“Like I said, something’s going on. I’ve just spent the morning trying to figure out what the hell it is,” Captain O’Malley said. He looked behind him. “Anna, the reports.”

Anna walked inside and handed the papers to him. She shrank back to the threshold.

“Come on in, Anna, and have a seat at the table. Let’s all talk,” the admiral said.

Admiral Campbell came from behind his desk and seated himself, as did Anna. Captain O’Malley, however, continued to walk around the room as Admiral Campbell scanned over the reports.

“Two of these I know for sure are dirty. The rest we can check out,” Admiral Campbell said.

“Yeah, but that’s not the weird part,” Captain O’Malley said.

“Oh? There’s more?”

“It’s the way that stupid program works.”

“Macro, sir,” Anna corrected.

Anna wanted to kick herself. The two men looked at her.
Why did I say that?

“Come back with that?” the admiral asked

“Sorry, sir. It’s not a program. It’s a macro. There’s a difference,” Anna said as she looked down at the table.

“Okay, without getting too technical tell me what the difference is,” the admiral said as he sat back in his chair.

“Well, sir, a macro works within a program and combines a bunch of functions together, like adding, subtracting, printing, and others all at the touch of a key. A program is much more powerful and broader,” Anna said.

“Huh, learn something new every day.” Admiral Campbell eyed the report.

“This
macro
isn’t consistent. It was modified right before the end of the fiscal year in 2007. I’ve asked Sara to call in a forensic expert to take this thing apart. It’s very old, and that’s a problem. Or maybe we just figured out what this guy had discovered. He may have thought this was a bug in the program but in reality it was accurate,” Captain O’Malley said.

“I’m holding you two over until the expert gets here. In the meantime, Anna, dig in and see what you can find out. Markie!” Admiral Campbell yelled.

The elderly secretary walked into the office.

“Yes, Admiral,” Markie said.

“Extend their orders another week,” the admiral ordered.

“Nice to see you’ll be with us a while longer, Captain,” Markie flirted as she walked past Captain O’Malley.

“Thank you, Markie. I’m looking forward to it,” Captain O’Malley flirted back.

Anna was shocked as Captain O’Malley walked out with the secretary to the outer office. She cleared her throat and the admiral spoke again.

“Good job, Anna,” Admiral Campbell commended.

“Thank you, sir.”

“Sara’s had her hands full. She seems to be finally treading water now and you’ve been a big help,” Admiral Campbell said.

“Thank you, sir.”

Anna glanced at the door where Captain O’Malley had disappeared. She heard Markie giggle seductively in the outer office.

“How long have you been doing this kind of work, Anna?” the admiral asked, drawing her attention.

“About three years, sir.”

“At Randolph?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Would you consider leaving?”

“Sir?”

“Would you consider leaving Randolph and coming here to work?” Admiral Campbell asked.

“I don’t understand, sir.”

“What don’t you understand?”

“What you’re asking, sir.”

“I’m offering you a job here, working with Sara.”

Captain O’Malley walked into the office.

“Uh…” Anna started as she looked at Captain O’Malley.

“Do you have a husband and family you need to talk with?” Admiral Campbell asked.

“No, sir. I’m not married,” Anna said.

“Good! Well, think about it. You have a week,” Admiral Campbell said as he looked at Captain O’Malley.

“Anna, I need to talk to the captain. I’ll let you know if there’s anything else,” Admiral Campbell said.

“Of course, sir,” Anna said.

Captain O’Malley followed and closed the door behind Anna.

* * * *

“I offered her the job,” Dixie said.

“And?” Jack questioned.

“She’s thinking about it. I hope you’re right about this, Jack. I fucking jumped major hoops with SOCOM for that position. If she’s in with them, I’ll be the one to pin the tail on the
jackass
,” Dixie warned.

“Seriously, Dixie?” Jack asked sarcastically.

Admiral Campbell looked down at the papers in front of him and smiled.

“I don’t believe she is. Besides we saw this little problem way before Anna Santiago.” Dixie looked up and frowned slightly. “Quantico, remember? Engineering firm run by terrorists, we helped Badass when we were at Dam Neck. That’s how we got a lead on Bakri and all that money that was being
redirected.
Marco Lima was involved in that incident, too. Government contracts, stolen money, computer hacker, it’s all beginning to come together. I’m glad we scheduled that conference with our buddies from Beaumont,” Jack said.

Dixie sat back in his chair. “Rock, tie this up and end it now. Mummar and Abdul are enemy combatants but they still have rights. Figure out how the hell this all ties together, without
violating
their rights.”

“We’ve already scheduled a little fishing trip,” Jack said.

“I don’t give a shit what you do. Tie this up and make sure Anna Santiago is not involved with them. I’ll hang you if she is, Rock,” Dixie warned.

“She’s not involved, Dixie, and they might come after her. I think the way we’re handling this is better,” Jack said.

“I’ll bet you do,” Dixie said with a smile.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“I saw the way you looked at me when I asked her if she was married,” Dixie said, looking directly at Jack.

“She’s not my type, boss. You know that.”

“Then you need to broaden your horizons, boy. I’ll bet she’s something when she takes off those glasses.”

* * * *

Anna stood in front of Markie’s desk as she gave the secretary her information to extend her orders another week. Her mind was elsewhere, thinking of Admiral Campbell’s job offer. It had taken her by surprise and she was seriously considering it. This job would get her away from a lot and maybe it was just what she needed. California wasn’t where she necessarily wanted to land, but it wasn’t bad. Captain O’Malley opened the door and smiled at Markie.