Sending off the email, Noah stared at his computer, wondering what he could find out about Ava using his BMH super chief log-in information. Since he was technically still a member of the surgical staff despite his current suspension, his position allowed him access to a very wide range of BMH data banks, possibly even employee information. Suddenly, he thought it would be ironic after considering hacking into Brazos University if he could get access perfectly legally to Ava’s BMH records and possibly see who from the Brazos University Department of Anesthesia had written recommendations for her and possibly read them.
After typing in a bit of information and a few clicks, he was in the BMH computer. A few moments later he was poised to try to go into employee records, but he hesitated. With his computer savvy, he knew that the BMH computer would be recording everything he did while he was logged in. It was standard procedure. His concern was that someone, knowing he had been suspended, might have set it up so that his use of the computer would be flagged. If that were the case, it could reflect badly on him during the upcoming Advisory Board meeting that he had been snooping in employee records. It wouldn’t be as bad as hacking into the Brazos University computer, but bad enough.
“Damn!” Noah voiced. It was frustrating to feel thwarted at every turn. Just as he was in the process of logging out from the BMH computer, there was a ping from his phone, indicating that he’d just received an email. Quickly switching to his email inbox on his laptop, he saw it was from Roberta Hinkle. But before he could open it, he noticed that it has been read before he clicked on it. Noah stared in confusion where the little blue dot had been. He looked at the time of the email. As he suspected, it had just arrived, so there was no way he would have read it. Then the blue dot suddenly returned.
Noah froze as a chill descended his spine. He lifted his hands off his keyboard, staring at the blue dot. Slowly he turned his laptop around first one way and then the other, looking at all the expansion slots. He didn’t see anything, but that didn’t relieve his fear. Knowing what he did about computers, he instantly knew he’d been hacked, perhaps with Spyware and a Keylogger. Someone had read his incoming email, meaning they had also been reading his outgoing email. Someone was spying on him, digitally watching him. Could it have something to do with the two men who had taken turns following him? In his mind’s eye, he saw the face of the African American he’d confronted. Then Noah remembered the woman from the MIT library describing the men who had come for Noah’s thesis as attractive. Could they have been the same men following him, and if they were, why would the FBI be following him? If they were FBI?
If someone was monitoring his computer use in real time, Noah was relieved he hadn’t tried to look up Ava’s hospital employee record. His next thought was the realization that the break-in yesterday hadn’t been for spare change and a Percocet prescription, but rather to bug his computer. Quickly, Noah reached forward and pressed the power button, turning the blasted laptop off. He got up and went to the window. He couldn’t help but worry that whoever had broken into his apartment could be close, watching him physically as well as digitally. There were a few vans double parked on Revere Street. As crowded as Beacon Hill was, it was difficult for electricians, plumbers, and other services to ply their trades. There was never any place to park. So there was no specific reason to suspect any of the vans were there for malicious purposes, but they could have been.
A wave of paranoia spread through Noah, making him painfully aware of his absolute vulnerability. The thought again occurred to him that perhaps the hospital was behind all these shenanigans to buttress their case against him. But he dismissed the thought as totally unrealistic. The issue of a possible minor ethical violation a decade ago on a thesis project hardly warranted continuous and possibly illegal surveillance. Noah searched for something bigger, more sinister, but what? Nothing came to mind other than his questioning Ava’s competence, irritating her lobbying boss. But that seemed ridiculously far-fetched. He even mockingly laughed at the idea that the Nutritional Supplement Council might be taking issue with Noah’s questioning Ava’s ability with an advanced laryngoscope. It was an absurd notion.
But there was one thing Noah was certain about: he did not want to remain a sitting duck in his isolated apartment with its door busted. Anyone could walk in at any moment by just giving the door a forceful push. Besides, if his computer was bugged, which was 99 percent certain as far as he was concerned, the apartment itself could be bugged. Someone could be literally watching him at that very moment. With that thought in mind, he glanced around the room, knowing how small a wireless, wide-angle video recorder could be and how easily it could be hidden.
Making a snap decision to vacate, he leaped up and dashed back into his bedroom. Getting a backpack out of his closet, he tossed in some toiletries and some clothes. He then changed into his whites, or the usual outfit he wore as a surgical resident. Although he hadn’t thought of all the potential repercussions, his immediate plan was to go to the hospital and hole up in the on-call suite with its lounge and multiple bedrooms. He didn’t know how long he would be able to get away with staying there, as rampant as hospital gossip was, but he thought he’d feel safer than he did in his apartment.
He grabbed his cell phone. His hospital tablet was already in his jacket pocket. He left the laptop on the folding table but took the time to align it as he normally did. He even opened the lid slightly so that when he returned he could tell if someone had disturbed it.
After a quick glance around, trying to think if there was anything else he should take, he went out into the stairwell. It was then that he thought about rigging something so that he could tell if his door was opened while he was away. But then he accused himself of being overly melodramatic. What he’d done with the computer was enough. It was the computer tampering that upset him. It suggested sophistication.
He closed his apartment door gently to avoid further damage. Unless someone looked carefully, the split wasn’t obvious as the major jamb damage was on the inside. With his backpack slung over his shoulder, he rapidly descended the stairs. As he neared the bottom, he slowed as the view out onto Revere Street came into focus through the small decorative panes of glass in the upper section of the front door. His view was limited to the car parked directly in front of his building. He didn’t see any pedestrians, which concerned him. At that time on a summer afternoon there were usually people all over Beacon Hill.
Descending the remaining steps, Noah opened the door. A young woman in cutoff jeans and a halter top popped into view not six feet away, heading down the street. She warily glanced up at Noah, as if she was wondering why he was standing motionless in an open doorway. In the next instant, she was gone.
From Noah’s perspective, seeing the girl was reassuring. Still, he felt decidedly uneasy. Leaving the building door ajar, he descended the three outdoor steps within the building’s exterior alcove. His intention was to look up and down the street. Since it was a one-way street coming up the hill, Noah looked in that direction first. What he saw was not encouraging. Three buildings down was a black late-model Ford van with two men in the front seats. It didn’t look like the usual service truck. It was too new and shiny and had an out-of-state license plate. Worse yet, the moment Noah appeared, it lurched forward with a squeal of its tires and came rapidly in Noah’s direction.