Niko shared a bewildered look with Vyper. The internet was rife with rumors about CIA projects, like MONGOOSE and STARGATE, but the name on the screen sounded too much like the notorious mind-control program, MKULTRA.
The CIA seal faded and was replaced by a world map with a line connecting Nassau, in the Bahamas, to Vladivostok, in Far Eastern Siberia. A large bubble containing a network diagram appeared above each location.
Smith pointed a laser dot at the Siberian location. “Belenko, aka Zatan, is planning and coordinating Russian cyber-attacks from this restricted network in Vladivostok. The mission of MKSIGMA is to gain access to the restricted area, discover their plans, and neutralize the threat.” The red dot circled a graphic that resembled a brick wall. “This firewall isolates the restricted network. It’s configured like the Nassau firewall that Harris has been unable to crack.”
“My name is Vyper. Nobody calls me Harris.”
“Vyper it is.” Smith nodded. “Physical security around the Siberian datacenter is daunting, made even more difficult because it’s located inside Russia.” The red pointer circled a connection to the firewall. “This entry point is privileged, allowing trusted networks more complete access.” Smith moved the pointer slowly from the firewall to another one in the Bahamas, following the line connecting the locations. “We’ll break into the Siberian network from Nassau.”
Niko shook his head. “You want me to walk into the datacenter and plant a bug on the privileged side of the firewall so Vyper can hack her way into Vladivostok?”
Smith displayed a more detailed diagram and pointed the dot to one of the switches. “You’ve got the idea, but I don’t want you to plant a bug. Instead, you’ll make a network connection between this restricted switch port and an open port on the wide area switch.” The pointer moved between the two switch ports.
“No.” Vyper shook her head. “They can detect everything I do. It will appear to be unexpected network traffic from the outside.”
“We’ve got it covered,” said Smith. “Nassau Telecom configured a private channel that uses a separate wavelength over the same fiber. The Russians will never notice the covert tap.”
Vyper was full of questions and so was Niko. Smith provided detailed documentation and went over each point they raised.
Niko was convinced the technical aspects of the plan were solid. But none of it would work if he couldn’t sneak in and make the connection. It should be easy. Just another scam. He took a deep breath to calm himself and let it out. “How are you going to turn me into a spy?”
Smith leaned back in his chair and closed the laptop. “Let’s start with your cover story. You’ll be a visiting professor from the Ukraine—always good to have a cover you’re comfortable with. The school, New Providence University, will hire you to teach network security.”
“What name do I use?”
“You’ll be Anton Zhora.” Smith crossed his arms against his chest. “Once in Nassau, you need to complete the following actions.” He projected a list of bullet items on the screen:
• Human Intelligence
• Electronic Intelligence—Coral Computing
• Penetration—Network Access
• Electronic Intelligence—Vladivostok
The red dot moved to the item at the top of the list. “First, establish trust at the university while collecting information on everyone you encounter—students, faculty, anyone who shows interest in you.” The dot moved to the next item. “Second, break into the Coral Computing Datacenter remotely and collect all the information you can. It’s a multi-tenant facility, and Belenko is one of their clients.”
The dot moved to the third entry. “Once you’ve collected enough information to develop a plan, go inside Zatan’s datacenter and connect the switches.” Smith moved the dot to the last item and looked at Vyper. “After the connection is made, you will break into Vladvistok from Nassau to discover what Zatan is up to.”
“Sounds like it’ll work, but I’m not a spy. You said I need to collect information about people… do I take pictures or something?”
“One of my associates will be joining us later to demonstrate the tools available to you.” Smith turned to face Vyper. “We got you a job as a security analyst for Charles Town Cloud—the largest internet provider on the island.”
Vyper’s hands began to twitch until she laced her fingers together. “Do you expect me to spy, too? I am not good with people.”
Smith shook his head. “No. I want you work your shift as a trusted employee, bringing no suspicion on yourself. Each day, after your shift is over, go back to your apartment and work for us. Your initial assignment is to hack into Coral Computing—gain access to their cameras, their security systems, robots… everything. Once Niko gets inside and makes the connection, you’ll penetrate the Vladivostok network as we discussed. We also need your help with a couple of special projects, but we can discuss them later.”
“You mentioned an apartment,” said Vyper. “Where do we stay?”
“You and Niko will have separate apartments on the third floor of Island Village. I know you want to be together but it’s important for you to act as strangers. You’ll each fly into Nassau on different days from different airports. Never go to your rooms at the same time and be sure to leave from your own apartment every morning. Keep in mind, the Russians could be watching you.”
Smith stood. “We have to get moving. You are both scheduled for your first self-defense training session. Follow me.”
Vyper shook her head. “No fighting. I do not like fighting.”
Niko took her hand. “Think about it, Vyper. Sokolov’s still out there. He’s a violent man, and he’s looking for you.”
When she didn’t respond, Smith opened the door. “We’ve got to go. They’re waiting.”
Niko kissed Vyper’s hand. “Come and watch, then. You might learn something you could use if you ever get in trouble.”
Smith led them to a gymnasium with two full-sized training dummies standing on wrestling mats. The only other person in the room was a short, muscular man in a sweat suit.
The man motioned them to sit on a bench. “Good afternoon. I am Mister Jones. I’ll be your self-defense trainer. The methods you’ll learn are from Krav Maga, a combination of martial arts and street fighting.”
“Should we change clothes or anything?” asked Niko.
Jones shook his head. “Today will simply be an introduction. You won’t do anything physical. Starting tomorrow, you’ll need to wear more appropriate clothes.” He spent an hour discussing and demonstrating the basics of the art.
Smith looked at his watch. “We’ve got another appointment.” He turned to the instructor. “Thank you, Mister Jones.”
Niko and Vyper followed Smith back to the conference room where they took their seats.
Smith opened a folder. “When my colleague arrives, she’ll describe some specialized equipment, but she’s not cleared to discuss your mission. She doesn’t even know where you’re going.”
His phone beeped. He glanced at it and stood. “She’s here.”
When he opened the door, a petite, gray-haired woman entered, wheeling a shiny black suitcase behind her. She had a pleasant grandmotherly smile that seemed out of place at a CIA training center.
She took a seat and opened the case on the table. “I’m Miss Quincy, but most people call me ‘Q’… like in the Bond movies.” She laid a cell phone in front of her and slid two more across the table.
“We already have Samsung phones,” said Niko. “Why do we need these?”
Q raised her eyebrows. “They look normal, don’t they?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “If someone snatches your phone, they’ll probably remove the SIM card to disable or clone it. But it’s only a decoy. The card contains no data. The functions found on the SIM have been built into a chip.”