“Did Smith say anything about the firmware for the weapon?”
Vyper shook her head. “He thanked me for it. He never talks about the weapon, or the KILROY message. Says he is forbidden to share the information with us. It worries me, though.”
“I know what you mean,” said Niko. “That firmware is pretty complex for a simple weapon. It’s got to be something expensive and dangerous. And that KILROY message—the CIA doesn’t want it to remain a secret forever. I think they intend to scare someone—let them know we’ve penetrated their systems.”
“We can only guess what the CIA is doing. No sense in worrying about it.” Vyper went to the living room and brought her laptop back. “Let me show you how far I have gotten with the Coral datacenter.”
Niko moved his chair closer.
When she typed in a command, a floor layout appeared. “This is the datacenter. I found it on an engineering database. Each of those rectangles is a client enclosure, with their internet address ranges in the corner.” She pointed to a spot near the middle of the room. “The Russian hacking of Rockefeller Petroleum comes from this client—a company identified as Blue Koala Systems. I tried to identify the owner, but it was registered anonymously in Santa Fe, New Mexico.”
“So, that’s Zatan’s computer center?”
“Yes, and I tapped into Coral’s security camera system.” Vyper displayed five rows of video snapshots on the screen. “I can even control recording and playback. Some cameras scan along a fixed path while others remain stationary. I can see all the open areas, but some clients have rigid containers to isolate their operation—they do their own monitoring.”
A video filled the screen, the image moving slowly to the right. Wire cages stood in a line, each one containing racks of computer equipment. At the end of the line of cages was an enclosure made of smoked glass. Vyper pointed to it. “This belongs to Blue Koala. Somehow, you need to get inside.”
Niko spotted a panel next to the entrance. “Is that one of those badge readers?”
Vyper nodded. “Clients manage the badge IDs for their own employees, but they use the same system.”
Something moved past the camera. It looked like a Segway but didn’t have a passenger. Niko studied it. “What’s that?”
“A robot,” said Vyper. “That one is for security. It makes scheduled rounds searching for irregularities. It also checks most of the equipment indicator lights. They have other robots, too. Some swap out disk drives—that kind of thing.” She smiled. “I can control them from here.”
A silly thought struck Niko. “You could start a robot rebellion. It would freak people out.”
Vyper shoved his arm. “Sometimes I wonder how your mind works.” Another floor layout appeared on her laptop. This version showed loudspeakers, smoke and heat detectors, and several small yellow boxes with red letters. “Everything is computer-controlled. Those boxes are the fire suppression nozzles. Not water, though. They use inert gas—displaces the oxygen.”
“Wow,” said Niko. “When I do get inside the datacenter, you’ll be with me… well, virtually. You’ll be watching me and watching my back.”
Vyper tapped on the laptop and the images of two faces appeared. “Do you recognize these men?”
“They’re my students. Are those Blue Koala ID badges?”
“They are,” said Vyper. “I downloaded the images you captured at the university with your eyeglass camera. I compared those faces against the ID badges at Coral. These are the only two who match. They work for Zatan.”
“Fantastic.” Niko got up and retrieved his laptop. He typed the names of the students. “I’ll look them up on the internet later. Got to find a way to get close to them.”
Vyper took the cups to the sink. “Smith should be happy with our progress.”
Niko grabbed the plates, only a few bagel crumbs remaining, and walked behind her. “You know Smith would expect us to practice our Krav Maga.”
She turned around and scrunched up her face. “I told you. I do not like it. I watched you practice, but I cannot do it. I hate violence—real or practice.”
“I wish you’d try, Vyper. Sokolov is after you and he won’t give up. You need to learn to defend yourself.”
Vyper’s hand flapped. She pressed her palm on the table. “No. All my life, I have avoided conflict. Even when I was abused, I always submitted quietly. It is difficult to change.”
“What’ll you do if Sokolov finds you? Will you submit to him? Do whatever he wants?”
“I… I cannot let him win. I will try to resist.”
Niko rested his hand on her shoulder. “Do you remember what they told us in Krav Maga training? What they said about aggression?”
Vyper’s head drooped. “Fight quickly, violently. Do not stop until the enemy is down and helpless.”
“Can you do it? Will you do it?”
“I… I don’t know. Maybe—”
Niko’s phone rang. He accepted it and waited for a secure connection.
“Smith here,” said the voice on the phone. “We need your help—actually we need Vyper’s help.”
“Wait until I put it on speaker,” said Niko. “Okay, go ahead.”
“There’s a major refinery fire at Rockefeller Petroleum in Harrisburg, east of Houston. Five storage tanks are on fire and emergency crews are trying to keep it from spreading to other tanks. Homeland believes it was a cyber-attack.”
Vyper yelled at the phone. “Of course it is. We warned Homeland weeks ago. You said they would handle it. You told us to leave it alone. Now you ask for our help?”
Smith’s voice was calm but firm. “So far, no casualties have been reported, but that could change. I need you to work with Homeland. I’m transferring you to the response team.”
A man with a southern accent came on the line. “Williams here. They tell me you can help.”
“This is Harris. What happened. How did it start?”
“A large pool of gasoline at Lamar Refinery formed out of nowhere and ignited, triggering several explosions. None of Rockefeller’s equipment detected any leak, but it should have.”
“Did they shut down all the pumps moving flammable liquids throughout the refinery?”
“It’s an extensive operation. They turned off everything near the affected area.”
Vyper looked at Niko and threw her hands in the air, then she faced the phone. “If you suspect a cyber-attack, why did you limit the shutdown area?”
“Like I said, it’s a large operation.”
“Stop all the pumps—throughout Lamar. And block external network access. You must not allow it to spread.”
“We’ll do as you recommend with the network. As far as the pumps, I’ll forward your request to Rockefeller management.”
Vyper rolled her eyes. “Give me access to the network—a satellite link if necessary.”
For the next two hours, Vyper worked with Homeland to inspect all systems in the Lamar network. The cyber infection was extensive, spreading to dozens of flow computers and other industrial controls. Despite her pleas, Rockefeller didn’t stop any equipment outside the affected region.
Niko watched the news coverage. Images of flames and thick black smoke played in the background while reporters interviewed local officials. Area roads were shut down. Residents in nearby Harrisburg were told to shelter in place.
Vyper yelled into the phone, “There is a new leak. Sensors show a sudden pressure drop but the computer is not reporting it to operations staff.” She gave the details to Homeland.
A breaking news chyron ran across the bottom of the TV broadcast. A reporter explained the situation. “Emergency crews have been deployed to the site of a new leak. Officials have not identified the—”
An explosion appeared on the TV. Flames and black smoke shot up. The image jiggled and shifted for a better view.