“Vyper, you’re amazing. I feel like we can’t fail.” A text message popped up on Niko’s phone. He read it. “Smith just notified me—Zatan arrived at Nassau airport earlier today. Facial recognition picked him out. They aren’t sure where he went.”
“You think he spotted Sokolov’s photo?”
“That’s my guess.” Niko’s heart raced. Would Zatan come to the datacenter? Would he go after Sokolov’s money? “I have to break into Blue Koala tomorrow. We can’t let his arrival stop us.”
“I think you are right. Zatan’s team is up to something, too. The Russian hackers are still probing Calvert Cliffs, but they seem to have stopped work on everything else. It is like all the computer experts are working on some higher priority project.”
“Interesting. Let me check something.” Niko searched several web sites known to be frequented by ex-military. In Kansas City, Missouri, B2 pilots went on alert, keeping half of the bombers in the air at all times. Similar actions were taken in Pensacola, Florida, and Abilene, Texas. “Looks to me like we just went to DEFCON 2. That hasn’t happened since the Cuban Missile Crisis.”
Dombarovsky, Russia
Halfway around the world in southern Russia, fifteen miles north of the Kazakhstan border, Lieutenant Colonel Pavel Burov led his comrade down a long, narrow concrete tunnel, fifty meters below the ground. Nineteen years ago, he had earned the honor to serve as a proud roketchiki, responsible for the physical care, security, and operation of ten nuclear missiles.
They approached the steel door to the launch center to begin their shift. He leaned into the retinal scanner, placing his right eye on the eyepiece, not blinking until the red light went out. He and his comrade stood before the camera and waited for the team inside to open the heavy blast door.
Even though they met this team every day, they never spoke to them. Roketchiki teams were trained not to form any personal bonds. Russian leaders didn’t want to risk any coordinated resistance against pressing the button if the order was ever given.
Burov stepped aside to allow the other team to leave before he and his comrade entered. They performed the shift turnover tasks outlined in their check lists, then sat at their stations.
Normally, the next six hours would be uneventful, but four days ago, their commander had ordered them on high alert.
Chapter 31
Blue Koala
Nassau, Bahamas
Saturday morning, two hours before sunrise, Niko waved the badge he copied from Jalen in front of the reader. A green light appeared next to the door latch, and he entered. An armed guard looked up from his desk, glanced at the tool bag in Niko’s hand and the Zettabyte logo on his uniform, and waved him through.
He entered another door into a large office area, empty cubicles filling the center of the room. The cell phone in Niko’s pocket vibrated and he checked the messages, all from Vyper:
BLUE KOALA’S SERVER SENT A TEXT
DO NOT KNOW WHERE IT WENT
SUSPECT JALEN’S ID WAS DETECTED
MAYBE SATURDAY IS NOT AUTHORIZED
ALERTS STOPPED – I BLOCKED THEM
Niko went to the men’s’ room and sat inside a toilet stall. He placed his Bluetooth earbud in his ear and called Vyper. “I got your message.”
Her voice wavered. “You must leave. Zatan probably received the message. He might decide to pay you a visit.”
That had been Niko’s first thought as well. “We can’t back out now. If I leave, we’ll never stop Zatan.”
An uncomfortable silence hung in the air until Vyper finally spoke. “If you must… then keep this call open so we can communicate. I will follow you on the security cameras, but they do not have sound.”
Niko made his way to the door leading into the datacenter. A wave of his badge granted him entry. The inside looked exactly like the security camera videos he had studied. A line of wire cages stood before him. At the end of the line was a smoked glass enclosure—Blue Koala.
He walked slowly, trying not to draw attention, then he remembered no one was watching. Vyper had frozen the video that security teams viewed.
Standing in front of the Blue Koala badge reader, he hesitated to wave Jalen’s badge. After the text alert, Zatan may have blocked access.
Too late now.
He waved the badge, breathed a sigh of relief when the door unlocked, and entered. The narrow aisles between racks of equipment were exactly what he expected. No one should be here, but he kept looking around anyway. He walked to the section where network connections to the outside world are accessible—this is where Blue Koala must house their telecommunication equipment.
Niko studied the equipment, the ports, and the cables inserted in the ports. When he was convinced he had found the right spot, he described it to Vyper. “Should I plug in?”
Vyper agreed.
He set his tool bag on the floor, pulled out a tablet computer and long cable, and connected it to the Blue Koala network equipment.
“I see it,” said Vyper. “Wait until I configure it… Got it.”
Niko picked up his toolkit “Now I’m going to look at the firewalls.” He walked down the aisle, dragging the cable behind him like an umbilical cord attaching him to Vyper.
He set his tool kit on the floor and pulled out a special blue cable—the type primarily used by field technicians for administrative console access.
Niko plugged one end of the cable into a special console port on his tablet, and the other end into the admin port on one of the firewalls. If all went as planned, Vyper would connect through the long umbilical cord into the tablet and out to the firewall. “Is this the right one?”
“No, try another.”
His second choice was also wrong, but when he tried the third one, Vyper responded, “Perfect. Now I will break in and modify the configuration. This might take a while.”
Niko waited. He knew Vyper was working as quickly as she could, but he needed to get out of here as soon as possible.
“I got it,” said Vyper. “Now you can make the connection.” She described the port.
Niko disconnected the umbilical cord from his laptop and plugged it into the location Vyper designated. “Are you in?”
“One minute… That is perfect. Now pack up and leave.”
As he packed up his equipment, Niko smiled. “You were worried—”
“Get out!” Vyper shouted. “Zatan entered the building. He is with another man… No! He is heading to Blue Koala’s door. Hide!”
Niko glanced at the door.
It opened, and two men entered. One was Zatan, dressed in a Bahamian shirt and shorts. He looked physically intimidating—more than he did in his photos. The other man wore a dark blue uniform. He held a weapon in his right hand.
A gun? That’s crazy.
Niko stood with his tool kit in hand. “Good morning. I’m with Zettabyte. Just finishing—”
“You are not Jalen Sawyer,” said Zatan. “What are you doing here?”
Pointing to his logo, Niko replied, “Like I said, I’m with Zettabyte.”
The guard raised his weapon.
Niko stared at the barrel of the gun. But it wasn’t a gun. Sparks and confetti shot out. He felt a sting in his stomach, and then in his leg.
Taser.
He saw the thin wires a moment before excruciating pain shot up his leg then throughout his body. He shook, and his knees buckled. He collapsed, unable to control the movement of his arms or legs. This was the most pain he ever experienced.