The pain stopped suddenly, and his muscles relaxed. Zatan and his guard stood over him.
The sound of Vyper’s voice in his ear demanded attention. “Get ready.”
Ready? For what?
Zatan glared. “Cut the bullshit. Who are you, and why are you here?” He waved at the Taser. “You will answer me sooner or later.”
A whirring sound drew Niko’s attention to a robotic unit on tracks behind the two men, heading toward them.
Zatan and his guard glanced back just as the robot ran into the man with the Taser, knocking him down.
Niko jumped up and kicked the guard in the head with all the force he could muster.
Zatan stepped around the robot and assumed an offensive stance, legs flexed, arms raised. Niko could only hope his Krav Maga lessons were enough to handle this man.
The robot’s arm suddenly extended into the side of Zatan’s head, knocking the man to the floor.
“Get out of there,” said Vyper. “I will lock them in. They will not leave.”
Niko glanced at the small wires connecting him to the Taser. He spotted two small metal cylinders dangling from his uniform—one on his stomach, and one on his thigh. He gripped the one on his stomach and pulled it straight out. It was painful, but nothing like being tased. He removed the one in his leg, grabbed his tool kit, and left.
Warrenton, Virginia
Vyper sat before her laptop, flapping her hands and rocking her head. The stress of the morning had gotten to her, but she managed to stay focused while Niko needed her. She had allowed her anger to get the best of her, too—knocking those horrible men down with the robot, locking them in, and unleashing inert gas inside Blue Koala’s enclosure. If they suffocated, she would not be upset. She notified Smith—those men were his problem now.
When she emerged from her mental safe zone, she got down to business. Niko had set up the access she needed, so she navigated her way into Zatan’s network in Vladivostok. This should be where he kept his most secretive tools and plans.
She remembered the list of Greek gods’ names she found on Sokolov’s computer. Apollo and Hermes were highlighted, so she searched for both of them. One of the results included a list. At the top of the list was:
She browsed the list further and discovered another entry:
Since Calvert Cliffs was the nuclear power plant Smith was worried about, it seemed likely that Indian Point was another plant—a fact she verified with a simple internet search.
It was one thing to identify the targets. It was another to discover what the Russians planned to do. Any truly destructive cyber-attack would likely target an industrial processor. That was Zatan’s approach with the Texas refineries and the LA power systems. All of Zatan’s malicious programs contained a few telltale patterns—unique, like a signature.
Vyper searched through Zatan’s software and discovered two programs intended to infect industrial computers. Further analysis uncovered a nefarious feature—they attacked the monitoring systems to conceal unsafe conditions. If this was used on a nuclear power plant, the operators would not be warned in advance if something dangerous was happening.
She made a secure call to Smith. As soon as he identified himself, she blurted out, “Zatan is targeting two nuclear plants—Calvert Cliffs and Indian Point. You must shut them both down immediately.”
“Calm down, Vyper,” said Smith. “We knew about Calvert Cliffs. You say he’s also targeting Indian Point?”
“Yes, those code names we found on Sokolov’s computer. It identifies both sites.”
“Why do you want us to shut them down? You know how many people will lose power?”
“Zatan has a program that will hide dangerous conditions from the operators. Do you want a power plant to overheat without operators responding?”
“I see your point. Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl have taught us what could happen.”
Vyper’s hand flapped. She made a fist and resisted the urge to zone out. “Will you shut them down?”
“These plants all have physical gauges. We’ll demand that both sites check the status of their gauges instead of relying on the operators’ consoles. If we discover a problem, we’ll shut them down.”
“I guess that will work.”
“It’ll work, Vyper,” said Smith. “You and Niko may well have stopped one or two nuclear meltdowns. Those plants are located near Washington, DC, and New York City. If either site had a meltdown, we’d have a national disaster to deal with. You also stopped Sokolov and Zatan. The world owes you both a debt of gratitude, but they’ll never know what you did for them.”
Dombarovsky, Russia
The alarm surprised Lieutenant Colonel Burov. His partner sat across the small launch center, his eyes wide with anticipation. Burov picked up the phone. “Da.”
This was not a drill. They just received the command to arm ten missiles.
Burov and his partner independently reviewed the codes in the book against the codes they just received. They matched.
Each man inserted their keys and entered the validated codes. Within seconds, a green light appeared. The weapons were armed.
The next time the alarm went off, they would be given the order to launch.
Uzhur, Russia
Seven hundred kilometers north, in the heart of Siberia, another team received the same orders. They both inserted their keys and entered the valid codes. They watched and waited for the green light but didn’t live to see it.
Chapter 32
Aftermath
Warrenton, Virginia
Vyper ended the call with Smith and breathed a sigh of relief. It was just this morning when she told him about Indian Point. Technicians at the site discovered an alarming temperature rise that did not show up on the operators’ consoles. In response, they shut down operations until all systems could be certified free of malicious software. Calvert Cliffs had no such problem, but the situation was being monitored closely. Inspection and mediation were planned for all nuclear power plants across the nation.
With Sokolov and Zatan out of action, she hoped cyber-attacks would stop for a while. Of course, they would never stop as long as the US refused to go on offense.
It was time to relax and wait for Niko’s call. She grabbed the game controller.
Her phone chirped, and she looked at the message. Something happened in Russia. She grabbed her laptop and searched for more information. The International Space Station identified an anomaly in Siberia. Earthquake monitoring stations reported a significant event at the same location. Reporters speculated the Russians performed an underground test of a nuclear warhead.
The US government said nothing, so Vyper searched ex-military sites. Homeland Security and all military services were on high alert.
Vyper retreated into her mental safe place. She rocked back and forth and flapped her hands. Nothing bothered her now.
Austin, Texas
Niko admired the view of the Colorado River from their balcony. Vyper sat in a chair by his side, a computer on her lap. They had decided to visit the best cities in America for young people, in search of a place to settle down.
He was inclined to limit the search to America. Their experiences in Nassau, only two weeks ago, had soured him on leaving the country.