“Why is Morozov interested in Max?” Charles asked.
Max turned to his father. “Whatever he does, Morozov is planning to hang the blame on me. He laid the groundwork with the hacking incident. He’ll finish the job by seizing control of the Fend 100 during the passenger qualification flight, and the cyber forensics will point to yours truly.” Max paused. “I’m beginning to think you should just postpone the flight. Use whatever excuse you need — including the false evidence that ties me to the Russians. If it’s what we need to do…”
“No, Max,” Wilkes said. “There’s a better way forward. Do you know why we pulled you out of Europe last year?”
“The DIA pulled me out. They said my cover was blown, after the incident with the two Russian arms dealers.”
“Not exactly. Max, Charles, it’s time that we discussed a long-term relationship between the Fend family and the CIA.”
“I’ve heard this talk before,” said Charles.
“Charles, your son was working for the intelligence community, just as I told you. Specifically, he worked under the purview of the Defense Intelligence Agency.”
Charles looked at Max as if seeing him for the first time, a mix of fear and pride in his eyes.
Wilkes went on, “The CIA has a network of high-profile agents. Wealthy businessmen. CEOs. Celebrities. Heads of state. People with access. They have various levels of training. Some are little more than informants, but the network is one of our most valuable.”
“What does this have to do with your reason for not wanting to cancel the Fend 100 test flight? And for pulling me out of Europe?” Max said.
“The Agency doesn’t like to shut down potential sources of information. It sort of goes against our mission,” Wilkes said. “If there’s a way to keep a valuable asset in play, we’ll take it. Charles will be retiring from the Fend Aerospace Company soon. We recognize that, and have planned for it. Max, ironically, the best place the US government can place you is in your father’s company.”
“So what are you saying? That me leaving the DIA was intentional? But I thought my cover was blown.”
“A partial truth. Morozov knows. But few others, if any. The CIA would like you to continue to serve. When your father retires, your position with the Fend Aerospace Company, as well as your family name and status, will create many opportunities for us.”
Max nodded. He didn’t completely trust Wilkes, but as much as he hated to admit it, he wanted to get back in the game.
“So the two Russian men in France — that was Morozov?”
“We believe so, yes. We think he set up the deal to test you. He wanted to see for himself whether you were really working as a spy. But he didn’t tell anyone else. Just like he never told anyone that your father was working for the CIA.”
“So then why did he test me? And if he thinks I work for US intelligence — why did he keep it to himself?”
Wilkes said, “Who knows? Maybe he wanted to finish what he started with your mother. The one thing that keeps KGB agents warm during the cold Russian winters. Revenge.”
“Why would he do this now?” Charles asked.
Wilkes continued offering ideas. “Maybe seeing Max in France reminded him of you, Charles. And don’t forget Sergei — Max’s asset in France. We think he was planning this cyberattack with one of his Eastern European cyber ransom gangs. Morozov must have caught wind of it. He’s well connected to the Russian mafia. Hell, it might not even be about revenge as much as it is an opportunity that he stumbled into.”
Max rubbed his chin. “Maybe.” That seemed like too much of a coincidence for Max, but he didn’t say it. “Whatever the reason, it seems as though Morozov plans to launch another cyberattack during the Fend 100 flight.”
Charles shook his head. “Wonderful. If I don’t proceed with the Fend 100 flight, Morozov may start selling bits of the Fend technology on the open market, which will spook the investors and threaten to cancel our government contract before it’s finalized. But if I do proceed with the Fend 100 flight, we risk another, more effective cyberattack. Is that about it?”
“In a nutshell.”
Charles said, “We have to go on with the flight. If we don’t, the company will be devastated. We’ll have to ensure that we protect ourselves from this next cyberattack. That is the only satisfactory answer from my end.”
“Good. That’s exactly what I want as well.” said Wilkes.
“Why?”
“Proof. The forensic evidence we capture will provide us with leverage against Morozov and the Russians. But there’s another reason. Something I haven’t told you yet.”
Both Fends stood in suspense.
“I think Morozov has a man on the inside of Fend Aerospace. And I don’t want to change any of our plans until we find out who that is, lest we tip him off.”
“Why do you think that?”
“The FBI told me. I’ve been speaking to the man who’s investigating the Fend cyberattack. The FBI forensics team tells him that the only way someone could have penetrated the network the first time — however limited its success — was with inside knowledge.”
“You’re working with the FBI?”
“Yes.”
Charles frowned. “You think there’s someone who works for me that is helping Morozov?”
“Possibly. I think we should bring the FBI investigator into the fold here tonight. Special Agent Flynn. I would like him to provide his theories on the matter.”
Charles clasped his hands together. “We need a way to protect ourselves against this.”
Max said, “Like I said, the British agent I met — Charlotte Capri — said she’d give me a software program designed by MI-6. MI-6 is designing this software program to protect the Fend 100 from being hacked by Morozov’s cyberoperators.”
Charles said, “Caleb?”
Wilkes nodded. “They mentioned something to me about this. But we weren’t ready to commit.”
“Why?”
“At the time, we weren’t convinced that Morozov was going to be able to break through the Fend network. And we were hoping that his initial attempt would give us enough evidence to connect it to him.”
“But?”
“But so far, the cyber trail just leads to a Syrian group. If we allow them one more attempt, the gentlemen at Fort Meade will be ready. We’ll be able to prove that Morozov’s group is responsible for the cyberattacks. Our government can’t move on Morozov until that point. When we’re done here, I’ll call my counterparts at MI-6 and find out about their progress with the thumb drive option. They need to work through me from now on.”
Max watched Wilkes when he said it. He looked anxious, a hint of worry in his voice. Like something wasn’t going according to plan.
Wilkes said, “I realize that I’m asking a lot of you both here. But I would like to keep pressing on with the Fend 100 flight.”
“It’s something I want as well. But I want to talk to some of my people about this,” Charles said. “If there’s a vulnerability in our system, I want them to know.”
Wilkes said, “Let’s keep this information among a small group. Pick one person that you trust implicitly on your team.”
He thought for a moment. “Maria Blount. She’s the program manager. But she has an engineering background. She would be able to find out if we have a problem.”
“Is there a way that Maria can provide another layer of security, to make sure that the Russians can’t hack into the aircraft controls?” Max asked.
Charles said, “We’ll meet with her and find out. I won’t allow the flight to go on unless she can guarantee it will be safe.”
Wilkes held up his hand. “Let’s run her name by the FBI first. I want to make sure that they approve. I’m going to call the FBI agent I’ve been working with. He’s already in Jacksonville. We’ll fill him in and run this Maria Blount name by him. As long as he approves, we’ll bring her into the fold as well.”