I was late to the office on Monday, as Todd accurately predicted, but it wasn’t my fault. Sam woke up particularly frisky and I nearly drowned in the shower while he overpowered me. Not that I put up much of a fight.
Once I convinced him I was not going to freak out, Sam opted to stay home and help Charles with cleaning the pool and getting a cover for his truck bed. Apparently he wanted to drive us and our stuff to St. Louis. Ben reminded him we needed to take our defensive driving course soon, which only ratcheted up my anxiety, but I think I hid it well enough. I followed Ben to the garage, avoiding eye contact with Sam. I didn’t want him to worry. I did enough of that for the both of us.
Thankfully the drive into the city was uneventful, so I was feeling less anxious as we walked from the garage to the main lobby. Twenty stories up, Ben went left off the elevator, I went right, quick-stepping to my office, determined to find Will and get to the bottom of the cyber attack once and for all. He had promised us all more info first thing.
Margie nodded as I passed while she listened intently to the phone plastered against her ear. She looked none the worse for wear after the long and intense weekend.
I had no sooner taken off my suit coat and hung it from the back of my chair when Todd trotted in.
“Hey, boss. See you finally made it.”
“Ha ha. Sorry I’m late. Sam needed to discuss our moving plans.”
“That’s right. You guys are leaving soon.”
“This weekend, I think. I’m leaving all that to him. He wants to handle it, and it’s one less thing for me to freak out about.”
“You trust him with all your stuff?”
I sighed and gazed out at the glorious mountain range across the horizon. “We’re not taking much, just our clothes mostly. Simon’s got all the furniture and what not ordered. He and Sam are coordinating everything. Besides, I trust Sam with my life,” I said, turning back to Todd. “So yeah, I trust him with my stuff.”
“Cool. Gonna be weird not having you around.”
“You’ll be fine, I’m sure.”
He sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “I don’t know. It’s pretty clear I’m not great at dealing with all the drama.”
“You do fine. Just try not to let it build up to the breaking point. Ugh, listen to me, like I know what I’m doing any more than you do.”
I collapsed into my chair, pointing for him to sit down as well. “Look, thankfully we have a secret weapon.”
“We do?”
“Yeah, your wife.”
He smiled. “How so?”
“She sees everything. And I’m sure she can tell when you might be getting in over your head, same as me. Lord knows she calls me out at the drop of a hat.”
Todd smiled wider. “Yeah, she has a gift.”
“Exactly, so I don’t think we need to worry about losing control. Besides, I think the plan is for me to touch base with her every day, so she can let me know if you need anything from me. And it’s not like I’ll be on the other side of the world. It’s a two hour flight.”
“True. Is Will getting you set up with remote access to our network?”
“Uh…no, I think that job’s been given to the new guy. Taylor, isn’t it?”
“You mean woman. Yes, Taylor. She’s the cybergeek Will hired. Also the one who traced the hacker.”
“When are we meeting on that?”
“Two o’clock.”
“Ugh, that late? Ben’s hounding me for answers.”
“Sorry. Will texted me early this morning, said he and Taylor wanted to dig a little deeper, see what else they can find. Plus I think he wants to get her more settled in the role.”
I sighed. “I guess we have to trust them to do their thing. And the sooner Will gets things sorted in IT, the better for all of us.”
Todd smiled. “Does this mean I’m getting Will back?”
“Yep. Soon as he’s able to off load all the tech stuff. Let’s meet with him after the two o’clock and iron out the details. I’d love to see that transition done before I leave.”
“Cool. And it looks like Danny found someone to take on managing the accounting department.”
“Yeah?”
“Remember the cute redhead he has the hots for?”
“Yeah. Tina, right?”
“Yep. Well, turns out she has a sister who’s not only a CPA, but apparently she’s a wiz when it comes to managing an accounting office. She’s the practice manager for her firm in Portland. Danny convinced her to come here.”
“Wow, he worked fast. When will she arrive?”
“Week after next. We’re helping her with some relocation expenses. You cool with that?”
“Of course,” I nodded. “Any concerns over possible romantic entanglements?”
Todd grinned. “With Tina or her sister?”
“Either. Both?”
“Nope. Danny knows the lay of the land. We aren’t planning on micromanaging anyone’s love life, but if it starts to affect business, I’ll step in. Or, rather, you will.”
I threw a hand over my heart. “Me! Why me?”
He chuckled. “Because you’re good at sifting through the emotional crap. I suck at it. Besides, Danny’s a big boy. And he’s never been anything but purely professional when it comes to his job.”
I nodded. “That he is. How’s Simon doing on his search for help?”
“His big struggle is property management. We have this building, some of the other holdings, and of course all the hotels. He’s pursuing a couple of different people to offload those responsibilities. Once that’s accomplished, he’ll have a lot more bandwidth to help with the investing side of things. Plus he’s been talking regularly with Mason, in case there’s any opportunities for us there.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know Mason’s firm manages M&A for multiple clients, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So he gets a first hand look at companies that are needing a boost, some kind of outside assistance to stay afloat. They don’t tend to make that stuff public. So they quietly put themselves out there for merger or acquisition, hoping to be rescued by another organization, and maybe stay in business.”
“Like we did with the hotels.”
“Exactly.”
“So you’re saying we could do it again?”
“If the deal makes sense. We’re primarily a source of capital, not so much into the operational side of things. Mason and Simon are the whiz kids at deciphering the possibilities. Sometimes it makes sense to do both. Take the hotel deal — they convinced me we should not only make the investment, but run the hotels as well. I thought they were nuts, but then they showed how with a few changes and some streamlining, we could expand the profit margins twenty percent. No brainer. Now we just have to do it.”
“Where are we on that?”
Todd sighed and rubbed his temples. “Not bad, not great. We’re just about finished centralizing all the accounting. About half the forty properties are on target, another quarter are holding their own. The others need some deeper attention. Another reason why Simon and Danny need to get the day-to-day crap off their plates, so they can dig in.”
“Are we losing money?”
Todd grinned. “We don’t do that, boss. No, we’re making money, just not as much as we had projected. But…it’s only been a month or so since the operations have fully landed on our balance sheets, and we had a shit ton of onboarding expenses which we’ll write off this first fiscal year. We’ll know more where we stand by year’s end.”
“What about having Mr. Napier step in?”
“We talked about that. You want to call him, feel him out?”
I schooled my face, not wanting to appear too eager. Finally, something I could do that didn’t scare the crap out of me and might just make a significant impact. Mr. Napier knew more about running high-end hotels than anyone else on our team.
“I can call him tomorrow. I want to check on our honeymooners, anyway. Anything else I can do?”
Todd palmed my desk and pushed up. “Not at the moment. I’ll see you at the meeting?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Later,” said Todd, departing with a happy wave. Through my open door I watched him peck his wife on the cheek and head for his office.
My laptop, which I had forgotten on my desk over the long weekend, suddenly pinged, then pinged again. Opening it, I saw I had two new emails from Will, then a third, and a fourth popped in from Taylor two seconds later. They contained instructions for me to download and install various security apps. I was fighting with an authentication app on my phone when Ben stopped by to ask if I was going out for lunch.
I looked up from my phone. “What?”
“Are you eating lunch in or out?”
“Oh…um…haven’t decided.”
“Heard anything more on the hacker?”
I gently tossed my phone on the desk and sat back with a heavy sigh. “Not yet, but we’re meeting at two to go over what they’ve got. Will wouldn’t say more than that, said he wanted to run down a few leads first.”
Ben’s lips thinned into a frustrated line, eyes flaring, but he didn’t say anything. An imaginary light bulb flickered over my head. I stood and side-stepped around my desk.
“Hey…you know it wasn’t your fault, right?”
His eyes flared again. “It’s my job to keep you — and everyone else around here — safe.”
“And you have. You do. We’re all fine.”
“This time. I need to know who’s behind the hack, so I can make damn sure it stays that way.”
I wanted to make a joke or somehow make light of things to lessen the tension, but something in his eyes made me rethink.
“You’re really worried, aren’t you?”
He caught himself and tried to wipe the anxious sheen off his face. Too late.
“Talk to me,” I said. “It’s okay. I won’t fall apart. Not right now, anyway.”
He blew out a long, slow breath and sat down in one of the chairs in front of my desk. I sat in the other, wondering what was going on behind his clouded eyes. For once I kept my big mouth shut and waited.
He looked away for a brief second or two, then back at me. “It’s not worry, exactly. More like I don’t know what to be looking for. All this technology crap. I know how to deal with human enemies, not all these cyber threats. I can’t fight what I can’t see.”
His hands clutched the arms of the chair so tight I thought the wood might shatter any second.
“What else?”
A deeper sigh. “This move. It’s a lot of change all at once. I’m not ready. I will be, but it would help if I knew what was happening here so I can tie off the threat. I need to focus on getting things setup in St. Louis.”
I nodded. “What do you need us to do?”
“Is Sam serious about moving this weekend?”
“I think so. He wants to have some time to settle in before classes start the following week.”
Ben nodded. “Okay, that’s good. Gives me a little time to get the lay of the land.”
“What else?”
He looked at me, eyes penetrating. “I need you to think about something.”
“What?”
“You and Sam.”
“How so?”
“You’ll be separated a lot. Different classes, probably different schedules. Moving around throughout the day, mostly on foot. I need eyes on both of you, and I can’t be in two places at once.”
I pulled at my bottom lip. “You’re right, I hadn’t thought about that. What do we do?”
Ben stood up. I stood with him.
“For now, I just need you to get your head around the idea that your protection might not always be me, but I’ll have eyes on you at all times.”
“How?”
“Leave that to me. I’ve got some ideas, and I’ll work out the details. Trust me.”
I grabbed his arm. “We do. Thank you.”
I think he expected a fight, but I was honestly so grateful for his presence, and for all that he did to keep Sam and me safe, I barely noticed my anxiety level creep a little higher.
“Do me a favor…stay in for lunch,” said Ben.
“Sure.”
“Thank you. I’ll be back for the meeting at two.”
“Where are you going?”
He gave me a look.
“Right…I’ll be here. You go do you. Nevermind about me. I’ll be fine. No worries. Josie’s around. She’ll handle things why you’re doing…whatever.”
I grinned. I think he growled all the way to the elevators.
When I walked into the conference room at two o’clock with Margie one step behind me, Todd nodded and called the meeting to order.
“Alright, everybody settle down and take a seat.” Ben had arrived before me, and was standing in a corner drinking a cup of coffee. He nodded to me and remained standing.
“Will,” said Todd. “Why don’t you make introductions.”
Will stood up and turned sideways to the young woman sitting next to him. My first impression was a well-put together professional with little fuss and a whole lotta focus. She had spent significant time in the sun or a tanning bed. She pushed her long, white-blond straight hair behind her ears, revealing two simple gold studs. A basic white blouse with no frills, open at the collar, and a thin gold watch on her left wrist completed her look. A silver laptop computer sat open in front of her.
“Jack, this is Taylor Parker. She joined us last week as a security consultant, and this morning she agreed to come on board full-time as our Director of Cyber Security.”
I nodded. We hadn’t discussed this, but I trusted his decision. To my right, Margie scribbled a note to herself.
“Welcome, Taylor,” I said. “I’m sure I speak for everyone that we’re glad you’re here.”
She gave me a smile that I swear looked forced, but I chalked it up to first-day jitters. I also could have been projecting my own anxiety.
“Taylor, you’ve met everyone else,” said Will. “Why don’t you dive in and tell us what we know so far.”
Clearly in more familiar territory, Taylor glanced at her laptop, clicked a button, and the large screen on the wall lit up.
“I’ll try to keep this as non-technical as I can,” said Taylor. “Working with Will and his team, I started looking into the first warning of the attempted data breach. Digging deep into the metadata, I found a single data element in the communication packets that I could start tracing backwards.”
She paused and looked at me to see if I was following. I was, barely. I nodded for her to continue.
“At first it led nowhere. Whoever did this, they hid their tracks very carefully. I have a friend who consults with Homeland Security and the NSA on different projects. I reached out to her, and she gave me a few things to try. And that’s when we hit paydirt.”
“She found the source,” said Will, repeating what he had told us on the plane the night before. “Show ‘em.”
Taylor barely hid her grin. She moved her mouse on the table and the wall filled with a map of the whole world. She pressed a button and a dot appeared over what had to be Denver.
“This is the back trace as I reconstructed it. I’m 99.9% confident this is the path the hacker used through the internet to get to our firewalls.” With every click of her mouse, another line appeared on the world map, linking the previous location to a new one. Denver to Moscow, Moscow to Brussels, Brussels to Miami. On and on it went, until there were so many lines I couldn’t see where they started or ended.
“Over two hundred relays around the world were programmed into that one attempt to reach the data servers here in Denver. As I said, whoever did this knew what they were doing. I’m sure they never expected anyone could or would trace their steps.”
“So who did it?” asked Danny.
Taylor looked at Will and he took over. “We don’t know that…yet. But we do know the origin. Whoever did this was sitting in a coffee shop in north Denver.”
“For real?” said Simon. “They just walked into a Starbucks, asked for a latte, light on the foam, and hacked the shit out of us?”
Taylor flinched. “Um…I’m sure I don’t know their coffee order, but yes, this was done with a laptop computer using the wi-fi service at a place called Heavenly Grounds.”
Simon’s frown deepened. Danny let out a frustrated sigh, and Will looked to Todd. I settled for gripping the edge of the conference table like it was planning to levitate any second. Why was it so hot all of a sudden?
“What else do we know at this point?” asked Todd. “What’s the next step?”
“We know when and where, we don’t know who. It could be anyone who connected to that wi-fi service,” said Taylor.
Ben pushed off the wall and walked behind me. “I’ll have a meeting with the owners, see if they have video footage. What am I looking for?”
Will and Taylor looked at each other.
“Uh…someone with a laptop?” said Will, sheepishly.
“That could be anyone and everyone,” said Danny.
“So we’re nowhere,” said Simon.
Ben zeroed in on Taylor. “Anything else you can tell me? Type of laptop? Exact time of day?”
She shook her head, but then remembered something. “If you were to find the person’s laptop, we could confirm it was the one they used to try the hack. I have the MAC address.”
“The what?” asked Margie.
“The MAC address,” said Taylor. “Every piece of computer hardware that connects to the internet has a hard-coded address built into it. It’s unique, and never changes. Like a fingerprint. Oh wait, I just thought of something.”
She rapidly typed and chewed her bottom lip while we silently waited.
“Got it. You’re looking for a Dell.”
“A what?” asked Ben.
“Sorry. Dell is the company that made the laptop. That’s all I can get from the MAC address,” said Taylor.
“So I’m looking for a Dell laptop in that coffee shop on the day in question,” said Ben. “What time?”
“Noonish,” said Taylor.
“Uh…not necessarily ‘in’ the coffee shop,” said Will.
“What do you mean?” said Todd.
“I mean the Wi-Fi signal can travel up to hundred and fifty feet or more from the physical hub. So theoretically someone parked outside near the coffee shop could link to their signal.”
“Shit,” said Ben, pushing back off my chair. I was only squished against the table a little bit.
“So what do we do?” asked Todd, looking at me. Suddenly every eye in the room was on me. I dropped my trembling hands into my lap and took a slow, deep breath.
“I honestly don’t know,” I said. “Ben, do you think it’s even worth a shot to ask the coffee shop to help?”
“Oh, I’m going to do it,” said Ben. “I’m not leaving any stone unturned. Not sure where it will lead, though. It’s been weeks since the breach.”
“The breach that wasn’t a breach,” said Taylor.
“Right,” I replied. “There’s that. They didn’t get in. What was it you told me, Will? They knocked on the door, maybe just to see if they could?”
“Exactly. Our firewalls held up just fine, and there’s been no other hint of unusual activity with our systems since,” said Will.
“So,” said Simon. “What we do know is that whoever did this was in Denver at the time. They likely drove a white cargo van and maybe tried to run Jack down. And they are probably the same person who sent the coded message to stay out of Texas.”
“And they may or may not have tampered with the landing gear of the plane,” said Will. “Don’t forget that.”
Like I could ever.
“They clearly know who Jack is, and they definitely targeted Schaeffer Associates,” said Danny. “It doesn’t feel random. The big question in my mind is why?”
“To get my attention,” I said, suddenly seeing the pattern that had been there all along. My vision blurred at the edges. Crap! Not now. Hold it together.
Ben reached over my chair to squeeze my shoulder. That might have been the only thing keeping me in my seat.
“One question,” said Ben, ignoring my comment. “Taylor, you tracked the laptop to the coffee shop. Can you track it again?”
“What do you mean?” she replied.
“You said you know the MAC address of the machine. Can you find it on the internet?”
“Oh…well…no, not really.”
“Why not?” asked Danny.
Taylor paused to gather her thoughts before answering. “The thing is…computer MAC addresses aren’t broadcast to the whole internet. It’s not like I can put in a code and then presto, I know where it is. If it were only that easy.”
“What can you do? Anything?” asked Todd.
“Well…I suppose I could create a monitor of sorts for the Heavenly Grounds wi-fi network. I might be able to get a notification if that MAC address pops up again.”
“You would know in real time?” asked Ben.
Taylor nodded.
“Do it.”
Taylor glanced at Will and he nodded.
“But that only works if they use the same computer on the same network, right?” asked Margie.
“Yes,” said Will.
“So if they never go back there, we’ll never find them,” said Simon, leading to heavy sighs all around. I focused on squeezing my hands into fists and releasing, over and over.
“Back to Jack’s comment,” said Todd. “I think he’s right. This feels like a coordinated effort to get his attention.”
“Agreed,” said Simon. “They poked at us, but haven’t drawn blood.”
“Uh…not a great reference, thank you,” I replied, feeling slightly queasy at the thought.
Simon smiled. “Sorry, boss.”
“I agree with Todd,” said Ben. “It feels personal, but not entirely. I’m not sure what we’re dealing with yet, but for whatever reason, they’ve pulled their punches.”
“But why?” asked Danny. “What’s the point? They have our attention, whoever the hell they are, but what are we supposed to do about it? I mean, do we just sit around and wait for another shoe to drop? It’s like trying to fight a ghost.”
“Not quite,” said Ben. “We have a shadow now, something to start with. It’s not much, but now we go on offense. We keep digging, and we stay vigilant. What else do we have besides the firewalls? How confident are we that no one’s getting inside?”
Will spoke up. “We’ve installed the latest security apps on all our servers, laptops, and phones. That should keep any malware or ransomware out, which is my biggest fear. We’ve added a third layer of firewalls for our most vulnerable data systems. Short of an armed assault, I think the data assets are as safe as we can make them. Taylor and I will do some additional user security training to make sure we all work safe and smart.”
“Jack? What are your thoughts?” asked Todd.
A wave of nausea crashed through my stomach. Two deep breaths, then another. I swallowed the bile in my throat. Seven sets of eyes waited.
Squeezing the edge of the table again, I said, “I agree with Ben. We do what we can, take every precaution, and hope that whoever or whatever this was makes a mistake or reveals themselves.”
“Then what?” asked Danny.
“We put an end to it,” said Ben.
By some miracle I made it back to my office before a full blown panic attack could ensue. Isolating myself in that situation probably wasn’t my finest move, but I couldn’t let them see me fall apart. Again.
With what little wits I still had about me, I faced the windows and focused on the mountains in the distance. Breathing as slowly and deeply as I could, I whispered the mantra Dr. Margolis helped me write.
“I am safe, I am loved, I belong here. I am safe, I am loved, I belong here…”
I don’t know how long or how often I recited that phrase, over and over again, but eventually the adrenaline and jitters faded, leaving me exhausted. I slowly dragged my five hundred pound body to my desk chair and collapsed. Lifting the cell phone drained my last drop of physical energy.
“Hey, little man. How’d it go?” said Sam into my ear.
“It didn’t. Not really.”
“What happened?”
I recited the gist of the meeting, leaving out the part where everyone thought it was personal towards me. It probably was, and I was none too happy about it. But I didn’t need Sam riled up and trying to defend me. There was nothing he could do, sweet as it was to think he would try.
“What’s Ben going to do?” he asked.
“Not sure. He disappeared after the meeting. He told me earlier he had a lot to do to get ready for our move.”
“Speaking of, JP called today.”
“Yeah? How’s he doing?”
“He thought a lot about our offer, and he wants to take us up on it.”
That perked me up. I smiled. “That’s fantastic!”
“He’s going to meet us in St. Louis later next week. I told him we’d work out all the details then.”
“Seriously, Sam, whatever he needs, okay? He doesn’t have to do anything if he doesn’t want to.”
“I think he wants to, though. He needs a purpose, something he can do to get outside his head, you know?”
“I do know. It’s me you’re talking to here.”
I could almost hear his smile.
“How’d it go for you today?” I asked.
“Got the cover on the truck. It’s way cool. Your guy at the dealership made it easy. You sure you’re okay driving to St. Louis? I know I kind of sprang that on you this morning.”
“Yeah, that’s fine. We need a vehicle there, and it makes more sense than trying to haul our stuff on the plane. Which reminds me…Ben wants us to take that defensive driving class this week, if we can fit it in.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Cool.”
“If you say so,” I said.
“When you coming home? You sound tired.”
“Soon, I hope. I’m wiped. Will wanted to show me more tech stuff for when I’m remote, but I begged off. I need a night to do nothing. Can we make that happen?”
“You got it. Need me to come get you?”
The thought appealed greatly, but I knew he probably had things he wanted to get done.
“I’m good. Ben will bring me home in a little while. Tell me what you’re wearing.”
He chuckled. “Why?”
“Because I want to imagine watching you take it all off…very slowly.”
“You’re a dirty little man, Jack Schaeffer.”
“But I’m your dirty little man.”
“That you are. Forever.”
Margie more or less pushed me out the door when Ben finally reappeared, looking none too happy.
“Don’t ask,” was all he said, then turned to wait for me at the elevators.
“You need rest,” said Margie. “You’re looking a little peaked. Tell Sam I said hands off tonight. I need your full attention tomorrow.”
I could barely nod my head and shuffle out the door.
Ben remained silent on the drive home. I dozed in and out, head bouncing on the car window. Once home, I kicked off my shoes in the laundry room and found Maggie dashing about the kitchen, stirring pots, washing dishes, and mumbling to herself. On the island, a dozen or more large plastic containers waited to be filled.
“Another church supper?” I asked, perking up to the aroma of red sauce simmering in a large pot.
“Oh, Jack. Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” She stopped what she was doing and gave me a once over. “You look exhausted. Are you feeling okay?”
I sat on a stool at the island because I honestly didn’t think I could stand up any longer. “I feel fine, just tired. This weekend was…a lot.”
“Sam filled me in over lunch. You boys do such amazing things. I’m so proud of you,” she said, patting my cheek, then turning to stir the sauce again so it didn’t burn.
Maybe it was the exhaustion. Maybe it was fighting the anxiety that was my life these days. But her declaration brought tears to my eyes. Happy tears, because it was something a proud mother would say. I didn’t know how much I needed that until my ears heard it.
Shaking off the waterworks before they could start, I said, “So what are you making? It smells wonderful. Are we having some kind of party or something?”
“Don’t be silly. This is for you and Sam. I hope you don’t mind eating light this evening. I have three more casseroles to get in the ovens tonight, or I’ll never get finished.”
“For what?”
“For you and Sam. You don’t think I’m sending you off to school with no food, do you?”
I smiled, feeling a warm wave of something wash over me. “Aww, you’re the best, Maggie. Life without your red sauce does sound awfully bleak.”
“It’s just a few things to tide you over until you get settled. We’ll figure out the rest as we go, I suppose.”
“Figure out what?” said Sam, sliding across the floor in his socks to kiss my cheek. “Hey, you’re home.” His arm slid across my shoulders and pulled me close. I looked up and received a proper kiss, making my toes tingle.
“Mmmm…hi. Maggie was telling me she’s making us food so we don’t starve to death.”
“For real? We get red sauce?”
“Several gallons, from the looks of it,” I said.
Maggie laughed and shooed us out of the kitchen, saying she’d make us some sandwiches and set it up on the deck.
In our bedroom, Sam stripped me out of my suit with a lot of kissing and rubbing sore, tired muscles. The earlier anxiety melted away under his touch. Down to my underwear, I spun in his arms and leaned my cheek against his chest. Home sweet home.
“Missed you,” I whispered.
“Glad you’re home. What do you need?”
“More of this.”
Sam’s stomach grumbled, as it often does. We both laughed. I looked up into his gorgeous blue eyes sparkling in the low light. “Come on, big guy. Let’s eat.”
“One more kiss?” he asked, grinning.
“You can have as many as you want.”