Page 61 of Filthy Liar

“Maybe we don’t need to…” Wilson pops a world map up on the screen. “Ellie asked me some smart questions about secure air-gap networks yesterday. But I have a few new data points that reveal something interesting.”

Two emails appear on the screen, one from Mack Evans to Jason, which had been forwarded to Wilson, and the other a direct reply from Mack to Wilson after a follow-up question. “Jason, remember this query from Mack a year ago? He attached images to both emails, two days apart. Look at the image properties.” The same four and a half minute time gap between creation and last opened. “These two emails were sent from different parts of the world. Ellie was asking me about how to hack into a secure network, air-gaped from the wider internet. But I think what we’re looking at is the result of some sort of scrambling device or app that is hard-wired into Mack’s life. On his phone, his computer, everywhere.”

Of course he doesn’t have the Lively documents spirited away in a fortress somewhere.

Mack Evans believes heisa fortress.

23

Melinda

“He haspower because he has secrets. Let’s unmask him. If he inherited the stash of blackmail material from Lively, and he can access it wherever he his, then that means we can access it, too. Right?”

Wilson nods. “There’s always a way in. Let’s start with his private office here in D.C. How do we want to do this? His private military guys are going to be on high alert.”

Cole shrugs. “We can handle them. He wants a game? We’ll give him a game.” He gives me a hard look. “Want to see a part of our offices you didn’t know about five years ago?”

“Is it the secret armory behind your office?” I give them all my sweetest smile as they gape at me. “What? I’m very good at what I do. But I’d love to be better acquainted with it. If he has a private army, I want one, too.”

That’s not an understatement, either. They have bulletproof vests, high-tech comms equipment, and enough firepower to start a war. Or end one.

Wilson has a mobile comms center as well, and once he’s ready to go, we return to the parking garage. Jason leads us to a white Mercedes van. From the outside it looks like any other repair or service vehicle, but inside, it’s a tank.

He holds out his hand, and I take the boost. I ignore the tremor of fear that whispers,he said he doesn’t trust you.Yeah, well, he also said he loves me, and I’m putting all my faith in that.

Tag drives. Wilson gives me the world’s fastest lesson in hacking. My job is pretty simple. I just need to connect a portable transponder into Mack’s network. “The trick is that you don’t know what options you will have until we get there. It might be a USB drive, it might need to be a Smart TV. Hell, it could be the fridge. Rich people are stupid and connect a lot of shit to the internet. But for this, we need to be prepared that it’ll be trickier. So you’ve got a bunch of tools here…” He runs through them all. A tiny laptop that I can plug into the wall, which will search the electricity grid for wired network connections. A USB device with a radio transmitter, and a couple of different Bluetooth scanners with password decoders built in. Everything fits into a small black bag. “While you’re doing that, Jason will be right in lock step with you. He’s got your back. Cole will clear the rooms ahead of you. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“At the first sign of overload, we call in the Feds. If there is shooting, you get down.”

I nod.

“And if I can’t gain remote access, you may need to send the files my way.”

“Easier from the inside than the outside,” I whisper.

“Exactly. You remember. Upload it in chunks,” Wilson says. “That way if you’re interrupted, we still have some of it.”

“Got it.”

“We’re not going to be interrupted,” Jason growls.

“Fingers crossed,” I whisper.

“I’ll kill the power in there, give you time to get inside. When the power comes back on, you won’t have long before there’s company.”

“We’ll be quick.”

Tag pulls up in the alley behind Mack’s office. We get out of the van. I keep my eyes locked on the little red light on the keypad on the door. The second it blinks out, and Cole pulls the door open, a countdown clock starts in my mind.

Jason holds me back as Cole clears the main floor, then we creep ahead. We scan the rooms on the main floor, but I don’t see any obvious smart devices.

Cole radios from upstairs that the building is empty, and we take the stairs as fast as we can.

Jason leads the way to Mack’s office, which is locked, but Cole makes short work of that with a picking kit. He clears it, then we head inside.

I search the desk area while Jason scans for bugs and cameras.

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