Page 17 of Left of the Slash
“Okay, but it’s still illegal.”
“Maybe, but I need to know what’s going on, and that’s the only way to do it.”
“I thought you were tryingnotto be like Quincy. If threatening your supervisor didn't get you fired, hacking the system definitely will. Use your head, Q.”
I nod slowly, but not because I'm agreeing with Rob. I'm agreeing with the dark voice in my head. The one telling me to ignore him and use the skills my father taught me to solve the puzzle.
“I am,” I reply to Robb, then I swivel my chair toward my computer and start typing.
“Q, what are you doing?” he asks, but I don't even look at him.
“What does it look like?” I reply, still typing. Rob goes silent as I try to backdoor the Obsidian Cyber system, trying to exploit loopholes in authentication procedures designed to keep unauthorized users out of the system. It’s a simple little attack my dad taught me when I was seven. I know it’s illegal, but I'd be lying if I said there isn't something about it that feels … good. It’s like my DNA is being awakened by giving into the darkness passed down to me from my dad. He’d be thrilled to know I'm doing this. Maybe that’s why I like it. It’s nostalgic. Unfortunately, I stop typing and lean back in my seat with a sigh. Breaking into Obsidian’s system isn't as easy as it looks.
Rob finally stops shaking his head in disbelief and asks, “What’s the matter?”
“The Obsidian security protocol is solid,” I reply, my eyes still on my screen. “If I keep going, it’s going to send off an alert and shut me out completely. Maybe I'm out of practice, but I don't see how anyone could get past this protocol to start making changes in the operating accounts. Someone had to really know what they were doing. Like … they had to know this system specifically in order to do this.”
Rob and I exchange a look, both of us thinking the same thing, but then a memory comes back to me that sends me reeling.
“Well, something tells me you're going to have more to deal with the longer you're in charge.”
Jon’s henchman, Stephen Cohen, said this to Olivia right before she walked out of the conference room with tears in hereyes. It didn't stand out to me when he said it because I was so focused on wanting to stand up and defend Olivia, but it sticks out like a red rose in a sea of white now. My brows draw together as I think about it. Then I remember something else.
“This breach was a big deal, and I've got a feeling that even more could go wrong soon …”
“Motherfucker,” I whisper to myself as dots begin to connect in my mind, slowly forming a picture. This ridiculous statement was uttered by none other than Jon himself, and I remember wondering why he would say something like that out of the blue. It was almost as if heknewsomething else was going to happen after the first breach, and that’s just not possible.
Unless.
“Damn man, you good?” Rob asks as he gawks at me. “You look like you're about to shit on yourself.”
I'm too rattled by my thoughts to even laugh. “Maybe I am,” I reply, to which Rob grimaces, but I don't care.
“Eww. What the hell? What’s the matter with you?” he asks.
“I don't even want to say it,” I answer. “At least, not without proof. Humor me for a second while I work this out. Since Obsidian’s threat analysis program is always set to high, you can’t evenattemptto hack the system without it setting off an alert. So, the only way to get inside and doanythingwithout setting it off would be to lower the threat analysis program and make your moves while the system isn't as sensitive. You following me?”
Rob nods as wrinkles scatter across his forehead. “Yeah, I'm with you.”
“Good. Now tell me, did your department check to see if the threat analysis for the company was lowered when they were doing the internal investigation for the Knight breach?”
Rob shakes his head. “No, because the DAV was administered via the email link, remember?”
I nod, my brain working in overdrive. “Right. So, no one has checked on that?”
“No,” he says with a shrug. “Plus we would need administrative approval to even check that.”
“Administrative approval?”
“Yeah. Obsidian uses its own program to protect its assets, and that program has administrators at the top who can control how it functions, just like any other client of Obsidian.”
“Who are the administrators?” I ask, breathing a little heavier as the picture starts to become clearer for me, and I know that I'm getting close to the answer I've been on the hunt for.
Rob shrugs again. “Not sure. I don't have access to that kind of information, but I assume the people at the top.”
“You mean at the top, like, the executive wing?”
“Probably,” Rob answers, then I start moving again.
