The Hermetrius Conspiracy Page 7

  Jack went to the Bethesda newspaper for the date of death and found what he didn’t want to see. Nelson was hit by a car in a hit-and-run while Jogging near his home. The police said the car must have been travelling at least 80 miles per hour. The victim died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. That’s two dead agents in the past few months!

  The last one on the list was Harriet Goodman. It was time for lunch with Lynn. Harriet could wait until this afternoon. He closed his laptop and headed downstairs.

  Lynn was out on the deck enjoying the view. “I’ll put out some cold cuts and trimmings so we can build our own sandwiches.”

  They took the sandwiches and a couple of beers out to the deck and enjoyed some more reminiscing. Lynn admitted that she had a crush on me from the moment she laid eyes on me and I asked why she didn’t tell me then. She said girls who took the initiative back then were “hussies”, but now days it was more often the woman who made the first move. Then we talked about the differences between relationships then and now.

  “That was a great lunch, Lynn. Let me clean up and I’ll get back to work.”

  “Sorry, you’re a guest. Guests don’t work for the hotel.”

  “I’ve got to earn my keep some how. Maybe I can chop firewood later.”

  “That would be nice. See you for drinks before dinner.”

  #

  O.K. Back to Harriet Goodman. There were no obituaries for someone with that name, so Jack did a white pages search in the D.C. area and got two hits. This might be easy. Both were in the right age range. Both lived in Virginia; one from Vienna and the other was from the upscale Woodbridge area. He tried the Vienna phone number first. A man answered.

  A man answered. “Hello”

  “Hi. This is David Hill. I work with Harriet at FRA. Is she available?”

  “What’s FRA? Harriet works for Bentley Investment Bank.”

  “I’m sorry, must have the wrong number.”

  Jack tried the upscale Goodman next.

  “Hello”

  “Hi. This is David Hill. I work with Harriet at FRA. Is she available?”

  “This is her daughter. Harriet is in the hospital. My dad is with her because it’s pretty serious.”

  “Oh. I didn’t realize Harriet was ill.”

  “She isn’t sick. She was in a car wreck.”

  Jack felt a chill up his spine. “I’d like to talk with her. Does she have her cell phone with her?”

  “Yes but my dad has it in his pocket. The cell number is 571-864-1289.”

  “Thank you. I’ll give him a call.”

  Jack gave some thought to how he should approach this call. If Harriet was able to talk, she would know that David Hill didn’t work with her at FRA. He could pose as an auto insurance agent needing information about the wreck, but he didn’t know what insurance company Goodman used. He decided to be Ken Johnson from the FRA personnel office. He dialed and mentally crossed his fingers.

  “Hello?”

  “Hello, this is Ken Johnson from the Federal Remediation Agency administrative office. Who am I speaking with?”

  “This is Rick, Harriet Goodman’s husband.”

  “Mr. Goodman, I need to speak with Harriet briefly to confirm some details about a project she is working on. I have to assign it to another employee but I don’t know the status of the project. Is she available?”

  “She’s not taking any phone calls right now. May I take a message?”

  Jack thought for a minute. He needed to say something that would get Harriet’s attention. … Goodman’s mission name – Shenandoah!

  “Would you tell her it’s about the Shenandoah project? Maybe she’ll want to speak with me.”

  Jack could hear mumbling as Rick and Harriet talked it over. Then Harriet came on the line.

  “Who is this! That project was closed out two years ago.”

  “No, Mrs. Goodman, it wasn’t. That project and five others are still being held open, and two of the agents involved have been murdered recently. I’m one of the five and I’m being pursued by an unknown team that is apparently trying to kill me too.”

  “Are you serious? . . . Do you know why I’m in the hospital with six broken bones? I was driving home from work and two cars T-boned me from both sides at an intersection. My side air bag was the only thing that saved me. So it seems like they’re after me too. What is this all about?”

  “Can you switch your phone to encrypted mode?”

  “Done.”

  “My mission and one of the others I’ve been able to run down involved replacing a folder in a Government contractor’s files with a modified version of the file. Does that sound familiar?”

  “That’s exactly what my mission was. I broke into Energy System’s headquarters and replaced a file. What was in the files we took?”

  “It’s what was in the modified files we left behind. I was able to get a copy of the file I left behind and a page was added to the end of the financial section showing large money transfers to an offshore bank account.”

  “That sounds familiar. I read both the original and the replacement files, and that last page was the only difference.”

  “Do you remember anything that was on that page?”

  “I can do better than that. I have a photographic memory. What do you want to know?

  “The number of the offshore account that received the transfer. And the amount.”

  “Let’s see. It was $1.5 million sent to account number 4626-8962-3316.”

  “Great. I think I can track down who the money went to. In the meantime, your life is probably still in danger. Can you get some protection there in the hospital? I don’t trust the FRA on this. I don’t know how involved they might be.”

  “I can arrange for some professional protection until I can get out of here and into hiding. Can you tell me your real name?”

  “I’m Jack Preston.”

  “The inventor of that neat gear we used in the field?”

  “Yup. That’s me. You take care.”

  Chapter 13

  Lynn called Jack down for drinks and dinner. She tried to talk more about their lives but Jack was distracted and she could tell. “Something troubling you, Jack?”

  “I’m sorry. I’m distracted by an … engineering design problem. When I get stuck like this my mind won’t let go. Let’s bundle up and take our coffee out on the deck and just enjoy the beauty in silence.”“Definitely. One of my favorite things to do.”

  #

  By morning, after a couple of hours thinking through his options during the night, Jack had found a path for the day and was better company at breakfast. He told her about some of the crazy things he and Carl had done as kids. She commented it was a miracle they survived childhood.

  “I didn’t survive unscathed. I was always getting hurt and cut. I got my eyebrows burned off once. It was a good thing my dad was a doctor. No broken bones though – unless you count the time I broke George Davis’ leg while we were wrestling in the back yard. How about you, Lynn?”

  “I was a pretty wild tomboy who would try anything on a dare. I didn’t have your luck with bones, though. I broke my collarbone going over the handlebars of my bike when I was riding down a steep hill. Then there’s the time I reached into a groundhog’s burrow and it bit me. I needed six stitches after that one. Look, I still have the scar.”

  “Yeah, I have a few of those myself. Not from groundhogs – but I do have one on my thumb from a pet flying squirrel I had. If we’re going to count scars, though, I think I have you beat.”

  “We’ll have to have to count each other’s scars sometime and see who wins.”

  “I need to get back to work. It will probably take me most of the day to solve this problem.”

  #

  Jack’s first order of business was to see whose name was attached to the off-shore account where the money from Harriet Goodman’s file went. The first four numbers were the same as the account form the Shiloh file he
took from Silicon Systems, so the account would be in the same Caribbean Bank of Barbados. He would have to go through the IRS computer system again to get the account information. He used his custom-designed program to get into the IRS again, and then into the bank records. Just a quick in and out . . . but he couldn’t get back out of the bank computer!

  Something in the bank computer had locked his program in so it couldn’t get back out. Jack quickly put extra firewalls in place to keep the bank program from following the link back to him, but the bank software was going through his firewalls as fast as he could put them up. Jack’s internet connection was set up with a false name and IP address – one that actually belonged to a state prison computer in California – so even it they got through they couldn’t identify him. But if they somehow saw their way through that, they could download everything from his hard drive.

  He had a duplicate back up hard drive set up so, at any sign of break-in by hackers, his active hard drive would immediately crash . . . and that just happened! These guys were good. He disconnected from the internet, switched over to the back up drive, and ran diagnostics on his entire computer to see if they had time to plant any viruses or spyware.

  It took almost an hour but his computer came up clean. He went into his emergency file and found another legitimate name and IP address to use. This one was from a bookie in Kansas City. Finally he reformatted the crashed hard drive and copied everything from the old back up drive to it. That original one would now be his back up drive.

  The good news was that he got the account information out and saved it to a memory stick before they locked up his probe. He opened it up to see who was being framed for a payoff at Energy Resources. . . .

  Just then Lynn knocked lightly on his door. He blanked out his computer screen and said “Come on in, Lynn.”

  “How did you know it was me?” she said with a laugh.

  “Well, it had to you or the ghost from the attic.”

  “I’ve brought a tuna sandwich and a beer for you, if you have time. If not, I can put it in the fridge for later.”

  Jack was anxious to see the name on the account, so he asked her to put it on his desk.

  She took the hint. “I’ll leave you to your work. Let me know if you want me to bring dinner up later.”

  “Thanks. I should be done by then.”

  As soon as the door was closed Jack opened the bank file. The $1.5 million was credited to the account of Byron Snead nine months ago. Snead was Vice President of the U. S., and was going after the democratic nomination for president. Why were these men being framed? And with information that would stay in the file for years unless someone looked at it? And why would someone look at it? He needed to get in touch with more of the agents.

  Chapter 14

  Harriet told her husband, Rick, everything Jack had discussed. When she got to the part about her life still being in danger Rick went into his angry mode. It was his job to protect his wife, especially now that she was immobilized. “What kind of attack should we expect?”

  “I have no idea. It could even be someone disguised as one of the hospital staff. We can’t trust anyone.”

  “Well, we’re getting you out of this hospital. We can’t protect you here. But with your leg in traction and the IV in your arm, I can’t see how we can transport you.”

  “Maybe not in an ambulance, but if we could get a van large enough to hold the bed with it’s attachments, that would work.”

  “Who would provide your on-going medical care?”

  “There’s a private medical service the Agency uses to provide injury treatment for their safe-houses. I know the head man and I’m sure he’ll help us out off the books. But where will we go, Rick. They’ll be watching the house.”

  “One of the houses my real estate company is trying to sell has an attached garage large enough for the van. No one’s living there now and I can put off any visits by prospective buyers, so we’ll have it to ourselves. It’s at the end of a deserted road, so we can move you inside without anyone wondering what’s going on. We can’t be too careful with these guys who are after you. You were lucky to survive that last attack.”

  “That sounds good to me, Rick, as long as I can get my pain meds.”

  “I’ll tell the front office we are moving you to another facility and go rent the van. You call the medical team and ask them to meet us at the address I just wrote down first thing in the morning. I’ll be back in 30 minutes or so.”

  #

  It took Rick longer than he expected – almost an hour. He had to pay a deposit on the bed before they would let them take it. He pulled up at the hospital discharge exit and went up to Harriet’s room. As he got off the elevator he heard something crash to the floor. It came from Harriet’s door and her door was standing open. Rick ran down the hallway and burst into her room. A man was holding a pillow on her face and she had a grip on his windpipe with her good hand. Rick launched himself at the intruder and knocked him off the other side of the bed. He pulled the pillow off Harriet’s face and looked in her eyes. She nodded at him just as the attacker jumped on his back and locked his arm around Rick’s throat. He was being bent backward and couldn’t reach the man’s face to scratch his eyes. Harriet had taught him some self defense moves, but he had to get face-to-face with the man to use them, and the choke hold was cutting off his windpipe. He managed to get turned around so the attacker’s back was toward the bed and pushed back as hard as he could. Maybe he could cause some pain that would make him let go. But it wasn’t working. He was starting to see sparkles in his vision, which meant he had only a few seconds to get out of the choke hold. Suddenly the pressure released and the attacker let go. Rick fell to the floor gasping and saw the man’s feet kicking hard. By the time Jack got his breath back and was able to stand up the kicking had stopped. He turned around to see that Harriet had wrapped the steel cable from the traction frame around the attacker’s throat and was pulling as hard as she could.

  Chapter 15

  The next name on Jack’s list of agents who had planted the files was James Kenneth Foreman. He tried a Whitepages.com search of the D.C area, but came up empty. He tried again using Jim K. Foreman but still got no hits. He expanded the search out to a 200 mile radius but still had no luck. Lots of James Foreman and Kenneth Foreman listings, but none with both names.

  He thought about what other approaches he could try to get Foreman’s information. If he knew what state he lived in he could hack the motor vehicle driver’s license files, but it would take him several days get into all the DMV computers in the country. Maybe he could search the mid-Atlantic states and find something, but every time he hacked into any Government computer, the risk of getting caught increased. He would have to think of another way to get to Foreman.

  Jack sat there thinking. The only agents left besides Foreman are both dead. Nelson’s target was UAV Drone Products and Richardson’s target was Caspian Industries. How can I get my hands on those corporate contracts files? I can’t break into their headquarters like I did with Silicon Systems because I don’t know where the files are kept. He went over his break-in at Silicon Systems looking for ideas. There was something tugging at his mind. What was it?

  He had it! Silicon Systems was in the process of computerizing all their contract files. What if UAV Drone and Caspian Industries had already digitized their contract files. That meant they were in a database somewhere in the company computer systems and he could hack into them. He started with UAV Drones.

  His first problem was to figure out a way to hack into the corporate computer system. He would need a master password to get into main system. He would also need the password of an employee, preferably someone from the contracts department, to open the file he was after. Master password first. He would need that to log in to their software system. He had an idea. It was a long shot, but it might work. First he went to their corporate web site and downloaded an image of their log-in screen. Then he went to the comp
any’s public web page looking for something that cited employees for outstanding achievement. He found several, including the Chief Financial Officer who won an award for 30 years of loyal service. Well, that might not last much longer. He went to the Blacknet to find a home email address for the guy.

  Next, Jack wrote some interactive software script based on the company log-in screen and embedded it into an email to the CFO requesting that he log in now to receive some important information. Thirty minutes later the email was opened, and when the CFO clicked on the button in the email, it threw him over to Jack’s phony log in script. When asked for the corporate password the man dutifully typed it in. His screen replied with “Sorry, we could not process that password. Please enter your personal password.” The idiot entered his personal password – the one he used internally at the company – and got a screen that said “Thank you for your cooperation.” and blanked out.

  Jack was kind proud of himself for that little bit of genius. He’d have to file that in his memory for future use. So let’s see where these passwords will get me.

  In five minutes Jack was into the contract files searching for … what? He couldn’t go through all their files. He needed to narrow down the search. How about contracts over $15 million dollars – they certainly wouldn’t pay large kickback fees for smaller contracts. Then he narrowed down the search to files that fit the timeframe of the mission. That gave him five files to go through. If they were like the other file folders, the bank transfers would be inserted near the end of the contract cost accounting section.

  Jack found what he was looking for in the third contract file. A $3.2 million payment to account number 4626-9142-7988. That looked like still another offshore bank, so maybe he could get in and out safely. But he would have to wait for the peak transaction time tomorrow morning to keep his probe hidden. His stomach rumbled an alert that it was time for supper.