James Swain - Dark Magic

“I sure did.”

“Hold on.” Garrison placed the phone against his chest. “Lay it on me.”

“Dr. Carr is trying to trick us. He purposely left those clues around his desk, and even left his laptop on. Whatever’s inside his knapsack is not a dirty bomb.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

“I saw the attack, remember? People were dying on the spot. According to what that Web site said, a dirty bomb isn’t capable of doing that.”

“Then what’s inside the knapsack?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure there’s evidence inside the plant. He made the bomb here.”

Garrison shot him an exasperated look. He wanted Peter to be wrong, but deep down, he knew that Peter was right. They went back inside, and Garrison cornered Tricarico in the lab.

“Did Carr have another work area inside the plant?” Garrison asked.

“Carr kept a desk where the generators are kept,” Tricarico replied.

“I need you to take us there.”

It took a minute for Tricarico to get them through the security checkpoints leading to the plant’s powerful generators. As Peter moved deeper into the plant, he found himself thinking about Carr. The doctor’s descent into madness had begun with the loss of his family, a feeling he knew all too well. There was no excuse for the path Carr had chosen, yet he still understood it.

A domed area housed the massive generators. The machinery was monolithic, and looked like props from an old science fiction movie. Carr’s desk contained more family photos. On it sat another computer, this one a PC. Garrison sat down in front of the PC, and attempted to gain access. A red security warning flashed across the screen, stopping him.

“Damn. All the files are encrypted,” the FBI agent said.

“Can’t you break the code?” Peter asked.

“Not these. The files are encrypted with the TrueCrypt program, and use an algorithm at the AES 256 level. It’s the same algorithm the government uses to keep its top-secret computers secure. Nobody can break it except the National Security Agency.”

“Can’t you call them?” Peter asked.

“It’s not the kind of information they’re going to give me over the phone.”

Garrison shook his head gravely. He was beaten, and didn’t have another plan.

“You guys need me for anything else?” Tricarico asked.

Garrison said no. Tricarico left the room. When he was gone, Peter said, “My turn.”

“Don’t tell me your psychic powers work with computers as well?” Garrison asked.

“Anything’s possible,” Peter said.

Garrison gave up his chair. Peter sat down at the computer, and stared at the gibberish on the screen. He was no genius when it came to technology, but he didn’t have to be. Picking up the phone on the desk, he hit a button for an outside line, and punched in a ten-digit number.

“You’re calling that hacker who works for you,” Garrison said.

“I sure am.”

“You can’t be serious. No one can bust the AES 256 level.”

“Don’t tell Snoop that. He’s done it before.”

“What? I knew I should have busted that guy when I had the chance. He’s a threat to national security,” Garrison said.

Peter covered the phone’s mouthpiece, and shot Garrison a wicked look. “Snoop is part of our deal.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You can’t arrest him, no matter how many laws he breaks.”

“Your friend’s a public menace.”

“Yes, he is. Now nod your head, and agree.”

Garrison scowled, then nodded almost imperceptibly. Peter heard Snoop’s ever-cheerful voice say, “Hey, Peter, what’s shaking?”

“Stop whatever you’re doing,” Peter said. “I’ve got a job for you.”

The AES 256 level algorithm was more important to national security than Peter could have ever imagined. According to Snoop, the complicated encryption device was used to protect the Pentagon, the CIA, and the National Security Agency, as well as the computers of every major bank and financial institution on Wall Street. The keeper of secrets, AES 256 was considered impenetrable.

“Ready when you are,” Peter said to the intercom.

“Let me explain a few things,” Snoop said. “Any password can be cracked if you give a hacker enough time. The software I use will run through all possible permutations of numbers and letters given the password’s size. If the password has five characters, no sweat. Six, and I’ll need more time, because there are two billion possibilities. Seven, and it jumps to seventy-eight billion possibilities. Any larger, and we’ll be here all night. Make sense?”

“Loud and clear,” Garrison said.

“How can you know the size of the password before you start?” Peter asked.

“Magic,” Snoop said.

“Come on, be serious.”

“It’s actually pretty straightforward,” his assistant explained. “A password must be easy to remember if it’s used every day. Is the computer you’re trying to hack being used often?”

“We think so,” Peter said.

“Good. Then the password won’t be complicated. I’ll need information about the person using the computer. Name, date of birth, phone numbers, that sort of thing. Most passwords consist of familiar letters and numbers. Is that information available?”

“I’ll go check,” Garrison said.

The FBI agent beat a path to the door. Valuable time was slipping away, and Peter felt a growing sense of panic. Sometimes, it was murder to know the future.

“Is Papa Bear gone?” came Snoop’s voice out of the box.

“He’s gone,” Peter said. “What’s up?”

“Have you talked to Liza in the past couple of hours?”

No, he hadn’t. Peter shut his eyes, fearing the worst. “Is something wrong?”

“She called me earlier, asked if she could rent Zack’s space from me,” Snoop said. “Are you guys Splitsville again? I thought you were getting things worked out.”

“I don’t want to be talking about this,” Peter said.

“I’m in the middle of this, Peter,” Snoop said. “I work for you, and your soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend wants to live in my place. That puts me in a delicate situation, as they say.”

“Yes, we’re Splitsville. I’ve been holding back on her about some things in my life.”

Snoop let out a whistle that sounded like a bomb falling through space.

“Spare me the sound effects,” Peter said.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Snoop said, his tone mildly scolding. “You should have confided in her from the start. It’s what women want from us.”

“I realize that. If there was any way to undo it, I would.”

“You really hurt her.”

“You’re really cheering me up, you know that?”

“I’m sorry, man. Somebody had to tell you.”

Peter stared at the screen of Carr’s computer. Talking to Snoop about his personal life was torture, and he wanted the conversation to end.

“You can’t run away from this forever,” Snoop said.

“Who said I was running away?”

“It’s what you do when you don’t like how things turn out in your personal life. You run away, instead of facing reality.”

“Thank you, Dr. Phil. Next caller, please.”

“You’re my best friend. I just want to see you happy. Okay?”

Peter swallowed the lump in his throat. “Okay.”

Garrison returned with a copy of Carr’s personnel file, which he began to read into the intercom. “Here’s the information you asked for. Doctor Lucas Carr. Age fifty-six. Height, five-foot-nine. Weight, one hundred and sixty pounds. Home phone number-”

“Hold on a second,” Snoop said. “What kind of doctor is he?”

“He’s a nuclear physicist at the Shoreham plant on Long Island.”