Mark Pryor - Cyberian Affair

When Vyper rolled onto her back, Niko sat up and studied her face, looking for any sign she was awake. He watched her chest rise and fall with each breath. Then he thought of Sokolov and the armed gunmen who came after her.

He’ll never get to you . I won’t let him !

Vyper’s eyes opened and she smiled. “How long have you been staring at me?”

“Only a few minutes, but I could admire you for hours.” Niko brushed the hair away from her face. “Did I ever tell you I love you?”

“Every day, silly. I love you, too.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“Only you.” He slowly pulled the sheet aside. “Just lean back and enjoy.”

Their lovemaking was tender at first, then more energetic. They used every inch of the king-sized bed, trying out their favorite moves and experimenting with new ones. When exhaustion took over, Niko lay on his back with Vyper’s head resting on his chest.

She ran her hand across his stomach. “They say it is better in the Bahamas. I agree.”

After sharing a shower, they sat at the dining room table with coffee and bagels. The view through the sliding glass windows was tropical and serene. Palm trees lined the sea wall. The towering hotels on Paradise Island appeared in the distance.

Niko carried their empty cups to the kitchen, refilled them, and returned. He took a sip. “How’s the job going?”

“It is boring. We wait around in case the cloud service develops a problem, but nothing happens on second shift. There are only two of us, and Junior plays video games all evening. Imagine a twenty-something Bahamian man who calls himself Junior.”

“I’d love to visit you at work.” Niko laid his hand on hers. “You get a dinner break, don’t you? Maybe I could join you for dinner.”

“You know we cannot be seen together in public—the Russians might notice. Fortunately, I do not eat with Junior. One of us must stay in the office to cover the shift. I always go to Blackbeard's Conch House. It is a dive, but the seafood is great—and the crowds disappear after the cruise ships leave.”

“I’m sorry you have to eat alone.” Niko sipped his coffee. “So, tell me about Junior. Is he a good gamer? Can he beat you?”

“Junior likes video poker.” Vyper wrinkled her nose. “I spend my time watching what the Russians are doing. They are still poking around in the Texas oil fields. It looks serious, but Smith says we should let Homeland handle it. He wants us to work on our mission.”

“Did Smith say anything about the firmware for the weapon?”

Vyper shook her head. “He thanked me for it. He never talks about the weapon, or the KILROY message. Says he is forbidden to share the information with us. It worries me, though.”

“I know what you mean,” said Niko. “That firmware is pretty complex for a simple weapon. It’s got to be something expensive and dangerous. And that KILROY message—the CIA doesn’t want it to remain a secret forever. I think they intend to scare someone—let them know we’ve penetrated their systems.”

“We can only guess what the CIA is doing. No sense in worrying about it.” Vyper went to the living room and brought her laptop back. “Let me show you how far I have gotten with the Coral datacenter.”

Niko moved his chair closer.

When she typed in a command, a floor layout appeared. “This is the datacenter. I found it on an engineering database. Each of those rectangles is a client enclosure, with their internet address ranges in the corner.” She pointed to a spot near the middle of the room. “The Russian hacking of Rockefeller Petroleum comes from this client—a company identified as Blue Koala Systems. I tried to identify the owner, but it was registered anonymously in Santa Fe, New Mexico.”

“So, that’s Zatan’s computer center?”

“Yes, and I tapped into Coral’s security camera system.” Vyper displayed five rows of video snapshots on the screen. “I can even control recording and playback. Some cameras scan along a fixed path while others remain stationary. I can see all the open areas, but some clients have rigid containers to isolate their operation—they do their own monitoring.”

A video filled the screen, the image moving slowly to the right. Wire cages stood in a line, each one containing racks of computer equipment. At the end of the line of cages was an enclosure made of smoked glass. Vyper pointed to it. “This belongs to Blue Koala. Somehow, you need to get inside.”

Niko spotted a panel next to the entrance. “Is that one of those badge readers?”

Vyper nodded. “Clients manage the badge IDs for their own employees, but they use the same system.”

Something moved past the camera. It looked like a Segway but didn’t have a passenger. Niko studied it. “What’s that?”

“A robot,” said Vyper. “That one is for security. It makes scheduled rounds searching for irregularities. It also checks most of the equipment indicator lights. They have other robots, too. Some swap out disk drives—that kind of thing.” She smiled. “I can control them from here.”

A silly thought struck Niko. “You could start a robot rebellion. It would freak people out.”

Vyper shoved his arm. “Sometimes I wonder how your mind works.” Another floor layout appeared on her laptop. This version showed loudspeakers, smoke and heat detectors, and several small yellow boxes with red letters. “Everything is computer-controlled. Those boxes are the fire suppression nozzles. Not water, though. They use inert gas—displaces the oxygen.”

“Wow,” said Niko. “When I do get inside the datacenter, you’ll be with me… well, virtually. You’ll be watching me and watching my back.”

Vyper tapped on the laptop and the images of two faces appeared. “Do you recognize these men?”

“They’re my students. Are those Blue Koala ID badges?”

“They are,” said Vyper. “I downloaded the images you captured at the university with your eyeglass camera. I compared those faces against the ID badges at Coral. These are the only two who match. They work for Zatan.”

“Fantastic.” Niko got up and retrieved his laptop. He typed the names of the students. “I’ll look them up on the internet later. Got to find a way to get close to them.”

Vyper took the cups to the sink. “Smith should be happy with our progress.”

Niko grabbed the plates, only a few bagel crumbs remaining, and walked behind her. “You know Smith would expect us to practice our Krav Maga.”

She turned around and scrunched up her face. “I told you. I do not like it. I watched you practice, but I cannot do it. I hate violence—real or practice.”

“I wish you’d try, Vyper. Sokolov is after you and he won’t give up. You need to learn to defend yourself.”

Vyper’s hand flapped. She pressed her palm on the table. “No. All my life, I have avoided conflict. Even when I was abused, I always submitted quietly. It is difficult to change.”

“What’ll you do if Sokolov finds you? Will you submit to him? Do whatever he wants?”

“I… I cannot let him win. I will try to resist.”

Niko rested his hand on her shoulder. “Do you remember what they told us in Krav Maga training? What they said about aggression?”

Vyper’s head drooped. “Fight quickly, violently. Do not stop until the enemy is down and helpless.”

“Can you do it? Will you do it?”

“I… I don’t know. Maybe—”

Niko’s phone rang. He accepted it and waited for a secure connection.

“Smith here,” said the voice on the phone. “We need your help—actually we need Vyper’s help.”

“Wait until I put it on speaker,” said Niko. “Okay, go ahead.”