In short order I’d pulled up my log files and had code spilled across two of my screens. The initial poke on my phone wasn’t impressive. Practically any student in the advanced computer-science classes could’ve done it. The second attack had complexity. Dean had said he only poked the defenses to see what I had, but there was more to this code. If the secondary defense hadn’t been in place, he’d have wiped the phone and had all my data.

  “No way.” I typed at a lightning pace to create a quick script to look for specific patterns in the code. “Holy shit,” I muttered.

  I’d seen these patterns before. Every sixth line of code was annotated with a specific bit of code that, if displayed in a web browser, would show a lock and key. I wracked my brain to come up with where and why I’d seen this. It’d be so much easier if I could index my brain like Google does the internet.

  It had to be TOS related, so I went to the database the IT team kept. We logged information we gathered on cyber security, hackers, and anything else that could possibly be related to keeping the agency tech safe and up-to-date.

  What I found shocked me. The annotations were left by a hacker who used the handle Locksmith, or at least that was the nickname they’d been given by the community. It looked like Locksmith never bragged or talked about the hacks performed. Locksmith would get into systems and rearrange a few things. They never left permanent damage, and as far as anyone could determine, never took data. There was always a text file left behind too—You should really lock that door. You never know who’ll come in.

  According to our records, Locksmith had never been apprehended. There were too many other, more serious cases, than someone pointing out an exploit. Consultants were paid to do that all the time. Locksmith seemingly did it for free. If Dean and Locksmith were the same person, he really could be a one-man comp-sci team.

  I supposed I was getting ahead of myself. I didn’t know for sure if Dean had an alter ego, but the code samples matched what we knew.

  Even more confusing was what I should do with this information. Dean knew I had a sample of what he could do, so it wouldn’t be beyond belief that I could figure out who he was. I could confront him about Locksmith—or at least that I thought it was him. It wouldn’t give anything away about my TOS connection.

  What game was he playing with me? There were two other attacks on my gear. Was he responsible for the virus Eddie had on his thumb drive? What about the ping my phone had at Eddie’s meet?

  I brought up what I’d captured on those two events. I’d cleaned Eddie’s computer and thumb drive but kept the data. The virus was sophisticated, designed to aggressively capture all the usernames and passwords from a device. It would’ve never been caught by store-bought antivirus software. What site would he have visited to end up with that? I reexamined the code and didn’t find connections to Locksmith, so I couldn’t easily pin that on Dean.

  The other attempt on my phone made no sense. The code came through the cell network, as part of the call that couldn’t be heard. Eddie had been talking to his mom when it happened. Were Eddie’s parents a target and my phone picked up the signal from their side? The signal had a very complex structure, not to mention how it rode along the cell phone signal. This also didn’t appear to be from Locksmith. I needed to dig into this code more and see what it was designed to do and why it traveled as part of the audio of a phone call.

  I was focused so intently on my screen that I jumped when the chime sounded for an incoming video chat from Lorenzo.

  “Winger. Doctor Possible here.”

  “Hey, Doc.”

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah. The call startled me. I was too invested in a code review.”

  “Anything interesting?”

  “It’s weird for sure.” I explained the two incidents—Eddie’s thumb drive and what happened when Eddie called his mom on my phone. I didn’t talk about what I could attribute to Dean because it didn’t seem worth the time.

  “Do you think someone tried to get to you through Eddie?”

  Frankly I hadn’t come to that conclusion yet. I’d been considering other options. I let out a long breath. What kind of agent was I if I couldn’t see the obvious?

  “Don’t beat yourself up. You’re still putting pieces together. However, it’s the first thing I thought of. Since the tracker mission, you don’t exactly live in a bubble anymore. People saw you and know what you can do. If they’ve put together that you and Eddie are a couple, they might use that to get more intel.”

  I sat back in my chair. I desperately wanted to spin around, but that seemed rude since Lorenzo was on the screen. “Do you think he’s in danger?”

  “It’s just a theory. There’s no concrete evidence. His thumb drive could have been compromised in so many ways via public networks. The phone’s a little more difficult to figure out. He’d have to call the person who would send the signal, unless someone hijacked the call. I might be reading more into it than there is.”

  I didn’t feel much better. “I’ll log the code snippets into the database. Can you assign it out to be analyzed for any known characteristics?”

  “Sure. Let me know when it’s there and I’ll make it a priority.”

  “Thanks. Now, what can I do for you?”

  “Wanted to run something by you to see if you think it’s viable.”

  “Of course. Tell me.”

  “You know how when you delete a file from a computer it’s not really gone until you rewrite or reformat the space it occupied? Could we send bots out to look for where the file might’ve been? We’ve tried to find the actual file, which hasn’t worked because it seems they’re keeping it off the internet as much as possible. What if we looked for artifacts that might give us some direction?”

  “Interesting idea, and theoretically it should work. The bots would have to be able to scan drives on that level. It’d be a riff on data recovery software.” I paused to think for a moment. “What I’d worry about is the bot staying stealth. When we’re in systems and looking at the regular directories, it doesn’t take much time. For this to work, though, we’d have to be there long enough to read the data that’s not in the directory anymore. Depending on the security, it might raise an alert. On the other hand, we don’t have much to lose. As per usual, the bot can self-destruct if any alarms are tripped.”

  Lorenzo nodded and typed on the keyboard in front of him. “Yeah, I’m worried about the time it would take to scan any deleted files, especially analyzing data fragments.”

  “I’d have it do fragments last. I’d recommend three tiers of scanning—regular file directories, deleted files that are intact, and then fragments. I imagine it’ll take us some time to be able to accurately look for remnants. Maybe deploy bots with the first two while we develop the third.”

  “I’ll take a first pass on writing this thing.” Lorenzo seemed excited for the first time in several days. “Will you review it once I’ve got it?”

  “For sure.”

  His expression took a somber turn. “We’re having a wake for Keys on Thursday at HQ. If you want to come, I’ve arranged a private plane to bring you and a car to get you from the airport. It’s up to you. I know a weekday evening isn’t the best for you.”

  “Let me talk to my dad. If he’s okay with it, I’ll make it work. I want to be there.”

  Lorenzo nodded. “Let me know.” He paused for a moment. “I’m going to get to work and I’ll let you know how it goes. I’ll update you on the code you’re sending over too. Later.” The screen went dark.

  I finally spun around in the chair, speeding up with each pass. There was so much to distill out of that conversation. Not only a new bot idea to churn over, but the idea that someone might be using Eddie. I stopped the spin cycle so I could upload the files to the database. There was still Dean to figure out too.

  Once the data transfer completed, I shoved all of it aside because I had tests to study for.

  Thirteen

  “We’re still on for tonight, right?” Eddie asked as I leaned against the lockers next to his. The computer-science team was meeting daily this week leading into this weekend’s competition. Eddie’s locker had become our end-of-day meeting point before he headed out.

  “Yes we are!” A weekday date night called for extra excitement.

  We didn’t usually go out on school nights because of our packed schedules. We made exceptions for special events, though. Tonight we were headed to Boston University where Barry Jenkins would be interviewed and take audience questions.

  We’d been moved by his movie Moonlight. Beyond the interview, several shorts were going to be screened and discussed. Eddie and I freaked out when the school announced the event because in person would be better than any DVD commentary. The tickets were not easy to get. I ended up helping two graduate film students put together a massive computer system to do their editing and CGI on. It was worth it, though.

  “I’ll pick you up?” Eddie had turned seventeen in December, so he could finally drive us instead of taking separate cars.

  “That works. I’m headed home after the team meeting so I’ll be there by five.”

  “See you at six, then.” Eddie gave me a quick peck and headed off to swim practice.

  I walked quickly to the classroom so I wasn’t late. I had to snag Dean today too. He’d avoided me the past couple of days—he’d come into meetings late and dashed out before I could catch him. I had just the trick to get his attention.

  “Whoa!” As I walked past the restroom, the door opened and instead of someone coming out I got pulled inside.

  Wes, of course. And a couple of his goons too.

  “What the fuck, Wes?”

  “I still owe you, Reese. I’m flunking math, and you posted all the stuff about me.”

  He thought I was messing with him? Great.

  I sized up the situation and this wasn’t really a problem. My skills should let me take on these three.

  “I saw that stuff like everyone else. I didn’t send any of it.”

  “Do you think I’m stupid?” His loud voice echoed throughout the tiled restroom. “You’re the only one smart enough to do that.” He stepped into my personal space. Close enough I could smell that he hadn’t showered after P.E. “You’re gonna fix my phone and do my homework.”

  “I haven’t done anything to your phone.” I held my ground. “And I’m not doing your homework.”

  My unzipped hoodie gave him an easy way to grab on and pull me closer. “Oh, you’ll do it, or we’ll break you. Your boy’s not here to back you up and neither are your teammates.”

  Time to end this.

  Apparently he hadn’t listened when I said I’d break his arm. His goons flanked him, so I had one good move to make on Wes before they’d get involved.

  I felt a little bad for my response, but I knew it’d be effective and free me from his grip. I thrust my knee into his balls. I hadn’t learned that from John or Coach, but its effectiveness couldn’t be disputed. Sure enough he released me and dropped to the floor while an impressive list of mangled curse words flew out of his mouth.

  His crew moved in. I had some space, so I kicked out and nailed one in the chest. He went off-balance and careened into a stall door and then fell in. The other guy got too close and connected a punch to my ribs, which landed with enough impact to knock me back a couple of steps.

  “Get him!” Wes directed from the ground where he was cupping his junk. The one that had gone into a stall still thrashed around on the floor. The other guy seemed determined to try to box, which was silly. The more he moved, the more I saw his patterns. It made it easy to weave out of the way, grab his wrist, and pivot him so I had his arm behind his back.

  He cussed now too.

  “Are we done?” I asked as his friend emerged from the stall. He stayed back and leaned against the door.

  The more the guy I held struggled, the more pressure I put on his arm. “No way,” he grunted.

  “Okay.”

  I shoved my foot just below his knee cap, which took his leg out from under him. I pushed him away, and he tumbled to the floor.

  “What’s going on in here?” I turned to find Mitch in the doorway. With the scene in front of him, the look of surprise on his face was justified. “Theo?”

  “Wes and his goons ambushed me.” I moved to Mitch’s side, while keeping watch on the trio.

  “I’m gonna get you so bad, Reese.” It was hard to take Wes seriously since he struggled to get to his feet, still clearly in pain while his guys were also sidelined. The guy at the stall didn’t even help out his friend who gripped the back of his leg, trying to massage the pain away.

  I moved to stand over Wes, and Mitch stayed close. He knew how to back me up without even a word. “You’ll do nothing. If I hear that you mess with anyone else, or that your friends do, I won’t come after you. I’ll see to it the school does. I’m not afraid to report you.”

  I turned and walked out without another word, and Mitch followed.

  “Who are you?” he asked, laughing a little while we walked down the hall. “Did you take all three?”

  I shrugged and tried to play it off, even though I was happy with myself. “Hockey players don’t take shit.”

  “Yeah, man.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mitch watch me as he tried to figure out how I managed a three-on-one. “You worried they’ll tell Ms. Cohen?”

  “No way. They won’t go to the principal. They’d have to admit they couldn’t handle one person. Besides, if they do, I’ll tell my side of the story, that they ambushed me.”

  “And with your awesome rep, she’ll take your word for sure. Where’re you headed?”

  “Comp-sci team.”

  “Oh yeah. There’s a pickup game at Porazzo. Drop by after if you want.”

  “No can do. Date night.”

  “All right, see you at practice, then.”

  We stopped outside the classroom. “Catch you later.”

  We fist-bumped and I went inside. The team clustered around screens, already at work. Mrs. H gave me a look that asked where I’d been. I wouldn’t be sent to detention since we were after school hours, but her gaze made it clear she didn’t like late.

  “Sorry,” I said quietly, coming up to her desk. “I got caught up with something.”

  She shifted her expression to a slight smile. It was probably a reflex to give late comers an evil eye. “The team came in and got right to work on their entry.”

  “Great,” I said as I stood next to her desk. “What do you think? Let them work until we’re down to half an hour and then review?”

  “Sounds good, unless you guys decide we need to do something different.”

  I nodded at her and then went to the cluster of students to let them know the plan. They barely acknowledged me. I recognized the look on their faces—they were in the zone.

  I took a seat in my usual spot and went to work on my plan to get Dean’s attention. I pulled up a list of phones that were in the room, and they were easy to identify with some aspect of the student’s name in the ID. Dean, however, named his phone “Not Yours.” He had some nice security, and I tested it before deciding how I’d breach it. In a few minutes, I’d finished.

  I made his phone vibrate in a repeating pattern of three quick pulses and three seconds of silence. When it didn’t stop after a few cycles, he took it from his jeans pocket. I’d placed a message on the screen that read We need to talk. Your phone is locked until we do.

  Dean didn’t even look at me. He pocketed the phone and continued to work with the team.

  There were a couple of questions while they worked. When it came time to review, Jessie and Dean presented on the big screen.

  They’d made a lot of progress in the past two days. It looked like Dean had taken my advice to lead them more. The entry was more advanced, but not so much it didn’t look like it belonged to the team. There were fewer obvious weaknesses to exploit so they were on the right track.

  “This looks really good guys.”

  “There’s a but in there, I can hear it,” Jessie said while she and Dean were still at the front of the class.

  “I’m gonna sound like a dick saying it this way—”

  “Theo, this may be after school….”

  Oops. I shouldn’t have said that in this setting. “Sorry, Mrs. H.” I looked to her apologetically before returning to the team. “I see places I could get in, but I’m not sure your competitors would find them.”

  I left it there to get their reaction.

  Dean spoke up. “What if you told us the areas to look at but didn’t tell us more than that? See if we can fix it.”

  “Let’s do it.” I went over the four things that were the most concerning, in order from most to least exploitable. There were more, but I didn’t think most high schoolers would see them. I told them there were more, but to focus on these since the competition was just three days away.

  “Cool. Thanks, Theo.” Jessie smiled and returned to her desk. Dean followed.

  “One more order of business we need to consider,” said Mrs. H, coming over to the team. “We need to appoint co-captains, who will represent the team to the officials. I’d like for you all to decide who that is by the time we meet tomorrow. We have to declare the captains at the same time we upload our entry Friday morning.”

  That set the group buzzing. I stayed out of it and looked over the entry again to make sure I hadn’t missed anything. It would take me longer than five minutes to get into this, and that made me proud.

  “Can Theo be one of the captains?” Alice asked.

  “He is a registered member of the team, so he could.”

  “I don’t think that’s fair to you guys.” I looked first at Mrs. H and then the team. “This is your work. Making me a captain gives me way too much credit.”

  “But you’ve helped a lot.” Alice pushed for her suggestion.

  “Who do you think should be captains?” Jessie asked.