Involuntary Control (Gray Spear Society) Read online

  "I'd die of boredom if I lived here," Aaron said.

  "I like how peaceful it is," Norbert said. "It feels safe."

  "Don't let your guard down. We don't believe in safe."

  "Yes, sir."

  Aaron arrived at a white house with a red roof. Brick columns in front bordered a narrow, shaded porch. A spinning sprinkler watered a patchy lawn. Judging by the size, he guessed the place had at most two bedrooms.

  "Let's review our cover stories. I'm Special Agent Kerns from the Counterintelligence Division of the FBI. And you are?"

  Norbert appeared serious. "Special Agent Mullen, national security liaison."

  "Don't slip and use my real name. Don't even think it. Out here, Aaron and Norbert don't exist. Let's go."

  Aaron stepped out of the car. The loud buzz of insects droned from all directions. Thin cloud cover glowed orange in the evening sunlight. July in the Midwest was normally a sweaty time of year, but the last few weeks had been unseasonably cool and pleasant. He was grateful because headquarters had no air conditioning.

  He checked that all his weapons were in place. Norbert followed his lead and did the same.

  Aaron walked to the front door with the bold stride of a federal agent on business. He knocked loudly.

  A woman with curly brown hair answered. She had a pleasant, rounded face with light freckles. She wore a buttoned shirt and a long beige skirt.

  "Hello?"

  "Are you Ms. Kaitlin Simmons?" Aaron said in a demanding tone.

  "Yes. Who are you?"

  He flashed his badge. "Federal agents, ma'am. We have to talk to you."

  He went inside the house without waiting for an invitation. The small interior was cluttered with knick knacks, but the hundreds of items were neatly organized on long shelves. He smelled fresh tomato sauce.

  "What's going on?" she said. "Is something wrong?"

  Norbert stood in the doorway and pulled his jacket back to reveal his gun. He put his hand on the grip of his weapon. Nice touch, Aaron thought.

  "Yes," Aaron said, "something is very wrong. On the twelfth of this month, you received a wire transfer for eight hundred dollars. The money came from an anonymous bank account in the Cayman Islands. It was just one of several suspicious transfers in the last week. Tell us who is paying you, and why."

  The blood drained from Kaitlin's face.

  "I strongly suggest you answer the question immediately," he added in stern tone.

  She abruptly sat down on the arm of a couch and stared into space. Her body was shaking.

  "We know you work for White Flame Technology, and they do a lot of classified research. You're looking at federal charges of espionage, at a minimum. If you start cooperating now, you might avoid life in prison."

  She put her face in her hands and cried. "I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I needed the money. My father is sick and the hospital bills are piling up..."

  "I don't care. Who paid you?"

  "I don't know!" Tears flew out when she shook her head.

  "What do you mean?" he said.

  "We communicated through e-mail. He never told me his real name. I don't even know where he lives!"

  She made choking noises and wiped snot from her nose. Her eyes were red and puffy. He let her calm down a little before continuing.

  "Exactly what did you sell?" Aaron asked.

  "I don't know!"

  He snarled. "Stop jerking me around!"

  "It's true!" she said. "He gave me software to run inside the White Flame network, behind the firewall. The software stole the secrets, not me."

  "Let me get this straight. You ran malicious software on a classified computer system without even knowing what it did?"

  She nodded.

  "Unbelievable." He shook his head.

  "I have this!" She ran to a shelf and opened a tea pot shaped like a smiling, black cat. She took out a USB thumb drive the size of a postage stamp. "All the data is here. Every byte."

  He accepted the thumb drive from her. "Did you look at it?"

  "It's locked and encrypted. My computer won't open the files."

  Aaron knew enough about computer security to know that encryption was a problem. When used properly by an expert, it was effectively unbreakable.

  "So, you can't tell me what you stole or who you stole it for. Can you at least tell me how much you were paid in total?"

  "A hundred thousand dollars," she said softly.

  He hadn't expected such a big number. How much of that was stolen from bank accounts? "Let me see those e-mails."

  "You can't. They were deleted."

  "By you?" he said.

  "No, they vanished right after I read them. They didn't go into the recycle bin, either. I checked." She shrugged. "I think the guy hacked my computer to get rid of the evidence. That thumb drive is all I have."

  He gritted his teeth with frustration. "But you must remember the e-mails. Did he give any hints about his agenda?"

  "No." She shook her head. "He gave me all the money up front to prove he was real. It was so easy. I just had to stick a gadget into my computer at work."

  "Huh? He already paid you?" He stared at her in disbelief.

  "Every penny. I was about to start paying off hospital bills when you knocked on the door."

  He furrowed his brow. "That doesn't make any sense. You haven't delivered the goods yet. What are you supposed to do with this?" He held up the thumb drive.

  "A courier will pick it up tonight at nine."

  Aaron paced the room as he considered his options. His gaze settled on an antique porcelain doll under a glass bell jar. Ugly little thing, he thought.

  He gave the thumb drive back to Kaitlin. "You'll deliver this to the courier as planned. We'll be watching. I'm warning you, if you try to escape or screw this up, years will be added to your prison sentence. You'll come out an old woman, if you come out at all. Understand?"

  She nodded with wide open eyes.

  He looked at Norbert. "Let's go."

  The two men headed towards the car. Aaron glanced back and saw Kaitlin standing in the doorway with a very anxious expression.

  The evening air was so pleasant he didn't want to get into the car yet. He stood by the driver's door and spoke to Norbert. "There was a lot wrong with her story."

  "You think she was lying?" Norbert said.

  "No, I believe she told the truth as she knew it. She was too terrified to lie convincingly. That's not what's bothering me. What do we know about the perpetrator so far?"

  "He's a skilled hacker."

  "Exceptionally skilled, according to Wendy," Aaron said, "with access to money. Other people's money."

  Norbert raised his eyebrows. "A government could be responsible."

  "No. Governments don't steal money. They print it. And corporations make it. I believe we're looking for a single individual or a small group. But he can't be a criminal, either."

  "Why not?"

  "As a rule they're lazy and stupid," Aaron said. "A real criminal wouldn't engage in such complex espionage, and then overpay for the goods. A hundred grand is way too much. Actually, the part that bothers me the most is paying in advance of delivery. Nobody does that." Aaron made a face. "I can't tell whether this hacker is a genius or a total idiot."

  "Maybe the courier will provide the clue that leads us to enlightenment."

  "I hope so. Let's go find a restaurant and eat dinner. I'm starving."

  Norbert looked towards the house. "Shouldn't we stay here, sir?"

  "Nothing is going to happen until nine."

  "Kaitlin might try to run. She already has the money."

  Aaron shook his head. "I doubt it, but it doesn't matter as long as the courier shows up. We're done with her. If she wants to pay hospital bills, that's fine by me. The money isn't important to us."

  Chapter Two

  Aaron looked up at the heavens. In Chicago, even the darkest night had a vague orange glow that washed out the stars. In Lemonseed, tiny, glitt
ering jewels covered the sky, and the Milky Way was a broad white stripe. He recognized a few constellations even though he hadn't seen them in years. God's glorious universe was in full display.

  Aaron checked his watch. It was 9:05, and the courier hadn't appeared yet.

  He and Norbert were hiding behind a thick bush. They had a clear view of Kaitlin's white house, but so far they hadn't seen any movement. Their car was parked on the street nearby.

  "Sir," Norbert said softly, "do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

  "Go ahead," Aaron said. "There are no secrets between us."

  "I noticed a lot of tension between you and Marina lately."

  "She doesn't like being controlled by a man, which is understandable. She had a horrible experience with that as a teenager. But she has to learn to deal with the situation. It's not going to change."

  "You love each other so much. I'd hate to see that relationship ruined."

  Aaron took a deep breath. "So would I, but being a good commander is more important than being a good lover. She understands. She's been a Spear long enough to know it's a job that demands many personal sacrifices."

  "What if it gets really bad between you two?" Norbert said.

  "I can't allow anything to compromise the operations of our cell. I'd have to do something." Aaron frowned. "But I don't know what."

  A teenage boy in jeans and a leather jacket approached Kaitlin's house. He was riding a mountain bike. He wore a baseball cap with the brim backwards.

  "That's the courier?" Norbert said.

  Aaron shrugged.

  The boy knocked on the door. Kaitlin answered a moment later, and they exchanged a few words. She gave him the thumb drive. The boy hopped on his bike and rode off.

  "Come on!" Aaron whispered.

  They sprinted over to the car. He started the engine and drove with the headlights off. The boy rode down the middle of the street at a leisurely pace, making him easy to follow. There was no other traffic.

  After going east a few blocks, they reached the tiny commercial area in the center of town. The boy parked his bike in front of a coffee shop without bothering to lock it. Aaron stopped the car on the other side of the street and observed.

  The boy went inside and walked straight to a public computer. He pushed the thumb drive into a USB port. He left immediately without looking back.

  He was about to get back on his bike when Aaron yelled out the window, "Hey, kid! Hold on. I have to talk to you."

  Aaron opened the car door and ran across the street. The boy stood calmly with a puzzled expression.

  "What's your name?" Aaron said.

  "Dan."

  "I'm Special Agent Kerns, FBI."

  Dan's eyes opened wide. "The real FBI?"

  Norbert arrived and firmly grabbed the handlebars on Dan's bike so he couldn't ride away.

  "That's right," Aaron said. "What were you just doing in there?"

  "Nothin'," Dan said.

  "Don't give me that bullshit. You took a thumb drive from Kaitlin Simmons a few minutes ago, brought it here, and plugged it into a computer. Why?"

  Dan gulped. "I was paid."

  "How much?"

  "Ten millions plats, a complete set of level 5 matrix armor, and a horn of undead gathering."

  "Huh?" Aaron cocked his head. "What are you talking about?"

  "Battlefields of Eternia."

  Aaron stared.

  "It's the most popular computer game ever," Dan said.

  Understanding dawned on Aaron. "You were paid in game items?"

  "Level 5 matrix armor isn't just a game item. You need to kill like a thousand ethereal dragons to get the whole set. And a horn of undead gathering is so uber-elite I've never even seen one before. It can summon three vampires in one melee round!"

  Aaron's sneered. "Who offered you these fabulous treasures?"

  "Some guy I met online."

  "Do you know what was on that thumb drive?"

  "No," Dan said. "Why? Was it spy stuff?"

  Aaron glanced at Norbert. "Check the computer. See if you can figure out what's going on."

  Norbert went into the coffee shop.

  Aaron tapped his foot on the ground and stared at Dan. The boy shrank in fear.

  "Tell me more about this 'guy' you met online."

  Dan shook his head. "I just have his game name: hck112358. He never talked about himself. I don't even know how old he is."

  Aaron took out a notepad and wrote down the name. "In other words, a mysterious stranger offered you a crazy reward to ride your bike three blocks."

  "Yeah."

  "Did it ever occur to your immature brain this arrangement might be unethical, illegal, and dangerous?"

  "No." Dan swallowed. "Not until now."

  "You can't tell me anything?"

  "No, sir."

  Aaron grunted with frustration. "Get out of here. Go home. Next time, don't be so stupid."

  Dan jumped on his bike and rode off as fast as he could pedal.

  Aaron went into the coffee shop. The aroma of fresh brewed coffee made him inhale. Aside from a lone clerk behind the counter and Norbert, the place was empty.

  Norbert was tapping the computer keys rapidly and scowling.

  "What's going on?" Aaron said.

  "I think the hard drive was wiped," Norbert said. "It won't reboot. The operating system is gone."

  "I bet the hacker destroyed all the evidence after downloading the data." Aaron took the thumb drive. "I'm sure this is blank, too, but we'll take it back to headquarters for analysis. It's all we got." He put it in his pocket.

  "What should we do now, sir?"

  "I'll call Wendy. You keep working on that computer."

  He went back outside so the clerk wouldn't overhear the call. He also liked the fresh night air. He punched in Wendy's number in New York.

  "Hello?" she said.

  "This is Aaron. We're in Lemonseed now."

  "Did you interrogate Ms. Simmons, sir?"

  "Yes," he said, "but she didn't know much. The hacker communicated with her anonymously through e-mail. The stolen money was used as a bribe. She smuggled classified information out of White Flame Technology."

  "Military espionage? That's surprising."

  "And Kaitlin was paid very generously. Check her bank account."

  Aaron heard the clattering of keys being pressed.

  A moment later, Wendy said, "I see a hundred thousand dollars that wasn't there this morning, sir. The money was delivered in the form of many small transfers from different places. Obviously, the hacker was trying to hide the transaction by breaking it up into tiny pieces. I'll have to look at every single transfer. That will take all night."

  "Have fun. I have one other small piece of information. Have you ever heard of a game called Battlefields of Eternia?"

  "Of course. It's hugely popular."

  Aaron felt completely out of touch. He had never even heard of the game. "The perpetrator is using the name hck112358."

  "The Fibonacci sequence."

  "The what?"

  "Those are the first six digits of the Fibonacci sequence, sir," she said.

  "If you say so."

  "I'll get started right away on the money transfers. By morning, I may have another lead for you."

  "I'll expect your call," Aaron said. "Good night."

  He closed his phone and went back into the coffee shop. Norbert was still fighting with the computer.

  "Any luck?"

  Norbert shook his head. "No, sir. I'm pretty sure this thing is dead."

  "Then let's go find a motel. Wendy may have more work for us in the morning."

  * * *

  A shaft of sunlight woke Aaron in the morning. He turned his head. Through a crack in the window curtains, he saw a blue sky. He had slept longer than he should have.

  He and Norbert were sharing a motel room. Norbert snored softly in the other bed, and with his round face, he looked childlike.

  Aaron c
hecked the room. A thread was strung across the door and tied to a coffee mug on the nightstand. If anybody had opened the door during the night, the mug would've fallen. Tiny pieces of tape held the curtains in place, and the tape was still unbroken. Nobody had entered that way. He sat up. Talcum powder was sprinkled on the carpet, and he didn't see any footsteps in it. All clear, he thought.

  Aaron silently slipped out of bed. He reached under Norbert's pillow and removed the gun hidden there. Norbert turned over but didn't wake up. Aaron popped out the magazine and made sure there was no bullet in the chamber. Then he put the gun back.

  He slapped Norbert across the face.

  Norbert rolled off the bed and awkwardly landed on the floor with a thump. He fished around under his pillow for two full seconds before finding his gun. Finally, he looked around the room.

  Aaron stared at him. "That was terrible."

  "Sir?" Norbert's face was flushed.

  "I had all the time in the world to kill you."

  "I was asleep, sir!"

  "That's no excuse," Aaron said, "and your gun isn't even loaded."

  Norbert checked the gun, and his expression showed horror. "But I loaded it last night, sir. I'm absolutely certain."

  "I unloaded it." Aaron shook his head and sighed. "A properly trained Spear would never allow himself to be disarmed and surprised like that. Just one more thing for us to work on. Now get dressed. It's time for breakfast."

  * * *

  As Aaron stepped out of the motel, a police car flew past with its lights flashing. An ambulance followed a moment later. He looked up the road and saw two more police cars parked near a tall tree. The green markings indicated they were from the sheriff's department.

  "Let's check it out," Aaron said.

  "Yes, sir," Norbert replied.

  They were dressed as FBI agents again. They would stay in character until they left Lemonseed.

  Aaron walked briskly along the sidewalk. The sky was perfectly clear, and he expected the day would be hot by the afternoon. Good bye cool weather, he thought.

  He studied the crime scene as he approached it. There was a spiked iron fence with a sheet thrown over it. Blood on the sheet and on the ground indicated a dead body was underneath. The victim had been impaled on the spikes. He looked up at a tall tree nearby.