Power of the Raven (24 page)

“So what now?” Gene asked.

“Come back to Steve’s. We need to talk.”

“There’s more to this, isn’t there, something you’re not telling me?” Gene said, reading his brother’s guarded tone.

“Just make sure you’re not followed. Go through the easement along the side of the house and park there.”

“All right,” Gene said, then placed the phone down.

“What time is it?” Lori asked sleepily.

“A little past midnight.” Gene looked at her. She was so beautiful he wished he could have made love to her again. He kissed her one last time, took a breath and got out of bed.

“The kidnappers called. It’s time for us to go.”

T
HEY ARRIVED AT
S
TEVE
’
S PLACE thirty minutes later, coming up the alley, and Daniel let them into the house. From what Gene could see, they’d done some repairs to make the back door functional, though it was far from secure.

“Update me,” Gene said.

“The kidnappers are using a throwaway phone, as Paul’s contact thought, so we can’t get a location. Steve’s supposed to meet with them just before daybreak, so we’ve got a few hours to come up with a plan.”

Once in the kitchen, Lori caught the scent of coffee. Following her nose, she poured two cups of the dark brew and offered Gene one.

“We have to break into the DMV and download the information they want,” Steve said, his voice loud and strained. “Without that we’ll never get Sue back alive.”

“That place is too secure to hit without more time and resources. We’ll end up in jail with no chance of rescuing your wife,” Paul said. “We have to find another way.”

Steve ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t think straight anymore. Maybe another cup of coffee will help,” he said, picking up his empty mug. “Anyone else?”

They shook their heads.

“What’s our next move?” Gene said as soon as Steve left the room.

Paul and Daniel exchanged quick glances, and that confirmed Gene’s suspicions. Something
was
up. Gene looked at Daniel, who looked away. Just then, they heard the back door close.

With a curse, Paul bolted out of his chair, shot through the kitchen and headed outside.

Gene followed him, but he didn’t have to go far. Paul tackled Steve before he reached the gate.

Steve didn’t resist as he was hauled to his feet and taken back inside.

“I could track you anywhere with that ankle bracelet,” Paul said. “Where did you think you were going?”

“I was going to call my wife’s kidnappers, tell them I had the data they wanted and arrange a meet. So what if it was a lie? If they kill me and Sue, at least we’d go together.”

Lori felt her heart go out to him. Love could make you do things you never thought yourself capable of doing. She remembered what Steve had said about being willing to die rather than seeing the woman he loved hurt.

She felt the same way about Gene; that’s why she’d risked her life to protect him in that alley. She hadn’t meant to fall in love, not this completely. She’d meant to hold back, but love didn’t need permission to exist. It simply happened when you least expected it.

As she looked at Steve she felt waves of compassion washing over her.

“We’re on your side, Steve,” Daniel said. “The key to keeping Sue and Lori safe is to get the kidnappers the data they want. Now we have to figure out a way to do that.”

“Wait—
Lori?
” Gene said and glared at his brothers. “What’s she got to do with this?”

“The kidnappers are willing to trade the flash drive for Sue, but only if Lori delivers it,” Daniel said.

“Why me?” Lori asked, confused.

“I think they’re worried that you got a look at the driver who tried to crush me in that alley,” Gene said. “You’ve become a liability to them. That’s why you can’t go.”

“But I didn’t see the man. I was too busy hugging the ground,” Lori said. “Maybe they just see me as less dangerous than Steve.”

“What if you’re wrong? We can’t risk trading one hostage for another,” Gene said, glaring at his brothers.

“I have a plan that should keep both women safe,” Daniel said.

“Lori can’t be part of it,” Gene said.

She placed a hand on Gene’s arm. “What’s your plan, Daniel?” she asked.

“There’s one place I can access that has computers powerful enough to hack into the DMV’s database. I’m in charge of checking out current firewalls and internet security at the tribe’s natural gas plant, and that’s something that has to be done when the day shift is off duty to avoid complications. I’ll take Lori with me because she’s familiar with the system the DMV uses.”

“Then I’m going, too,” Gene said.

“Okay. I’ll tell the guard that you two are going to help me perform a multiuser simulated attack to verify security measures protecting the network.”

“That’s a mouthful,” Gene said.

“It’s part of what I do,” Daniel said. “Once we’re there I have some high-end password-breaking programs I can try. There won’t be anyone looking over our shoulders. If Lori can give me an idea of what Jerry’s used in the past, we can try to find the new password by taking some major shortcuts.”

“Jerry’s last password was the name of his dog,” Steve said.

“Then I’ll need the name of all his pets, past and present. Do you know them?” he asked Steve.

“I do,” Lori said. “Not all, but most. He uses names from Greek mythology, like Zeus and so on.”

“That’ll help. Are you ready?” Seeing them nod, Daniel headed to the door. “Let’s go. Paul can stay here with Steve.”

T
HEY ARRIVED AT THE PLANT just as the last of the midnight shift was passing through security. Having discussed their strategy during the trip onto the Navajo Nation site, they each knew what to do.

The guard at the first of two gas refinery security gates recognized Daniel as he pulled up and stopped.

“Evening, Dan. Still working on those off-hours security checks?” the guard asked, smiling. Leaning over to check out the other passengers, he added, “Hey, that you, Gene?”

Gene recognized Miles Nakai from his high school days on the Rez. “Yeah, Miles. Dan didn’t say you worked here. How you doing?” he said, bringing out his driver’s license as identification. “We’re helping my brother with his antihacker tests tonight. He’s been bellyaching about having to handle three keyboards at the same time, so we’re the hired help. This is Lori Baker. She has a lot of hands-on experience and is a friend of mine.”

Myles inspected Lori’s driver’s license and DMV badge, then Daniel’s ID, according to procedure. “Okay, go on through,” he said, opening the electronic gate and waving them in.

Three minutes later, they were alone, walking down an interior corridor.

“Hey, bro, you’re a natural,” Daniel whispered.

“If this ever comes back at you, blame it all on me,” Gene said. “Tell them that I forced you at gunpoint—whatever. I’ll take the heat.”

“Will you shut up?” Daniel growled. “I’m in this to the end with both of you.”

Lori blinked back tears. “This is my fault. I got you two involved. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

Gene wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. “A simple thanks to my brother will be enough,” he said, then leaned over and whispered, “I’ll come up with more fun ways for us to say thanks to each other later.”

“Cut that out,” Daniel growled. “Everything’s at stake now, so focus on the job.”

Daniel led them into his office and fired up his computer.

“Are we really going to steal this information? The damage that’ll do…” she said slowly.

Daniel shook his head. “No, not steal. I didn’t want to say this in front of Steve, but we’re just going to borrow some screens and fake the information. The trick will be accessing the database and seeing the initial layout so we can make it all look authentic.”

After typing in several personal passwords and running an intrusion program, he finally turned around. “I’m no hacker, but I learned a few things from the kid we hired to work here,” he said. “I’m now into the DMV’s system. That was the easy part. Lori, can you show me which database I need to access?”

Lori took the mouse and led him to the right directory. The massive file contained recorded personal information for every current vehicle owner in the state. She could enter her user name to gain another half step, but to actually open the file and download the data required the right password.

“I’ll try to run a password-generating program now,” Daniel said. “Maybe I’ll get a hit and be able to get a look at the next screen.”

“I should warn you that with our system you’ll get three tries,” Lori said. “After the third wrong attempt, you won’t be able to get back into the program using this computer. My user name will be considered compromised, too, which will shut me out, as well.”

“So the mass attack won’t work,” Gene said, “but we can still play a good bluff. The bad guys haven’t seen those screens, either, so mimic what you can and fake the rest, generating phony names, social security numbers and addresses. Can you duplicate the initial screens to make them look like the real deal?”

“Sure,” Daniel said. “It’s part of the training we give our IT people—how to recognize phony but authentic-looking websites used to con people.”

Daniel inserted a flash drive and, with a few clicks of the mouse, captured the images. “Now we’ll add names and phony social security numbers.”

“I know the layout of the individual records, so that solves our next problem. Do you have a randomizing program?” Lori asked.

“Yeah, plus something even better. What I’ll do is insert names from the Albuquerque metro area residential pages of the phone book. Those are public record, so I can download that data easily enough. Then I’ll generate and insert fake social security numbers for each address,” Daniel said.

Ten minutes later, Daniel removed a new flash drive from the computer, then turned to Lori. “What do you think?”

She took a quick look, checking her own name and address within the fake database. “It sure looks like the real deal, and my social isn’t even close. Considering that we have no way of getting into the actual system without locking it up and sending out flags, it’s our only shot,” she said.

“Okay, let’s get going,” Daniel said. “We still have a long night ahead.”

Once they waved goodbye to the guard and started the return drive to Steve’s house, Gene gave Daniel a stony look. “Lori’s
not
going to make this transfer.”

“That’s for me to decide,” Lori said softly.

Gene shook his head. “
No
. Risking another person being taken hostage—especially someone like you who’s potentially an even more valuable asset to the kidnappers—doesn’t make sense. We’d be trading lives, that’s all. I’ve got a much better idea.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lori handed the flash drive to Steve. “You’re all set.”

Steve checked his watch. “Daylight’s coming soon and we’re an hour away from where they want to meet. We have to get going right now.”

“Slow down,” Paul said. “We have to call the police first and make sure they’ll bring us some backup. Hartley P.D. has a team of detectives who’ve been trying to track down these identity thieves for weeks. Believe me, officers will respond ASAP.”

“No way,” Steve said. “The kidnappers might spot the cops, and if that happens, Sue will get caught in the cross fire. I’m not putting her at greater risk than she’s already in.”

Paul shook his head. “The detectives won’t do anything stupid, and more importantly, they’re trained to deal with situations like these. You guys aren’t. We need the officers. Once the suspects have what they want, they might just decide to eliminate all the loose ends.”

“Paul’s right,” Daniel said. “We have to cover every possible angle. Paul, get law enforcement, whether it’s FBI, state police or someone else, to provide a couple of snipers.”

“Steve, once it starts to go down you’re going to have to stall as long as possible,” Gene said. “Tell them that you’re the one who’s going to hand over the flash drive and demand that they bring out Sue.” He then looked at Lori. “
You
stay back by the van. Let them see you, but don’t come out into the open. Daniel and I will be covering you and Steve, and hopefully we’ll have some law enforcement people in position by then, as well.”

“I’ve got two ballistic vests in my office,” Daniel said. “Lori, one’s for you. Steve, you’ll wear the other one.”

He shook his head. “No way. If I come out wearing something like that, they’ll know something’s up.”

“It’s a lightweight Kevlar vest, the kind that fits under a shirt. It won’t show, but it’ll still protect you.”

“We’ll keep you current on our location and plans,” Gene told Paul, “but we’re counting on you to bring the cavalry.”

L
ORI SAT IN THE PASSENGER seat as Steve drove through the gates at Daniel’s place. Gene was in the back, within arm’s reach of Steve, but out of sight. The gates were just closing behind them when Steve’s phone rang. He answered immediately.

“Put it on speaker,” Gene ordered in a whisper-soft tone.

“Change of location,” the man at the other end snarled. “Go to the wrecking yard a mile east of the fairgrounds, south side of the road. You’ve got fifteen minutes.”

Steve looked at Gene, who mouthed,
thirty
.

“Huh?” Steve answered.

“Fifteen minutes, or your wife’s history.”

Finally Steve caught on. “I can’t get there in less than thirty minutes. I’m on the west side of town, on my way to the landfill, like you said before.”

“You’ve got twenty-five, and make sure it’s just you and the woman. Anything else and it’s all over for Sue Farmer.”

The next thing they heard was silence.

“We have time,” Gene said, checking his watch. “We’ll take the truck bypass and can be there in twenty. Now let’s get those vests and update Paul. He’ll need to reposition our backup in a hurry.”

T
WENTY
-
THREE MINUTES LATER
,
Gene slipped out the back of the slow-moving van, rifle in hand. He quickly ducked between two junked school buses as Steve turned down a long row of squashed, wrecked vehicles stacked three high.