Destiny

SEVENTY-FIVE

After more than eight hours tracing codes on the Iranian system, Marcus felt the muscles between his shoulder blades tighten. As he worked, Narsi and Rahim came in and out of the room, speaking heated Farsi into satellite phones. Alicia sat on a cot near the wall behind Marcus and tried not to think of Brandi. She stepped over to Marcus and whispered. “I have a very low profile. I’m not on anyone’s grid. How’d they know I’m Brandi’s aunt?”

He leaned back in the wooden chair. “I don’t know.”

“How are you coming? Have you found something?”

“Yes, it’s in there. The worm’s ability to reprogram external program logic controllers could toss a wrench into it. I can see software that’s been installed to try to eradicate the worm, or worms. But I can’t tell if it’s been effective. The programmers could have built in a mechanism that will cause even more damage if someone attempts to remove it.”

“I wonder who is responsible for embedding it there.”

“Could be any contractor with a flash drive. It’s so sophisticated that whoever created it had help. It may have been Israel’s baby, but someone else probably fathered it.”

Rahim and Narsi entered the room. Rahim said, “Our chief prosecutor appeared on television one hour ago to announce the release of Adam Spencer.” He glanced at Alicia and added, “The fiancé of your niece.”

Alicia looked at Marcus and said nothing.

Rahim said, “Reporters were there and the BBC is filing its story now. We can watch the feed.” He pressed a hand-held remote control device and images filled a small plasma screen to the left of the computer screen. Iran’s chief prosecutor stood on the steps in front of the judicial building and spoke to reporters in Farsi. The news story cut to scenes of Adam Spencer as he was escorted from the front of Evin Prison and whisked away in a waiting car. The next video images showed Adam at the Tehran International Airport.

In English, the reporter said, “Chief prosecutor Oshnar Abbasi said an indictment has been handed down by Iran’s judiciary bringing charges against the two young Americans. However, he said the government decided to release Adam Spencer on humanitarian grounds. He added that Brandi Hirsh will be held and court proceedings are underway. If she is found guilty on charges of espionage, the verdict could lead to the death penalty. The two Americans were arrested in northern Iran when they allegedly walked across the Turkey — Iran border when they were picking berries. U.S. Secretary of State, Merriam Hanover, said efforts to free Brandi Hirsh will continue, and she is hopeful the twenty-two-year old woman, who is said to be diabetic, will be released soon. John Cunningham, BBC, Tehran.”

Rahim half smiled. “The girl will be released when your job is finished.”

“Who guarantees that? How do we know that?” asked Alicia, her voice now raspy.

“Because, when a Muslim man tells you something, when he offers his word, it is his bond. This is something almost unheard of in the West.” He looked at Marcus. “That is why the girl will not be released until we have been convinced, Mr. Marcus, that you have removed the worm and created software patches that prevent its return.”

“Look, I found evidence of an infiltration. I’ll track the worm to where it’s embedded, and then I will kill it. But, before I do that, I want you to promise me that Brandi will be released as soon as the Myrtus worm is destroyed.”

Rahim crossed his arms, looked at Narsi and said, “Get Jalil on the satellite phone.” Narsi nodded, left the room and began connecting the call. Rahim stared at Marcus and gestured to the computer screen. Then he turned on the camera above the screen. “Our engineers are watching you, Mr. Marcus. Show us where the invader lies in our system.”

Marcus could see an engineer’s image in the corner of the screen, knowing the high definition camera was beaming his face and voice to a secure room deep in one of Iran’s nuclear plants. He used the mouse to highlight lines of code. “This is the coding that works directly with the frequency converter drives that are part of the Siemens S7-300 system and the associated modules. It looks like the worm is designed to only attack those program logic controllers with the variable-frequency drives.”

“How does it do this?” a voice off screen asked from the computer speakers.

Marcus avoided looking directly in the camera. “I’ve been able to determine that it is specifically engineered to monitor the frequency of the centrifuge motors. It will only attack systems that operate, or spin, between eighty and twelve hundred hertz. I am writing a software patch that should diffuse the binary code, the file, and render it useless in its present state.”

In a thick Persian accent, another question came from the speakers, this time from the person in the corner of the screen. “We need you to send a copy of that patch to us. Can it be used to shield against future attacks?”

“Yes, until your adversaries figure out you‘ve got a wall up. Then they’ll try something else.”

The same voice said, “Indeed, but by then we will have accomplished our immediate goal.”

In Farsi, a new, fast-paced voice came over the speaker. Both Rahim and Narsi immediately stood erect, their eyes fixed on the screen. Marcus listened closely, trying to make out the few words he could remember from the language. When the voice stopped, Rahim responded back in Farsi.

When they finished, Marcus glanced up at Rahim then looked directly into the camera. “Rahim, make sure your president understands this. Tell him if Iran continues this path, no one wins. There is no way that a mutually assured annihilation in a nuclear weapons race will ever be won by your country or any nation. It’s genocide. The entire Middle East will be destroyed. Your decisions here will directly involve China, Russia, North Korea, Turkey, Britain, Pakistan, the U.S. and the rest of the card-carrying nuke club. There will be nothing left to fight for.”

Rahim repeated the words in Farsi. There was a long silence and the voice responded in a slower, deliberate tone. When it stopped, Rahim moistened his lips and cleared his throat. “I am to tell you that America and its president are the worst form of hypocrites. He said he will have no further discussion with you about this subject.”

Marcus glanced at Alicia. A vein pulsed in the side of her neck, her eyes red-rimmed. She leaned toward the camera and said, “Paul has done what you wanted. Let Brandi go! Damn you bastards to hell!”

Something was said quickly in Persian. Narsi grabbed Alicia by the hair and pulled her head back. He held a long knife to her throat. Rahim glared at Alicia and shouted, “Enough! Sit on that cot! Do not open your mouth again.” He stared down at Marcus. “Finish the job!”

Marcus worked all night and through the next day, only leaving the chair to use the bathroom. Rahim and Narsi rotated turns sitting at the console next to Marcus while he worked. His eyes burned and his head began pounding. Dusk drifted over Paris and the hotel room again grew darker. Alicia slept periodically, Rahim silencing her each time she spoke. A few minutes after 7:00 p.m., Marcus made his final keystroke, turned to Rahim and said, “It’s finished.” He pointed to the screen. “Here’s the file where I built the software patch before I encoded it and fused it in your operating system.”

Rahim stared at him a moment and sipped cold coffee. “Are you sure the invading worm is no more?”

“I found the worm and stopped it, like I said I would. Your centrifuge motors aren’t in danger now.”

Narsi entered the room and Rahim turned his head toward Alicia for a second. “Take the woman, Mr. Marcus, and leave.” He glanced at the glass funnel on the console. “Remember what I told you we would do to her and her niece if you are not truthful with us.”

“Everything I told you is the truth.”

Narsi reached down to grip Alicia by the forearm. She pulled away and stood. “Don’t touch me!”

Marcus rose slowly from the wooden chair. His back was in knots. “I finished your job at seven p.m. Monday. We expect that Brandi will be released on or before seven p.m. Wednesday.”

“I spoke with our president. He agrees the girl will be released, but not for seven days. He wishes to make certain the job is done. Leave now.”

“That’s bullshit!” Alicia said. “That’s not our agreement. You—”

“Silence woman!” Narsi’s fists clenched at his side, a muscle squirmed like a moth fluttering under the skin below his right eye. His breath reeked of onion and decay.

Rahim’s eyes were hooded and unreadable. Narsi motioned for Marcus and Alicia to follow him to the door.

Marcus said, “We want our phones back, all three. I want to stay in contact with you. Your end of the bargain is not done yet.”

Narsi looked hard at them, his eyes furious. Rahim handed them the cell phones. “Keep Taheera’s phone in the event we need to speak with you.”

Narsi said nothing. He opened the door and gestured for Marcus and Alicia to leave. They walked out into the hall, and he closed the door behind them.

Once in the elevator, Alicia leaned her head back against the wall. She released a pent up breath. “Paul, thank you so much for everything you did.”

“Let’s hope Brandi is freed.”

They walked out into the Paris night. It was clear. The moon, almost full, illuminated the streets. They walked for a block in silence and then Alicia looked over at Marcus. “I’m happy and yet sad. I pray that Brandi will walk free, but somehow I feel we signed a pact with the devil. If removing that worm causes Iran to develop the atomic bomb…what have we done if it leads to a holocaust?”

Marcus was quiet for a moment. “Maybe it won’t come to that.”

“What if those bastards don’t let Brandi go when the deadline’s reached? We can’t even tell anyone. This is so damn weird.”

Marcus said nothing. He watched a car drive slowly by, the driver hidden in the cloak of night, the tap of brakes when the car slowed and then resumed speed. “Alicia, your stuff is still in the trunk of my car.”

“I almost forgot about that.”

“I don’t trust Rahim any farther than I could toss him. And Narsi looks like he loves to play with chemicals. They’re hired psychopaths. I’m sure we’re being watched. My room has two beds, maybe you should bunk there.”

She stopped walking and looked up at him, the radiance of moonlight in her eyes. “Thank you.”

“We’ll get some food back at the hotel.”

“Sounds good. I’m starving.”

Marcus smiled, and they continued walking. He glanced up when a small cloud eased its way in front of the moon. Marcus had no idea that between the cloud and the moon, a satellite camera followed his every move.