Ghost Ship

TWENTY

“Than Rang is a stone-cold killer, not the kind of man you want to tangle with on a whim.”

The words came from Dirk Pitt. They were spoken via an encrypted linkup that ended in the display screen of Joe’s computer.

“Not going off on a whim,” Kurt said. “If Sienna is out there, this guy Rang has her. And based on what I saw on that computer, he’s gathering up a small stable of topflight hacking talent.”“I believe you,” Pitt said. “The question is, why?”

“What’s his background?” Kurt asked. “Maybe that will tell us something.”

“He’s the head of a South Korean chaebol. His corporation works in mining, waste management, and energy.”

“Can you give us some details?”

“Than was born in ’49, right before the Korean War. His family fortunes were already in decline, but because the North ravaged so much of Seoul and the surrounding area when they occupied it, the decline of the family businesses intensified. At some point, his father got involved with underworld elements to keep the cash flow going. By the time Than was sixteen, the company did more smuggling and laundering than anything else. When his father died, a war broke out within the ranks. By the time it ended, Than had murdered all those who opposed him, wiped out the criminals who’d funded him, and killed every family member who disagreed with his leadership.”

“A palace coup,” Joe noted.

“And then some,” Pitt said.

“Why didn’t the government go after him?”

“Friends in high places,” Pitt explained. “Most people forget that South Korea was basically a military-industrial dictatorship from 1951 to 1979. All emphasis was on growing the economy and doing so by any means necessary. They needed wealth to build a military and prepare for the next invasion by the North. Crimes had a way of being forgiven or ignored if they centralized power, brought about order, or increased industrial production.”

“So Than Rang is a glorified street criminal,” Kurt said. “But that doesn’t tell us what he wants with computer experts.”

“Could be any number of things,” Pitt said. “Considering the structure of the chaebol and the intense competition in today’s world, I’d lay my money on corporate espionage.”

“Makes sense,” Kurt said. “But the strange woman and her backers seemed to want these people for something else. She talked about breaching the American Wall. She also mentioned something called an air gap. Any idea what those terms mean?”

Pitt looked off the screen. “Hiram, you want to take this one?”

Hiram Yaeger came into view, long hair still in a ponytail, granny glasses firmly in place.

“Good morning, gentlemen,” he said. “I’ll get right to it. The term American Wall has been used in cyberspace for the last few years. It refers to an elaborate series of firewalls and defenses we’ve built up to protect the information infrastructure. The thing is, no one is supposed to know about them. These systems are operated exclusively by the NSA. They cover government institutions and important civilian corporations.”

This took Kurt by surprise. “I keep hearing how vulnerable we are,” he said. “Are you saying this isn’t the case?”

“Let’s put it this way,” Hiram said. “We’re not as weak as we pretend to be. But the fact that your friend was talking about breaching the wall and bringing the system down suggests they’re contemplating something much bigger and deeper than your standard everyday hacking.”

“She’s not my friend,” Kurt said testily, “though she did save my life.”

“Odd, that,” Pitt said.

“Trust me, that wasn’t the only odd part,” Kurt said.

Pitt laughed.

“How might Sienna and Phalanx fit into all this?” Kurt asked.

Hiram was blunt. “If Phalanx works, it will replace the existing wall. In effect, it will be the American Wall 2.0.”

“What about these hackers?” Joe asked. “Any idea who they are?”

“We’re working on it,” Hiram said. “Aided and complicated by the fact that hackers have their own naming subculture.”

“The woman called them handles,” Kurt said.

“Exactly,” Hiram replied. “They’re more than just random call signs; they mean something. It’s a way of getting in touch with the right person. For example, even though Xeno9X9 sounds like a random string of letters and numbers, it actually tells us about the hacker’s skills. Xeno meaning ‘foreign,’ 9X9 being similar to the old radio terminology ‘five by five,’ meaning ‘strong signal, clear signal.’ My best guess is that Xeno9X9 is someone who can hack across borders with little problem.”

Pitt chimed in. “Based on prodigious amounts of research, we believe he’s a Ukrainian named Goshun. Interestingly enough, he went missing over a year ago. The prevailing thought was that he’d gone on the lam because his identity had become known. Now we’re wondering if Acosta had something to do with it.”

Kurt made a mental note of that. “What about the others?”

“We think ZSumG is short for ‘zero sum game,’ ” Hiram said, “a term commonly used in economic and market theories. It means one side can profit only if the other side loses an equal amount.”

“One winner, one loser,” Joe said. “No way for a win-win outcome.”

“Exactly,” Hiram said.

“So ZSumG might be a financial hacker?” Kurt asked.

“That’s our thought,” Hiram said. “Based on the evidence, ZSumG is believed to have cracked the security of several major banks in the last five years, stealing millions of credit card numbers, identity profiles, and bank account pins. He then sold them to criminal groups around the world.”

“Sounds like a lovely guy,” Joe said.

“Or gal,” Hiram said. “We’re not sure. Which brings us to the last name: Montresor.”

“Why does that sound familiar?” Joe asked.

Kurt had been thinking the same thing. The answer had come to him this morning. “Not keeping up on your required reading,” he said to his friend.

“I wait till the end of summer break,” Joe replied. “And then I cram it all in at the last minute.”

Kurt laughed lightly and then spoke. “ ‘The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could,’ ” he said. “ ‘But when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.’ ”

“ ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ ” Hiram explained to Joe. “The name comes from the Edgar Allan Poe classic.”

“So it could be a reference to revenge,” Joe suggested.

“Or to hiding things where they can’t be found,” Kurt guessed, “the way Montresor sealed Fortunato in the wall.”

“Or he could be Italian and likes his red wine,” Hiram said.

“Might want to check on Giordino,” Kurt suggested.

“Don’t think we haven’t,” Pitt said. “Turns out, he’s still trying to master Space Invaders on his Commodore 64. So it’s probably not him.”

Kurt smiled, appreciating the moment of levity, but the fog of war had not lifted. “So we have no real answers,” he said, “only more questions.”

“What about the Massif?” Joe asked hopefully.

“We tracked her on satellite,” Pitt said. “She’s put into Bandar Abbas for repairs. Probably in need of a new propeller shaft. But since she’s in Iranian waters, there’s not much we can do to get a look at her.”

“I’d guess all the big shots on board are long gone by now,” Kurt said.

“Which puts us back to square one,” Pitt added, taking center stage again. “We know there’s some kind of hacker dream team for sale or rent out there, and at least two groups fighting over them. But we don’t know why. And we’re pretty certain neither group are the kind of players we’d like to be at the mercy of.”

“Then we have only one choice,” Kurt said. “To short-circuit both threats simultaneously.”

“And how do you propose to do that?” Pitt asked.

“We go to South Korea and get this ‘American woman’ and the other hackers back. As long as they’re in our hands, no one can use them against us.”