The Ghost Ships of Arizona

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Hayden snatched a moment with Mano, taking him out onto the balcony as Dahl spoke to his wife inside their suite. Her purpose was manifold, but first she wanted to reassure him.

“We’ll get past all this,” she said. “The Pythians. Webb. The stalkings. Even Kono, I hope. We’re strong, Mano. Stronger even than that new body armor we’re trialing.”

“Speaking of trialing — how did you find the new Sig?”

Hayden made a happy face. “Kick ass.”

“Sure. Me too. And we’ve sure had our canoes sunk more times than I can count lately,” Kinimaka said figuratively and looked down at her. “Do you think the Pythians have much more in the tank?”

“Not if we cane their asses this time,” Hayden said. “They can recruit more leaders by the dozen, by the hundred, it doesn’t matter. Webb is gonna explode big time.”

“Which I for one want to see.”

“We will.”

“Together.”

“Together.”

Hayden held the big Hawaiian tight, pressing herself into his body. In an odd way, standing as they were exposed on the balcony, she felt less scrutinized than in her own street and home. And safer than in her own state and government buildings.

Webb’s puppet string ran twisted and extensively.

Kinimaka winked more than a little suggestively, his hand hovering lower than was appropriate at that moment. “Maybe we could…”

Hayden wriggled a little. “Ooh, Mano.”

“Not being under surveillance and all that maybe we could be a bit more… experimental?”

Hayden closed her eyes in anticipation. “Mano!”

Dahl, standing right beside them, then spoke up. “I’d save your energy, pal. I’m sure you’ll need it soon. What have you learned of the Z-boxes, Hayden?”

She had spent the last few hours liaising with their team back in DC who were carefully decoding their only device. Of course, it was a clever piece of Chinese engineering and nobody wanted to be responsible for breaking it.

“It’s at least as bad as we feared. They are intricate code-cracking machines, able to extrapolate complex cipher strings and encryptions in minutes, but even they have their limitations, we think. Much of the time — unless they’re decoding basic stuff like public passwords, email accounts or hacking computers — they’ll need a base hardwire from which to hook in.”

“Do we think that’s why they hit San Jose?”

“Probably.” Hayden shrugged. “It’s the best guess so far.”

“But what could they possibly have stolen to help with that?” Kinimaka said.

“Maybe nothing,” Hayden said. “Maybe they left something behind. On a server. We have a team inbound.”

“And Beau told us three substations would be attacked. So maybe they need more data first, or whatever.”

“Beau also told us the wrong friggin’ substation,” Hayden said irritably. “But I do agree. We’re putting together a list of places they’re most likely to hit next.”

“And by next…” Dahl’s big hands clenched with a sense of impotence.

“Yeah, I mean now. Today. Tomorrow.”

“The geeks in DC,” Hayden said quietly. “They’re worried this is an Aurora Vulnerability situation.”

“Sounds bad.”

“Worse than bad. Back in ’07 Idaho University discovered that within the United States’ electrical grid system there exists a vulnerability to cyber-attack, a vulnerability that could result in the destruction of essential components. It found that any attacker who can gain access — the hardest part — could communicate with the device, control it, or use the Aurora Vulnerability to damage or destroy it. Now, the electrical people say a failure of just one single generator could result in extensive outages and a possible cascading failure of the entire electrical grid. Just like the northeast blackout of ’03.”

Dahl visibly held in a curse. “Do these people never learn?”

“Oh, they learn well enough,” Hayden said. “They know. And then they claim their dividends and bonuses and go buy a personal jet.”

“So it’s a very real situation?”

Hayden nodded. “Add to that the second vulnerability — it could take a year to fix.”

“How does it work? This Aurora attack?”

“I was told it’s an out-of-sync opportunity. Imagine you rev a car’s engine in neutral and then, as it reaches maximum, you shift into drive. That one moment when the engine goes out of sync — going from neutral to incredible power — is when it’s most vulnerable. That’s when the attack is initiated.”

They turned and walked inside, Hayden giving Kinimaka a “down boy” look. She stopped after a minute to stare around the hundredth, or possibly thousandth, hotel room she’d stayed in during the last few years. Eventually, they all looked the same.

She waved toward Dahl. “Johanna okay?”

He nodded, knowing instantly what she meant. “No strange happenings at the Dahl household. I think we stalker-proofed it just in time.”

Kinimaka headed for the kitchen counter and his own phone. “I’ll try Kono.”

Hayden flung herself headlong on the room’s only sofa. “What we have managed to determine is that the substations have to be relatively close together to communicate properly on the same system.”

“Relatively? That means…”

“California.”

“Ah, is that all?”

“It’s been narrowed down to substations in Silicon Valley, Sierra Nevada, Santa Clara and Palo Alto. Something to do with them being on the same data streams and hard lines.”

“Bloody hell.” Dahl began to blink rapidly. “So what are we waiting for? They could be in danger even now.”

“Webb lost a lot of men in that last assault.”

“Yes, and he flooded his ranks, remember? A pleasingly pliable army.”

Hayden had opened her mouth to speak when Kinimaka came rushing across, his free hand waving for attention. He pointed dramatically at his cellphone.

“Are you okay? What the hell happened?”

Kono’s wavering Hawaiian tones filtered through the speakerphone. “First, I heard noises in the house. Creaks. Little knocks, you know. Like timbers settling. It’s common in wood-frame houses in Hawaii and didn’t bother me. Then I realized I wasn’t renting the wood-framed house that I’m used to. It’s a brand new brick, mortar and concrete build.”

“Could still be rafters.” Kinimaka couldn’t help but correct his sister.

“I realized then that the little knocks and settlings sounded more like stealthy footsteps. I listened. I lay in the dark with my eyes wide open and listened like… never before, just staring up at my ceiling with the tiny lamp switched on. Have you ever tried that? Both ears straining so hard you could hear the sound of a feather floating through the air? Time passed. The sounds stopped. I realized I was lying on top of the sheets in just my underwear, cold, tears in my eyes, and that’s when I saw it.”

Kinimaka stared Dahl straight in the eyes. “Saw what?”

“On the ceiling where the main light fitting hangs, holes had been drilled to secure a previous fitting, I think, and one of them blinked.”

“What?”

“Somebody was up in my loft, Mano, watching me through the ceiling and they had been there for a long time. Nobody gained access to the house in the last week, at least since you increased the security detail.”

Kinimaka swallowed. “What happened?”

“The owner of the eye knew I’d seen him. Suddenly, the noises were loud, the sound of somebody standing and moving and then part of the ceiling came down where he miss-stepped. His foot came through. I was screaming, running for the door. The foot was above my head and then I realized he was stamping down, trying to knock me out. The heel of his boot slammed my head, unbalancing me and I ran right into the door frame, falling to my knees. At that point the boot drew away and I just knew he was headed for the hatch. But my head was woozy, my vision blurred. I climbed to my feet, screaming now, hearing the door rattle as the detail entered. But the man was already before me, leaning over, breathing heavily. He was huge and bare chested, sweating and dirty. A monster.” Kono paused, her own breath coming in sharp gasps.

“That’s enough,” Kinimaka said. “It’s enough that you’re—”

“No. I have to get this out. The detail reached him first but he batted them aside. Then he walked towards me, feet stomping so loud my already pounding head almost burst. I slithered down the door frame, not only woozy but scared to death. I’m not strong, Mano, not like you or the women you work with.”

You used to be, Hayden saw the words forming on Kinimaka’s lips and vehemently shook her head.

Not now. Save the interrogation for later.

“The brute grabbed my hair and threw me to the floor, then knelt at my side. His lips were dry and they brushed my ear. He said, ‘We’ll always be watching you.’ Not I. We! Then he grabbed my neck and the detail shot him.”

Hayden blinked. Kinimaka sighed in relief. “So you’re okay?”

“For now.” Kono sounded like she had finally run out of steam. “Where are you? Have you guys found the asshole who’s doing all this yet?”

Kinimaka grunted. “We’re on it.”

Hayden nodded, speaking up. “We have a lead, Kono, and we’re headed out right now.”

Kinimaka mouthed, “We do?”

Hayden held up her phone to show the incoming text:

Mercs seen massing near Silicon Valley. Too many to count. They came in convoys. We need help!

Hayden blanched as she digested the message. They came in convoys? What kind of fucked up assault were they mounting now?