Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Sylvie walked into the conference room. Lana was already sitting at the table. “Hey Sylv, how are you?”
“Tired. But I’ve made progress.” She hadn’t slept yet.
Instead, she’d been subsisting on fancy coffees from the machine in the breakroom, plus the leftover fried rice the bodyguards hadn’t annihilated.
Her bed at home was calling her, and as soon as she’d finished here, she planned to sleep for as long as possible.
But she worried she might dream of Dominic. She’d been keeping busy enough to avoid thinking more about him, and she dreaded the places her mind would go once she slowed down.
Max closed the door. “I thought it would make more sense if we go through this once, since you both have things to share?”
Sylvie and Lana nodded.
“Let’s hear an update on our security situation first,” Max said, taking his seat.
Sylvie opened her laptop. “I’ve learned a lot about the attack. They were definitely trying to infiltrate Bennett Security.”
“Were you able to tell where it came from?” Lana asked.
Hackers routed their IP addresses through proxy servers to mask their identity and location. But it hadn’t taken Sylvie’s friends long to zero in on the source of that malicious code.
“The attack came from a group of hackers operating in Russia. They’re guns for hire, and they don’t come cheap. They work with organized crime, warlords in Third World countries. The worst of the worst.”
“Such as the Silverlake Syndicate?” Max had brought his stress ball with him and was crushing it in his fist.
“That’s what it looks like.”
“But that’s a big step up for the Syndicate,” Lana said. “Their previous cybercrimes activity wasn’t this sophisticated.”
Max nodded. “Dominic mentioned his uncle’s taken control. I assume he wasn’t lying about that?”
Lana rested her elbows on the table. “His uncle’s name is Charles Traynor.
I’ve been in communication with the gang division in Los Angeles.
Their informants say he was the head of one of the warring factions, but he’s managed to get most of the splinters to unite behind him.
He’s known for his brutality, and he’s got a lot of money of his own.
That could explain how he’s funding this new group of hackers. ”
“But what about Dominic?” Max leaned back in his chair. “If this guy is his uncle, that has to mean Crane is working with him, right?”
“That’s where it gets interesting. Stephen Abrams and I went to Crane’s house this morning, along with Crane’s lawyer, Aaron Sandford.
And I got the distinct impression that Sandford was putting words in his mouth, forcing him to refuse the offer of a safe house.
I think his uncle is afraid Crane will flip on the Syndicate.
Which would explain why they shot up his house. ”
Sylvie took a deep breath. She felt weak with relief at hearing this small amount of proof that Dominic hadn’t set her up. But her relief didn’t last long.
If his uncle was trying to silence him, that meant Dominic was in terrible danger. So was Maureen.
“Unless Dominic refused the safe house because he simply doesn’t need one,” Max pointed out. “If there’s no real threat at all.”
Lana inclined her head. “True.”
Which Sylvie didn’t like to hear. Her stomach had twisted up yet again.
Max crossed his arms. “Here’s something that doesn’t fit. Crane mentioned wanting a bodyguard for his younger brother, Raymond, a college student in L.A. Maybe he’s truly worried, and Charles Traynor is the reason.”
Raymond? Sylvie thought. Dominic hadn’t mentioned a younger sibling.
“But on the other hand, if this uncle is so much more ruthless and better funded, wouldn’t he have succeeded if he wanted Dominic dead?” Max rubbed his chin. “If Dominic’s not working with them, if he really could flip, there must be some reason his uncle still wants to keep him alive.”
“It’s possible his uncle needs Crane to accept him as the new leader,” Lana said. “The Crane family has been in charge of the Syndicate for decades. Dominic could have sufficient remaining allies to make him dangerous.”
Max was nodding along. “Which means that Dominic might still try to reclaim his position as head of the Syndicate. Maybe this cyberattack on Bennett Security was part of his plan. He wanted to prove he’s more resourceful than his uncle.”
And once again, they didn’t know if they could trust him. They didn’t know which side Dominic was on. Sylvie’s nerves were getting whiplash from this conversation.
“I passed Crane a note offering to speak to him without Sandford,” Lana said. “Technically, I’m not supposed to do that, but if he’s under duress, it’s an extenuating circumstance. He hasn’t tried to contact me yet.”
Sylvie tapped a few keys on her laptop, cycling through windows to check for updates from her hactivist friends. “We don’t know if Dominic is working with his uncle or against him. But the Russian hackers—whoever’s really in control of them—still have that back door into Dominic’s network.”
Which could give Bennett Security a potential way in.
“Do you think our other clients are vulnerable, too?” Max asked. “If these Syndicate hackers have broken into Crane’s system?”
“It doesn’t work like that. They may be able to control the security system at Crane’s house to some extent, but they can’t access my encrypted code and use it against our other clients.
But if they truly want to come after us, they’re not going to stop.
There will be more attempts. Ones I might not see coming. ”
No matter what was happening with Dominic and his uncle, Bennett Security could still be at risk.
“Then what do we do?”
“I’m trying to get to that, boss.” Her tone was heavy on the sarcasm. “If you’ll let me?”
Max held up his hands. Lana smirked.
“Here’s my point. Their back door into Crane’s network could also give me a way to get to them.
A door swings both ways if you can forgive the clunky metaphor.
I could send my own malware to them. A rootkit will get me access to their system, which I’ll bundle with a payload to get whatever we want.
Their keystrokes, screenshots, their communications with the Syndicate. The list is pretty endless.”
Max stood up, stress ball still creaking in his grip. “You’re saying you could go on the offensive. I like it.”
Lana was grimacing. “Here’s where I should probably tell you to contact the federal government. They’ll want to be involved. The DA will also want to know why he wasn’t informed.”
Sylvie understood exactly what Lana wasn’t saying. “So, we might want to stop discussing this in front of you?”
Because there was no way she’d invite the Feds to their party. They wouldn’t give a shit about Bennett Security’s interests. Sylvie wanted to protect her employer on her terms, using all the tools at her disposal. Legal and not so legal.
Lana got up. “I have another appointment anyway.” She kissed Max on the cheek. “See you at home?”
Max waited until his girlfriend was gone. Then he leaned his hands against the table, a calculating expression on his face.
“How do we get this malware of yours to the Syndicate’s hackers?”
“I have to write it first.” But that would be the easy part. “Then I’ll have to upload it onto Dominic Crane’s computer.”
“Can you do that remotely?”
“Maybe, but I’ll have way more options if I do it in person.”
Max sighed, closing his eyes. “I knew this plan sounded a little too easy.”
“Don’t pull the ‘overprotective Max Bennett’ routine on me. It’s so tired.”
“But the last time you went to Crane’s house, gunmen showed up and the SWAT team got called in. You could’ve been hurt or killed. What about one of our bodyguards? If all they have to do is plug something into a computer, even a knucklehead like Tanner could handle it. Right?”
“It’s nowhere near that simple. And Crane… It won’t seem that strange to him if I go back there.”
Max fixed her with a scrutinizing glare. “Why is that?”
“He thought he could manipulate me. I can manipulate him right back.” She wasn’t going to confess any more than that.
“All right. If you truly want to do this and there’s no other way, then we’ll use your plan. But I’m going to send a bodyguard with you. That is nonnegotiable.”
“I agree. That’s a good idea.” She’d bring Tanner with her. After what happened during her last visit, Crane wouldn’t think too much of it. And she knew Tanner would agree to keep a respectful distance and not get too nosy.
“And I’m going to assign a detail to keep Crane’s residence under surveillance. If anybody starts rolling on that house while you’re anywhere near, I want our people there protecting you. But I’ll tell them to keep a wide perimeter, so they don’t trip any alarms—either with Crane or the Syndicate.”
“No arguments here. I can’t let Crane suspect what I’m really doing.”
“Then what are you going to tell him? Checking up on his security system isn’t going to get you very far. Don’t you think?”
“Just leave it to me. I’ll get close to him and get this taken care of.”
When she got back to her desk, she stared at her computer screens, guilt already burning in her stomach. Even though she knew Crane had most likely deceived her.
She’d told him they couldn’t see one another. Now, she had to act like she’d changed her mind…which wasn’t all that far from reality.
She did want to talk to him. She wanted to talk to the Dominic she’d spent time with, who’d kissed her so fiercely and made her feel beautiful. She’d been surprised to find him more sincere than she’d expected. If that had been an act, he was good.
But who was the real Dominic Crane?
Was he the arrogant womanizer she’d met the day of the install? Was he a ruthless mobster intent on reclaiming his throne? A follower, doing as his uncle instructed?
Or a sweet, sexy guy who’d been trapped in a life he didn’t want? Who’d been misunderstood?
Ugh. This sucked.
But this was her job. She was protecting Bennett Security from a serious threat. She’d just have to break this project down into steps, like any other, keeping the end goal in mind.
Sylvie took out her phone and pulled up her texts. She had Dominic’s number from when he’d written last night.
Sylvie: I know I said before we shouldn’t see each other…
Now what? How was she supposed to handle this?
Sylvie: I’ve been thinking of you. Wanted to say hi, see how you’re doing.
Which was so true it made her chest ache.
Now, she’d just have to wait and see how he responded.