Chapter Fourteen
Rex
Four days later... CyberCo Tech Enterprises, The Oliver Tech & Energy Centre, New Orleans...
“Morning, Colonel,” Rex said as he shook the large man’s hand. “Thank you for making the trip out here.”
“You’re not in my regiment, Rex, so drop the colonel. My name’s Camden. It’s a pleasure meeting with you, and besides, I didn’t have to make the trip. I was already here since I didn’t go back home after the opening of your club.”
Rex gestured to the informal seating area in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. “I took the liberty of ordering lunch from my favorite restaurant. It should arrive momentarily.”
“Good, I am feeling rather thin.” He settled on the sofa and stretched out his long legs. “We never had the opportunity to discuss your problem over the weekend. Max is alarmed over your safety, and since I always trust his instincts, I suspect it’s serious, so let’s have it.”
“Before we start...” Rex settled into the chair opposite Camden, his fingers drumming briefly on the armrest. “How much has Max filled you in on?”
“Just that someone’s trying to breach your banking software. And that they know things they shouldn’t.” Camden’s eyes narrowed. “Intimate details about all of you.”
The arrival of lunch interrupted them. The aroma of pan-seared salmon with roasted asparagus and fingerling potatoes filled the room. Along with it was a pitcher of blood orange sangria. As Vee arranged the plates, Camden inhaled appreciatively.
“This looks exceptional.” He sampled the salmon, eyebrows rising. “And tastes even better. Where’s this from?”
“Le Petit Jardin,” Vee replied, pouring them each a glass of sangria.
Rex smiled. “Chef Marcel is my go-to for business lunches. He makes this maple-bourbon glaze that’s impossible to replicate.”
“I’ll need the address before I leave.” Camden took another bite. “This could convince me to extend my future stays in New Orleans.”
Rex nodded. He watched Vee leave. As the door closed behind her, his expression grew serious as they returned to the matter at hand.
“The Consortium. I’m sure you’ve heard of them. They’re a well-known white-collar crime syndicate that’s been making waves for the past decade. They’ve been sending me threats for months now, demanding access into QuantumSecure.”
“Your secure banking encryption program? The algorithm that’s said to be impenetrable?” Camden set down his fork as Rex nodded. His attention was fully engaged. “What measures have you taken so far?”
“I created a neural network that redirects suspicious traffic through military-grade encryption. It makes them believe their attempts failed, while I have the advantage of tracking their digital footprint.” Rex took a sip of sangria and sighed in appreciation of the citrus notes that cleared his palate.
“Max said you were smart.” Camden speared another piece of salmon. “What have you found?”
“They operate from three operational hubs in Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Montreal. But there’s a fourth I can’t pin down.”
“Let me guess... somewhere in the U.S?”
“Yeah. It fucking annoys me that it’s the one I can’t crack.”
“Max mentioned they know things they shouldn’t. Inside information?” Camden paused to savor a perfectly roasted truffle potato.
“They have info about early development vulnerabilities that were fixed right after launch. It’s noteworthy that only one person besides me knows about that update.
None of the team who worked on the program initially was involved in correcting the string.
It was done for security reasons. So, only someone with access to the original coding must’ve shared the intel.
” Rex’s expression darkened as he pushed his asparagus around the plate.
“It has to be an employee, but it could be a current or former one.”
“How many people had that level of access?” Camden reached for his sangria.
“Twelve. I’ve got markers embedded in all communications, trying to identify the leak.”
“I assume that you’re running background checks?”
“Deep ones. I’m checking financial records, communications, travel patterns, absolutely everything. So far, I can’t find anything suspicious.”
“What about recent resignations?” Camden gestured with his fork.
“Three in the past year, but all of them left on good terms. I am still monitoring all of them as well.”
“Hmm.” Camden sat back. “Here’s what I’m thinking. We set up a secure cloud hub. My team can feed in intel from our global networks and cross-reference with your data. It might help identify patterns we’re missing individually.”
Rex swirled the sangria in his glass thoughtfully. “Sounds good, but we would need quantum encryption. The Consortium is sophisticated and has the best hackers on their books. I’ll be damned if they get access to something like that.”
“Agreed. I’ve got an engineer who can work with your team on implementation.” Camden’s eyes gleamed as he reached for the sangria pitcher. “And Rex? Maybe we need to plant some bait. See who bites.”
“What kind of bait?”
“Leaked information about a potential vulnerability with a very selected distribution. That way, we can monitor who accesses it and what happens after. It might lead us to individuals on a high level within the syndicate.”
Rex’s lips curved slightly. “I like how you think, Camden.”
“That’s why Max sent you to me.” Camden finished the last bite of salmon with evident appreciation.
“One more thing... these threats. They’re not just about the software, are they?
The personal information they have about you all, it suggests someone close.
Someone who’s been watching. Maybe even someone who knows you personally. ”
Rex stilled with his fork suspended midway to his mouth. “You think the leak and the threats are connected?”
“The question is, which came first? The leak leading to the threats or someone infiltrating to create the leak?”
The implications hung heavy in the air as both men considered the possibilities over the remains of their meal.
“I’ll set up the hub,” Rex decided as he pushed his plate aside. “And Camden? Keep this between us for now. I don’t want Max or the others worried until we have something concrete.”
“I think it’s already too late for that.
Max is already concerned. But Rex...” Camden’s expression grew serious as he dabbed his mouth with a napkin.
“Watch your back. And maybe consider getting some personal security. These people aren’t just after your software.
They’re after leverage, and leverage often means targeting what matters most to a person. ”
Rex thought of Xia, of the scene he’d witnessed four days ago. His jaw clenched as he realized that anyone could be from The Consortium. He had no way of knowing, which meant more people are in danger than his friends... even perhaps, Xia.
“It sounds like a good idea.” He reached for the sangria pitcher. “One more?”
“Please. And the number for Le Petit Jardin. A meal like this deserves a repeat performance when I’m back in town.”
“I’ll do better than that. I’ll have Vee reserve you a standing table.” Rex poured them both another glass. “Something tells me you’ll be in New Orleans more often than not until we resolve this situation.”
“You can count on it.” Camden raised his glass in a subtle toast. “Now, about that bait plan...”
“Yeah... we need something compelling enough to trigger action, but not anything that could actually compromise the system if it falls into the wrong hands.”
Camden nodded, savoring the sangria. “What about creating a false vulnerability in the authentication protocols?”
“I could fabricate documentation about a theoretical backdoor in the quantum key distribution.” Rex’s eyes took on that focused gleam that appeared when he was deep in problem-solving mode.
“Make it look like there is a potential weakness in the entanglement verification process they could hack in to gain access.”
“Technical enough to seem legitimate to insiders and hackers but actually useless?”
“Exactly. I can code a fake patch that appears to address the issue. Anyone trying to exploit it would just trigger another layer of tracking protocols I’ll embed.”
Camden leaned back, stretching his long legs. “Any thoughts on distribution?”
“That’s trickier.” Rex stood and walked to the window, looking out over New Orleans. “I need to limit access to just the suspect pool while making it appear unintentionally exposed.”
“The problem is... what suspect pool? No one knows who is part of that damn syndicate. It could be high-powered politicians, bankers, billionaires... so far, no one has an inkling what makes up their dynamics.”
“Fuck, you’re right.” Rex ran a hand over his bald head.
“What about your global development server?”
“Could work. I’ll create a restricted access folder, make it appear to have slightly incorrect permission settings.” Rex turned back to Camden. “Then accidentally include a reference to it in the next security update bulletin.”
“Only those with high-level access would be able to find it?”
“And those linked to The Consortium’s hackers. And I’ll handle all the quantum encryption myself.” At Camden’s raised eyebrow, Rex added, “I have trust issues.”
“Understandable. How long will it take to set it up?”
“Give me 72 hours to code the fake vulnerability and tracking protocols and open a fake link to access the global banking network. I’ll need another day to implement the modified server access.”
“Good. Meanwhile, I’ll get my team working on that secure cloud hub and see if we can make some headway on where their U.S.
hub is situated. We’ll need to coordinate our monitoring once the bait is live.
” Camden finished his sangria. “One more thing... have you considered that The Consortium might have more than one inside source?”
Rex’s jaw tightened. “The thought has occurred to me. The level of detail in their threats... it’s like they’re obtaining information from multiple sources.”
“Could be compartmentalized. One source for technical details, another for personal information.”
“Which means we might need multiple types of bait.” Rex returned to his seat, his mind in brainstorming mode. “I could create variations of the vulnerability documentation, seed different versions to different departments.”
“Watermark them?”
“Even better, I’ll encode unique quantum signatures into each version. Completely untraceable unless you know exactly what to look for.”
Camden nodded approvingly. “And I assume you’ll be the only one who knows what to look for?”
“Trust issues, remember?” Rex’s smile held no humor. “I’ll set up secure access for you on the hub, but the encryption protocols stay with me.”
“Fair enough.” Camden glanced at his watch. “Send me the technical specifications for the hub. I’ll have my team ready to integrate as soon as you give the green light.”
“I appreciate this, Camden,” Rex said in a quiet, sincere tone.
“Don’t thank me yet. Something tells me this is just the beginning.” Camden stood, adjusting his jacket. “And Rex? While you’re setting all this up... watch your blind spots. Personal ones, especially.”
Rex thought again of Xia and the explosive scene with Master DD. Anger once again boiled up inside him. It was a feeling he wasn’t accustomed to... it felt too much like jealousy, and for a man who claimed she was nothing more than his wife whisperer...
Fuck! If only he could forget the rosy cheeks, the convulsions of her body, and the raw screams while another man took her to a sensual plateau.
He couldn’t shake the anger, no matter how hard he had tried since that night.
He had summarily banished her to bar duty the rest of the weekend and avoided her like the plague. It felt too much like betrayal.
Bullshit. You’re looking for a wife and scening with potentials. Why the hell can’t she? She owes you jack shit, Oliver.
Fuck off! He’d had this argument with the voice in his head numerous times, and it still didn’t matter. Xia Foster was his wife whisperer. She had no fucking business having such a mind-bending orgasm with another Dom.
“Rex?” Camden’s voice yanked him back to the present.
“Watching my personal blind spots... yeah, noted.”
“Good man. Now, about that standing reservation at Le Petit Jardin...”