Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
NEW YORK CITY
“This fool was planning on doing some Kung-Fu moves on a nine-foot polar bear, all because he didn’t want to kill the thing.” A.J. cracked up laughing, clutching his stomach after he’d retold the story of what happened in Pyramiden back at the office.
Chris snatched an apple out of the bowl on the table in their kitchen and threw it at A.J.
“You’re lucky the Russians never caught up with us,” Wyatt added, “that’s all I’m saying, or we might’ve all been served up as bear food for being there.” He adjusted the brim of his plain black ball cap, doing his best not to smile.
It’d been a close call for all of them, and it could’ve easily gone the wrong way, so he shouldn’t smile, but A.J.’s reenactment for Asher of Chris versus the polar bear had been too comical to maintain a straight face.
“I’m just glad you’re all okay, and we didn’t start a damn war with Russia,” Asher said before Harper peeked her head into the room.
“Hey, I think we’ve got something.” She flicked her wrist in a come-hither motion. “Head to Jessica’s office.”
Chris saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”
The guys filtered out of the kitchen and to Jessica’s room three doors down. She was at her desk with her black frames on, and Harper stood off to her right. “We’ve got news,” Jessica said once Echo Team had settled at the circular table in front of her desk.
Asher strode behind her chair and nuzzled his nose by her cheek. “Took you long enough,” he joked.
“Real funny, my love.”
Asher gave her a quick kiss, then joined the guys at the table.
Wyatt brought his focus back to the two genius women in the room, waiting for more information.
“We got a hit on one of the men from that chopper, and he matched the profile shot we pulled from our vic’s hotel—a highly trained mercenary.
He was hired on the Dark Net, and he assembled a team to carry out the job.
” Jessica removed her glasses and straightened in her chair.
Her eyes traveled around the conference table before falling upon Wyatt last. “According to the Norwegians, the Russians claim when they arrived in Pyramiden, surveillance footage showed the American being tortured to death.”
“They had cameras inside?” Finn scoffed. “Or are they covering their asses for shooting down the bird without knowing if he was already dead?”
“They won’t share the footage, so I guess we’ll never know,” Jessica responded.
“Why bring the body with them on the bird if the abductors were trying to make a quick exit?” Wyatt gripped the chair arms, trying to prepare himself for whatever news Jessica was about to drop on them.
“Insurance, maybe? They assumed they wouldn’t get shot down with the American on board, and they didn’t anticipate the cameras inside Pyramiden proving Nilsson was already dead,” Harper answered.
“Still doubting the camera theory, but why do you two ladies look like you’ve seen a ghost?” A.J. asked. “We’re the ones who nearly got our asses smoked by the Russians in a ghost town.”
“Because the abduction had nothing to do with the seed vault. It was a case of misdirection. Using Pyramiden as a location benefited them in two ways—it tricked the Norwegians into assuming the kidnapping was about breaking into the seed vault, and it provided a safe haven to torture the contractor for information.”
“If the kidnapping wasn’t related to the seed vault, what kind of information were they hoping to get from Nilsson?
” A bad feeling began to worm its way into Wyatt’s gut.
A.J. had nailed it when he said the women looked like they’d seen a ghost. Given that Jessica and Harper were badasses in their own right, it took a lot to shake them.
“While that helo went down in Pyramiden, the Pionen Data Center in Sweden, one of the world’s most secure and supposedly unhackable facilities in the world, was simultaneously hacked,” Jessica said.
“And let me guess, our American contractor with Cyber X was also instrumental in setting up their security system?” Wyatt asked.
“Close. Some of the top companies around the world, including the Pentagon, hire Cyber X to hack into their systems,” Harper answered. “If Cyber X can’t get in, virtually no one else can. But if they’re successful . . . time for a security upgrade.”
“And I’m guessing Cyber X makes bank providing those upgrades,” Finn commented. “So, Nilsson was the Cyber X guy sent to try and hack the data center?”
“Last year,” Jessica replied. “We’re thinking because of his insider knowledge of the site, he was needed to help breach the facility.”
“So, while everyone was worried about the seed vault, our bad guys were really targeting the data center.” Wyatt released his grip on the chair arms. “Do we know what data was stolen?”
“The Swedes won’t tell us, saying the matter is a private issue.
They won’t be making the hack public knowledge.
Even the Norwegians are running with the story that Nilsson was killed in an accidental crash,” Jessica explained.
“These kinds of situations tend to cause more panic and damage if the truth gets out about what really happened.”
“I’d still like to know what the hacker was after in Sweden. All that setup had to be for something big.”
Jessica grabbed her pen and jotted down a note. “I’ll see if there is any chatter.”
“We need to find out who the hell hired these men. The hack of the data center clearly wasn’t done in Pyramiden,” Asher said, his voice low and grumbly.
“We know who hired them.” Jessica pushed back from the desk and brought a hand beneath her stomach.
“Saving the best news for last,” Wyatt said, forcing a smile because it still wasn’t clear why she was so spooked. And when Jessica’s gaze cast down to the floor, his stomach dropped.
“We think it was the hacker you supposedly took down in Romania back in twenty-nineteen, known as The Knight. Well, he left his electronic calling card behind, at least,” Jessica said when looking up.
“Or we’re dealing with a copycat,” Harper added.
The blood rushed from Wyatt’s face, and he closed his eyes at the news.
Now he knew why Jessica had been avoiding looking at him.
She was well aware Natasha had sought him out in Colorado for answers about the operation in Romania, an op that had gone the wrong fucking way.
Natasha had told Wyatt the hacker’s online moniker when she visited, but this was probably the rest of the team’s first time hearing it.
“Where are we at on tracing the location of the hacker?” Wyatt’s eyes flashed open, and he pushed away from the table.
He wanted to phone Natasha, to find out if she knew The Knight was back again, or at least, someone making it look like he was.
“That’s the thing,” Jessica began, “he made it way too damn easy for us. We traced him to what appears to be an abandoned mill in Montreal.”
“So we go to Montreal,” Chris said while standing, no hesitation whatsoever. “I don’t like leaving a job unfinished.”
“Easy there, Captain America,” A.J. drawled. “It’s clearly a setup, or a loser copycat.”
“No shit, but did you see a corpse in Romania?” Chris asked A.J. “Because I didn’t, and I never felt good about hauling ass so quickly out of there without confirming Mr. Crispy died with our own eyes.”
Wyatt agreed, but orders were orders. His people had to immediately evac or risk exposure.
“There’s more,” Jessica said before Chris or A.J. could continue any type of back-and-forth. “Right now, about every hacker worth his or her weight in the hacker world is currently convened in Montreal.”
“What?” Wyatt’s eyes traveled straight to Jessica.
“The Bug Bounty Competition,” Roman murmured, drawing Wyatt’s attention his way for more information. “And I saw in the news that Cyber X Security is the main sponsor for the event this year.”
“Right,” Harper replied. “I’m surprised the owner, Felix Ward, is still showing up given what happened to Nilsson, but then again, Felix has never missed an event, not with the world’s best hackers gathered there.”
“The winner gets bragging rights and a huge financial payout,” Jessica noted. “It’s also considered a safe-from-arrest zone because in exchange for providing agencies, such as the FBI, with their knowledge and skills, the hackers don’t get cuffed.”
“And many hackers are recruited to work for the sponsors, too. If they’re gonna hack, the Feds would rather them do it on the side of good,” Harper said. “These events are where Cyber X gets most of their top-notch hires, and Felix Ward likes to handpick the cream of the crop.”
“And our hacker could use this event to hide in plain sight.” Wyatt dragged his palm down his face and gathered in a deep breath before letting it go.
“This asshole wants to let everyone know he’s still around and back in business.
” Based on Jessica’s comments, it was clear she didn’t believe this was a copycat situation like Harper had hinted at.
“There was also a recent systems security breach into a weapons facility, which enabled a Russian criminal to steal weapons. The arms were slated to go to terrorists, but the CIA stopped it.”
“And that hack was traced to The Knight?” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah, and to Montreal,” Jessica confirmed. Thankfully, she still had plenty of contacts at the Agency. Plus, it didn’t hurt that the CIA director was on their team as well. “The officer who tracked the lead didn’t follow protocol, and she got kicked back to HQ because of it.”
Bloody hell. “Natasha Chandler.” So, Natasha already knew. And if she thought for a minute The Knight was alive, she’d knowingly take the bait at the shot of finding him.
Wyatt could feel A.J.’s eyes on him at the mention of Natasha’s name, but he kept his focus on Jessica.
“Where is she now?” Wyatt asked Jessica.
“Natasha took a two-week vacation.” Jessica’s brows shot up. “So, where do you think she is?”