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“Quite a coup for you to expand Kingsley Tech’s realm from finance to include healthcare,” Riku responded with a wink. “Bouchard’s got more money than you think, but you’d better expect a serious grilling in tomorrow’s exec review. If you nail it, you’ll get his blessing and his funding.”
Shit. Her attention sparked at his secret intel. A muscle in her cheek twitched, and she curled her fingernail tips into her palm to focus. Rather than spending her outbound flight working like usual, she had downed a hefty dose of sleeping pills to doze away the vodka at Torque. “I’m ready. Timberline will be our priority, and Bouchard’s deal can proceed without delay. Kavita’s engineering team streamlined the deployment process for our encryption tools, so we can move fast.”
A flash of solemnity crossed Riku’s face as he sipped whiskey from a crystal glass. “Kyle’s encryption genius catapulted Kingsley Tech to lead the industry. His death was such a terrible loss.”
“One year ago, today.” Her mind fell blank, like a television flicking off, and she raised a hand to her neck to touch the gold Celtic amulet she never removed. Tension gripped her shoulders, and she took an ample sip of chardonnay. Icy water, then nothing.
Riku’s smile faded, and with a deep sigh, he stepped closer and touched her shoulder. “I share your sorrow, but we must tackle urgent challenges. New terrorist groups are springing up all the time, and now we’ve got urgent threats in the financial sector.”
The kind words about Kyle soothed her, and the fact Riku didn’t dwell on it prevented her from plunging into a well of grief. Back on task, she cleared her throat and focused on work. “The cyber war never ends. Are you referring to the heightened activity in Eastern Europe?”
Riku folded his arms over his chest, and not a single wrinkle marred his crisp, white business shirt. “Indeed, but long-term, the actual threat is worse and far-reaching. Kingsley Tech possesses keys not to one castle, but many. Soon, the hacker world will discover its power and seek to conquer it. The more successful you become, the more your vulnerabilities increase.”
Given Riku navigated by logic and not paranoia, she felt her uneasiness climbing several notches. Something malevolent brewed under the surface of this discussion. “What are you getting at?”
“Should one hacker obtain Kyle’s original code and reverse engineer it, they could breach multiple banks, not just one. It wouldn’t be one bank which falls. Entire financial systems could collapse in a moment, taking governments down with them.” Riku regarded her over his wire-rimmed glasses.
The high stakes didn’t scare her, and she remained resolute. “Remember, we’ve built ironclad contingency plans against hackers. Declan O’Leary obsesses over protecting our network perimeter. Kyle’s technology would never fall into the wrong hands.”
Riku tilted his head and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Well, Declan’s a brilliant engineer, but not every attack can be fought with software code. Politics and allegiances matter more now, and breaches are growing harder to detect before extensive damage is done.”
The party music grew decibels louder. Boisterous conversations and pockets of laughter reverberated through the room, but she ignored them. Various worst-case scenarios cycled through her mind, and she steered Riku away from the blasting speakers. “Be straight with me, Riku-san. Are we facing a specific, credible threat?”
Riku gave a tight-lipped nod and leaned his back against the nearby wall. He glanced both ways before speaking. “Dark web chatter escalated overnight. You, David, and I must meet somewhere secure Sunday. We can’t discuss it here.”
All the lights went out, and the music stopped. Multiple guests called out for someone to turn on the lights.
Audio and lighting mishaps weren’t unusual at event venues. Given the high elevation and rugged mountains, she wondered if the wind had kicked up and knocked out a generator. Pursing her lips, she exhaled her aggravation. If the power outage proved to be a ridiculous leadership exercise, one which threw execs into a crisis, then used external consultants to evaluate their ability to resolve it, she’d be furious.
People began moving toward the lighted foyer and stumbled into each other along the way. Mumbles of confusion grew louder. The doors to the service kitchen clacked open, and a mass of silhouettes charged into the event space.
Gunshots blasted across the room. Tess’s body startled, then clenched at the unmistakable popping sound. No, no, no, not this. As shrieks erupted and panic spread across the room, she spun to search for the gunfire’s source. Chunks of the ceiling fell where the torrent of bullets hit, covering the guests in ghostly white rubble. Silver platters of savory mini-quiches and baked brie clattered to the marble floor in a quick series of crashes.
Her heart raced, and she grabbed Riku’s arm and propelled him toward the green exit sign above the nearest door.
“Quiet! Hands up, no moving,” one of the shadows shouted in a heavy accent.
The guttural voice sounded Slavic, perhaps Russian. Tess stopped abruptly, but her face tingled like she was falling from an airplane with wind whipping against her skin.
Several flashlights switched on in rapid succession and blinded sections of the room. The light above the bar reappeared, revealing a cluster of men wearing black military uniforms and toting large rifles.
As the Cedarcliff guests reeled from the shots, the apparent leader of the gunmen stepped forward, a clean-shaven, compact man with a hint of a port-wine stain peeking above his collar. He pointed a loaded assault rifle at individual guests in the room while he spoke. “Now, listen. We shoot anyone who moves. No phones. We’ve blocked all cellular signals. No help is coming.”
Three words echoed through her brain: run, hide, fight. She scanned the room’s exits for escape routes but found none. Nowhere to take cover, either. She had no move, not yet.
“No moving, everybody understand?” The leader surveyed the crowd, who held their hands up. He swung his rifle in a smooth, practiced arc, including all the guests in his target range. After several seconds, he lowered the rifle.
The remaining gunmen fanned out and encircled the group. They stood with their guns raised, ready to fire should anyone be foolish enough to disobey.
“I want David Kingsley. Now,” the leader demanded.
The guests froze, not responding.
David. An electric shock jolted through her body, and her lungs mashed tight against her ribs. What did they think her CEO could give them?
The party guests regarded each other, frowning. “He’s not here,” an American man said.
“We haven’t seen David,” a Canadian man added.
