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“Might explain it, but there’d be a download history. My team triple-checked our server records and found no such evidence.” Kavita propped her elbows on the table.
“No developer of mine would dare leak code and risk losing their security clearance. Full stop.” Declan bit at a fingernail, then rubbed the back of his neck.
David stopped pacing, and his expression softened into a faint smile. “With Kyle’s gifts, I’d like to think he structured his encryption algorithms to be unhackable.”
Declan rotated in his chair. “Come on, nothing’s unhackable. People swore the Titanic was unsinkable and look how that turned out. We all know Kyle was a genius, but he was also human, so his code must have vulnerabilities somewhere.”
“Sure, but even if they got his code, breaking those algorithms would take ages. Without inside help, it would be impossible.” David flicked a scone crumb off the table.
“If someone was cracking smart enough to hack Kyle’s code, our enemy must have super badass hackers on their payroll. God knows if I could summon Kyle from the dead, I sure as hell would.” Declan pressed his palms together and glanced up.
Tess tightened her jaw, and her vision tunneled as a flash of Kyle’s black sedan tumbling over a cliff appeared in her head. Icy water, then nothing. Usually, the image struck her with raw grief, but today, her temper spiked from a low-grade simmer to a boil. Unable to endure the team’s bickering any longer, she grabbed a small vase from the table and hurled it against the wall, shattering it.
David turned toward her, and his frown spread into a tight, grim line.
“Stop it. All of you. No one wants Kyle back more than me, but he’s gone, and you’re missing the point.” Impatient with her colleagues, she spoke without restraint.
“And the point is what?” Declan was on his feet again.
“Getting our source code alone won’t help the terrorists hack banks. Without the individual encryption key to a specific financial institution, they can’t breach a paper bag.” Her words spilled out in a rush.
Kavita closed her laptop. “But, if you mastered our encryption algorithm, you could generate the actual root key for a client, start a zero-day event, and drain millions of bank accounts in minutes without a trace.”
For a brief, strange moment, Tess wanted to hug Kavita. “Exactly.What if they used Firefly to replace existing encryption root keys and create new ones for the banks they wanted to hack? Sure, that’d be easier than stealing the existing root key, but they’d need to plant adversarial actors inside the banks and grant them administrative permissions.”
Declan scoffed and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Not bloody possible, and besides, an inside scheme would require a huge conspiracy with immense resources and multiple actors.”
Across the room, David started pacing again.
Tess judged the wrinkles at his temples had deepened several degrees since last week. His throat reddened, a telltale sign his pesky blood pressure was rising, and he wore a tight grimace.
“The police said these Russian and Belarusian crime syndicates are sophisticated. Many possess the financial backing to execute complex heists, but I doubt our own customers would be at risk.” David leaned against the wall and rubbed his temple.
“Riku mentioned something odd to me.” At the mention of Riku’s name, the group fell silent. The comment about crime syndicates jogged her memory, and she strained to recall Riku’s words before the lights were cut. “He said the threat was worse than the heightened threat level in Eastern Europe, and we hold the keys to not just one castle but hundreds. David, he wanted the three of us to meet somewhere secure this week.” The ache in her leg became more persistent, and sourness turned her stomach. Her boss studied her intently from his perch near the fireplace.
“What else did Riku say?” he asked in a low voice.
“The shooting started then.” She willed herself not to visualize Cedarcliff as her queasiness grew unpleasant. The conference room froze, as if all the oxygen had disappeared, and the executives remained motionless like wax figures.
“Isn’t the credible threat bloody obvious? It’s the bad guys who shot up the blasted party.” Declan slammed a hand on the table, knocking over a half-filled cup of coffee.
Offended but not surprised by Declan’s aggravating quip, Tess stopped herself from picking a fight. Human Resources gave up attempting to modulate Declan’s profanity long ago. While renowned in the industry, Declan’s technical expertise far outshone his professional decorum. Squirming in her blazer, she wished the room were cooler. Mouth dry as sawdust, she thirsted for water.
“Seriously, Declan.” Kavita shot him a glare.
“Christ, O’Leary. Have some respect. We’re talking about Riku.” David stood frowning, hands on his hips.
“Riku was killed in front of me before he answered my question. Either our attackers are the same group he suspected, or we’re facing multiple, even potentially unrelated threats.”Tess clipped her words and folded her hands on the table.
“We’re all upset, and Tess, I can’t imagine what you’ve suffered.” With one hand stuck at his temple, David stood behind a dining chair, and red splotches crept up his neck above his shirt collar.
Something about his discomfort suggested guilt, but she shrugged it off and wiped beads of sweat from her forehead. “The reality is our company could implode overnight if Firefly is in enemy hands. Any European bank using our software could have a huge, gaping hole in their networks and be draining money in systematic micro-withdrawals every second.”
“Don’t forget we’re all in danger.” Kavita shifted her arms.
The white bandages on Kavita’s arms, souvenirs of Cedarcliff’s attack, reminded Tess she wasn’t the only one who had suffered at the hands of Yuri and his gunmen. Another piece of the puzzle clicked in her mind. “I get it now…Riku meant we’re the key maker and the locksmith. The terrorists want our code because they know we can unlock all the banks.”
“We hold many individual encryption keys, the easiest access point, and the source code, which they could reverse engineer to replace the existing keys and recreate new ones. Either way, they use us to siphon the money away.” David wrote several notes in his notebook.
