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Standing by the stone hearth, she rubbed her hands over the crackling fire, relishing the cottage’s warm air. Kindling branches broke with satisfying snaps, and wood smoke permeated the air.
“You two all right? I’ve got some dinner.” The Raven pointed to the coffee table, set with three dinner plates and glasses.
“I needed a break.” Welcome warmth from the fire restored blood flow to Tess’s tingling, chilled feet, but she craved more heat. “Raven, do you have any whiskey? I could use a not-so-wee dram.”
A broad smile spread across the Raven’s face. “Lass, I’m a Highlander. Ye might as well ask the sky if it has air. Back in a flash.” A few seconds later, he emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray of steaming cheese pizza in one hand and a giant bottle of scotch whiskey in the other and set them on the coffee table. “Help yourself. Best not to be hungry while tackling epic challenges. We’ll plan how you two can escape this.”
“Thank you.” Grateful for the hot pizza, she smiled at his hospitality. The man who seemed so strange and imposing a couple hours ago was proving a helpful ally. “I’m curious how you met Kyle.”
The Raven poured himself a whiskey before settling in his leather chair. “Imperial College, London, though I graduated a couple of years ahead. Kyle’s talents were formidable from day one, though he preferred ethical hacking over anything even hinting at impropriety. Years later, he led an encryption chat room on the dark web. After I cracked his code-breaking challenge in the chat, he befriended me. In time, I deciphered the identity of the mysterious Druid: Kyle from Imperial.”
“Did he contact you a year ago, before he died?”
“No, but dark web chatter suggested he stumbled into something nefarious. When he disappeared online, I suspected the worst.”
With the help of twelve-year-old scotch whiskey, she recognized the fleeting nature of these hours. Tonight might be her only chance to learn about Kyle’s last days. “You risked a lot to help us, especially given the deadly enemies we’re fighting. Why?”
The Raven topped off his whiskey before answering. “Two reasons. I owed Kyle a debt of honor. Years ago, when I was young and reckless, I promised something I couldn’t deliver. An informant in Afghanistan ratted me out, and I faced a slow, brutal death if caught. I got desperate. Kyle helped me crack a security code which saved fifteen US service members from an ambush in Kabul.”
Mark whistled. “So, Kyle saved your life and fifteen others? That’s amazing.”
“Saving those soldiers was great, but I was sentenced to three years in prison for computer crime because I refused to reveal my colleagues’ identities, including Kyle’s. Prison’s wretched, but it’s worse than hell for gay men like me. After I served my time, I disappeared and went dark.”
Reeling, Tess swore her heart skipped several beats as she unpacked the implications of the Raven’s tale. During all those years with Kyle, she never suspected the risks he’d taken and how easily he could’ve landed in prison. Her Kyle. She felt duped.
“And the other reason?” Mark swallowed another sip of whiskey.
“Kyle’s like extended family. Our family’s clans fought next to each other in the 1746 Battle of Culloden. Enough of our men survived to carry on the clan.” Fingering the rim of his whiskey glass, the Raven beamed.
“What?” She widened her gaze. “His family never mentioned any ancestors so far back in history.”
“We kept it a secret so no one could ever link us. One day, Kyle quoted: Our blood is still our fathers’, and ours the valour of their hearts. I recognized it from the memorial. Jacobite politics aside, the Highlanders fought at Culloden to protest the English effort to erase our culture, like banning the Gaelic language and prohibiting all our traditions, like tartans.” His features darkened.
Mark leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “There’s a huge gulf between Culloden and computer hacking. What’s the connection?”
“Kyle and I made a pact to protect innocent people from tyrannical governments and discrimination like the Highlanders experienced. Kyle preferred to play defense with encryption technology. After prison, I stayed underground and played offense. I unleashed my anger on the worst criminals—terror groups perpetrating ethnic cleansing, known enemies of democracy—and cut off their funding.”
“All those years, Kyle helped organize these attacks?” Tess gripped the edge of the leather couch until her knuckles drained white and caught the Raven’s conspiratorial smile.
“Lass, Kyle masterminded our first mission. After September 11, while the war on terror raged, he wanted to fight terrorism with computers. At first, he ensured our attacks destroyed only enemy assets and left other infrastructure untouched. Later, he undertook more aggressive cyberattacks and riskier missions with me.”
“Risks like Crimson Hammer.” The whiskey wasn’t calming her nerves fast enough, and she quickly poured another dram.
“Exactly.” The Raven frowned and set his glass on the mahogany table. “Kyle left a tremendous, albeit secret, charitable legacy. After diverting terrorist money to offshore accounts, we invested the proceeds and made anonymous donations to humanitarian charities worldwide.”
“A modern-day, digital Robin Hood.” Mark flashed a lopsided smile. “How much money have you redirected since you started?”
The Raven leaned back in the lounger and crossed one foot over his knee. “One point three billion in US dollars, as of last week.”
Eyes wide open, Mark sucked in a breath. “Billion? Incredible. I’m impressed.”
“Doubt the authorities would agree, mate, but I find the poetic justice quite satisfying.” The Raven splayed his fingers flat on his chest and sighed. “Nothing tops the sweet, sweet reward of bankrupting evildoers.”
Too overwhelmed to speak, Tess tumbled down the rabbit hole into the strange, post-apocalyptic cyber world. The fall terminated abruptly, ending in a metaphorical thud. No mad hatters or tea parties, but instead, a shadowy landscape of hackers, terrorists, and money launderers. Without the Raven’s loyalty, Kyle might have spent three years in prison, instead of innovating the security software industry’s future. Any degree of insanity seemed feasible to Tess, including her growing belief in the Raven’s bizarre tale and the violent web which ensnared them. What other secrets had Kyle withheld? How far into the darkness did he travel? Silence fell over the group.
Mark spoke up from the couch. “Raven, you’ve carried an enormous burden, but I’ll never reveal your secret.”
“Thank you. After so many years, I’m relieved to tell someone, but my survival depends upon remaining in the shadows.”
