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“The truth broke me, too.” She placed a hand on top of his. “Now, I need to share important information, but I cannot tell you how or where I acquired it.”
“Anything to dig us out of this hellhole.” Declan waved a hand.
“Rapadon exists, but not how you think.” She cast a quick glance at Mark, who was managing to stay out of the fray.
“Not possible. I reviewed every goddamn line of code our company has ever written, like five fucking times.” Arms crossed, Declan scowled.
“You couldn’t find it because it was a riddle, not a coding problem. Rapadon is an anagram of Pandora. Kyle wanted to punish Crimson Hammer for hacking Firefly, the metaphorical Pandora’s Box. He made them think Rapadon is a key, and they’re attacking Kingsley Tech because they can’t crack it.”
“Bloody hell. I was so fixated on the code I couldn’t see other possibilities.” Groaning, Declan pushed a palm against his forehead. “Who found the algorithm?”
Without answering, she pressed her lips tight together.
“You can’t tell me. What else?” Declan pushed up his sleeves.
“We’ll give them Firefly with a fake branch named Rapadon, which will unleash a virus and destroy their network.” Folding her hands on the table, she caught Declan eyeing her like a raging criminal.
“Where the hell did you find this?” He narrowed his gaze, first at her, then Mark.
“Don’t ask me.” Tess pressed a hand against her temple.
“Did you steal this from the dark web? Who are you working with?”
“Damn it, O’Leary. I’ve been kidnapped, beaten, shot at, and I’m going to end this tonight.” Hands clenched, she resisted lashing out and gritted her teeth instead.
“What if they retaliate? Are you working something illegal, with a competing terrorist cell?” Declan demanded.
“Are you kidding? I’m way beyond giving a shit about what’s legal. Crimson Hammer are terrorists, and they’re torturing David.” She wanted to scream. “They won’t call the bloody police to complain about being hacked.”
“Fine, screw the law. But what if they strike back at us or Kingsley Tech? Have you considered the risks?” Declan raised an eyebrow.
“If their network is toast, they can’t fight back.” She glared and leaned away from the table, eyeing him carefully. An involuntary spasm appeared to ripple through his body.
“What about the ransom?” He gawked while his chin shook almost imperceptibly.
“We don’t pay it. The police advised against paying because acquiescence breeds more terrorism.” Tess leaned back and went silent.
“You’ll need to coordinate with the police, though, so they’re prepared to handle the terrorist’s response to not getting the cash,” Mark said. “Frankly, I don’t think any of us should go anywhere near this handoff.”
She dug into her pocket, then displayed the two USB drives in her palm. “Declan, the red one is for tonight’s handoff. Don’t open it, period. The green one is yours and includes a sample of the virus structure you can load onto a clean machine to learn what the program will do. The kill switch is activated so it doesn’t destroy your box.”
Declan retrieved a second laptop from his backpack and powered it on. After taking a swig of his spiked triple espresso, he inserted the drive and began reading.
Tess flattened her palms on the table and chewed her lip, waiting as he reviewed the files.
“These algorithms are crazy. Cracking unbelievable. Firefly is there, but with a new dimension layered on top. It’s elegant, the way Kyle coded, but its execution is malevolent.” Declan scanned screenfuls of code, one after the other. “Kyle’s programming talent was legendary, but this is absolute genius. Wicked, but genius.” He dropped his hands, and wrinkles spread across his forehead. “Tess, this code’s not just dangerous. It’s a weapon. Who wrote it?”
“I can’t reveal their identity.” Tess teetered on the tightrope between revealing enough to satisfy Declan, while keeping the Raven’s role secret.
“This is the type of deep web stuff rogue governments harbor. Where the hell did you go in Scotland?” Declan burst out and gripped the table.
“I can’t say more.” Refusing to incriminate the Raven, Tess remained firm in her resolve.
“Crap. What’s next?” Jutting out his jaw, Declan tapped the tabletop repeatedly.
“Take the red drive to the handoff. It’ll save David.” She folded her hands in her lap.
Mark positioned himself between Tess and Declan. “Correction. Give the red drive to the police, who will run the handoff. Not you.”
