Chapter 19
“What if someone else is looking for the ring?” Susan asked, suddenly
nervous. “Could David be in danger?”
Strathmore shook his head. “Nobody
else knows the ring exists. That’s why I sent David. I wanted
to keep it that way. Curious
spooks don’t usually tail Spanish
teachers.”
“He’s a professor,” Susan corrected, immediately regretting the clarification. Every now and again Susan got the feeling David wasn’t good enough for the commander, that he thought somehow
she could do better than a
schoolteacher.
“Commander,” she said, moving on,
“if you briefed David by car phone this morning,
someone could have intercepted the–”
“One-in-a-million shot,” Strathmore interrupted, his tone reassuring. “Any eavesdropper had to be in the immediate vicinity
and know exactly what to listen for.” He put his hand on her shoulder.
“I would never have
sent David if I thought
it was dangerous.” He
smiled. “Trust me. Any sign of
trouble, and I’ll send in the pros.”
Strathmore’s words were punctuated by the sudden sound of someone pounding
on the Node 3 glass.
Susan and Strathmore turned.
Sys-Sec
Phil Chartrukian had his face pressed against the pane and was pounding fiercely, straining to see through. Whatever he was excitedly mouthing
was not audible through the soundproofed glass. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
“What the
hell is Chartrukian doing here?”
Strathmore growled. “He’s not on duty today.” “Looks
like trouble,” Susan said.
“He probably saw the Run-Monitor.”
“Goddamn
it!” the commander
hissed. “I specifically called the scheduled Sys-Sec last night and told him not to come in!”
Susan was not surprised. Canceling a Sys-Sec
duty was irregular, but Strathmore undoubtedly had wanted privacy in the dome. The last thing he needed was some paranoid Sys-Sec blowing
the lid off Digital Fortress.
“We better abort TRANSLTR,” Susan said. “We can reset the Run-Monitor and tell Phil he was
seeing things.”
Strathmore appeared to consider
it, then shook his head. “Not yet. TRANSLTR
is fifteen hours into this attack. I want to run
it a full twenty-four–just to be sure.”
This made sense to Susan. Digital Fortress was the first ever use of a rotating cleartext function. Maybe Tankado had overlooked something; maybe TRANSLTR
would break it after twenty-four hours. Somehow Susan doubted
it.
“TRANSLTR
keeps running,” Strathmore resolved. “I need to know for sure this algorithm is untouchable.”
Chartrukian continued pounding on
the pane.
“Here goes nothing.”
Strathmore groaned. “Back me up.”
The commander
took a deep breath and then strode
to the sliding glass doors. The pressure
plate on the floor activated, and the doors hissed open.
Chartrukian practically fell into the room. “Commander, sir. I… I’m sorry to bother you, but the Run-Monitor… I ran a virus probe and–”
“Phil, Phil, Phil,” the commander
gushed pleasantly as he put a reassuring hand on Chartrukian’s
shoulder. “Slow down. What seems to be the problem?”
From the easygoing tone in Strathmore’s voice, nobody would ever have guessed his world was falling
in around him. He stepped aside and ushered Chartrukian into the sacred walls of Node
3. The Sys-Sec stepped over the
threshold hesitantly, like a
well-trained dog that knew
better.
From the puzzled look on Chartrukian’s face, it was obvious he’d never seen the inside of this place. Whatever
had been the source of his panic was momentarily forgotten. He surveyed the plush interior, the line of private terminals, the couches,
the bookshelves, the soft lighting. When his gaze fell on the reigning queen of Crypto, Susan Fletcher,
he quickly looked away. Susan intimidated the hell out of him. Her mind worked on a different plane. She was
unsettlingly beautiful, and his words always seemed
to get jumbled around her. Susan’s unassuming air made it
even worse.
“What seems
to be the problem, Phil?” Strathmore
said, opening the refrigerator. “Drink?” “No, ah–no, thank you, sir.” He seemed tongue-tied, not sure he was truly welcome. “Sir… I
think there’s a
problem with TRANSLTR.”
Strathmore closed the refrigerator and looked at Chartrukian casually. “You mean the Run-Monitor?”
Chartrukian looked shocked. “You
mean you’ve
seen it?” “Sure. It’s
running at about sixteen hours,
if I’m
not mistaken.”
Chartrukian seemed puzzled.
“Yes, sir, sixteen
hours. But that’s not all, sir. I ran a virus probe, and
it’s turning up some pretty
strange stuff.”
“Really?” Strathmore seemed unconcerned. “What kind of stuff?”
Susan watched, impressed with
the commander’s performance.
Chartrukian stumbled on. “TRANSLTR’s processing something very advanced. The filters have never seen anything like it. I’m afraid
TRANSLTR may have some
sort of virus.”
“A virus?” Strathmore chuckled with just a hint of condescension. “Phil, I appreciate your concern, I really do. But Ms.
Fletcher and I are running a new diagnostic, some very advanced
stuff. I would have alerted you to
it, but I wasn’t aware you were
on duty today.”
The Sys-Sec
did his best to cover gracefully. “I switched
with the new guy. I took his weekend shift.”
Strathmore’s eyes narrowed. “That’s odd. I spoke to him last night. I told him not to come in.
He
said nothing about switching shifts.”
Chartrukian felt a knot rise in his throat.
There was a tense silence.
“Well.”
Strathmore finally sighed. “Sounds like an unfortunate mix-up.” He put a hand on the Sys-Sec’s
shoulder and led him toward the door. “The good news is you don’t have to stay. Ms. Fletcher
and I will be here all day.
We’ll hold the fort. You
just enjoy your weekend.”
Chartrukian was hesitant. “Commander, I really think we
should check the–”
“Phil,”
Strathmore repeated
a little more sternly, “TRANSLTR is fine. If your probe saw something
strange, it’s because we put it there. Now if you don’t mind…” Strathmore trailed off, and the
Sys-Sec understood. His time was up.
* * *
“A diagnostic, my ass!” Chartrukian muttered as he fumed back into the Sys-Sec lab. “What kind
of looping function keeps
three million processors busy for sixteen hours?”
Chartrukian wondered if
he should call the Sys-Sec
supervisor. Goddamn cryptographers, he thought. They just don’t understand security!
The oath Chartrukian had taken when he joined Sys-Sec
began running through his head. He had
sworn to use his expertise, training,
and instinct to protect the NSA’s multibillion-dollar investment.
“Instinct,” he said defiantly. It doesn’t take a psychic
to know this isn’t any goddamn diagnostic!
Defiantly, Chartrukian strode over to the terminal
and fired up TRANSLTR’s complete array of
system assessment software.
“Your baby’s in trouble,
Commander,” he grumbled. “You don’t trust instinct? I’ll get you proof!”
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