Chapter 9

Waking up at 2 am, Barrett did his forms and tai chi. Then he dressed in dark clothes, went to the metal building, and opened the front gate. The bar employees next door were throwing out the trash, so he knew he had arrived early. Barrett opened his garage, closed it behind him, and waited in the Tahoe. It was three years old and perfectly fine for what he needed it for, but he’d make some changes to make it handle better.

Twenty minutes later, Barrett heard a car outside, so he stood against the garage wall and waited. When the door opened, he kicked the man in the jaw, knocking him out. Then Barrett took the man’s picture with his phone and emptied his pockets. Barrett was pissed, so he kicked the shit out of the man. He thought about what to do with the man and heard a trash truck nearby. So Barrett picked up the man, carried him next door to the bar, and threw him in the trash.

Returning to the garage, he searched the man’s car and found nothing. So Barrett put the man’s ID, phone, wallet, and tracker bag in his garage and closed it. Then he drove the man’s car to the bar, left the keys in the ignition, and returned home. It was late, so Barrett showered, dressed, and ate breakfast. After breakfast, they had an hour and a half to kill before Nordstrom opened.

So Barrett went to his bedroom, texted Bob, asked if he knew this man, and sent the picture. Bob called him and said no, but why are you asking? Barrett told Bob what had happened earlier that morning, and Bob said no one should have had your garage code. Then Bob asked if the man was alive. Barrett laughed and told Bob he was when I put him in the Bars dumpster next door. But the trash truck came and emptied the dumpster.

But Barrett told Bob he had the man’s wallet, cell phone, and a bag of trackers in his garage. Bob said this is bad because no one has the codes but me. Barrett told Bob to have his computer checked. Barrett offered to come in Wednesday afternoon if he didn’t want anyone there to know. Bob told Barrett to come in on Wednesday because he didn’t want to alert whoever did it. Then Bob said he’d go to my garage and pick up the items there, and we said goodbye.

Barrett found the trip to Nordstrom with Nana funny. The sales clerk and Nana would smell the cologne sample on me and give their approval or objection. Then Barrett had to use an alcohol swab to remove the cologne and try the next one. Nana and the sales girl agreed on three colognes, and Barrett was $200 poorer. On the way home, Barrett asked Nana why he couldn’t go to CVS and save a lot of money. Nana laughed and said they sell watered-down or cheap copies of the real perfume or cologne.

After lunch, Nana dropped Barrett off at the dojo for his training. Sensi Hurato put him through a powerful two-hour workout. Then Barrett put on his slippers, and Barrett did the new maneuver Sensi called the ghost walk. He could move without being seen when performed right, and Barrett finally mastered it. Sensi videoed Barrett’s attempts and pointed out ways to improve. Sensi told Barrett to practice the ghost walk at home every other day. Then they conversed in Chinese until Nana picked up an hour later.

At 2 am, Barrett exercised and checked his stocks and the market. Blackmon Metals’ stock price hadn’t changed and was 67.90 per share, but there was news that the merger could have trouble getting government approval. So Barrett sold his remaining two thousand shares and invested in gold. Cummins Energy increased to 29.68 per share. Then he checked the gold price, which went up by $1.25, so he was pleased. Then he showered, dressed, and went to breakfast.

Barrett went to his dog training appointment, returned home, and ate an early lunch. Then he grabbed his laptop, needed programs, and a USB stick and ordered an Uber ride to Bob’s office. Once Barrett cleared security at the Department of State, he went to Bob’s office, where he was glad to see him. Barrett explained to Bob that what they were doing could be trouble. Bob said he had that covered and handed Barrett a Department of State ID that said Computer Security Consultant.

He looked at the ID, and Barrett said, ok. But if shit hits the fan, he’ll tell everyone his wife Patty recruited me and told me what to do. Bob laughed, saying there would be no problem, but it would be funny. Barrett ran his virus program and found a virus and a worm. He copied the worm onto a USB and removed the virus. Then Barrett tracked the worm to an email from Matthew Gardner. He asked Bob what he wanted to do, and Bob asked for his recommendation.

He said what I would do wasn’t legal, but I would alter the worm and send it back to Matthew. Then, copy his hard drive and find out who he’s working for or with. You must allow the worm to stay on your computer to make it work. Removing it will warn them you are aware of their intrusion. Bob asked how long it would take, and Barrett said it would take about a week or less if everything went as planned. All the information has to be stored and reviewed off-site.

Bob said it’s more than stealing garage codes. It’s a national security issue that must be stopped quickly and quietly. So, Barrett signed up for a cloud account using a prepaid credit card. Then, he got a Hotmail email account using the same fictitious name. The last thing Barrett did was alter the worm to upload Matthew Gardner’s files to his fictitious cloud account. Once the worm was ready, Bob had to attach a document to an email to Matthew, and Barrett added the worm to it.

Once Bob sent it, Barrett said he would call when he had the files. But Friday morning or Sunday would be best to review the files if they are uploaded. Bob said, let’s plan on the earliest day and Barrett. Then Bob said the man you caught was a pro with a fake ID and no fingerprints. The trackers were purchased online with a phony name and address. So we needed the information on Matthew’s computer, and they said goodbye.

Barrett arrived home after two, put on his hacker backpack, and took Zeus and Hera to the park. After stopping at his special place, Barrett went to the picnic table and checked his fictitious cloud account using the park WiFi. he was shocked to see Matthew’s files and downloaded them to a USB stick. Then Barrett disconnected from the WiFi, and they headed home.

Once home, Barrett looked at Matthew’s files, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. Then he checked his emails, and they looked ok at first. But Matthew’s emails to his friend Mikhail in Russia caught Barrett’s eye. So Barrett printed the last two emails, and knowing what had happened at the metal building, he was looking for a code. It was like doing a word puzzle.

The first word he looked for was “garage.” Once he found that the rest was easier. The message was (Put trackers on all the cars), and that was from Mikhail. The email before that was from Matthew, and it said (Found garage codes advise). Barrett printed and decoded six more emails and called Bob. Barrett said to think of a reason for me to miss dinner so we could meet. It’s urgent, and we need to discuss it privately.

Bob said why don’t you tell Madeline that Bob asked to drive the Hummer. Tell her he’s buying me dinner for the privilege, and Barrett said that would work. They said goodbye. Barrett told Nana that Bob was getting to drive the Hummer tonight and that he was buying me dinner for the privilege. Nana laughed and told me to make sure it was not McDonald’s, and we laughed.

At 6 pm, Bob arrived, and Barrett showed him how to start the Hummer. They drove a block and parked. Then Barrett showed Bob Matthew’s emails, which he decoded. Bob asked how he figured it out, and Barrett said he thought the emails were strange. So, knowing what happened at the garage, he looked for Garage and Code in the two most recent emails. Once he found them, a pattern developed, and he decoded six more emails.

Bob asked what to do next, and Barrett said it was a crap shoot. But if Matthew sent Mikhail a coded message with the worm attached, there was a chance Mikhail would open it with his own computer. But Matthew has to be on lockdown, and a team is ready to respond if Mikhail is local. Otherwise, arrest Matthew and be done with it because Mikhail isn’t stupid enough to use his own email like Matthew.

After thinking for a few minutes, Bob told Barrett to code a message to Mikhail from Matthew saying (task failed, no issues, advise) and attach the worm. Bob said he would seek advice, but arresting Matthew must be done quickly and quietly. Then he said it’s a good thing the pro isn’t around to screw things up. While they ate dinner at Pizza Hut, Bob said to come to my office Friday morning to send the email.

On the way home, Barrett told Bob he had a formal dinner date he couldn’t miss on Saturday night. Bob asked why it was so important, and Barrett said Nana spent over five grand on a tux, and it was the Attorney General’s Formal Dinner. Bob asked who invited him, and Barrett said Marcus Conner, US Attorney for the eastern district of Virginia, and that’s all you get tonight, Patty. Bob laughed and told Barrett your secrets are safe with me. They returned to Barrett’s house and said goodbye.

Waking up at 2 am, Barrett did his exercises, then dressed in dark clothes and went to Brenda and Bree’s old house. He entered the property from the alley, picked up the package he had ordered on the dark web from the garage, and left the same way. Then he opened the box, disposed of the box and packing, and practiced his ghost walk returning home. Barrett was looking forward to reading the four more books and checking out the three programs, or worms as they were called.

After breakfast, Nana and Barrett drove to Benard’s in DC. Claude welcomed them, and Barrett tried on the tux. Claude and Nana approved the fit, so they headed home with the tux and all the accessories. When they got home, Barrett checked out the programs he had purchased on the dark web after loading them onto his portable hard drive. One interested Barrett for Bob’s problem at the Department of State.

Barrett checked the programming and made some changes, including where the information would be uploaded. The person who had written the worm had hidden a command that he would get the information, too. But the worm was perfect for sending to Mikhail, attached to a coded message from Matthew.

The worm would embed itself in the target computer and then upload the files to a destination, and Barrett chose his fictitious name, cloud account. It would upload new files and or existing file changes weekly. But the best part was it would attach itself to all outgoing emails. Barrett could see that it would require time to manage all the information, but it was a perfect tool for the operation. So Barrett attached his new worm to the coded message, saved it to a USB stick, and called the new worm “The Propagator.”

Then he shut down his computer and went to the kitchen for lunch. Nana told Rosa about the tux we got in DC, and they wanted photos of me and my date. Barrett asked dressed or undressed, and they laughed. After lunch, Nana took Barrett to the dojo and dropped him off. Sensi Huratoi welcomed Barrett and put him through an intense two-hour workout.

Then Sensi incorporated all the movements Barrett had learned the past few weeks. Sensi showed Barrett how to use the ghost walk by jumping over his attackers without getting into a fight. Sensi said Barrett could also use it after wall-walking and vaulting over his attackers. Sensi stressed avoiding fighting multiple attackers because of the risk. Then, they conversed in Chinese until Nana picked up Barrett.

Early the next morning, Barrett did his forms and ti chi, then checked his stocks and the market. Blackmon Metals’ merger with Allied was canceled, and the stock price fell. Cummins Energy increased to 31.05 per share. Then he checked the gold price, which went up by $ .90, so he was pleased. Then Barrett ordered an Uber ride, showered, dressed, and went to breakfast.

After breakfast, Barrett’s Uber ride arrived, and he went to the Department of State. Getting through security was easy, and he went to Bob’s office. Bob welcomed Barrett and told him Matthew Gardner had been taken into custody early this morning. He’s being held at a safe house, so no one knows about his arrest. Then Bob asked Barrett if he was ready to send the worm.

Barrett said yes, and Bob took Barrett to Matthew Gardner’s office. Once Barrett sent the coded message with the worm to Mikhil, they returned it to Bob’s office. Barrett told Bob one thing that was bugging him was why they were putting trackers on all the vehicles. Bob said that’s something he hadn’t considered, but the vehicles are for visiting Department of State employees. Then Barrett asked who was expected to visit soon, and Bob said holy shit, the ambassador to Russia is due this weekend.

Barrett said goodbye and left Bob, arranging more security for the ambassador. He received a text from Jaycey saying they would pick me up at 6 pm Saturday. Barrett texted her back and said looking forward to seeing your cute tush again and laughed, sending it. Arriving home around 11 am, Barrett went to his room and read one of his new hacking books. Then Rosa said lunch was ready.

After lunch, Barrett went to the YMCA and did his swimming workout. When he finished, Barrett stopped by the metal building and checked out his Tahoe in the daylight. It was in good shape but needed wider tires, rims, and suspension work. After attending the driving course, Barrett wanted a vehicle to handle those evasive maneuvers. Then he looked at the engine and said to himself turbocharger, too.

When Barrett arrived home, he went to the garage and stripped Silverado’s exterior trim, lights, bumpers, and front grill. Zeus and Hera sat in the bucket seats and watched Barrett work. When he was done, Barrett went inside and cleaned up, then checked his alias cloud account. Barrett was shocked to see Mikhil’s files there. However, the name attached to the files was Michael Byrne, who worked for Homeland Security.