Bulletproof Hearts

“Because they don’t want to believe there’s more here than a simple hit-and-run. It’s a delicate situation. Allow me to explain. May I call you Abigail?”

“Please…everyone calls me Abby.”

“My name’s Michael.”

She nodded impatiently. “Delicate how, Michael?” Her voice rose on that last word as her composure slipped over the edge of the cliff.

“Like I said, your brother created a new kind of security protocol that’s quite unique. I believe he’s changed how all cellular and data networks will be designed and secured from now going forward. I also think he may have been harmed because of his work.”

“Harmed?” She shot a look at Shaun. “You’re using that word, too. Harmed is getting your arm broken, Mr. Donn—Michael. My brother was hit by a car going at least fifty miles an hour through a crosswalk in Dupont Circle. He was dead before he hit the pavement. Harmed is not the word I would choose to describe that, especially if, as you suggest, it was done deliberately.”

Donner had the grace to look embarrassed as she continued. “I don’t understand why you believe it was murder. Isn’t the product he created already in use? The design is out there and you have a patent, I’m sure? What reason would anyone have to hurt Jason over a product he’s already completed?”

Donner nodded. “While we’ve already rolled out the first generation of the product and it’s working quite well for our initial customer, it’s not entirely accurate to say that Jason’s work was done.”

“Why is that?”

Donner glanced at Shaun before answering. “We have another client who has asked for an exclusive contract for the first five years. Normally we wouldn’t award a relatively new technology with such potential to an exclusive customer, but this is a special case because of who the client is.”

“Well, who is it?” she asked.

Donner cut his eyes back toward Shaun then again to her. “The Department of Homeland Security. They want the exclusive in order to use Zip-Net for all their cellular communications security. It’s an amazing opportunity. It would fast-track this technology into the stratosphere. Millions of dollars are at stake. Company growth will skyrocket. Assembly line jobs will boom just to keep up with the demand. And as the cherry on top, our national security will be better served than ever before. It’s a win-win for everyone.”

She watched him as he talked and could see why he was considered to be so charismatic. Despite her confusion she felt pulled in by the force of his personality—his mannerisms, his gestures. Mentally she shook herself.

“Your brother was handling some debugging issues for the program the morning he died. You can imagine with an operation this large, it can get ‘glitchy’ at times, especially when it’s just going online. He was about to install upgrades to take care of that.”

“Sure.” Abby nodded. She didn’t have a lot of computer expertise but she knew how easy it was for her own PC to get “glitchy.”

“Up until then Jason hadn’t been sharing the software upgrade plans or file on the company network and frankly, I didn’t require him to. Industrial espionage is rampant in this industry and after checking to make sure he had firewalls in place on his home computer, we let him safekeep the information the best way he saw fit. The fewer people with access the better. I see now that was a huge error on my part. We never expected anyone to resort to murder.”

“But how can you be sure it was murder? The police seem convinced it was an accident.”

“If it was an accident that your brother died right before turning in the updates, that would be quite a coincidence—don’t you think? If we can’t make those upgrades, the government contract won’t go through. The consequences for not delivering the product would be catastrophic to Zip Tech and to this new protocol because of the blow it will be to our company’s credibility. Any ‘accidents’ at this time would make me suspicious, but then for you to be attacked at the funeral? Bullets aren’t an accident, Abby. Someone fired those shots on purpose.”

“And your competitors would kill me and my brother to see that technology fail?”

“Unfortunately, some would. We’re talking about a billion-dollar security industry that’s about to be turned on its ear.”

“I don’t understand.” But she did; she just didn’t want to believe it. Her stomach threatened to rebel and her skin grew clammy. Everything felt so surreal. Jason was a lovable, geeky guy, and this all sounded like something out of a spy novel. How did he turn into a target? How did she turn in to a target?

“The next generation of cell phone traffic will be carried exclusively over the internet. Security isn’t just one of the issues in cell phone communication, it’s the only issue. Your brother designed an exceptionally unique product with an unbreakable code that keeps cellular traffic completely confidential. Unhackable. Homeland Security is so confident in the technology that they are willing to contract exclusively with Zip Technologies for security services. But in order for that to happen, we need the upgrade file, and we need to find it fast. There’s an issue of a delivery deadline. We have four days to get the updates installed or this contract with Homeland Security is dead in the water.”

“What kind of updates are you talking about? It sounds like more of a major flaw in the system,” she observed.

Now it was Shaun glancing at Donner. The CEO nodded.

“The bugs in the system right now aren’t just glitches, they’re showstoppers,” Shaun explained. “We must find the fix Jason created the morning he died, going in through the back door.”

“What do you mean by back door?” she asked.

“’Tis technical.”

“Make me understand,” she argued.

“Many engineers put special signatures on their work. It used to be a vanity piece. Now it’s a way into the system they’ve created so they can tweak things if necessary without having to go through all the security after production. It’s a shortcut. We’ve got a major bug that needs modification and the only way to fix it is if we can have access to that ‘back door’ Jason created.”

“What kind of bugs are we talking about?” she asked.

“The kind that will make the system fail…catastrophically.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widened as understanding dawned.

Donner spoke up. “Here’s where it gets tricky and highly confidential. Zip Tech is due to sign that contract with Homeland Security and pass over control of the system at midnight in four days’ time. Once we sign, we’ll no longer be able to modify the program, even through that back door. Zip Tech must have your brother’s security upgrades to make the changes beforehand—afterward, we won’t have access. Once DHS signs off on the contract, government engineers with the necessary security clearances take over and we step away. Without those upgrades from your brother, the DHS network will be vulnerable to hacking.”

He paused a moment, no doubt to let the implication sink in. A Homeland Security network that wasn’t secure.

“Why not just tell Homeland Security the truth?” she asked.

Donner stood. “Zip Tech can and will tell if we can’t get the updates in time. But once we do, the company loses everything. Not just a government contract. We’re ‘all in’ at this point. When negotiations began with Homeland Security about Zip-Net, our company made certain modifications to the design based on the government’s specifications. Based on those specifications, Zip-Net is no longer viable for anyone but that first client and Homeland Security unless other large companies with broad user bases also adopt the technology. Which is definitely what we’re hoping for, but it would take time.”

Donner stepped into the kitchen area and poured himself a glass of water as he continued. “In this industry, six months is like three years. We’d lose our market advantage completely. Not to mention our investors. If this contract doesn’t go through, the company is finished.”

“I know this is overwhelming and a lot to take in,” said Shaun. “But you deserve to know the truth about what happened to Jason—why he was killed. Why you could be next.”

“You’re saying my brother was murdered to stop this DHS contract from going through?”

Donner nodded. “People have died for less.”

Abby sighed. “That doesn’t explain why someone was shooting at me. I don’t have this upgrade file you’re speaking of.” She looked at Shaun as she spoke but he said nothing else. He just leaned against the living room side of the kitchen counter sipping his own bottled water.

“Are you sure about that?” asked Donner.

Chapter Four

“What do you mean?” asked Abby.

“I think you might know more than you realize,” said Donner.

She didn’t answer but her blood began to boil as he continued.

“You have access to all your brother’s papers and files in his home office at his condo. As his only relative, you’ll soon have access to his safety deposit box, as well.”

“Yes.” She tried to tamp down her temper and the growing disbelief that he could possibly be asking for this, today of all days. But a part of her was grateful for the anger that was snapping her out of the grief and overwhelming hopelessness of the situation. She put on her best Southern belle smile even as the acid in her stomach burned. “What do you really need, Michael?” she asked.

“Access to your brother’s laptop. The upgrade file must be there somewhere. Specifically we need the password. Our people have been at it for several days now and haven’t been able to come up with anything that works. His personal security system on the computer will erase all the data if we keep trying incorrect passwords.

“For everyone’s sake, we desperately need those upgrade plans. We’ve been through Jason’s files at Zip Tech’s offices but we can’t find the information we’re looking for anywhere. Once the product is complete, you’ll no longer be a target. Until then, we can protect you. But none of this can end until you help us find those upgrades.”