Page 25 of Guarding Truth
And who better to ask than an actual hacker?
SIX
TUESDAY, 3:30 P.M.
How had Juliette’s week gotten so complicated?
It was only Tuesday, and so far, she’d already dealt with a bank robbery, an almost hit-and-run, hackers, and now an abduction—all connected. What would Wednesday bring?
She immediately called the police after watching Blake’s video. The image of the man strapped to the chair made her shiver. His bruised face seared a permanent image in her memory bank. Why were hackers breaking into banks and apartments and adding abduction to their list of growing crimes?
Another knock at the door announced the arrival of Matt and Decia. Caleb ushered them into the apartment, and behind them trailed a man who introduced himself as Tim McGregor, FBI Special Agent in charge of cybercrimes.
Things had just escalated to off-the-charts dangerous if the FBI was taking interest in their case.
She studied Caleb. He wore the stress of the past few days like a mask. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, and his jaw muscles flexed from clenching his teeth. His personal safety had been violated, not to mention that it had to be killing him to have so many strangers traipsing through his home. The man had always valued privacy as much as security.
Juliette stepped in to manage the full apartment. “Let’s take seats in the living room, and we can start from the top so everyone’s up to speed.”
“That’s my cue to leave,” Michelle said.
Blake headed to the door to follow Michelle out until Matt stopped him. “Don’t go anywhere. We need a statement about Rushmore and that video.” Blake’s face blanched but he took a seat. He ran a hand through dark hair that had a few strands of silver peeking through. His foot tapped out a rhythm on the carpet, underlining his tension. Was it the stress of the events or something else? Juliette made a mental note to grill Caleb about his partner.
Caleb took the couch, and Juliette tucked herself next to him. Agent McGregor hefted his bulky frame into Caleb’s recliner. The man had a few inches on Caleb, who was six foot. But unlike Caleb, the older man had an intimidation factor that couldn’t be beat. She hoped to never be on the receiving end of an interrogation from this man.
Agent McGregor scrutinized both Caleb and Blake. The man never blinked, his stare making even Juliette want to squirm.
“We’ve had our eyes on Rushmore for a few years,” McGregor said. “We’ve found wannabe members of their hacker group popping up in a few cities around the country. Their whole manifesto is based on getting even with the rich and powerful. In other places, they’ve hacked into some small, regional banks and siphoned money from several high-end wealthy clients which they ‘redistributed’”—he used air quotes—“into other bank accounts. Hundreds of people woke up to find thousands of dollars deposited into their accounts.”
Juliette stifled a gasp. “I remember hearing about that.”
“Why break into the bank?” Blake asked. “It doesn’t make sense. They’re hackers.”
McGregor shrugged. “They seem to be some sort of vigilante group, robbing from the rich to make amends with the poor. But I’ve never seen them this bold, to take a hostage or walk into a bank and rob it. It seems like it’s one big publicity stunt. They sent out videos on socials showing them waltzing into these banks, throwing cash around. But based on the video message of Theo, you two have something they want.” The man sized up Blake and Caleb again, almost as if to silently communicateI suspect the both of you.
Caleb shook his head. “I’m assuming they want access to the security software. I suspect they stole a laptop to try and maybe reverse engineer it.”
The agent sat back in the chair. “We’d like to have our top analysts on this, but after looking at your credentials, Caleb, I’d like to ask for your help.”
Well, maybe she’d read McGregor’s suspicions wrong.
Caleb swiped the screen of his phone and jotted down a name and number on a piece of paper he had on the end table. “This is Theo’s wife, Georgia. She works odd shifts as a nurse, but she’s probably taking time off. I can’t imagine what she and her son are going through. You may need to give her a call in case she has info on how he was…” Caleb swallowed. “How he was abducted. She might not even know he’s missing yet.”
Agent McGregor nodded. “I’ve got my people working on this. We won’t rest until we find Theo.”
Juliette’s phone buzzed, and she stepped into the hallway outside the apartment to answer it. “Noelle, thanks for calling me. I know you got my text, but things just got more interesting. I just needed to fill you in on my new case.”
“Don’t you mean our case? Because if the danger is as prevalent as you’ve indicated, Alana and I are free and ready to step in and help. Please let us help you.” While the comment might have been a jab about Juliette’s lack of teamwork, it didn’t matter. This time, Juliette wanted everyone working on Caleb’s behalf. She knew Alana and Noelle had her back no matter what. And she needed them.
“Caleb is an old Army friend, and the threats are escalating.” She filled Noelle in on Caleb’s case. Or make that Ivy’s case.
“Wait. Stop. My head is spinning. A twelve-year-old asked you to be a bodyguard for her uncle?”
Juliette sighed. “Technically, yes.”
“A kid hired you?” Juliette could envision Noelle’s smirk.
“Technically, yes, but I may do this one pro bono. My conscience won’t let me pilfer a little girl’s piggy bank money. I have some time off coming up anyway.”