Chapter Four
CANDACE KIM
Director of the NSA National Security Operations Center (NSOC)
NSA Headquarters, Fort Meade, Maryland
Crypto-Secure Phone
From: Director of The National Security Operations Center (NSOC), National Security Agency (NSA)
To: Deputy Director of the Operations Division (DDIR), NSA
Classification: Top Secret, No Foreign
0248 GMT
Message Follows:
Please advise as to the status of the negotiations with the Hidden Avenger. Do we know his endgame or have any proof of the authenticity of his claims? This has director-level attention.
End of Message
Candace Kim, director of the National Security Operations Center (NSOC) at the NSA, pressed the send button on her phone and leaned back in her desk chair as the text shot into encrypted cyberspace. She would have preferred to call the deputy director of the Operations Division, Jim Avers, from her office phone, but the day had slipped away because of too many meetings and a couple of unexpected fires she’d been compelled to put out. Now she was forced to use an encrypted cell to contact him, as he was no longer in the office. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but she didn’t want to wait a minute longer for an update.
No other recent issue had triggered her curiosity as much as the avatar called Hidden Avenger. Over the years he had thwarted the NSA’s back door into the RSA encryption but advised companies and agencies about dozens of unknown security holes. Was he a good guy or bad?
Fourteen years ago, when she’d been a midlevel agent at the NSA, the agency had been able to spy on just about anyone in the world outside the US territory, where they were legally allowed to operate. Using a hidden back door built into the RSA encryption program—the program used by most of the world to transmit secure data—the NSA could open whatever encrypted messages they wanted from anyone, anywhere. Then along came a secretive self-proclaimed do-gooder calling himself the Hidden Avenger, who, without warning, had slammed the door shut with a patch he called ShadowCrypt. The NSA and FBI had spent fourteen years and employed dozens of their best hackers, researchers, and cybersecurity experts trying to track him down and had gotten exactly nowhere.
Now he’d resurfaced, and Candace wasn’t sure if he was a potential asset for the agency or someone playing them for fools. Either way, his furtive communications had landed on her desk, and sorting out the differences had become her problem.
At this point, the Hidden Avenger was offering them critical information to prevent a major terrorist attack, and access to the new back door he’d created in ShadowCrypt. Since nearly all the criminal and terrorist groups worldwide used that encryption, the ability to monitor their communications could return the NSA to its glory days before the patch. If she handled this right and brought him in with his new back door, she’d get a lot of credit right at the time when the political leadership would be looking for outstanding candidates to replace the director when he retired.
It was hard to tell if the timing on all of this was chance or purposeful. Was it coincidence the Avenger had abruptly surfaced just as the director of the NSA had internally announced to a small group of high-ranking staff he was retiring next year? She hated the active positioning of some of her peers that had followed, while they tried to establish themselves as his logical replacement. She wouldn’t stoop that low. But if her job performance merited the recognition, and if the country were safer because she’d help bring down a terrorist group, well, then she wasn’t above becoming the first woman director.
Her phone suddenly dinged, and she picked it up. Pressing her finger to the button, she typed in her password, scanning Jim’s reply.
Crypto-Secure Phone
From: Deputy Director of the Operations Division (DDIR), NSA
To: Director of the National Security Operations Center (NSOC)
Classification: Top Secret, No Foreign
0254 GMT
Message Follows:
I stopped by your office earlier today, but you weren’t there. The Hidden Avenger will not offer us anything more until we can assure him immunity and safety for his family. Where do we stand on the request to the Justice Department?
End of Message
Candace had expected the answer. The Hidden Avenger was as cautious as he was clever. He was going to keep a low profile until he received assurances they could deliver, and he wouldn’t be tricked into exposing himself until he received what he wanted. Technically, he was holding all the leverage right now, but that depended on him remaining anonymous. She was both puzzled and intrigued by reports that the Avenger was actually one of their own, a former NSA agent named Ethan Sinclair who’d vanished fourteen years ago without a trace.
There was important information on his departure and disappearance that she was missing and needed to know. His personnel records indicated he was a superior performer with no known personnel issues. What would cause him to quit or vanish? What was he afraid of that would lead him to abandon a family that he loved dearly, by all accounts? Why was he asking for federal protection for himself and his family, as well as immunity from prosecution for any real or accidental crimes? What else was he hiding?
None of the Avenger’s requests were simple, but, at this point, he was holding all the cards. And he wouldn’t play unless the NSA could deliver on what he wanted.
Well-honed intuition told her the Avenger was running from something, or someone, at the NSA. She was also certain the director of research at the NSA and Sinclair’s former boss, Isaac Remington, knew a lot more than he was sharing. Was he hiding something that would enhance his chances to bring in the Avenger himself, so he could showcase his resourcefulness and became the next director? Or did he know something else—something more sinister that could implicate someone within the agency?
Remington would bear watching either way. From this moment on, she’d have to be extremely careful with whom she shared her concerns. Right now, she trusted Jim Avers implicitly and would rely on him for assistance.
We can’t move forward fully yet because the Justice Department needs to understand why he needs immunity. What potential prosecution is he attempting to avoid? It’s one thing if he wants immunity for the ShadowCrypt patch. It’s entirely another if he’s stealing credit card numbers or hacking into commercial firms. If he has engaged in the latter, the Justice Department could not provide immunity from civil suits for the damages. They can deal in federal charges only.
She sent the reply, then went to the small refrigerator in her office, removing a bottle of water and taking a drink. She was supposed to go to the gym to prepare for a duathlon—mountain biking and running—but she was leaning toward a quiet night in front of the television instead. She tried to remember if there were any shows on tonight that she liked when her phone dinged again.
Understood. Will go back to the Avenger and see if I can narrow things down a little. Don’t forget he wants to meet with the director. It’s part of his request.
Candace stared at the text. Wasn’t it strange that the Hidden Avenger would insist on a private meeting with General Norton? What could possibly be the purpose? It was not widely known within the NSA that he intended to retire soon, nor was the information public yet. In her mind, that meant the Hidden Avenger had inside connections at the NSA or was a former employee, further strengthening the case that Ethan Sinclair might indeed be the man they were looking for. But what had happened to make him go rogue?
I spoke with the director yesterday, and he’s agreed to the meeting. General Norton is intrigued by the possibility the Avenger is one of our own. We’ve also been monitoring the terrorist group the Avenger gave us information on and have confirmed heightened chatter. But without the encryption-breaking back door, we can’t follow what they are saying. Still, the FBI has identified and is tracking the individuals, anyone communicating with them, and identified associates. The reports appear to confirm the Avenger’s information.
Jim answered almost immediately.
Avenger is using code names for the next time and method of communication with us and will send instructions within two days providing the connection details. He says we’ll know the communication is from him because it will include the word “Ahab.”
Ahab? Candace frowned at the screen. What was the purpose of that unusual code name? Was it random, or was he trying to tell them something? She typed out a response.
Ahab as in the captain of the whaling ship in Moby Dick or as in King Ahab in the Bible? Check both of these out, as well as any other Ahab that leaps to mind. Look inside the agency first. Have we ever had an operation called Moby Dick or anything similar that we can tie the name Ahab to? The Avenger strikes me as someone who has a detailed purpose for everything he does. There must be a hidden message there. Find it.
Candace sent the message and plopped down in her office chair. Any plans for the gym or television this evening had just gone out the window. It looked like she needed to brew a strong cup of coffee and start reading Moby Dick again.