CHAPTER 13
Deciding to cut his leave short after his visit to Fort Meade was one thing, but promising to be on base in Virginia by zero-eight-hundred the following day was another, but that part was his own fault. Will had decided on his own to head back as soon as possible.
What else could he do? After what he’d seen at Meade, he needed to move on it.
As he drove the highway between Maryland and Virginia, Will’s mind spun with it all. A Trojan Horse had been put in place by some very talented hackers, giving them access to everything within the computer network of a major governmental agency—that kind of shit was serious.
It was insane. The potential security breech, if the hackers had had time to exploit it, was staggering. But they’d discovered it in time, before it had been used.
At least that’s what they all hoped.
With the size of the network they’d tapped into, the perpetrators could have accomplished almost anything. Taken down the power grid, crashed sites all over the country, locked down important information for ransom within any number of organizations—governmental, military, or civilian.
What could have happened but didn’t wasn’t even the most frightening part. That the hackers had access and hadn’t used it, was. It appeared that the Trojan Horse was lying in wait, a preliminary preparation for a major attack in the future.
As far as Will could tell, they’d had access for two months. Yet they’d waited, biding their time. Why?
Will could only guess it was because they had something huge planned. Something that required time and coordination.
They should all thank God, and the night tech guy who’d accidentally discovered the malware, that whatever was planned hadn’t come to fruition.
As far as they could determine, the attack originated in North Korea, a frightening concept.
One question remained. Were the hackers rogue or working for the government? Will had his suspicions about that.
Either way, now, control of the game ball was in the good guys’ hands.
On Will’s recommendation, they were going to leave the Trojan Horse there and keep knowledge of its discovery limited to a few higher ups and the handful of people at Meade who already knew about it.
Of course, safeguards had already been put in place so the hackers couldn’t actually use it, but they wouldn’t realize that. Unaware of the discovery, they’d proceed as planned—all while the US watched and learned.
Then they’d have them. They’d know what the plan was. Anything the hackers tried to send down what amounted to an open highway into the organization’s network would be immediately blocked and identified.
Even better, it was a two way street. The US could use the same vulnerability in the reverse direction. The bad guys should have thought of that before leaving their own back door open when they’d broken in.
And speaking of break-ins—Will had been so busy for his final hours in Maryland, between his meeting and then saying goodbye to his family, he’d forgotten he had a house guest. One who was likely sleeping.
Now, as he pulled up to his apartment and saw Jessa’s car, he remembered and realized he was about to scare the hell out of her by walking in unannounced.
He could drive right to base, but he really wanted to shower and he had to grab the computer he used for work. The first he could have gotten away with doing on base but the second really required he go inside.
Oh well. She’d just have to understand.
Will was well trained in silent entry. But it felt strange creeping into his own home.
He didn’t turn on the lights. He didn’t need to. He knew the layout like the back of his hand. Knew exactly where to skirt to the left to avoid the armchair that stuck out too far into the path from the front door.
He also knew the computer he needed would be in the bedroom, which was probably—no, most likely—where Jessa would be.
Maybe it would be wiser to go back, slam the front door and turn on all the lights to wake her. Then he could get into the bedroom to get what he needed.
He was just considering that plan when a primal scream and a full body hit from behind knocked him off balance.
Instinct and training took over as he spun, grabbed the assailant, and disabled any further attack.
As his mind caught up with his reflexes he knew it was Jessa he had in a chokehold against him—and he’d probably scared the hell out of her.
“Jessa. It’s me. It’s Will.”
He felt her chest heave against his arms as she gasped for breath. Afraid to let her go until he knew she’d understood and wouldn’t try to hit him again, he loosened his grip but didn’t release her.
“Jessa. Did you hear me?”
“Will?” When she stopped struggling, he dropped his hold. She spun to face him and smacked his chest with two balls fists. “What the hell? You scared me to death!”
He grabbed her hands in both of his and held them against him. “I know. I’m sorry. I had to come home. I needed something. I really am sorry I scared you. You’ve been through too much already at your own place.”
She drew in a shaky breath. “It’s okay. I should have looked to see if it was you before I panicked.”
“By the way, did Jon Rudnick get in touch with you? I didn’t have time to call him.” As he spoke, Will realized he could have let her go but for some reason he hadn’t.
Finally, Jessa took a step back and he released his hold on her.
“He emailed that he’s away for a few days. He offered to send somebody else but I told him I could wait.”
Forcing his mind off the memory of having Jessa pressed against him, and the feel of his hands on her, Will focused on the security situation.
He’d rather have Jon oversee this personally. He trusted the other guys in the company, he knew both Chris Cassidy and Zane Alexander to be skilled operators, but it was Jon who was the best in this particular arena. An artist when it came to security.
Why go to the apprentice when you could have the master? But because of that, Jon was a busy man. Sometimes a person had to wait for the best.
“Good call.” Will nodded, taking that opportunity to head to the lamp and finally turn on the light.
“Now that you’re home, though, I’m gonna move back to my own place.”
Turning back, Will got his first look of Jessa fresh from sleep.
She looked adorable in baggy pajamas that were just a bit too long as they pooled around her bare feet. Her hair was a mess, probably from their little tussle, but it didn’t look bad. Far from it. It looked sexy as hell. As if she’d just had an energetic tumble in bed.
He yanked his mind away from that thought and somehow focused back on her statement. “You will not move home. You’re perfectly welcome to stay here until Jon can get something set up for you. In fact, I insist.”
“Will—”
He held up one hand to stop her protest and checked the time. “Can I hop in the shower quick and finish this discussion in five minutes? And could you do me a huge favor and throw on a pot of coffee?”
“Of course. But there’s nothing to discuss.”
He was already on the way to the bathroom, smiling as he said, “We’ll see.”
The woman did seem to like to argue. The question was, why did he enjoy it so much?