T Wave (23 page)

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havoc

CHAPTER 1

Brian McFarland took brisk strides through the Silicon Valley campus of Vidulum, Inc. After swiping his magnetic security card at the building’s main entrance and then again at the R&D section’s heavy door, he wound his way through a maze of cubicles and lab equipment to arrive at the office of Leo Burton, Vidulum’s CEO.

Burton, a lean, tall man showing the first signs of graying temples, rose to greet his company’s Chief of Security. “So, McFarland, what’s so important that we had to meet on a Saturday?”

“We’ve had a security breach.”

“How serious is it?”

“As bad as it gets. Someone copied the complete set of Silverstar files—design specs, production facility schematics, product capabilities—between twelve and twenty-four hours ago.”

Burton sank into his chair. Through white lips, he asked, “Are you sure?”

“Yes, sir. When the archive job ran last night, the backup server kicked out an exception message, saying the day’s batch had already been archived.
We
didn’t copy it, which means someone else did.”

“Do we know the files were actually stolen? Couldn’t the exception message have been triggered by some tech accidentally running the backup job earlier in the day?”

“We asked the same question. No one ran it, and whoever did copy the files suppressed his user name.” McFarland cracked his knuckles, a habit he exhibited during times of stress.

“I didn’t think our systems allowed jobs to be run without a user ID,” said Burton.

“They’re not supposed to,” admitted the security chief, “but somehow this person figured out a way to get around that restriction.”

“What about our file segregation? Don’t we keep our key files on separate servers to make it impossible for someone to crack a single password and access all of the confidential information at once?”

“Yes, sir—we do. This thief was a smooth customer. He—or she—copied the files from all eight servers.”

“It’s an inside job. It has to be.”

“That was my conclusion too, sir.”

“Wait a minute—if this thief is so good, why didn’t he prevent the redundant backup message from being generated?” asked Burton. “We would’ve never known about the theft if not for that.”

“I’m the only person who can suppress that warning message. It’s one of the safeguards I put in place when I was first hired on.”

“I see. Thank God you set that up.” Burton paused to reflect. “So, we have a renegade employee in our midst—someone who’s out to make a quick buck at the expense of the very existence of our company.”

“Sir? The existence of our company?”

“We’re a one-trick pony, McFarland. Using the proprietary technology contained in those files to successfully launch the Silverstar project is a make-or-break proposition for Vidulum. We have no failsafe, no alternative strategy if some other company brings this technology to market before us.”

“So you think someone stole the files to resell them?”

“It has to be, don’t you think? Silverstar is miles ahead of everyone else. It could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars on the open market.”

“So just look for the employee that buys an island in a few months.”

“By then, it will be too late. We have to stop this person before they have a chance to sell the files. If they do, we’re all out of a job.” Burton began to pace the floor of his office. “Do you have any suspects?”

“Not off the top of my head. I’ll have my staff investigate—see if anyone was out sick yesterday or the day before, acting suspicious or angry towards the company, that kind of thing. We’ll have to act quietly, though. Our investigation must be discreet to avoid tipping off the thief that we’re on to him.”

“Good man.” Burton stared McFarland squarely in the eye. “You understand…while it’s important to move quietly, we must also act quickly. It’s not just our company’s existence that’s at stake. If Silverstar is sold to the wrong people, our nation could be at risk, too. You are to employ any measures necessary to reacquire the project files. Are you clear on this? Any…measures…necessary.”

“Crystal clear, sir.”

PURCHASE OTHER BOOKS IN ALTON AND MALLORY’S “BLACKWELL FILES” SERIES NOW!

Book 1:
Nefarious

Book 2:
Ruthless

Book 3: T Wave

Book 4:
Havoc

Book 5:
The Devil’s Due

Book 6:
The Evolution of Evil

Book 7: Bloodline
(Coming later in 2015. See below for notification when available.)

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www.SteveFreemanWriter.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author Steve Freeman is a former member of the US Army's Signal Corps, a twenty-seven year employee of a large American technology company, and an avid traveler who has visited five continents. The novels of The Blackwell Files draw from his firsthand knowledge of military service, the tech industry, and the diverse cultures of our world.

He currently lives near Atlanta, Georgia with his wife, daughter, and three dogs.

Visit
www.SteveFreemanWriter.com
for a complete list of his titles.