The Color of Greed (Raja Williams 1) (16 page)

At that moment, Akeen staggered out of the darkness,
carrying an old man who was too sick to walk unaided. A stranger who
had been hiding near Akeen’s family, he was a Muslim cleric who
had fallen into disfavor for questioning the Taliban leaders, and who
would have been tortured and killed by the soldiers once found.
Akeen’s mother had simply asked Akeen to help the old man,
which he did without question or hesitation.

The plane flew out of Afghanistan under a hail of
bullets and arrived back in Pakistan. Akeen had been eternally
grateful to Raja for saving his family. Perhaps now it was time for
Akeen to pay it forward.

“Hello.”

Raja recognized Akeen’s voice. “Akeen,
it’s Raja Williams.”

“Raja, my friend.” Akeen’s tone
brightened considerably. “How are you?”

“Doing well. I’m on a case in Los
Angeles.”

“Helping someone in trouble, of that I am
sure.”

“Trying to. I’ve run into a stop.”

“How can I help? You never did let me pay you
for all that you did for me and my family.”

“Perhaps now is the time,” said Raja. He
explained the situation briefly, and his need to find Sue Storm. He
also told Akeen about Vinny, whom Raja had not yet met at the time he
helped Akeen’s family.

Vinny had two problems. One, she needed to get into
the NSA’s highly-protected data storage. Many of the feeds from
security cameras around the country were on loop programs that erased
and recorded over the video after a set, relatively short period of
time. Only the NSA had the capacity to maintain full recordings from
all sources, which they did. And two, although Vinny was a genius
savant with computer code, there were some places even Vinny couldn’t
breach. The NSA had been building supercomputer complexes for
years—billions of dollars worth of storage and computing power.
It wasn’t that their technicians were smarter than Vinny. They
weren’t even close. But they were faster than Vinny because
they had computing power at their command beyond anything else on the
planet. Hacking their system was like digging into dry sand. You
could dig, but the sand would fill the hole faster than you could
scoop it out. Their lightning-fast, redundant security program could
close any hole before a hacker could access information. Nearly
infinite computing power and speed simply outmatched what Vinny had
available to her. That is, unless she could pool enough power from
enough sources simultaneously.

That’s where Akeen came in. He had left
Pakistan after rescuing his family and made his fortune in Silicon
Valley by developing an architecture for utilizing satellites to
transmit computing power over long distances without the usual
bandwidth limitations. It had revolutionized outsourcing and partly
leveled the playing field for independents like Wikileaks.

“You aren’t asking me to hack the NSA,
are you?” asked Akeen.

“No, of course not,” said Raja. “Could
you? No. Never mind. I was hoping you could somehow supercharge Vinny
so she could do her thing and find our missing person. No crimes, no
hacking, no trouble for you.”

“I wish it were that simple. Since 9/11, there
are monitors to monitor the monitors that monitor those who monitor.
Regardless of how removed I remain, there will be consequences.
However, I will do as you ask. I can do nothing less.”

“Thanks, Akeen.” Raja admired Akeen and
recognized him as that rare being with a fully developed sense of
integrity. “Tell me what you need.”

“I’ll need to speak to Vinny.”

Chapter Twenty-seven: The Policeman Only Rings Once

Clarice paced across the bearskin rug that covered
the floor in the spacious living area of her Santa Barbara ranch
house. She stopped and looked down at the head of the bear, with its
open mouth full of sharp teeth and those cold glass eyes. It was one
of few remaining tokens of her first husband. She never liked that
rug or the violence it represented.

There was a loud knock on the front door.

Clarice jumped, her nerves already on edge. She
raced to the door and peered through a gap in the side curtain. A
uniformed policeman stood patiently, squinting under the bright porch
light. She quickly unbolted and opened the door. “Am I glad
you’re here. I think someone has been following me.”

“If you want, I can take a look around.”

“Yes, do come in.” Clarice turned and
walked to the bar. “Did Raja send you?” she asked over
her shoulder while she poured a snifter of cognac from a crystal
bottle.

The policeman stepped through the doorway, peered
left and right and then drew his weapon. A loud bang echoed from
behind Clarice that made her jump. She whirled around just in time to
see the policeman pitch forward like a felled tree. Her glass slid
from her hand and shattered on the floor a second after the policeman
hit the ground. Clarice looked down at the golden liquid running
along a seam in the floor tile and thought about going to the kitchen
for a towel. Then she slowly raised her head.

Standing in the doorway was the blond-haired man she
had noticed in town, in his hand a smoking pistol that pointed right
at her.

Clarice tried to scream, but a tiny squeak like the
air from a leaky balloon was all that came out. Then she fainted onto
the bearskin rug.

Chapter Twenty-eight: Dueling Hard Drives

Much like two computers that establish an interface
in order to communicate, Vinny and Akeen tuned in to each other for
the task at hand. After a half an hour of geek-speak, Vinny’s
tunneling program coupled to Akeen’s power grid got them into
the NSA data files undetected. In addition to being immediately
discovered, the search Vinny was attempting would have taken weeks or
months without sufficient computing power. The problem with finding
someone who doesn’t want to be found is having only the most
general inputs to use as search parameters. Sue could change her
appearance in many ways. That left only non-unique markers that
allowed millions of matches and required multiple samplings. The
computing power diverted through Akeen’s unique program allowed
Vinny to narrow the search to fifty thousand possibilities within an
hour. However, no amount of power could narrow the search any further
without more specific input. Vinny had none. Her frustration was
showing.

Akeen spoke to her through the live video call they
had established between their computers. “Do you need more
power?” he asked.

“No. That’s not the problem. You’ve
got me jacked up on steroids already. In the immortal words of Number
Five, I need input. After eliminating data like hair or eye color
that can easily be altered or hidden, I’m left with certain
measurements that can’t be changed. The problem is, those are
rather general, leaving over fifty thousand matches. I tried matching
anything like credit cards, IDs, family, facial recognition or habit
patterns. I got next to nothing. Without something more to match up
to, I still have thirty-seven thousand identities in the Greater Los
Angeles area alone. So, if Sue avoids the usual markers, which she
obviously is doing, I can’t narrow the search. We need
something special, something unique to Sue Storm. I’ve dug up
every bit and byte on her going back to before her birth. Nothing has
hit.”

“You need something unique, right?”

“Yes.”

“So let’s forget about her past. What is
unique about her in the present?”

Vinny looked at the idea. “O-M-G. I can’t
believe it.” She fiddled on the computer.

“What?” asked Akeen from the screen.

“Wait for it.”

“What?” repeated Raja.

“Wait for it.”

The search results counter number on the screen was
dropping—twenty thousand, ten thousand, then one thousand.
Still, it kept counting down until it finally stopped at one.

“Bam shizzaam,” said Vinny.

There was only one match.

A picture with a blurred out of focus face appeared
on the screen. The computer analyzed the image for every possible
detail. Then other images and data files began flashing up onto the
screen as the program now called up everything it could find on that
one identity. Finally a clear photo of a woman with short blond hair
and sunglasses settled on the screen.

“What just happened?” asked Raja.

“You are looking at Sue Storm,” said
Vinny.

“That doesn’t look at all like her,”
said Raja, peering at the screen. “How can you be sure?”

“Oh, I’m sure, bro. It was something
Akeen said. What is unique about her
now
. I was doing my
search ass-backward, looking for specific matching data to narrow the
search. Because Sue is hiding so well, I found almost nothing. But,
since only one of those thirty-seven thousand people is trying not to
be found, all the rest of them would have other data available—IDs,
money transactions, cards, facial recognition from security cameras,
etc.
So, a simple Boolean exclusion function eliminated them.”

“Nice work, Vinny. You found the needle.”

Raja looked to the small window on the screen with
Akeen’s face. “And thank you, Akeen.”

“My pleasure. Nice to meet you, Vinny.”

“Ditto.”

“Now, I’m afraid all hell is going to
break loose,” said Akeen. “I better go and see if I can
cover my tracks.” Akeen’s face disappeared from the
screen.

“And now we find Sue Storm,” said Raja.

Chapter Twenty-nine: Cop Killer

Early on Tuesday morning, a call came in from
Detective Rafferty. “Raja, I got a phone call from the Santa
Barbara police department. Apparently, there is a crime scene out at
Clarice Hope’s ranch.”

“Is she okay?” asked Raja.

“Other than a case of hysterics, she appears
to be unharmed. I can’t say the same for the policeman lying
dead in her living room.”

“Did you say policeman?”

“That’s what the cops thought when they
got there. There was a patrol car parked outside. The dead guy was
dressed in a patrolman’s uniform and shot through the heart
from behind. Turns out his prints matched a suspected contract killer
working out of Detroit. They are still looking for the patrolman who
belongs to the uniform.”

“Did Clarice say what happened?”

“She says there was a blond man who shot him
in the back.”

“Did she get a good look at him?”

“No. She only glimpsed him for a moment in her
doorway. Saw mostly gun. She must have fainted. When she woke up, he
was gone. The police found no trace of him when they arrived.”

“Sounds like Clarice was lucky the guy showed
up when he did.”

“Yes, luck, that’s what it was.”

“Well, I’m just glad Clarice is okay.
Will the Santa Barbara police keep an eye on her?”

“They’re going to post someone at the
ranch until they can locate the blond guy.”

“Thanks, Tommy. Let me know if you hear
anything else.”

“You, too.” Rafferty was a good cop. He
suspected Raja knew more than he was saying. He was right.

Chapter Thirty: The Invisible Woman Returns

Now that Vinny had a bead on Sue Storm, it was only
a matter of time before she found the reporter. Vinny ran her search
programs full time, tracking all images and data they had
accumulated. As it turned out Sue was hiding right under their noses
in Los Angeles.

“I’ve got fresh video,” said
Vinny.

“How recent?” asked Raja.

“Less than an hour ago.”

“Where?”

“Santa Monica.”

“Let’s go,” ordered Raja. Within
three minutes, they were flying down the 405 freeway in the red
Ferrari.

“Can we track her from the car?”

“You bet.” Vinny was locked in on her
iPad screen. “No other sign of her since she entered a coffee
shop on Montana Avenue near 10th called Le Cafe. She must be in
there.”

Raja downshifted to make the Santa Monica Boulevard
exit ramp, and then they tooled along Montana Avenue, keeping an eye
out for any sign of Sue Storm.

“Well?” asked Raja.

“Still nothing.”

Raja spotted the shop and pulled over. A dirty,
homeless woman sat on the bench picking at something in the tangled
mess of her hair. A group of teens hanging on the sidewalk ogled the
sports car as Raja and Vinny walked toward the shop door.

“Don’t even think about it,”
warned Raja, chirping the alarm.

The teens showed their palms in a gesture of
innocence as Vinny and Raja entered Le Cafe coffee shop. At a small
corner table, several Eastern European men were sipping Turkish
coffee from demitasse cups. Sue was nowhere in sight. A young man in
a green apron was wiping the counter. Vinny showed him the picture on
her iPad.

“I remember her,” said the clerk. “She
was just here a little while ago. She was in the bathroom for a long
time, and then I didn’t see her. She must have left by the back
door.” He pointed to the back.

Raja raced to the door, but Sue was long gone. He
and Vinny surveyed the back alley.

“I don’t know how I lost her.”
Vinny was frustrated. She did not like to lose.

“No cameras out here,” said Raja. “Plus,
she must have had transportation waiting in the alley.”

“I’ll review video from the area and I’m
sure I can pick up a lead.”

Back inside the shop, Raja pumped the clerk for any
information he had. Sue had bought a newspaper and a cup of coffee,
and sat down to use the WiFi briefly. That was all the clerk
remembered.

Raja and Vinny walked back out of the coffee shop
and to the Ferrari. No one had touched it. As they drove off, neither
of them noticed the homeless woman trudging slowly up Santa Monica a
block from the coffee shop, and if they had, neither would have
recognized Sue Storm. Sue prided herself on keeping a well-groomed
look, so it went against her nature to be out in public with so
wretched an appearance. However, a girl has to do what a girl has to
do.