Page 42 of Hacker Unknown

“They think we are hiding something. Claimed they planned to make sure we never received another contract.” Antonio laughed. “I told him, ‘Good, because they only led to my men and women almost dying.’ We all know the next time something goes down, they will still call, and my dumb ass will take the contract.”

I really didn’t want to believe Sawyer was doing something wrong. Yet his continuing to keep my research made me curious about what he really planned to do with it. “I still don’t understand how you plan to figure out if he is hiding something.”

Kat waved her arm toward CJ. “That’s his job … using his magic fingers on the computer to access the network. Sawyer runs a lot of companies, but the only one that might have something the government would want is the medical research. Hence CJ tagging along today.”

“Wouldn’t a place like this have stuff setup to keep hackers out?”

CJ glanced up from the keyboard. “They have top-of-the-line network security appliances. But real hacking is about social engineering and people being lax about their security.”

“Social engineering?” I asked.

Antonio chuckled. “My older brother Alex learned about social engineering the hard way. His now-wife sent him phishing emails, which are fake emails about his iCloud account being compromised. The dumb ass logged in and input his password. Many people use the same password for everything, which allowed Bridget to gain access to not only his iCloud, but also his network account at Ross Enterprise.”

I blinked, trying to take all the information in and realized I was one of those people. Years ago, I’d created a standard password and used it for everything. “But nowadays, you need to get a text on your phone for verification. So even if you had the password compromised, you would be fine.”

“Most people do think that.” CJ held up his phone. “It’s gotten hard to intercept SMS messages, but there are still ways to do it. Last night Sawyer came to Sanctorum, and while he was on the floor, I snuck into his locker and installed an app that mirrors his messages. Before you ask how I unlocked the phone … one of my friends has a company that builds holograms. When Sawyer wasn’t looking, I recorded him and uploaded the video into the device, which gave me a picture of his face to unlock the phone.”

“So, you got his face to unlock the phone, and did a phishing email for his password?” I started to understand the process. It seemed like a lot of work just to access a machine.

“Yes, but it took me a lot of attempts to get him to fall for the phishing email. It only happened a couple of days ago. I knew Paolo had an appointment today, which would allow me to access the Wi-Fi here along with his credentials.” CJ turned back to the machine.

Kat leaned against the far wall. “While we are waiting on CJ to do his magic, Paolo, how are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

I rolled my eyes. “He hasn’t coughed up blood in four days. With this treatment, they do scans weekly, and on Monday, it showed the mass in his lung had shrunk. The doctors are still concerned with how much it has spread in his body, but we should know more in the next few weeks.”

“Great, you are coming back after your show this weekend?” Kat asked the question neither Paolo nor I had talked about.

“As of right now, I don’t have a trip planned to come back,” I answered.

The room became uncomfortably quiet as Paolo didn’t say anything else either.

“Found something,” CJ announced, breaking the silence.

Kat rushed to where CJ worked and leaned over his shoulder. I went to stand, but Paolo squeezed my hand. I could see the questions in his eyes—one we needed to talk about.

“What is it?” Antonio asked.

“United Kingdom government contract for mind remapping. From what I understand in this letter back to the government, there’s a report on the progress of a device that could map brain cells by genes and then trace the connection to neural circuitry,” Kat explained.

I grabbed my phone and googled neural circuitry. The basic definition covered how neurons connected within our brains and worked together to process and transmit information.

Kat spun on her heels. “Those Brits in the world chat. I can’t remember the alliance name, but the one that always sides with Sawyer and him with them. My guess is they are MI6.”

“Those fuckers. Bryson Walker’s family has connections to those security societies and MI6,” Antonio ground out.

“Who is Bryson Walker?” Paolo asked.

“He and his brothers live in the Dallas area. I know him from when I was in the Navy, and he worked for the CIA. His familyowns a large oil company, and are also part of the Nobility Society, which I don’t even have enough time to get into,” Antonio explained.

Paolo nodded. “But I don’t see how this links together.”

“The Black brothers and Walker brothers are close to each other. Sawyer, from what I can see, has been in Jared’s inner circle for a long time. Walker told me about the Society in the UK—I can’t remember the name right now—that only recruits the smartest people and funnels money into the organization,” Antonio replied.

“You are on to something,” CJ chimed in. “Sonali’s mom was a research scientist and did have a huge income along with her father. Her dad’s mother is from the UK, so he has the bloodline. Let’s say the Society gave him the money to fund his medical company that Sawyer now runs, which is tied back to the UK.”

“This sounds like a conspiracy I’d read on Reddit forums. You’re saying secret societies exist?” I asked.

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