Page 62 of The Devil's Ransom

Pushka typed,Thisisn’t like some stranger attached to a heart-lung machine. It’s the prestige of America on the line. They’ll have topay, andpay big.

Branko squeezed his eyes shut, then typed,Andthen they hunt us to the end of time. They will never forget, and they will never forgive. Eventually, they will come for us. Look at Conti. They now have aten million dollarbounty on their head. It’s why we always go low. Never big enough topissoff the beast.

The Conti group was the biggest player in the ransomware game, attacking bigger targets that would inevitably aggravate nation-states, until they literally strangled the entire country of Costa Rica, which caused the United States to finally sit up and take notice, offering a reward on anyone in the group like they were Al Qaida. Branko wanted none of that, preferring to make a nickel here and a nickel there.

The stranger broke in, saying,Afterthis hit, you can retire to Costa Rica. There won’t be another one necessary.

Branko ignored the statement, saying,Are you secure? How do I know who the hell you are? The last thing I need is an FBI sting.

The bubbles went up and down, and then Branko read,I’m Sphinx. I’m on the TOR network, and my IP address has been washed maybe a thousand times.

TOR was a secure encryption program for communication, mostly used in the dark web for selling illicit products. It stood for The Onion Routing project, and was a crowdsourced method of hiding IP addresses, preventing anyone from knowing where your communications originated. It consisted of millions of people around the world allowing their computers to bounce your messages through their systems until it was impossible to find an origin source.

That’s great. I’m glad you used security to contact us, but I don’t trust you. How do I know you’re even vaguely aware of what I do?

Because that code you’re using is mine, you arrogant shit.

And Branko realized he was talking to the real deal. The zero-click inventor. He typed,Okay, what do you want?

I want access to your penetration. I want control over the ransomware. And I want you to implant the time schedule I just discussed with Pushka. I’ve given him the code to make it happen. Execute.

Branko felt the hairs on his neck stand up.Why do you want that? We do the ransomware. We’ve gotten pretty good at it. You’re a leak. A stray piece of voltage that could screw everything up.

Because I’m the customer and you’re using my code. Make it happen.

Branko typed,What’sto prevent you from taking the money? Why would I do that?

I’m not going to take your money from the ransom. I’m the one facilitating the attack. Think about it. If I wanted to steal from you, why would I give you the code? This is personal to me. I just want to make sure it succeeds.

Branko sat for a moment, then decided.Can you do that, Pushka? Is it even possible to allow him access?

Pushka came back,It’salready done. Easy to do. Implant is in, with the countdown starting. Zero click worked like a charm. All I need to do is pass him our own gateway.

Branko heard the front doorbell ring, and Drago stood up to check it. Branko typed,Okay, okay. Pushka, I’m leaving the safehouse and coming back to you. Give him the gateway, but don’t do anything else until I get there. I want to see the access before we trigger.

Then he heard Drago scream.

Chapter36

Wandering through the small cobblestone alleys of Split’s old town, I had to admit, this mission was about the best ever. Humping a rucksack in the Hindu Kush certainly gave you memories, but this was something else. Especially with the gelato. Italy can claim to have invented the frozen treat, but nowhere on earth was it better than in Croatia.

I was on my second cone, walking down an alley full of tourist shops and cafés, when Jennifer elbowed me, saying, “Are you listening?”

I said, “What? What did I do wrong?”

“Other than eating about a pound of gelato? We’re walking by the target right now.” She showed me her phone, and the marble was directly to our left. The lower level of this building was full of tourist shops and cafés, so the marble had to be on the next floor.

I took a bite of my cone again and said, “You have to admit, this shit is really good.”

She smiled and said, “Maybe we should open a shop in Charleston. Then I wouldn’t have to spend my time getting shot at.”

I licked the cone again and looked at her to see if she was serious. Two tourists bumped by us and I let them get out of earshot before saying, “Okay, okay. No more fun. Where’s the alley?”

She pointed over my shoulder and said, “Right there.”

I glanced behind me, seeing a narrow little spit of a stone lane going through the buildings. I extended my cone to the front of her face and said, “Brett and Veep found the front?”

She took a lick and said, “Yep. They’ve already been by it. It’s a stairwell in a tunnel leading to a restaurant called Makarun.”

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