"What of it?"
"Remember that van, the one that blew up and."
"How can I forget."
"And then my Tempest article."
"Yeah. I know, I"m sorry," Tyrone said sincerely.
"f.u.c.k it. It"s over. Wasn"t your fault. Anyway, I saw the equipment in actual use. I saw them read computers with anten- nas. It was absolutely incredible. It"s not bulls.h.i.t. It really works." Scott spoke excitedly.
"You say it"s Tempest?"
"No, anti-Tempest. These guys have got it down. Regardless, the stuff works."
"So what? It works."
"So, let"s say, if the hackers use these computer monitors to find out all sorts of dirt on companies," Scott slowly explained as he organized his thoughts. "Then they issue demands and cause all sorts of havoc and paranoia. They ask for money. Then they don"t come to collect it. So what have they achieved?" Scott asked rhetorically.
"They tied up one s.h.i.t load of a lot of police time, I"ll tell you that."
"Exactly. Why?"
"Diversion. That"s where we started," Ty said.
"But who is the diversion for?"
The light bulb went off in Tyrone"s head. "The hackers!"
"Right," agreed Scott. "They"re the ones who are going to do whatever it is that the diversion is covering. Did that make sense?"
"No," laughed Ty, "but I got it. Why would the hackers have to be covering for themselves. Couldn"t they be working for someone else?"
"I doubt it. This is one independent bunch of characters," Scott affirmed. "Besides, there"s more. What happened in D.C. . . ."
"Troubleaux," interrupted Ty.
"Bingo. And there"s something else, too."
"What?"
"I"ve been hearing about a computer system called the Freedom League. Nothing specific, just that everything about it sounds too good to be true."
"It usually is."
"And one other thing. If there is some sort of hacker plot, I think I know someone who"s involved."
"Did he admit anything?"
"No, nothing. But, well, we"ll see." Scott hesitated and stut- tered. "Troubleaux, he said something to me."
"Excuse me?" Ty said with disbelief. "I thought his brains were leaking out."
"Thanks for reminding me; I had to buy a new wardrobe."
"And a tan? Where"ve you been?"
"With, well," Scott blushed, "that"s another story."
"O.K., Romeo, how did he talk? What did he say?" Ty asked doubtfully.
"He told me that dGraph was sick."
"Who"s dGraph?"
"dGraph," laughed Scott, "is how your secretary keeps your life organized. It"s the most popular piece of software in the world.
Troubleaux founded the company. And I think I know what he meant."
"He"s a nerdy whiz kid, huh?" joked Tyrone
"Just the opposite. Mongo s.e.x appeal to the ladies. No, his partner was the . " Scott stopped mid sentence. "Hey, I just remembered something. Troubleaux had a partner, he founded the company with him. A couple of days before they went public, his partner died. Shook up the industry. Shortly thereafter Data Tech bought them."
"And you think there"s a connection?"
"Maybe, ah...I can"t remember exactly," Scott said. "Hey, you can find out."
"How?"
"Your computers."
"They"re at the office."
Scott pointed to his computer and Tyrone shook his head violent- ly. "I don"t know how to. "
"Ty," Scott said calmly. "Call your secretary. Ask her for the number and your pa.s.swords." Scott persuaded Ty to be humble and dial his office. He was actually able to guide Ty through the process of accessing one of the largest collections of informa- tion in the world.
"How did you know we could do that?" Ty asked after they logged into the FBI computer from Scott"s study.
"Good guess. I figured you guys couldn"t function without remote access. Lucky."
Tyrone scowled kiddingly at Scott. "You going over to the other side boy? You seem to know an awful lot."
"That"s how easy this stuff is. Anyone can do it. In fact I heard a story about octogenarian hackers who work from their nursing homes. I guess it replaces s.e.x."
"Bulls.h.i.t," Tyrone said pointing at his chest. "This is one dude who"s knows the real thing. No placebos for me!"
They both laughed. "You know how to take it from here?" asked Scott once a main menu appeared.