The Spy Devils by Joe Goldberg (top rated books of all time .TXT) 📕

“Irrelevant? How can it be irrelevant? Isn’t that the whole point?” Peter said, too loud for the small room.

“Yes, well, sort of. Hillcrest is impressive, blah, blah, sure. The case is a masterpiece.” Gilbert caressed the case with his hands. “The exterior is chromium, the hardest metal on the Mohs scale, plated over titanium. Strong. Light. Its interior is entirely RF-shielded with copper, steel, and aluminum. You can’t see in with x-rays, CT scans, MRIs…any of them. It is basically a built-in Faraday Cage. Access is through a unique combination of biometric and authentication controls. Even more advanced than into this room. See this panel?” Gilbert pointed to the raised panel on the side of the case. “It controls multimodal biometrics—face, iris, palm vein, voice. Big deal, you say?”

“Is it a big deal?” Bridger asked to keep Gilbert on his roll.

“Of course it is. The miniaturization and mobility of the technology are Nobel-worthy. The FAR/FRR numbers, the false acceptance rate, false rejection rate, are near zero. Zero! In any environment. It is spoof proof against unauthorized intruder attacks. A unique authentication code must be entered within a certain time limit. In the commercial world,” he pointed to the case, “this is a multimillion-dollar product. Multi. Multi.” Gilbert paused. “I know what you’re thinking.”

“Oh?” Peter looked at Bridger, who was looking at the case.

“You’re thinking, forget the biometric stuff. Steal it. Take it to the shop and cut it open with a laser or plasma torch. Boom! You have what is inside.”

“Well, that had crossed my mind,” Bridger reached to touch it. Gilbert slid it away.

“Unauthorized access triggers an internal self-destruct mechanism. There is a thin layer of C-4 with a detonator in the lining.”

“Well, boom, that is explosive information. Dynamite!” Bridger said with a chuckle, pulling his hand away.

“Yes, that is a good one, Arnie!” Gilbert laughed. “I appreciate a good pun. You don’t want to be standing nearby when this goes off. Oh, it has GPS inside that cannot be shut off. If someone steals it, we have a locator signal.”

“It has GPS?” Bridger asked, glancing at Peter.

“Yes, with a boosted signal, accelerometers, barometers, magnetometers, and a few more secret sauces I won’t discuss.”

“Then where is it?” Peter asked.

Gilbert sighed and bit his pink lips in a look of embarrassment.

“I don’t know. It disappeared in Kyiv. The GPS could not be turned off, so it is either destroyed, or it is in a very, very, very, RF-proof location. If it comes out, we can pick it up. I hope.”

“So, let’s recreate this. MacLean took a case just like this?” Bridger asked.

“Yes, exactly.”

“And a complex combination of biometrics is pre-set to one singular user?”

“Correct.”

“And he took a case only he could open?”

“Yes.”

“And you helped him program it for his biometrics?”

“Naturally.”

“Of course.” Bridger moved over toward the case, forcing Gilbert to step back against the wall. “He is dead. Are you telling me it can’t be opened, ever?”

“No. I didn’t say that.” Gilbert’s head turned to keep his eyes on the visitor.

“That means you built a backdoor into the access protocols or secure token access.”

Gilbert sat in stunned silence. He put his hands on the case and slid it to his lap.

“Who are you, Arnie?”

Bridger smiled at the question. It was the question asked by every target of the Spy Devils.

“How does that work?” Bridger answered the question with one of his own.

“That’s one of my trade secrets.” Gilbert took the case and locked it back in the cabinet.

Bridger looked at Peter. “Hey, do you mind if I get a private word with Gil here? I just need a minute.”

“Sure.”

Bridger closed the door behind Peter.

A few minutes later, it opened and the men came out. Gilbert looked like he wanted to get into one of the space models in his office and disappear.

“Everything okay?” Peter said as the men climbed the stairs.

“Never better,” Bridger answered.

Gilbert didn’t.

They climbed the stairs in silence and moved through the door onto the main floor. The silence continued as Gilbert escorted them to the exterior door. Bridger stopped and turned to Gilbert.

“What's the difference between an introverted and an extroverted engineer? An introverted engineer looks at his shoes when he's talking to you, an extroverted engineer looks at your shoes when he's talking to you.”

Gilbert’s cackling laughter echoed down the hall until the security door slammed shut behind them.

Later that night, Bridger sank exhausted into the overstuffed chair in his luxury suite at the Ritz. He was happy to see the hotel staff had replenished his supply of nuts and chocolates in his complimentary gift basket. He grabbed a handful of nuts and tossed a few into his mouth.

It had been a good day. The time with Peter was well-spent. He looked to be an okay guy. Dependable. Skeptical of authority—which made him smart. Gilbert had been very forth-coming. He got all he needed from him.

There was one loose end that Peter dropped at lunch that he needed to address. Letting out a sigh, he picked up his phone and dialed.

“Why Chapel, May?” he asked before she could say a greeting.

“Hello, Trowbridge. It is always good to hear your voice.” May Currier blew on her tea. She was sitting on her patio, enjoying the night air of her large backyard. The Potomac rushed by just on the other side of the tree line.

“May?”

“Oh, yes. Danny is an integral part of this operation.”

“How integral?”

“Very.” She took a sip. Still too hot.

Bridger let silence be his answer.

“You are exasperating. He is assisting the Kirkwood company with their issues with the Ukrainians.”

“Which issues?” Bridger knew she wouldn’t say, but by asking he might get some inkling of what she was thinking. If not, at least he knew it pissed her off.

“All of them.” She tried her tea one more time. It was just the right temperature. “Danny will call if it comes to the point you are retrieving the Hillcrest material, he will be the one you will give it to. He will