EXFIL by Anthony Patton (best book reader txt) 📕

the first sign of a cyberattack. This way, we can isolate the malware, assess the origin, and prevent it from spreading.”

He shook his head. “My guess is that shutting down the entire system isn’t as easy as it sounds.” He looked at me and rubbed his chin. “Oh, and I’m obliged to tell you that Mrs. Howard has filed a legal complaint against you.”

I nodded, not surprised: she must have heard that I had pressured Tom to sleep with a dancer, and now she wanted me to pay. I could understand the desire for revenge, but she should have known at some level that Tom made his own choices.

“I’m also obliged to tell you,” he continued with a grave tone, clearing his throat as if the words were getting stuck, “that regrettably, your name has been removed from consideration for promotion to brigadier general and that a formal UCMJ investigation has begun.”

And just like that, my raison d’être for the past year—my entire career—had just turned to ash as my heart sank. My year alone in Bangkok—all wasted. My pursuit of Jade Envy—wasted.

What would Beth say? How could I explain this? What did this mean for my career?

I could retain a lawyer to appeal but there was a political angle that would be difficult to overcome. I took a deep breath and nodded. “I understand. In my defense, I’d like to say—”

He raised a hand to stop me. “I would advise you to save any discussion of this for your lawyer. Anything you say to me won’t be protected.”

“I see,” I said, feeling the walls closing in—this time for real. I could only imagine how disappointed he was and how difficult it was for him to maintain a professional demeanor in my presence.

He touched my arm and looked me in the eyes. “You know I respect the legal process and the presumption of innocence, but if there’s any truth to her accusation, you’ll be in a difficult position. The kind of behavior she’s describing isn’t consistent with Army values, as you know.”

I nodded silently, feeling like a schoolboy being reprimanded by the teacher.

Just then, a siren sounded.

Despite the noise, I needed a few seconds to process it as a lieutenant colonel knocked on the door. “Excuse me, General, we have another cyberattack on the Pentagon.”

Lewis nodded and grabbed the remote control to turn on the television to 24-hour cable news. A few seconds later, the channel cut to the Pentagon with a “Breaking News” banner.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the anchor said, “we have reports of another devastating cyberattack on the Pentagon.” The camera cut to soldiers running outside the Pentagon as “PENTAGON CYBERATTACK” rolled along the news ticker.

I was always amazed by how quickly the news outlets could respond to these events.

As Lewis answered his phone, I moved to the office window and opened the blinds to see the operations floor below. The team was handling the situation like a well-oiled machine. As I watched them work, the only thing I could think about was not getting caught and saving my own butt, which violated every moral precept I had vowed to embody as a West Point cadet.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the anchor continued, “for those of you just tuning in, we’re covering what some are calling the most lethal cyberattack against the Pentagon, where we have live coverage.” Outside the Pentagon, the footage showed a reporter stopping a military officer.

“What can you tell us about the damage?”

“We’ve never seen anything like this,” the military officer said. “The Chinese have shut down almost the entire Pentagon.”

“Would it be fair to compare this to the 9/11 terrorist attack?” the journalist asked.

The military officer nodded. “Yes, I would call this a cyber 9/11.”

Lewis hung up the phone. I muted the television as he buried his face in his hands.

“How bad is it?” I asked.

“It sounds like all but the most critical command and control systems have been compromised,” he said. “As Jade Envy reported, the attacks appear to be coming from different locations within China, which doesn’t help us.”

I considered repeating my advice about shutting down the computer network, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized my plan was ridiculous—a desperate rationalization to justify what I had done. “Is there anything I can do to help, General?” He shook his head. “Call me if you need anything,” I added as I left the office.

When I reached the parking lot, uniformed military personnel and civilians were running inside. I started my car and drove away, not sure where to go. Should I try to find Anna? Should I head to West Point to talk about teaching positions? Who was I fooling? I was a dead man walking. After removal from the promotion list and the start of a formal UCMJ investigation, I would be lucky to get a job transporting rubber dog shit out of Hong Kong.

When a Crown Victoria driven by a young man with a buzz cut pulled into traffic behind me, the hair on the back of my neck prickled.

For the first time in my career, my gut told me I was under surveillance. Bearing in mind that I might be paranoid, I decided to stretch this out as long as necessary.

I didn’t have a specific destination in mind, but knowing that there was a coffee shop every few blocks, I made some random turns to sift him out. As normal as it might have seemed, the odds of the same car following you for more than a few turns was statistically low.

During the approach to a left turn with a green light, I glanced in the rear-view mirror to see tension in his face as he moved with me to make the turn.

Acting normal was surprisingly difficult with others watching.

With several traffic lights ahead, I checked the map on my phone to look for a coffee shop.

I kept the phone below the dashboard and typed one letter of “coffee” at a time, noting some spots a few