“How long do we have?” Mo-bot asked, her voice coming alive with urgency.
“Ninety seconds,” I replied.
“Tell me what you can see,” she said.
“There’s a countdown on the central console,” I replied. “And beside it is a visual display of the satellite link-up. It’s showing the communication relays coming into alignment.”
“You need to activate a command window,” Mo-bot said. “Press control-alt-T.”
I did as instructed, and a black window appeared with a flashing cursor.
“I’m going to assume you’re through any security protocols,” Mo-bot said.
“Kavanagh had to get past them to activate the system,” I responded.
“Good,” Mo-bot remarked. “I want you to type GREP, leave a space, then type period EXE,” she said. “And then hit return.”
I punched in the command, and a list of programs populated the window. The countdown went through the sixty-second mark.
“What can you see?” Mo-bot asked.
“A list of programs,” I replied.
“Those are the programs the network is currently running,” Mo-bot revealed. “This won’t be elegant, and it’s going to cause millions of dollars of damage, but needs must. I want you to type RM dash ALL.”
I did what she said, but I sensed sudden movement behind me, and was horrified to see Kavanagh force herself to her feet and wrestle the pistol from Dinara’s grasp
The Russian operative brandished the gun menacingly.
“Step away from the machine!”
Chapter 116
I had no doubt Kavanagh would shoot me if I moved. The only thing keeping me alive was the possibility I might shut down the system with my dying breath if she took the shot while I was standing by the console. I stayed put as the countdown cycled through thirty seconds.
“Move!” Kavanagh yelled.
Dinara had been caught off guard by the injured woman’s speed and agility, but she quickly regrouped and knocked Kavanagh’s arm out of the way and moved in to tackle her.
“Jack, you have to stop this thing,” I heard Mo-bot say as I put the phone down on the console, but the program wasn’t my primary concern anymore. I had to help Dinara.
As the two women struggled for control of the gun, it went off, and a bullet tore through a nearby server rack. I ran toward the scuffle and grabbed hold of Kavanagh. Dinara punched her in the face, dazing her. I yanked the pistol out of Kavanagh’s hand and Dinara and I stepped clear of the formidable, vicious Russian agent.
‘Stop!’ I shouted, but Kavanagh came straight for me, so I pulled the trigger and shot her in the left leg.
She gave a guttural cry of anger as she went down.
“Here,” I said, tossing Dinara the pistol. “Keep her covered.”
Relentless and desperate, Kavanagh made another lunge for Dinara, and was rewarded with an angry smack across the face. Dinara hit her with the pistol again, and this time I shuddered at the sound of bone cracking. Kavanagh collapsed. She was out cold.
I ran back to the console and saw the countdown cycle through six seconds. I grabbed the phone.
“What do I do?” I asked hurriedly.
“Hit enter.”
I pressed the button and a prompt immediately appeared, asking if I was sure I wanted to delete all programs. I selected yes as the countdown reached three seconds. Nothing happened for a moment, and the countdown flipped to two, and then the console suddenly went blank, and every single machine in the gigantic room stopped working.
“What happened?” Mo-bot asked.
I stared at Dinara wide-eyed.
“We did it,” I told Mo-bot. “We did it!”
Mo-bot said something in reply, but I wasn’t listening. I suddenly became aware of the wound in my shoulder, as the tide of adrenalin receded. I felt myself sag with fatigue and relief.
Dinara took the phone from my hand and put it on the console. She put her arm around my waist, and supported me as we walked slowly toward the exit.
Neither of us said a word.
We were beyond them.
Chapter 117
There was so much sadness in the room. Kevin Parker stood by the large window, watching the waves gently lapping the beach. Victoria Parker sat opposite me, but struggled to meet my gaze. I was in the grand library in the Parkers’ Long Island home, and had just presented them with two thick folders that contained Private’s findings in the investigation of the murder of Karl Parker.
“I know your world’s been turned upside down,” I said, “but you need to hold on to one thing: Karl was a good man, and he loved you both very much.”
My remark was greeted by silence.
“What was his real name?” Kevin asked finally. He didn’t look at me.
“We believe he was called John Kubu,” I replied. “At least, that’s what Russian government records show. It seems the SVR purchased him and the other children from orphanages around the world. According to the files they’ve released, your father came from Kenya.”
Kevin’s shoulders slumped, and I suspected he was crying. This wasn’t just about Karl Parker’s true identity, it also impacted who Kevin thought he was and where he believed he came from. His father’s secret had changed Kevin’s sense of his place in the world.
The worst of winter was over and, outside, the snow had melted and the garden was starting to show signs of spring. Inside, the house still seemed chilled by grief and trouble.
In the weeks following the showdown at Naval Air Station Fallon, the Russian government had been forced to disavow Yevgeny Salko as a rogue operator who instituted and ran the Bright Star program without proper authorization. He’d been arrested, and certain Bright Star files had been made public, largely to mollify American anger. The Russians had recalled twenty-two US citizens, who, they said, represented all that was left of the cadre of embedded Bright Star operatives. Yenen had told us that there could have been up to seventy-two Bright Star agents. There was no way of verifying whether the twenty-two business leaders, politicians, financiers and journalists were really all that was left of the sophisticated program.
Ann Kavanagh hadn’t been so lucky. Instead of being recalled, her attempt to subvert the FORCE System saw her brought up on charges of espionage, and once she’d recovered from her injuries, she faced life in federal prison.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done, Jack,” Victoria said, looking me in the eye for the first time. “You’ve made huge personal sacrifices and taken unimaginable risks to find justice for our family. We’ll never forget it.”
“I meant what I said,” I replied. “He was a good man. The people who sent him here brainwashed him, but his life, the people he met and loved here, they changed him, and when it came down to it, he couldn’t betray the country he’d come to regard as his home. In the end, he did the right thing in a way that guaranteed your safety. He clearly loved you both very much.”
Victoria lowered her head and fresh tears sprang to her eyes.
“Our assessment of the timeline leads us to believe that when Enterprise Web Services won the contract to run Silverlink International’s IT platform, Karl met Ann Kavanagh for the first time since they’d trained together in Russia. He figured out the FORCE System would be exposed through her, and invited me to New York to tell me the truth. Whether it was Maxim Yenen’s leaks or a report from Ann Kavanagh that she’d been recognized by Karl, we don’t know, but something triggered Salko to order the execution of every Bright Star operative in Kavanagh’s intake. Salko was protecting his most valuable asset. Thankfully, Karl had taken steps to leave me a trail of clues in the event of his death, something he must have known was a possibility when Robert Carlyle died. Your husband couldn’t reveal Kavanagh’s identity to the CIA or FBI in case they’d been infiltrated, and he couldn’t leave the information with you because it would have jeopardized your safety, so he involved me, someone he knew he could trust. What Karl did ultimately prevented a disaster of almost inconceivable proportions.”