An Unexpected Crew Pt. 02

"OK. We got them and their method. I need an order and we'll disappear. I've already blinded their drones."

Drones? Damn!

"Go," came the order from beside me.

Seconds later, the driver made a left on red with heavy traffic and... we no longer had tails. A minute later, I was in a safe house.

The geeky guy sat down at the kitchen table and waved me and Gwen over. Her phone hooked up to his computer and... inside a foil like bag.

"It is corrupted, Ma'am." He unhooked the phone from the computer and put it in his briefcase. "I'll get you a new phone and all your personal contacts tomorrow." Not even a smile. "Ms. Bronkowski. The program is a simple one. We call it, Mercury. Someone had access to your phone. They had your passcode to upload it. It's the only way to get it loaded. You see, if the phone loses power, or is re-booted, the program disappears from the RAM and can't send data to the bad guys. To maintain contact with the phone, the program has to be uploaded again."

He turned to his computer to us and scrolled down the page. "It's been uploaded seven times since August."

I blinked. I blinked again.

I turned to Gwen and the look on her face horrified me... I could see the veins in her neck and forehead begin to bulge. The geeky man looked at his boss...

"No way we can tell who did this. The code has been around the world a million times in the last six years. Everyone has it. We do have an IP where it went, but... It may be a ghost IP."

"Mac... don't worry. We still have opportunities." Max Eisen laid a hand on my shoulder, then... Eisen sat down next to me and looked at Gwen across from him... with a serious tone.

"Ma'am. Anyone new, who has been in personal contact with you, since August?"

I thought I was going to have a stroke right then, and there. I knew who it was.

Then...

Gwen stood abruptly and the chair behind her tipped over with a loud clack. Anger written on her face. She grabbed the leg of the chair with her right fist and launched it across the room... the sound of splintered wood, deafening on impact. I never saw a chair fly so fast in my life.

"I'm gonna kill that bastard!" she roared.

*****

I sat at a monitor in Gwen's guest bedroom.

Three men with side arms and M4s... with suppressors... sitting quietly among themselves by the en suite bathroom. I looked toward the geeky guy... his fingers on a laptop computer and his eyes on the monitor.

From behind me... Eisen steps away from the draped window and sits next to me. Taking a pen and a sticky note... he shows me his note...

"There's a fucking drone outside the window. 200 meters."

I briefly thought... how can anyone see a tiny object 200 meters away?

On the monitor, I saw Gwen answer her door... pulling LaDainain into a kiss with arms around his neck. His hand on her ass through her flowing blue dress.

"Make yourself at home, Lover. I just have a little thing to do in the kitchen." She took her phone from the entry way table and moved it to the dining table as she entered the kitchen. As soon as she disappeared from view, LaDainain walked to the dining table, reached into his pocket and withdrew a tiny device. I couldn't see it that well. I wanted to ask, but Eisen told everyone to stay quiet until his orders.

LaDainain picked up Gwen's phone and inserted the device into the power and data port. My heart swelled with anger into my throat as I watched his fingers enter Gwen's screen password and then, pull the device from the phone and place it back onto the dining table.

Earlier in the day, the geeky man and three of his geeky crew swept Gwen's condo for listening devices and cameras. Thank God, no cameras. One listening device in each room... including the one I was in right now. Eisen ordered they remain in place. To keep the bad guys thinking we didn't know they were there. Thus... keep quiet.

I turned to Eisen sitting next to me. I received a sly, sassy grin and a nod. He looked at the geeky guy and nodded. The geeky man nodded in return, looked at his computer, moved his mouse and clicked.

"Go," Eisen ordered.

I watched on the monitor. Like a well-choreographed dance, the three armed men left the bedroom with black rifles pushed into their shoulders and cheeks. On the monitor, they entered the dining room and three more armed men came from Gwen's bedroom. Two men peeled off and blocked the entrance. The look on LaDainain's face... priceless... as three men had him in hand cuffs in seconds... pushing him to the floor on his belly. Eisen knelt down and I could see him speaking to LaDainain. LaDainain nodded. The look on his face... shock.

Eisen then stood... "Go." Again... without a word, three men picked LaDainain up from the floor and led him to Gwen's bedroom. Two minutes later, one man was pushing a two wheel hand cart with a huge wooden box as cargo strapped to the frame. Out the front door he went with three men following him. The firearms... hidden in their clothes.

"Get it cleaned up," Eisen ordered. I saw Gwen enter from the kitchen with a scowl on her face and her arms crossed. She was pissed. Eisen gestured her to come to me.

Prior to the operation to capture LaDainain... (An alias, by the way. Real name, Michael Stamper) The geeky man did some kind of magic signal which disabled the listening devices when Eisen gave the order. When the crew had cleaned up and was gone, he would turn off the blocking signal and the devices were still listening.

Eisen would try and turn Stamper to our side. Giving him incentives to switch teams. One incentive would be... to keep his life.

Yes... to keep his life.

I know what you're thinking. I'm an animal, thinking I could order a man's death. Well... before leaving the Army... I did just that. To save the lives of others. And... this is not so different. I have human assets on payroll... and, I want to keep them alive. To save the lives of Americans and the lives of America's allies through those very valuable assets.

Eisen and the geeky guy also uploaded data onto Gwen's phone. Counterintelligence information. False information to keep the bad guys guessing and wanting more... Giving Eisen and the geeky guy a chance to trace their location.

A week later, Eisen determined Stamper had no clue who he was working for. He had been contacted remotely with a cash incentive to move to Miami and get close to Gwen. Dead drops of cash, instructions, and the device he used on Gwen's phone. Dead drops were sent to Stamper through an encrypted and anonymous messaging service... Threema. I use that service, too.

I stood as Gwen entered the guest bedroom. Her hands on her waist and her hip cocked. Looking at me like she was about to lose it.

"You were fuckin' right, Steve. Again!" She shook her head at me, looked to her left and stamped her foot in frustration. I could see tears welling up in her eyes and her face turn red. "I'm an idiot. A fuckin' idiot."

"A gorgeous fuckin' idiot, at that," I mused.

She laughed and cried at the same time... looking at me and shaking her head in frustration.

"What am I going to do if this turns into a disaster?" The tears now pouring from her eyes and her nose running. I grabbed a tissue and handed it to her.

"You and I are going to live in Antarctica, where no one would dare come to find us." I grinned as wide as I could.

She fell into my arms and bawled. Hard. Ten minutes later...

Eisen...

"Mac. Now you. Anyone been in your home since August? Plumbers? Housekeepers? Things like that. Have you taken another lover recently?"

Gwen pulled herself from my arms and looked at Eisen. Then to me. Horror written on her face.

Damn! No way!

I reached into my pocket and gave Max my phone.

*****

The geeky man came from my bedroom. Looking at his detection equipment and his geeky crew following him.

"Nothing. No cameras and no listening devices. It's clean," he reported to Eisen. "Now... the phone." He extended his hand and Max passed the phone to him. Five minutes later...

"The phone is clean, too," he announced, as he continued to gaze at the notebook computer. My phone inside a shielding bag... I think it's a shielding bag.

He looked up to me and smiled. "My compliments, Mr. MacLeish. I see you change your passcode every week or so. Very good ComSec."

I heard Gwen groan a groan of disgust from behind me. The geek handed me my phone and looked to Max. "Now... the computers and the servers, Sir. I'll need a team for that."

"Get them. How soon?"

"First thing tomorrow." He turned to me. "Will that be OK, Mr. MacLeish? And, no using the equipment until I return, please." Moments later...

I sat at my breakfast table with an iced tea in hand. I explained everything I knew about Rosalyn Espinosa and Carlos Espinosa. Everything she had told me. Gwen holding my hand, as Max Eisen took notes.

"She told me, on the Friday before Labor Day, that her brother had quoted some equipment to me that was available at the time of the quote the previous week. Then, there was a backorder for the equipment. She said Carlos called nearly everyone on the East Coast looking for the equipment. Then, he received a call from one of the suppliers later, saying they found the equipment and they would send it express delivery for Saturday. Rosalyn told me she would return on Tuesday to install the equipment. Which she did. Gwen came here to help me learn how to use the upgrades and the new sound and video system."

Max didn't look up from his notes for a moment or two. "And, now... Rosalyn is a lover. This happened during the Labor Day weekend?"

"No. Not until later. After the installation was complete. It was..."

I ran my fingers through my beard... trying to remember exactly when I took Rosalyn to... I blinked. Eduardo's. She came to my condo the following Saturday morning.

"I took Rosalyn to dinner at Eduardo's on Monday after Labor Day. To discuss the prospect of a relationship. She came here the following Saturday morning. That was the day we became lovers."

Max looked up from his notes and looked at Gwen. "Miss Espinosa is your lover, too. Correct?"

"Yes," Gwen replied. Her answer falling off with frustration in her tone. "She came to my place the Sunday evening after she was with Steve. At my invitation."

"OK. I'm going to Applied Electronics and Electric and pay Mr. Espinosa a visit." Max looked at me as we both rose from our seats. "I'll call you if I need anything. Updates, too."

I stood in the entryway as I watched Max Eisen disappear beyond my front door. I was relieved my phone and condo hadn't been compromised. And, if Rosalyn was involved, she had plenty of opportunities the entire week she worked here... to place cameras and listening devices anywhere she wished and I wouldn't know any better. What bothered Eisen was her expertise in electronics. Her brother, too.

From behind me...

"You must think I'm really stupid."

I closed my eyes to my Lover's comment. No. I don't think Gwen Bronkowski is stupid. Careless, maybe. But not stupid.

I turned and faced my Lover. I paused and pursed my lips. I gently shook my head. Then... I smiled.

"No, Gwen. I don't think you're stupid, or an idiot. And, that's the last comment I want to hear from you about this. You and I have gone through a lot together and this is just another problem that has to be solved." I shrugged my shoulders. And then... I pointed a finger at her.

"I 'am'," I emphasized. "Going to send you back to basic Intelligence school."

I couldn't hold it for a microsecond. I burst out laughing. And... I couldn't stop. She ran at me and began slapping at my ribs and shoulders... trying to laugh, and cry, at her own mistake. As we held each other and our laughter subsided... I couldn't help but wonder just how bad this whole thing was going to be.

So... I sat down at my breakfast table and called Leonard Burns on an encrypted voice and messaging service... Threema.

"We found malicious code, Steve. I have analysts looking at it now. Whoever it is, they're not getting anything. All the data they downloaded is encrypted. It would take a hundred years with a thousand computers to decipher. There's only three people on staff who have the codes. Myself included. I have the other two on surveillance and have told them if anyone contacts them, I'm to be notified. No matter how innocent the contact. One of them told me, he had just met a woman. She's from France. I'm having her background run now. Also, I've changed the encryptions on all our data files with new codes and I sent the codes to Max Eisen, like you ordered. The other two don't have the new codes. Just me and Eisen. Steve, I destroyed the old codes."

"But, if what they have is encrypted, you can't change the codes on those files, can you?"

"No, Sir."

"OK. Then, if they should get the codes for those files they have, they can decrypt the files, right?"

"Yes, Sir."

Damn.

"It's still possible the other two have passed the codes?"

"It's possible."

"I want recommendations on what can be done to make sure these bad actors can't get the codes. I want the other two investigated for any bank transactions or any behaviors that would draw our attention. I want to know the names of their dog and how many hairs are on the back of their hands. If either of them tries to leave the country, I want Max Eisen called first and me second."

"Yes, Sir."

"Leonard. I can't exclude you. You're benched, effective immediately, until Eisen releases you back to work. I'm sending someone from Fairfax to relieve you."

"I understand."

I ended the call and sighed out my frustration. Gwen held my hand and squeezed.

I looked at Gwen. Frustrated at what she now had to do. If Stamper gets turned, Gwen would have to continue seeing him. And, I know Gwen. It would take every ounce of energy she possessed to keep from killing him.

Over the next two weeks, "LaDainain," continued seeing her and continued coming onto the boat. Except... Gwen wasn't fucking him any longer. She turned him lose on Amara and Sydnee. He was screwing them on the boat and, at their homes.

Rosalyn... Geez. That poor girl.

Eisen went to see Carlos. Indicating he worked for me. Convinced Carlos wasn't directly involved, Eisen asked if he could look around the shop. Carlos obliged, indicating if Eisen worked for me, he could look at anything he wanted. It wasn't three minutes later, Eisen found a suspicious device on the phone switching gear. The geeky man was onsite in less than an hour.

"It's a line switcher. When a call comes, or goes, from here, it can remotely tap the line and send the call to another line. The bad guy on the other line can listen in on the call, or re-direct any call to another line." He turned to Carlos. "You would never know it happen." Eisen told me the look on Carlos' face convinced him he knew nothing about it. At Eisen's request, Carlos called Rosalyn back to the shop, after she finished a home repair. When Rosalyn was shown the device...

"Yeah. I know what that is. It's a line switcher. It's used to listen in on phone calls and it can re-direct calls to another line, remotely." She turned to Carlos. "Why is it on your phone?"

Eisen had both Rosalyn and Carlos in Carlos' office with the door closed. Carlos tried to explain that Rosalyn was a self-taught electronics genius. She knew ten times more than he knew.

And Rosalyn... I'm liking this girl more and more. She didn't take Eisen's tone well, when he implied she placed it there.

"Look," she snapped. Leaning out of her chair. "I don't know who you are, but I didn't install that. Any idiot can install it. If you don't believe me, go to YouTube and you'll see dozens of videos giving you instructions on how to install and where to buy it. How to use it. Now. What's going on, and why are you here?"

Eisen didn't flinch. Asking to see the invoices for the equipment that was installed at my condo.

"Steve? You're here because of Steve? Why?" Rosalyn asked, partially shocked.

Eisen answered her with a stern look, as Carlos gathered the file on my condo. After a few minutes...

Carlos gave the invoices for all the equipment that was installed by Rosalyn.

"Which of these invoices involved the backordered equipment Miss Espinosa told Mr. MacLeish there would be a delay." After reviewing the invoices... Carlos looked up from the file...

"They're not here. And... I don't remember receiving them, either." He turned to his computer and looked at his ledgers. "I haven't paid them, either." He turned to Eisen. "I don't pay anyone without a valid invoice."

"Who called you and told you the equipment was available?"

Moments later, Carlos called and asked for accounts at Beacon Electronics in Jacksonville.

"Mr. Espinosa. Your equipment is still on backorder. There's a chip issue right now and it's hard to get anything."

Eisen listened in on the call. He stood and looked right at Rosalyn.

"Miss Espinosa. I need for you to come with me to Mr. MacLeish's condo. To tell me which devices were installed that were on backorder." Turning to Carlos. "I would like you to come with us, Mr. Espinosa."

Eisen called and told me to disappear for three hours. Gwen listened in, and dragged my ass to her condo. Gwen...

"I need for you to fuck me silly. I need this whole thing off my mind for three hours."

I grabbed her by the hair and pulled her into my chest. "I'll fuck you alright," I growled. "But first, you're gonna suck my balls and cock. On your knees."

With my left fist wrapped in her hair, Gwen knelt in front of me in her living room and sucked me good. She had me weak kneed within five minutes and I came in her mouth two minutes later... standing on my toes and flexing my butt muscles... urgently trying to empty my balls past my lover's lips. My eyes rolled back and things got blurry. She had her hand on my ass... pulling me into her mouth.

I fucked her.

Doggie. Cowgirl. Missionary. On the couch. On the floor. On the balcony. I sucked her gorgeous tits and her little clit while on my belly in her king size bed. The smell of her arousal had my primal brain on full alert.

I slapped her ass and bit her shoulder. I scratched her back. I had her by the throat. All the while, my fat cock slicing through her drooling pussy. I screwed her until I had my outrage satisfied. Not once. Not once did Gwen call a time out.

When I was done with her, her hair was a tangled mess and her pussy well fucked. I left her on her bed with eyes rolling around in circles and pawing at her tits and puss. Completely nude, I walked into her kitchen for cold water and a ham slice. I looked at my phone.

Two notifications. Eisen and...

Rosalyn.

Eisen and the geeky guy found a recorder in the equipment Rosalyn installed. I'm told, one that would upload data to an IP during the evening hours. All they got was my stock and ETF analysis files and my stock purchases and sells. Nothing that would be tied to Fairfax, Geneva, or Basel.

Of course, they didn't get anything of value.

I don't do classified business on my home equipment. I leave that to the people who work for me. It still meant... they suspected I was the owner of the Swiss operations.

Eisen left Miami satisfied that Carlos and Rosalyn were innocent pawns in an attempt to get information from me. Then, I had to return Rosalyn's call. Instead, I sent her a message, asking to meet her at any restaurant of her choice near her home. Gwen came with me.

Gwen and I were sitting together at a Cuban restaurant when Rosalyn appeared. I waved at her and stood to greet her. She came up to me with a, "not so happy," look on her face.

"What the hell's going on, Steve?" Her hands on her hips and her neck extended toward me. Her eyes glaring at me for an answer. I gestured for her to sit next to Gwen. I looked to the other side of the dining area and saw the tail we had since leaving the condo.