Not Quite a White Witch Ch. 02

Barnes explained that they were meeting because the problem came up and highlighted the problems with the old system. It was only Sam's fast response that made the meeting seem irrelevant. With the prior support firm it would have been a week or two with multiple meetings, surcharges from their ISP and the service firm, plus a few data outages.

Then Will Tyson asked a question about access to his investments, which were on the internal system. The only reason he was at the office was because he was having trouble accessing the account from home. The slowdown had killed his access.

Sam asked exactly what he was doing as the investment accounts were on the internal system. She did not think that crossover was an option any more; she knew there was no direct path. Her understanding was that this data could only be accessed from our offices, because it was on the internal system. "How do you usually get in?" she asked.

He told her the convoluted route. When she tried it she saw how the cache Tyson used, one that all the partners knew about, for that subsystem was swamped - it seemed the big attack had been a diversion for something more subtle.

"I see it now, somebody with internal knowledge - partner's level knowledge - hid a second attack in the storm of requests. The second attack, on your private files, would have gotten through except that the storm overwhelmed the system with higher priorities - it is like an attacker bombing their own troops. I have shut that down, but next time it might work if they don't use the bombers. Somebody with knowledge of the system made the second attack, and it would have worked this time because I did not know about it. Would somebody like to explain why this hole is here without my knowledge?"

Barnes had not told he had not mentioned it "because it was private and confidential." After all, it was the partner's money and they didn't trust her.

"Then you are trusting some hacker instead of me," Sam said. Her next breath withdrew her offer for the next service contract. (At the time the current agreement expired in 6 days.) She said this was "the type of foolishness that could get the company robbed real fast." She would get blamed but could not stop what she didn't know about. She did note that there was no "gate" to the internal system, that was something she had checked.

So Barnes tried to explain some old school computer tech. He claimed the original designer of the system said there could not be a breech by this route because everything was "batched" and not really available to direct online access. The partners had insisted on being able to manage their secure investment accounts from home. To avoid a "gate" between the internal and external systems the designer used a work-around involving "virtual fax machines" that didn't exist talking to each other with a time delay "through the same computer."

"So instead of a bridge, he built a cheap chair lift like on a ski hill before he left. Not cool," Sam said as she typed.

Barnes replied, "It seems to be working, we have both security and access."

"Access, yes. Security? No. I read the cache, there were orders which would have gone through in a few minutes if the attacker had not bungled the job. The order on top was to sell $3 million in stock from Mr. Everson and send the money to the Caymans."

As it happened, Mr. Everson was not at the meeting, he had flown to Denver with a client the day before. All were saved for his angry screaming tirade at the almost theft. Barnes would send him an email.

Next, Sam explained that she had, on her screen, a sell order set up for every investment Barnes owned, with the proceeds going to charity. When Barnes looked at her screen he turned white, he was aghast at the ease with which she violated the supposedly secure system moments after learning of its existence and without having been given his password. She was on the external system, but had bypassed the password system and written directly to the cache. Anybody could do the same. The system designer was flat out wrong about security. Perhaps that was intentional.

"Should I hit execute?" Sam asked.

Barnes declined, and conceded there might be a problem.

"A serious problem - unless you consider blackhat hackers a worthwhile charity," Sam corrected him.

The room agreed with Sam, it was some minutes before order was restored.

The question was what they should do about it. Sam wanted to close it, ripping out the cache was easy, and she had already closed off the external access. But every partner in the room objected to that. They wanted it "fixed" without removal. Sam said there was no fix, it wasn't that type of problem. Only band-aids that could be ripped off the wound and bleed.

Finally they compromised, or as Sam warned, they put an S-curve in the express route for highway robbery. The current system would stay in place, but she would add a layer of security to investment access in the form of a second username and password that had no relation to the lawyer's name - and hence would be hard to remember or to guess. "Call it a gate for the tunnel, it is dangerous for you, but the quickest option to keep current access," Sam explained. "I would feel better if there was a short timer on it."

But everybody in the room objected to being put on a short clock to make these critical, big-money decisions that lined their pockets. They settled on a one hour timeout after login, which was useless. Sam warned them that was plenty of time to steal them blind, and she would not be responsible, she wanted that on the record.

Sam had her own non-negotiable requirement: all the partners would have to see Sam by appointment to get their new second password in person. Until then they were shut out of the investments. There were grumbles at that until Sam put the "sell" order she whipped up to wipe out three other partners in the room up on the big screen. Seeing those orders, ready to execute, they suddenly all felt very naked and vulnerable.

In addition, in their vulnerable state Sam got them to agree to her implementing a trial system to make basic logins a little more complicated. For now it would apply to junior partners only. The objections of the two junior partners in the room were noted.

On the only other matter to discuss, Barnes was still not budging on external building security, so it would not be in Sam's next contract.

The displeasure in the room was nothing compared to the screams of agony and dismay from the junior partners over the next few days when they learned about their new login system.

-

Over the next 48 hours Sam and Barnes were still debating terms of the new contract. Barnes saw how Sam's concerns were serious, but he could not get around them so his options were limited. With time running out, Barnes felt his choices evaporating. Sam was even more pissed about the "ski lift thing." Then she found a second version of it that was set up as a "back door" by the original designer, who had promised contractually not to do that. Unfortunately, that contract provision was unenforceable as long as his return address was in North Korea. Even if they got him back, the CIA wanted to talk to him; then they would create a black hole for him to step into. Since the guy was a potential crook she said she needed a line-by-line audit, to find what other surprises waited. That cost money. They went back and forth.

Finally she said a 40-day extension of the current contract (ending July 31), with some added language, for $150,000 was the best she could do: longer was too risky for her without more facts (the audit) and shorter would raise the cost per day. Barnes knew Sam was right, he had a serious weakness that they had not known about, but he had trouble admitting anyone else was right and he was wrong. He accepted the revised contract on Tuesday evening, with a plan for a closing on Thursday.

Closing would be as before with a slight change in the order; signatures and payments would be followed by a consummation, then they would share a late dinner. This time it would not be at the Blank, Barnes could not reserve a room plus he was stunned at size of the bill. They agreed to "his choice" instead.

Barnes picked Maerlon's, a smaller sort of Bed & Breakfast place attached to a very intimate gourmet restaurant. Barnes always liked it as the best food in the region, with real meals instead of the overpriced mini-bites most top places served. Cost was an issue, Maerlon's was expensive, but nothing like Blank; the bill for the room and meal at the Blank had been astronomical, as much as a 5-day weekly stay, or a 4-day weekend, for four people at Maerlon's.

As a sweetener for making the long country drive, Sam again asked for some female companionship at the closing, "to sweeten your traditional... activities."

Barnes knew this was coming. He would be there for the paperwork, the consummation, and the meal at least. Then he could leave, or he might stay to watch or even participate. But whatever Barnes did, Sam wanted "someone sweet to make it an overnight party" after the meal. That required a willing female. Well, they needed a witness in any event. Barnes had a couple of options for that.

Several partner's wives were proposed, including Abril and Amy. After the dance at the social a few other women had expressed very strong interest in Sam's company. But Barnes could not negotiate for them in short time between when the date was set and the actual closing. In the end it was his backup plan, he would offer his daughter Rose who was his woman for the wife exchanges; she was eager to serve Sam with her smile, and get served in turn. Barnes saw how Rose was sincerely eager to get naked with Sam. She just hoped her dad would also be in the room, for mutual pride and happiness; if Rose pulled this off it would be the first significant accomplishment of her adult life, and it would help her Daddy.

Once David agreed Sam and Rose had several phone conversations. Each talk got Rose more excited, which she showed when he got home each night. The girls were going to bring "fun things" to use on one or the other. They shared details about what they liked to give, and what they liked to receive. Neither one was a size queen, it was more a question of the motion and "character" of the device used. Rose was sure to mention that she had a few times in her dating life when she tried being exclusively lesbian. Sam had always played well with both, so the threesome sounded like a good mix.

Sam assured Rose that she could just "lie back and enjoy herself" as a sweet treat for Sam to pleasure all night. But Rose insisted that she was hoping for a more active role... she wanted to get her "licks" in on both Sam and David, plus she was determined to use a strap-on to please somebody. Sam was all for that, they plotted a few attack strategies that might work.

"After all," Rose said said to her father, "why wouldn't I enjoy a sexy woman who is close to my age, and a lot more interesting, than the firm's partners I screw each month?" Along the way Rose also promised to clue Sam in on the other exchange wives who might also be interesting.

-

Chapter 2.

Arrival At The Inn

The contract closing was scheduled at "Maerlon's French Country Inn." The distance and unique features of the inn kept the reviewers away, the owners claimed they did not care about "fussy little palates with big pens."

The Inn had 5 suites, each fitted with 2 oversized bed, matched with 5 of the 6 tables that were widely scattered around the house in a semi-private arrangement. Each table sat four; no matter how many were in the party the price for the table was the same. Priority went to those who booked a suite as well.

There was no menu to chose from, dishes were selected by the chef based on what was best that day. People were always sampling what others ordered so Maerlon's simply took things to the next level with family-style servings. Excellent food was served fresh from the oven; dishes for passing were set on the table at the reserved time - whether everyone was seated or not. As this was California, every reservation warned the customer of the extensive use of cream, butter, meat and a style of cooking that did nothing to minimize calories. Allergies were considered if disclosed at ordering, but vegans and other "self-designated extra special people" were simply not welcome. Only the French could get away with such an arrangement in laid back Cali. Instead of a regular parking lot each table had an assigned two-car garage "for discretion."

For the country drive to Maerlon's, Sam chose to drive an inherited car that was transferred to her two weeks before, a highly modified 1967 Avanti that was her late Grandfather's "weekend driver." The custom painted car was distinctive and well-known in LA automotive circles. The Avanti was 4 decades old, but to an uninformed observer from the masses the styling of the rare auto suggested that it was visiting from 4 decades in the future.

When Sam pulled into the Maerlon's lot she was astounded to see David Barnes and his daughter Rose sitting in a copy of a 1920's Mercedes Benz SSK roadster, waiting for the door on the 2-car garage to open. She was assigned to park in the same roomy garage.

David Barnes was even more surprised, because he knew this particular Avanti, the car was instantly recognizable. Seeing it transported him almost 2 decades back in time, to happier times when he first met the car's original owner, the late Edward Mathews. He was even more surprised when it followed his car into the garage they shared and Sam got out. He was there for business, but he had to actively fight his extreme urge to talk cars there and then.

Where the Avanti was futuristic, the Mercedes-Benz SSK was a classic Pre-WWII design. It was designed by Ferdinand Porsche during the golden era of the Stutz Bearcat, Bugatti and the Duesenberg, when each car was hand-built with custom coachwork for the very rich who demanded the best. Driving a car from that era on the modern highways and then far into the hill country north of LA would be foolish in terms of the performance, brakes, lights, and relative lack of safety equipment, not to mention the very real risk of mechanical breakdown in a "no cell" zone.

David was not driving a car from that era. He was driving a more modern copy of the SSK, his "weekend driver" Excalibur was also built in 1967, with various upgrades applied. As a Wisconsin boy, David had always been a fan of the fine limited production autos which were produced in the Milwaukee area. His wife Ann (a West Allis girl she grew up less than 2 miles from the factory) was a collector with six Excaliburs in various states of repair. She also owned a few Studebakers. Both of her late husbands had Excaliburs and she met husband #2 while at an Excalibur Club gathering with husband #1.

The two designs shared a history. Their last year of US production, Studebaker tried to break from their "economy" image (they regularly won their class in Mobil Economy Runs) and introduced 2 remarkable new "halo" designs: Avanti and Excaliburs. Both were based on wrapping the sturdy Studebaker X-frame chassis and high-performance V-8 engines in a distinctive nothing-like-it-anywhere body.

The Avanti was a 4 passenger car with a unique and attractive aerodynamic fiberglass body which set a number of speed records as the fastest production auto (over 170 MPH with factory engine) in the world at the time. A supercharger was a common factory option. To go with the performance, the 3,100 pound car was also the first US production auto with caliper disk brakes.

The Excalibur was a more limited production run. Cars were essentially hand-made in West Allis Wisconsin. Designed as a 2-seat roadster based on the SSK, the make quickly became an icon among the Hollywood elite. The 1928 replica did not have the wind-cheating shape of the Avanti, but the 2,100 pound car had very strong acceleration.

Studebaker went out of the auto business, but unused Studebaker X-frames, tooling and rights were promptly purchased by two successor companies. The post-Studebaker Avanti and Excalibur manufacturers each struck deals for Corvette engines and continued to produce the designs for new buyers, updating things like bumpers, brakes, exhaust systems, etc. as needed. They both continued into the 80's. The small-block Corvette engine used in most of these cars was popular with many tried-and-true performance-boosting modifications readily available.

Both Sam and David knew the car design details (bumpers changes dated the cars) well enough to approximate the year of production (1967) for the other's vehicle.

The cars they drove were not immaculate polished show vehicles with matching numbers; their engines, brakes, bumpers, etc. were all updated for ordinary driving in 2008. Sam's Avanti had a 450 HP Corvette engine coupled to a 6 speed trany with paddle shifters, and there were oversized disk brakes on all four corners. David's very handy Excalibur included pieces from several wrecks plus add-on bits like a modern sound system. Only the frame and a few body panels dated from 1967.

David and his wife had owned their vehicles for some time. Sam's car was inherited from her "Secret Grandfather" and this was her first real drive in it.

The near simultaneous arrival was more good planning than luck, since Maerlon's family-style meal was served when scheduled, which was when the food and the chef were ready, whether the guests were seated or not. David had reserved a table for a 10:30 PM meal service. He planned on a 30 minute meeting in their room to handle the contract paperwork, then another 90 minutes in bed for the pleasant consummation ritual Rose looked forward to with such enthusiasm. Sam and David took different routes because of where they started in LA, but they were both right on time, pulling up at 8:30. The timing made the scenic drive in the setting sun especially memorable. Plus, since Barnes was in an open roadster, driving after the heat of the day dissipated was a consideration.

After a greeting and sincere expressions of surprise at their rides, the trio went to their suite where they quickly took care of the contract signatures and the transfer of funds on their laptops. As the contract was 40 days they agreed on $80,000 now and the rest on July 1. The contract also included provisions for Sam's office in the building, her extended sessions with service girls, and her standing invitation to the firm's monthly socials. Language revisions since Sunday absolved Sam of responsibility for the access to the partners' financial investment subsystem and any crimes based on "site access" gained from the vicinity of the building not covered by security cameras.

David had noticed how professional Sam acted from the time she got out of the car until they both closed their laptops and put the papers in their briefcases. She was as professional in this bedroom as she was in meetings at the office, which was very different from the seductive dominant he experienced in a very personal way at the previous closing. He wondered if, perchance, he was dealing with twins.

He was about to say something about it. Then, almost like flipping a switch, as the briefcases snapped shut Sam and Rose both changed into 16-year old schoolgirls in their demeanor. They held hands as they giggled and teased, speaking a dated dialect of "valley girl" that was foreign to David. They also kissed before him, but they did not kiss like schoolgirls, it was more like the opening scene in "Porno College Girl." He knew they had met at the June social, and had several phone conversations in the last few days. It seemed to him that they had some plans for the evening's activities.

As David thought about it, Sam was only a few years older than Rose. Maybe Sam was a little too old to be his daughter, and a little too old to have been in high school with Rose, but the age gap made them close enough to find common ground. Clearly Sam had much more in common with Rose than she did with David, and her chimera-like personality instantly imprinted with the younger Barnes.