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Loose lips and sunken ships, Part Seven.
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-From: Part Six- -Go To: PartFive, Four, Three, Two, One-
Qatar, Middle East. The weather was near perfect. It was pitch black in this part of the world. The plan involved initial night attacks from the air and via cruise missiles. There was concern about the cruise missiles after the CIA confirmed that a large shipment of Russia’s latest anti-aircraft missile systems had not only been delivered but were fully operational. Many of the targets selected by the Air Force were those SAM and AMM sites. The ones they knew of, anyway.
Although the temperatures soared during the day, night was an entirely different beast as temperatures plummeted. It was cold this evening and a strong chill easily ran up the spines of the pilots as they made their way to the planes and began the pre-flight process. All of them were more worried about screwing-up their bombings than coming home alive. They knew what they and their machines could do and the thought of being shot down, to them, was downright laughable. It wasn’t to the old school senior officers that commanded the squadrons, though. They knew all too well that there was nothing man made that was "Unsinkable."
It took less than twenty minutes and the planes were prepped and the pilots locked in. Last minute navigational inputs were made along with the usual pre-flight checks. Everything was a "go" for Sellers and Harris. This was no surprise as the two men were well known for working closely with their crew chiefs to ensure their aircraft were in top order. They were among the best pilots in the Air Force and so were the others in their team.
All of the pilots were checking and re-checking their aircraft. The waypoints and targets were being focused on and nobody wanted to screw-up. Even though they were confident, the feeling that something might go wrong seemed to lurk about in the back of their minds. No matter how advanced the machine, pilots have always been human and humans make mistakes. There was no time to think about the "what ifs" now. There was a mission to do and distractions were an expensive luxury.
The message came from control and two-by-two the flights were off. Michael Sellers was airborne and running through his navigational checklist. All systems were a go and it would be a couple of hours before much else needed to be done. He checked-in with the notes on his kneeboard. His team’s assigned target was a facility near Natanz. That was deep inside Iran but he was confident that the Iranians won’t know they were there until buildings start exploding. What are they going to do about it? Sellers thought.
Denver, Colorado - It had been several days since Lisa Hightower got any real sleep. It was the same for her team. She knew she had been pushing them hard to find the problem. Progress was slow as they were reduced to reviewing code line-by-line. It was agonizing as team members worked in short shifts to reduce eye strain and fatigue. They all knew what was at stake. They also knew that Lisa was steaming over the fact that her repeated attempts to get an alert put out were rejected by the Program Manager.
James Lill, a long time friend and senior programming assistant to Lisa, waved a hand to quietly get Lisa’s attention. "What is it?" Lisa asked in a hushed tone. "I think I may have a faster way of finding the glitch," he replied. "First, I think it is important for me to tell you that I don’t think that this is a glitch at all. I think this was planted because we would have caught this easily had it not been," James said. "OK, I agree and admit that I was thinking along the same lines. But, how do we find the culprit?" she asked. James leaned back in his chair and extended his arms with fingers interlaced and palms facing out. The stretch resulted in some cracking knuckle sounds. "It’s easy," he said confidently, "All we have to do is track the traffic and band usage for each station from the servers. I can recruit some of the IT guys to assist me covertly."
James went on to explain to Lisa that there should be a spike in server usage and data traffic during an off-schedule or unusual time. If this is detected then they may be able to narrow-in on a person and figure out if an unauthorized upload or access to the master program was made. "They have to log that stuff, y’know?" James finished. "Get on it and see what turns up. We aren’t getting very far here and I fear our pilots’ lives are at risk the closer the country gets to launching an offensive in Iran," Lisa instructed. "I’m on it."
An hour following her conversation with James, Lisa found herself back in Jason Beck’s office. This time she was there by a strange form of invitation that involved the words "your ass" and "now" in a single sentence with special tonal emphasis. She was seated in a chair in front of Beck’s office listening to the mid-point of a teleconference conversation between Jason, a couple of corporate attorneys, and an Air Force Technical Representative for the Contracting Officer. "What is the reason for the damned delay in routing maintenance checks!" exclaimed the voice in the telephone box. Jason replied, "I am sorry general but we are experiencing a very unusual amount of sick calls due to the H1N1 or something. We are working diligently to boost staff to get things back on schedule." "Bullshit! I can see your crews at this station and not a one of them are sick or absent. What is going on, Mr. Beck!" retorted the Air Force General. "We are working as hard as possible, General," said Jason with as calm a voice as he could muster. "Well, you’d damned well better do better than your best, Beck. I want those planes ready and there is a major traffic jam here! Maybe we should give a maintenance contract to Federal Dynamiks!" yelled the General before the call terminated.
"Flu? Is that the best you could do Jason?" asked Lisa with an expression of disappointment on her face. "Shut up, Lisa! This is all your fault," replied Jason with an angry tone in his voice. "My fault?" Lisa asked with a raised voice that indicated a combination of anger and confusion. "I came to you over a month and a half ago and told you then that we had a serious problem, Jason. I sent you e-mails and memorandums constantly updating you and urging you to put out an alert! You flatly refused. Does the General have any idea why we are delaying the return of the aircraft to service?" Lisa asked angrily. The two attorneys remained silent as the two exchanged verbal blows and accusations.
"Lisa, you are going to go down there and order those planes back into service," Jason said sternly. "I most certainly will not!" she shouted back, "have you taken even a moment’s time to wonder if this problem is the product of a hack or some sort of espionage?" "No, I haven’t. Quite frankly, I was leaning more towards the incompetence of the programming team," Jason answered. Lisa shot a gaze at Jason that made him visibly uncomfortable and he cleared his throat while quickly breaking eye contact. "Lisa, when those planes go back into service they will only be flying routine training missions there are only a handful deployed overseas," Jason stated.
There was an awkward moment of silence. Jason could see the wheels of thought and realization turning in Lisa Hightower’s head. He thought to himself, Oh, I shouldn’t have said that. The self righteous bitch is about to hit the explode button. Right as he ended his thought, Lisa began to speak, "Forward deployed? There are aircraft with this major problem deployed to the Middle East, Jason? Jesus in Heaven, Jason! You are going to get people killed!" "Now calm down Ms. Hightower, for all we know they are just doing some joint maneuvers with the Saudis or something," Jason replied. "Bull Shit! You know what’s been on the news and you know that President Palin is on the verge of an all-out offensive against Iran! Those planes and pilots are in very real jeopardy, Jason. We must alert them to the danger with the transponders," urged Lisa.
Jason leaned across his desk and looked Lisa square in the eyes. "Are you going to call off the hold or am I?" he asked. "I suppose you are, Jason. I will not be a part of something as crooked and corrupt as this. Jason, think about this for a moment. People are going to get killed needlessly if we don’t let them know." Lisa said pleadingly. Jason just ignored her as he picked up the phone and called down to programming to issue the order.
Lisa turned and walked out. As she made her way back to the lab she stewed over Jason’s very obvious uncaring attitude about the airman at risk and the millions of dollars to boot. "They’re all insane," she mumbled to herself as she made her way through the crowded corridors. She was surprised to see James waiting on her.
"What’s up?" she asked James. "I have some news on our little investigation. I think we will be able to isolate the problem sooner than we originally thought." James replied. Lisa was happily shocked by the revelation, "well, what the Hell is it?" James explained to her that there was an extra software upgrade that had been issued from the Denver facility that was not in the lab’s logs. It was also not a normal upgrade numbering sequence. "Apparently," he said, "20-407 was an approved upgrade and 20-408 was also. But, we have a 20-407a that went out without ever having been reviewed by this lab." Lisa stood blank faced for a moment and then asked, "So, someone from the inside did do something?" "Bingo!" James replied excitedly. "This is why we were having a hard time finding it be reviewing recent upgrades and module add-ons. We never knew this one existed," he finished.
"The million dollar question," James posed, "is what is it and who put it there?" Lisa thought for a moment and then asked, "Have your friends in IT found anything?" "Yes, they have. The same date as the 20-407a went out there was a huge spike in activity from one particular station. You aren’t going to like it, either," James said matter of factly. "Whose office is it, James? Someone I know?" she asked. "Lisa, its Susan Chu’s office. I’m not saying she did it just that the traffic came from there." James asserted, "regardless, you need to ask some questions. I have no idea what that code script consisted of, how large it was, or where in the millions of lines of code it has been placed. Without that we can’t fix the problem." "Yeah, you’re right. I need to get up there ASAP," Lisa said as she turned and headed for the buildings elevators.
En route to Susan’s office Lisa thought to herself, Susan Chu? Surely she isn’t involved in any espionage. I’ve known her for years and was even present when she said the oath of allegiance for her citizenship. This must be some mistake or someone else has hijacked her link in. There is a problem though, and it starts in that office. I’ll need to be direct but not accusatory. I haven’t enough information to accuse anyone of anything. The doors slid open on the fourth floor where Susan’s office was located. As she continued to make her way to the office Lisa continued to think about her approach to the topic.
Susan Chu’s office really wasn’t what the average person would define as an office. It was a room in which two cubicles were placed. Susan shared space with a work partner, named Latasha. She new them both but knew Susan much better. Lisa arrived and opened the room’s door. Susan and Latasha were seated at their desks busily running diagnostics and tests on new program modules. Susan looked up and smiled at Lisa. "Hey," she said loudly, "What brings you here? It’s good to see you out of the dungeon." Susan and Lisa both laughed at the reference to the Lab in the basement.
So, how have you been?" Susan Asked. Lisa looked up and smiled before answering, "Not too bad. Things could be better, though." Susan looked a little concerned for her friend and asked, "Is everything OK?" "I dunno, Sue. Do you have a minute to talk?" Lisa replied. "Sure I do. Let’s take a break." The two ladies headed to an outside area that was well cared for with trees and vegetation. It was a sort of botanical garden where employees could go to get away from the confines of the office and the stress of their demanding schedules. The two women made small talk as they made their way down.
"So," Susan started, "What’s so important?" Lisa looked down for a moment as she collected her thoughts. "Sue, we have a serious software problem that presents a very dangerous threat to the aircraft and pilots," Lisa said. Susan remained quiet, studying Lisa and absorbing every word she spoke. Lisa continued to explain the anomaly, the unregistered and unapproved code upgrade, and the unusually high data traffic and server usage that originated from Susan’s office. "Surely, you don’t think that Latasha or I would do something like that?" Susan asked. "No, not at all. But, someone did use your office to plug into the system and upload an unauthorized upgrade to both aircraft systems," Lisa replied.
As the two women spoke about the dates and times of the anomaly, Susan began to realize that the incident Lisa was talking about was the time she ran that code for Tariq. She began to feel butterflies in her stomach. She wasn’t concerned that the code was harmful but was worried that the violation itself would be exposed while everyone tried to nail down that software problem. Susan didn’t say anything about Tariq’s code or the fact that she snuck it into the facility. She was convinced that it was harmless code meant to be a romantic gesture but, the fact that she seriously violated the rules made her worry that she may lose her job. So, she said nothing and told Lisa that she simply had no idea who that person could be or why they would be in her office.
The conversation ended. Lisa was disappointed that she wasn’t able to get any leads as to what code module was causing the problem. Susan remained, walking slowly as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed it. Tariq Aziz answered on the other end. "Hello," Tariq said. "Hey baby, it’s me," Susan said happily. "Hi, this is unexpected. Is everything OK?" he asked. "Well, now that you mention it I had a little scare today. Apparently some sort of navigational data triggers hidden code for the transponders on some aircraft and Lisa Hightower just spoke to me about that time I played that code for you. It scared me a little because I don’t want to lose my job. Anyway, I didn’t say a thing about it." Tariq’s smile changed to a look of intensity. He was listening very carefully to everything Susan said. "I hope everything is OK, then?" Tariq asked. Susan told him that it was all OK for the moment.
Some small talk took place between the couple as Tariq eased Susan’s worries. They made plans for her to go out with him when she got home. The usual sexual innuendos were exchanged and Susan blushed. She felt much better after speaking with Tariq. She always did and that was one of the things she loved the most in him. No matter what the situation, he could always cheer her up. The call ended and Susan made her way back to her office.
In the apartment, Tariq picked-up his cell phone and dialed it. He heard a voice answer in Arabic on the other side of the connection. "It’s Tariq," he said in Arabic, "my contact states that the plug-in has been detected but not yet located." There was silence on the other end then the man said, "You must clear away from there. Make sure that you retain and destroy the CD before you depart. Tariq, you know what to do with the contact." "I will do what must be done, Ali," responded Tariq. The two men exchanged statements of, "Allahu Akbar," a statement in Arabic that means "God is Great." The phone call ended and Tariq lit a cigarette. He stared out the kitchen window while exhaling smoke from his nose and mouth.
Middle East - It was pitch black outside the cockpit. This was Michael Sellers least favored type of flying - night flying. There wasn’t a thing that could be seen outside, not even strobes from the other aircraft. All he had to look at were the three glass panels directly in front of him and the Heads Up Display. The computer screens made the interior of the cockpit glow with an eerie bluish-white color. No matter who the pilot, machine, or what war, the long flight to the fight and the long flight back was the worst.
In the old days, pilots were alert to enemy detection of their squadrons and possible engagements with SAMs and intercepting fighters. But, in today’s stealth fighters the flight to and from the target was often eventless and boring. The computer did most of the flying once the navigational data was uploaded and the autopilot engaged. In a sortie like this there would only be a few minutes of fun as he dropped his ordnance and then bugged out. He sighed as he wished the distance could be shortened somehow.
Voice communications were out of the question between pilots. Radio silence was critical as it was one weakness all aircraft had - signals can be triangulated and tracked. But, microwave communication through satellites allowed the pilots to communicate through what resembled a chat room for instant messaging. Short choppy messages could be shot back and forth from time to time between the pilots. Nothing long or continuous, though. So, each pilot had to fight boredom as they monitored their individual aircraft. Captain Sellers sent a group-wide message to his team "fifteen minutes to hostile air space."
Denver, Colorado - Susan Chu left work on time this afternoon. She was actually too tired to stare at the code she was examining any longer. So, she and Latasha left work on time. She did her normal routine and got started down the highway, the usual impossible traffic was there and she looked forward to getting home with Tariq. Susan and Tariq, although not married, lived together in an apartment not far from where she worked. As far as Susan was concerned they could get married now but Tariq said he wanted to wait until times were better, whatever that meant.
Finally making it home, Susan walked through the front door and was glad to see Tariq waiting for her in the living room. He seemed equally happy to see her. They embraced in a hug and a quick kiss. "How was your day?" Tariq asked. "Long and boring," Susan replied. "Well, I think perhaps we should go out or something," suggested Tariq. "No, let’s order out. I’m exhausted today," replied Susan. Tariq agreed and they settled on Chinese.
After dinner, Susan was full and sleepy. She said that she was going to turn in early and Tariq volunteered to tuck her in. After Susan changed and laid down on the bed, Tariq pulled the covers gently up and kissed her on the cheek, Susan smiled at that. Her eyes were already shut when she said goodnight to Tariq. "Goodnight, my dear," Tariq said as he pulled the trigger on a nine millimeter silenced berretta pistol. A sharp "Thump" was heard as the bullet exited the gun and penetrated Susan’s forehead. She never knew what hit her. Tariq stood there for a moment, looking at the bloody mess that constituted the remains of Susan Chu.
Tariq removed the silencer from the pistol and left the room towards the front door. Pulling a small suitcase from the closet next to the door, Tariq calmly walked out making sure to lock the door behind him. In twenty minutes I’ll be at the airport and an hour after that I will be on my way to Syria, he thought to himself.
Iran - Michael Sellers was extremely worried and confused simultaneously. The message system was full of comments about transponders and the pilots’ inability to keep them turned off. Michael was experiencing the same thing. "Damn!" he exclaimed as he realized that the Iranians could clearly see them coming. Not only would the transponder stay on but it was on a locked four digit code. Realizing that the entire flight was in grave danger, Captain Sellers broke radio silence and attempted to contact the AWACS responsible for their group.
He was reminded of a silence order but insisted that the mission needed to be aborted because of a serious malfunction with the transponders on all aircraft in his group. The Officer in contact with Sellers was also in contact with numerous leaders all complaining of the same problem and all in near panic over it. The lieutenant verified on his screen that the aircraft were indeed transmitting. The Brigadier General on board the aircraft was alerted to the problem. "Jesus," the general said, "they can see them! Get them the Hell out of there lieutenant!" the general exclaimed and the junior officer went to work on maneuvering the flights out of harm’s way. The problem was that they were already well inside enemy airspace. "Major Garret, contact General McDonald’s staff and patch me to him immediately," the general said with a stern but worried tone and expression. While he waited for Clinker to get on the phone with him he sat in his seat wondering what on Earth was happening.
Alarms began to chime in the cockpit of Captain Sellers’ plane. Missiles were being launched from multiple locations and appeared to be heading straight for them. "Holy God, get us out of this." Sellers prayed as he broke radio silence and began to communicate with his squadron. The initial assumption was that the missiles were radar guided but would miss but after two nighthawks disintegrated in large balls of fire it became clear that the transponders were the beacons.
The aircraft flew in evasive maneuvers but it was to no avail. One by one the aircraft disappeared in huge explosions. Michael ordered his remaining pilots to hit full throttle and head for the sea. They all did as he instructed but more were taken out by faster traveling missiles. In ten minutes it was over.
"Sir," said the lieutenant, "I’ve lost all contact with our birds." "What," exclaimed the General. "What do you mean, ‘lost contact?’" asked the general. "They’re gone, sir. I have nothing, no radar, SAT-TRACK, or radio contact. I, I think they’ve been shot down, sir." "Impossible!"
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