Mastermind: A Theo Cray and Jessica Blackwood Thriller Read online

  “New York was enough for you?” asks Jessica.

  “We fared okay after COVID-19 because we took a hard hit on SARS and learned to be proactive. We also decided to prepare for other contingencies. When we heard about the mini-EMPs, our first concern was, what if our friends to the north managed to get their hands on some?” Lilith explains. “Watch your heads.”

  She holds the side door open so we can climb inside the vehicle. Jessica takes the seat opposite the door facing a large monitor. I sit next to her.

  “This is a little intense,” says Jessica, looking around at the interior of the vehicle.

  “EMP and chemical agent–proof?” I ask.

  “Yes,” says Lilith. “We haven’t gotten our helicopters protected yet.”

  “Neither have we,” says Jessica with a wink at me.

  The others get inside, and Lilith seals the door, then gives an order to the driver. The vehicle begins to move forward with our escorts following on either side.

  “We’ll take the main highway toward the center. If there’s anything you want to get a better look at, let me know. We have several drones up in the air and a long-distance camera on the roof.” She points to a large monitor.

  For the first time, I notice the large black void in the center of the screen. It’s a view of Seoul . . . or rather what should be Seoul. Where Manhattan had been a dark pit in the middle of the water, Seoul is a hole in the middle of a megalopolis. There are buildings . . . and then nothing.

  “What’s the air quality like there?” I ask.

  “Similar to New York. The cloud contains carbon soot that’s probably not good for long-term exposure. We have respirators on board in case we have to get out.”

  I turn to Jessica. “Do you have any satellite images or heat maps of the Manhattan event?”

  “I’ve got an iPad full of them. What are you looking for?”

  “This is literally a smokescreen. Both visually and electronically,” I tell her.

  She hands me the device and opens a folder of images. “You think there’s something going on right now?”

  “Possibly. I’d be curious to take a look at whatever weird stories we have from New York. The things that authorities claimed were just hysteria.”

  Jessica makes a small nod. “I was wondering if you were going to ask about that.”

  “You didn’t want to tell me?”

  “I wanted independent confirmation that there might be something more to it. There should be a folder there with the kind of eyewitness reports you’re talking about.” She points to an icon on her tablet.

  I read the icon’s label aloud: “‘Demons and Dementors’?”

  “Yep,” says Jessica. “More than a dozen sightings. The witnesses used various terms. But the gist is that some people claim there were things in the Void.”

  “Things?”

  “Fast-moving objects. Dark blurs, basically.”

  I go back to the images of the blackout and start zooming in.

  “You don’t want to read them?”

  “Maybe later,” I reply. “I think I know what the witnesses said. I just want to make sure I understand what they were doing.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  BALANCE POINT

  I scan the images showing which parts of the city were in total blackness and which were not. Despite the EMPs, certain areas of the city managed to make it through relatively unscathed. At first, I take that to be random luck, but on closer examination of the photos, I notice the time stamps and realize that some of them eventually did experience a total blackout. Was this because of a delay in the EMPs or some other factor? Hiding secrets behind something meant to seem random?

  I pull up the current weather reports for Seoul, Singapore, and Manhattan on the night of the events. There’s about a twenty-degree temperature variation, but wind speed is about the same, and they all have strong climate differences with their surrounding areas. The urban-island effect at the extreme.

  Jessica is watching over my shoulder. I show her the weather reports. “I’m sure this was noted.”

  “Yes. People talked about how the weather made the situation even worse. There were a lot of comparisons to the New York 1966 smog event and London’s killer fog of 1952,” she says.

  “Killer fog?” asks Lilith.

  “Yeah. Prior to air-quality standards in the US and Europe, the smog problem got critically bad when weather kept pollutants trapped in one area. Our void coincided with a similar weather event.”

  “And yours,” I tell Lilith.

  “We get those kinds of fogs more frequently now,” Lilith replies.

  I check my data. “There’re a lot of places with similar climates where this could be pulled off. Seoul and Singapore getting hit on the same night may be a matter of convenience.”

  “They were waiting for the weather?” asks Lilith.

  “I assume so. For maximum impact.”

  “We’re getting closer,” says Jessica as she looks at the monitor.

  The Void takes up the entire screen now. The only indicator that the monitor’s not switched off is the highway and the streetlights visible in front of us. They stretch ahead for several miles, then simply end.

  “Can we get out and look?” I ask.

  Lilith calls to the driver, and the vehicle comes to a stop. Jessica opens up the door, and we step out onto the deserted highway to view the Void with unaided eyes. My first reaction is pure awe.

  The mental model that comes to mind is that of a massive glacier made of black ice that has swept across the city. At the outer edges, the lights of emergency vehicles flash as they try to evacuate people from inside the cloud.

  Occasionally I catch the glimmering purple flashes that reports have attributed to EMPs being triggered like aftershocks.

  “Who were the first into Manhattan?” I ask.

  “Firefighters,” says Jessica. “They were the ones with the right gear.”

  “Do you want to get any closer?” asks Lilith.

  “Yes,” I respond without hesitation.

  “Okay, any particular place?”

  I read an address from a browser window on Jessica’s iPad. “Can we go there?”

  “I think so. What’s there?”

  “That’s where the lights are on. Or at least they’re on right now,” I reply.

  “How do you know that?” asks Jessica.

  “I pinged a list of Seoul internet addresses. This one answered back. They’re still connected to the internet via a fiber-optic cable that wasn’t affected.”

  “And you think that’s intentional?”

  “Maybe. The fact that not all the EMPs went off at once was either accidental, a way to interfere with first responders—like yourself—or intended for some other purpose,” I say as we climb back into the vehicle.

  Lilith tells the driver where to go, and we start moving forward again into the maelstrom.

  As I speak, all eyes are on the monitor.

  “Think of a squid,” I explain. “It uses its ink as a means to escape predators, right? Well, it turns out that ink isn’t only a defensive weapon like we thought. We’ve observed Japanese pygmy squid using ink to confuse and distract shrimp. A feeding strategy. Which makes sense. So whenever we find a useful tool with only one application, I assume that we haven’t been watching the animal that uses it closely enough.”

  Ray listens attentively while Dr. Gap-Kyum nods.

  I point at the Void on the screen, which has devoured almost all of the highway in front of us. “This isn’t just some fireworks display. And to your point, Jessica, I’m not sure I’d call it a distraction or diversion. Whatever it is that they’re trying to hide is happening now, right inside here. Our clever squid is swimming around this area, doing something important. Fortunately, like squid, they share the same weakness.”

  “What’s that?” asks Lilith.

  For the first time, Dr. Gap-Kyum speaks up. “They’re blind, too.”

  �
��Exactly,” I say. “However, they have the benefit of knowing where they’re going and what they’re doing.” I think for a moment. “Is anyone here a marksman?”

  Ray lifts his hand and says in accented English, “Sniper training. Highest score.” He opens his jacket and shows a holstered pistol.

  “Perfect. We may need to see if you still have the skill.”

  “Are you expecting to run into them?” asks Lilith.

  “Maybe not them, but possibly one of the flying demons from the reports. If so, I’d love to have one to examine.”

  “You think it’s some kind of unmanned aerial vehicle?” asks Jessica.

  “It makes sense.”

  “To observe?”

  “Possibly. But it could also be what took out your helicopter. They might even have smaller EMPs on board designed to take out observers and cover their tracks.”

  “And when they don’t need them, they blow them up and destroy the evidence,” she says.

  “We’re entering the Void,” says Lilith as the mist gets progressively thicker around the camera feeding our internal monitor.

  “Aside from ideal weather conditions, how does it stay in one place so long?” asks Jessica. “It’s eerie.”

  “Static,” says Dr. Gap-Kyum. “Like a cloud. This is a highly charged body.” He pushes his fists together. “The discharges we see keep adding energy, which helps bind the cloud. When they stop”—he lets his hands spread apart and open—“it all goes away.”

  The vehicle drives through empty streets, its searchlight cutting through the mist and illuminating shuttered buildings and closed windows. I only see one or two faces peering out from behind windows; other than that, it looks like Seoul has been abandoned.

  “Do you have a thermal scope I can use?” I ask.

  Ray gets up from his seat and digs around until he finds a small plastic case. He hands it to me. Inside is a handheld viewer that shows hot spots.

  I squeeze over to a porthole in the carrier and view the streets and buildings through thermal imaging. I can see more bodies behind windows and what parts of the buildings radiate warmth. Interesting, but not useful at the moment. I put the scope in my pocket.

  The driver calls out in Korean and points to something through his window. Lilith adjusts the camera connected to our screen, and we can see a bright glow in the distance.

  I check the iPad and the address. The location’s still sending internet data . . . until it suddenly stops. The location no longer responds to my pings. I don’t even have to look up to see what happened.

  The vehicle comes to a stop half a block from where we saw the glowing lights. “It’s gone,” says Jessica.

  “Yes,” I say, “and I think that means they’re in there.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  DATA

  Lilith lifts up a seat and starts handing out bulletproof vests from a compartment. She says something to Dr. Gap-Kyum in Korean, then turns to me. “I need you two to wait here.”

  I shake my head. “You need me in there.”

  “I can’t arm you,” she tells me.

  “I’m not asking you to.”

  Lilith turns to Jessica. “Your call.”

  “Theo will stay behind me and duck when I tell him to. Right?”

  “Ducking is what I do best. But we should hurry. If I’m right, the evidence is gonna vanish.”

  “All right,” says Lilith, still unsure about having a civilian along for the forced entry.

  Ray has his jacket on and is checking his pockets. If I had to guess, his government job probably involves working with one of the intelligence agencies in an active capacity. He seems familiar with all the weapons and tools.

  He grabs my shoulder. “If I see something, I shoot, yes?”

  “Shoot,” I reply. “I’ll keep back in case.”

  “In case boom.” He nods knowingly.

  We put on gas masks before exiting the vehicle. Lilith’s out first, followed by Ray, then Jessica. While Ray and Lilith have their guns drawn, Jessica keeps hers in her back holster, her hand close by. I suspect she could draw and fire before the average person could think to pull the trigger.

  “Be careful,” Jessica whispers to everyone. “Our suspects will probably be disguised as police or first responders. They won’t look like bad guys.”

  That’s an excellent point that I should have thought to mention. Lilith translates it for Ray, who nods curtly.

  The lights of the vehicle still focus straight ahead on a glass building in an industrial park. The mist is too thick for me to tell how tall it is, but the name is clearly visible in metal letters above the entrance: Southern Star Systems KMP.

  In this age of conglomerates and subsidiaries, there could be a robot factory in there or a warehouse filled with toilet paper. I have the iPad in my hand, but it’s about to reach the limit of the armored personnel carrier’s satellite internet.

  Lilith and Ray reach the front door. Jessica waves me to the side by a huge metal column. I’m pretty sure my body count is higher than the rest of the group’s combined, but now’s not the time to tell a group of cops that I might be the best person at the vanguard. Plus, all three are no doubt better shots than I.

  Lilith aims a light into the lobby. There’s a security guard sitting behind a desk, looking confused. She taps the glass while Ray yells at the man to come to the door.

  The guard walks up to the glass and stops. Lilith shows him a badge. The guard raises his hands and steps back, saying something in Korean.

  Perhaps heeding Jessica’s advice that anyone could be a bad guy, Ray doesn’t waste a moment. He uses the butt of his pistol to smash the glass door, reach through, and open it before the guard can figure out what just happened.

  Lilith bursts through, puts her gun to the man’s head, and tells him to lie facedown. He starts to comply, then makes a quick grab for something under his vest.

  Whack. Lilith pistol-whips the man so hard blood splatters across the floor, and I could swear I hear the sound of a tooth bouncing off the tiles. Ray shouts behind us, and one of the drivers from the vehicle comes running in and handcuffs the guard.

  “This way,” says Ray, hurrying down the hall toward the elevators.

  We follow after, but I’m not sure where we’re headed. “How do you know where to go?” I call out.

  Ray comes running back toward me and points to the directory next to my shoulder. His finger taps on a row of Korean characters. “Da-ta cen-ter,” he says slowly enough for me to understand.

  Of course. The people behind the Void aren’t stealing a physical thing . . . they’re after data.

  Jessica and Lilith are already up the stairs by the time I reach the door to the stairwell.

  At the top a door has been pried open and the keypad lock ripped off the wall. Jessica takes one side of the door; Lilith takes the other.

  Ray enters, and the two other cops follow him in a precision formation. Jessica gives me a hand signal to stay back while they inspect the long rows of servers that make up the bulk of the facility.

  I wait by the door, keeping watch. After they step out of view behind a wall lined with cables, there’s not a single sound in the entire facility.

  Several minutes go by, and I stay put. Partially out of fear of getting shot by one of my teammates. Footsteps approach, and I pull back into the stairwell. Jessica walks around the corner. She’s shaking her head.

  “Nobody,” she says. “Maybe the door guy can tell us something, but I’m not optimistic.”

  “Ray and Lilith?”

  “Checking the back exit. I have a feeling the guy up front was expendable and intended to give whoever was in here time to get out.”

  I walk back inside, using a light from a pocket in the vest to illuminate the massive data center. There are twenty rows of server cabinets, each a hundred feet deep. I do a quick calculation in my head. If each cabinet holds twenty servers, there’s close to ten thousand servers in here.

&nbs
p; As I walk down the aisle, I shine my light into each row, looking for a clue, but every row seems the same. I hear the sound of a door closing. Jessica, who had been following behind me, has her gun drawn.

  “It’s us,” says Lilith.

  “Anything?” asks Jessica.

  “We think they left on foot,” she replies. “There’s a large apartment complex not too far from here. We’ll ask around and see if anybody saw anything, when we have a chance.” She looks around with her flashlight, taking in the size of the complex. “Too bad the security cameras are off. I would like to know what they were doing.”

  “Me too,” I reply.

  “Aren’t all the computers fried?” asks Jessica.

  “Probably. But if the hard drives are shielded, there might be some data left,” I speculate.

  “I’d love to know what they were after,” she sighs.

  I cross my arms and try to think of what comes next.

  “Very warm here,” says Ray, holding his hand near a server rack.

  “That’s because the fans and cooling system are off. Even though the processors don’t have power, all the heat’s trapped and . . . damn. I’m such an idiot. Nobody move.”

  “What is it?” asks Jessica with her gun at her side.

  “Just stand still.” I pull the thermal scope from my pocket. “No more footsteps.”

  I aim the sensor at the room and see the bright glow of the server racks. Jessica’s footprints are visible, as are Lilith’s and Ray’s in the direction from which they came. I spin around and see my own steps.

  “Let me see if I can still find out where they went,” I say as I start walking past the server aisles.

  “Clever man,” says Ray.

  “Clever would have been doing this ten minutes ago when their footsteps were fresh. This is desperate.” I keep walking, scanning each section, looking for any glow that isn’t the servers.

  I can see faint footprints of someone running, which would probably be my colleagues’ from when they were first searching the room.

  When I reach a section just past the middle, I catch a hot spot on the tiles. Several people stood here for a while. I get closer and find the footprints concentrated near one server cabinet.