checked and double - checked . “No way . She was on line two . I swear.”
“Maybe it wasn’t even her,” Danner postulated to the freaked-out tech.
“It was either her or God…” Warp must have realized that he stepped over the line . Way over the line . “Sir.”
Zach paced as Danner hounded the poor techie . “I’m not convinced.”
“Look at this , ” Warp said as he showed the signal bouncing around satellites like a pinball.
“So?” Danner scoffed . “There are several dozen hackers who can hide their carrier signal s that well.”
“Who else could do this?”
Warp artificially slowed the sequence of the bouncing, so that each leg of the journey became the segment of a line . Then the techie broke it down chronologically . Not even Zach could believe what he saw . Each segment of the signal’s travel was part of a letter . Which spelled out the Robin Hood hacker’s catchphrase, “Better Luck Next Time.”
Danner sighed . “It was her .”
Zach had known that, but now that they were all on the same page, he finally spoke up . “Why did she hang up ? Did she detect your trace?”
“Of course she did,” Warp said , and then rushed on. “But she’s never given a shit about me tracking her…” He glanced at Danner . “Sorry, sir, but she usually gets off on kicking my ass.”
“True,” Zach jumped in, maybe a little too quickly . “Then why hang up?”
Warp looked over all his screens again . “I don’t know . Maybe something went wrong on her end.”
* * *
The symbols now invaded all of their screens . Even the Tivo’s light blinked erratically . This was bad.
“Seriously, why in the hell would someone spend this much time and energy sending you angel-speak?” Quirk demanded.
Ronnie didn’t want to answer him . She was going to get enough grief over this incident as it was.
“Well?” Quirk pushed.
She shrugged, trying to downplay her words . “It’s considered the Holy Grail of code breaking.”
“Come again?”
“There is intense debate amongst encryption scholars — ”
Quirk glared over his keyboard at her . “ That is to say, people with way too much time on their hands.”
“ Cipher specialists are still wrangling over how angelic script should be read . Right to left , as Hebrew ? Yet there is some indication that diagonal is the true form , and — ”
“So this is some stupid-ass prank ? ” Quirk sounded indignant . “ Some guy living at home with his mother, challenging you to a code-cracking contest?”
Her assistant was far too perceptive for Ronnie’s own good . She had to fess up . “More than likely.”
To make matters worse, the symbols accelerated their pace, far outstripping her and Quirk’s efforts .
“That’s it ! No mor e chat rooms for you,” he said. Quirk paused , and then looked over at her . “For an entire month .”
Normally , she would balk at such parental treatment, but the damn symbols just kept coming.
“It’s just breached our secondary firewall,” Quirk announced , h is tone dripping with blame.
Unfortunately , Ronnie could not argue . Someone was seriously kicking them around the yard . But who could it be ? No one from the government . This hack was too freestyle . Too bold . Too flamboyant for salaried work . Then who ? She knew or knew of every hacker of this caliber , and none could even come close to penetrating Quirk’s insanely layered defenses.
But that left her with the same question.
Then who?
* * *
After hours at the crime scene, another hour of being raked over the coals, and then another chunk of time brainstorming with Warp about why the Robin Hood hacker had bailed, Danner had finally sent him home to “cool his heels.” Zach wasn’t even sure what that meant exactly, but he was happy to leave . Get out of the stifling office and clear his thoughts.
Making his way toward the door, Zach gave the holding cell a wide berth . The old man was another unsettling aspect
“Maybe it wasn’t even her,” Danner postulated to the freaked-out tech.
“It was either her or God…” Warp must have realized that he stepped over the line . Way over the line . “Sir.”
Zach paced as Danner hounded the poor techie . “I’m not convinced.”
“Look at this , ” Warp said as he showed the signal bouncing around satellites like a pinball.
“So?” Danner scoffed . “There are several dozen hackers who can hide their carrier signal s that well.”
“Who else could do this?”
Warp artificially slowed the sequence of the bouncing, so that each leg of the journey became the segment of a line . Then the techie broke it down chronologically . Not even Zach could believe what he saw . Each segment of the signal’s travel was part of a letter . Which spelled out the Robin Hood hacker’s catchphrase, “Better Luck Next Time.”
Danner sighed . “It was her .”
Zach had known that, but now that they were all on the same page, he finally spoke up . “Why did she hang up ? Did she detect your trace?”
“Of course she did,” Warp said , and then rushed on. “But she’s never given a shit about me tracking her…” He glanced at Danner . “Sorry, sir, but she usually gets off on kicking my ass.”
“True,” Zach jumped in, maybe a little too quickly . “Then why hang up?”
Warp looked over all his screens again . “I don’t know . Maybe something went wrong on her end.”
* * *
The symbols now invaded all of their screens . Even the Tivo’s light blinked erratically . This was bad.
“Seriously, why in the hell would someone spend this much time and energy sending you angel-speak?” Quirk demanded.
Ronnie didn’t want to answer him . She was going to get enough grief over this incident as it was.
“Well?” Quirk pushed.
She shrugged, trying to downplay her words . “It’s considered the Holy Grail of code breaking.”
“Come again?”
“There is intense debate amongst encryption scholars — ”
Quirk glared over his keyboard at her . “ That is to say, people with way too much time on their hands.”
“ Cipher specialists are still wrangling over how angelic script should be read . Right to left , as Hebrew ? Yet there is some indication that diagonal is the true form , and — ”
“So this is some stupid-ass prank ? ” Quirk sounded indignant . “ Some guy living at home with his mother, challenging you to a code-cracking contest?”
Her assistant was far too perceptive for Ronnie’s own good . She had to fess up . “More than likely.”
To make matters worse, the symbols accelerated their pace, far outstripping her and Quirk’s efforts .
“That’s it ! No mor e chat rooms for you,” he said. Quirk paused , and then looked over at her . “For an entire month .”
Normally , she would balk at such parental treatment, but the damn symbols just kept coming.
“It’s just breached our secondary firewall,” Quirk announced , h is tone dripping with blame.
Unfortunately , Ronnie could not argue . Someone was seriously kicking them around the yard . But who could it be ? No one from the government . This hack was too freestyle . Too bold . Too flamboyant for salaried work . Then who ? She knew or knew of every hacker of this caliber , and none could even come close to penetrating Quirk’s insanely layered defenses.
But that left her with the same question.
Then who?
* * *
After hours at the crime scene, another hour of being raked over the coals, and then another chunk of time brainstorming with Warp about why the Robin Hood hacker had bailed, Danner had finally sent him home to “cool his heels.” Zach wasn’t even sure what that meant exactly, but he was happy to leave . Get out of the stifling office and clear his thoughts.
Making his way toward the door, Zach gave the holding cell a wide berth . The old man was another unsettling aspect
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