An Ecology of Mind

Chapter 2

WENDY WAS VERY WORRIED. Today at work had been a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from. She wasn't able to concentrate on anything useful. She just kept worrying about her brother. She didn't know what she was going to do.

The waiter brought over the two iced waters. He placed one at the table setting across from her and gave her the one without citrus fruit or a straw. Wendy always liked her water just plain and didn't understand why some restaurants put a slice of lemon or lime in it, and she never used a straw to drink ice water. She usually forgot to request it the way she liked when she asked for it, and it was a wonder she remembered today. She knew she could take them out, but she didn't like having a soggy piece of fruit and straw sitting on her side plate or on the tablecloth. Strange how such a mundane trivial thing could bother her, or that she would even think about it today.

She glanced at her watch. It was five minutes to seven, so she felt pretty confident that Kim would be there before the ice in her water melted. With what was going on she would never have arranged to meet her friend for a dinner out but the instructions they gave her were to act normally and she and Kim had arranged a couple of weeks ago to meet when Kim got into town, so she had been afraid to cancel. She also decided to confide her problem to Kim. Kim was always so in control. Nothing ever seemed to fluster her and while Wendy was damn good with computers, she had never met anyone who even came close to Kim's genius for them. She hoped Kim might be able to shed some light on at least a part of her problem.

She looked around the room and made a conscious effort to try to let some of the tension leave her body. Morrell's was one of her favorite restaurants in town, and it was within walking distance of where she worked at the National Security Agency as a computer analyst. It was a good choice of places to meet Kim on a Tuesday night after work.

The restaurant was only about three-quarters full right now, so it was not too noisy for conversation. Looking around the room, she caught a number of men checking her out. She knew she was considered attractive but she seldom dated and preferred to focus more on her work.

Kim would be a great person to get input from on the problem she was working on at the office. Unfortunately, it, like almost everything she worked on was highly classified. Maybe she could clear it with her boss somehow or just reveal enough to Kim to get some clue from her on how to proceed. Kim was by far the most amazing computer programmer she ever met and was a friend of hers from her student days at MIT. She was trying to think of a way she could get Kim involved without breaking security. She also hoped Kim would have some suggestions for what to do with the other part of her problem. Oh, she hoped her brother was going to be okay.

There was a subtle shifting in the men in the room and knowing what that meant, Wendy turned to greet her friend.

Kim Lee was of Chinese descent, and she was beautiful. Not drop-dead gorgeous but men still seemed to notice her right away, and often women hated her on sight. When they were in college, Wendy had even noticed a gay male friend watching Kim when she walked across the room. She asked him about it. He had paused to think about it and then told her it wasn't really sexual. It was that Kim moved with an attitude of complete and total confidence like a top predator. She obviously wasn't but you couldn't help watching her because you still had that impression somehow.

Kim's outfit was a blue material that while not cut to be overly revealing, molded loosely to her body in a way that was sexy as hell. It was probably very expensive. Kim was rich too.

She hadn't been when Wendy met her at school, but since then her work as a freelance computer consultant had made her a very wealthy woman. She worked on solving huge scale problems for corporations and governments, and charged astronomical fees to do it. Kim came across the room towards her.

Wendy gave a half-smile and thought, well; that's the last any guys will be checking me out tonight, other than a possible way to get to her. She rose and gave Kim a quick hug. Hi girl, it's great to see you.

Kim's voice matched her dress. It was a sexy mix of tones that reminded Wendy of some late-night blues DJs. Hey, I couldn't be in Washington and not hook up with my best friend. I'm actually going to be around for a few weeks so hopefully we can get together some more as well. She stepped back and looked at her friend closely. You're looking good. A bit overtired though, you have to look after yourself girlfriend.

Yeah, I've got a lot going on right now, and I didn't sleep well the last couple of nights.

Well you need to relax more girlfriend. I will make it my mission while I am here to take your mind off of work a bit and get you to relax more. I'm just going to the ladies' room quickly, can you order me a martini if the waiter comes by, thanks. Kim headed off to the ladies' room with most men in the room turning their heads to watch her move across the room.

Wendy sighed and sat back down. She loved seeing her friend again, but her worry for her brother made it difficult to enjoy it as much as she normally did. All the male attention got to be a pain sometimes too. Not that Kim ever seemed to encourage it. She never ignored Wendy and focused on men when they were together. It was just that her being her drew men like a magnet. She started to think about the project at work that was bugging her and was the cause of all her current problems. It was what seemed in some ways, to be some sort of computer code or program but neither, she nor anyone else at the office seemed to be able to make any headway on discovering what it was. From what she had heard through the grapevine an agent had died getting the code, and it seemed from the background context to be very important. It was just that nobody knew why.

There was a nudge at her right elbow and a hand pushed on her upper arm, so she could not turn easily. Don't turn around. A folder was dropped on the table in front of her. This will give you some incentive to work quickly. The hand suddenly was gone.

She tried to turn around, but the chair did not turn easily on the carpet underneath. By the time she got the chair moved back so she could turn further all she saw was a man disappearing out the door into the street. Oh Jesus, what now? She thought.

She turned back to the table and looked at the folder sitting there. It was a plain vanilla folder cover. She reached over and apprehensively opened the folder. She inhaled sharply in shock. It was a picture of her brother Don, gagged and tied to a chair. There were bruises and scrapes on his face and someone standing out of view of the photo was holding a gun to his head. Oh my god! Her mind raced. What the hell is going on? How did I get into something like this? Yes, she worked for the NSA, but it was in an office position as a computer analyst. This spy novel stuff was not something she was equipped to handle. How was she going to save her brother? What was she going to do?

Hey, did the waiter come yet? Kim was back from the ladies' room. She got a look at her friends face. What's wrong Wendy? All lightness was suddenly out of Kim's voice.

Wendy sat there stunned by what had happened and based on the photo was still happening. She didn't answer for a couple seconds then slid the folder towards Kim. Kim turned the folder around, opened it and looked at the photo inside. She looked up at Wendy. Start talking girl, what's going on?

Wendy tried to pull her racing thoughts together and decided to confide everything to Kim. She didn't know what else to do. A man just came up behind me, I never saw his face. He dropped that on the table and told me it was some incentive to work faster. I've been assigned at work to figure out what seems to be some type of computer code. So far, I can't even understand what it is. I'm wondering if it might be encrypted in some strange way.

Two days ago, on Sunday afternoon, when I got home from a walk, there was a plain brown envelope taped to my apartment door. When I opened it, there was a note and a watch. The watch was one that I gave to my brother Don two Christmases ago, and I've never seen him take it off, ever. The note was printed from a computer and said, We have your brother. It went on to say that if I wanted to see him alive again I was to obtain a copy of the code I was working on at work and to erase all other copies at the NSA, or they would kill him. If I went to the police, they would kill him. If I told people at the NSA, they would kill him.

I was scared shitless but hoped it was a hoax. I tried to reach Don in Boston but could not get hold of him. I left messages for him to call but have heard nothing yet. I tried to be careful with what I said on the messages and how I sounded because he is a cop up there, and I did not want to make it seem as if I was going to the police. I've been worried sick, and I don't know what to do. Now, whoever they are just dropped this envelope on me and said it was an incentive. Jesus! What the hell am I going to do?

Do you have a protocol at work for this sort of thing? asked Kim.

I don't know. I've never been involved in this sort of thing. I don't even know what the code they want is. I've been working on it but haven't been able to make heads or tails out of it so far.

Ok, stop right there Wendy. I want you to focus very carefully on what I'm saying. Are you with me?

The waiter came up to their table. May I take your drink orders?

Kim turned to him and answered Yes, could we please have two martinis but could you leave us alone for about ten minutes before you bring them over. We are in the middle of a conversation we want to finish first.

Certainly miss, I'll be back with your drinks in about ten minutes.

Kim turned back to Wendy. Okay, are you focused?

Yeah, I'm here.

Good, the fact that whoever it is, knew you were working on this means they have at least one source at your work. The fact that they did not use the source to get the computer code you are referring to, suggests they are aware of some of what goes on in your office but can't get the access they need for this item themselves. They obviously know quite a bit about you as they took your brother. They are also keeping you under some sort of observation because they knew you were here tonight. They are serious people because your brother is a cop. You can assume they have you under observation both inside and outside of work to at least some extent. When we are done here we are going to drink our martinis when they come, and then I am putting you in a cab to go home. I don't think you are up to dinner right now. Don't tell anyone from your work what is going on because you don't know who you can trust. Look around and figure out where copies of the computer code are located and pretend you are working on doing what they asked but don't actually do it. Don't do anything at work that can get you arrested or fired if you can avoid it. Once they get what they want it is easier for them to kill your brother and you than to release him or leave you around to talk. While you are doing that I will be working on getting your brother out and trying to solve the problem of further threats to you and him. Trust me on this Wendy. You know I'm beyond good on computers, but I'm good at a lot of stuff, and I'm your ally and best hope of getting Don and you out of this.

Maybe I should go to the police.

I would recommend against it, trust me. I am your best bet, whether you believe me or not.

Wendy hesitated, and then said, Okay, I trust you on this. I should tell you what I know about what I'm working on.

No, don't. If you break security, it may cost you your job or get you jail time. I can access whatever it is myself and figure out what I need to.

It's at work Kim. There is no way you can access it. It's in NSA headquarters. I couldn't even access it from offsite, and it's my computer.

Yeah, not a problem. I will be able to access it if it is on a computer. Don't rat me out but I've been inside NSA systems a number of times. I'll see what the fuss is about as soon as I get to my computer.

Wendy just looked at her for a moment. Alright, I'll do what you said. I have your cell number, and I'll call you with any new developments. But Kim...

Yes?

He's my brother.

I know, Wendy, I know.

Kim caught the waiter's eye and signaled him to bring over the martinis. The two of them drained the martinis quickly. Kim put a $50 bill on the table from somewhere; she never carried a purse, and the two left the restaurant. Outside they flagged a cab, and Kim put Wendy in it.

She leaned down to Wendy sitting in the back of the cab. Stay strong girl, I'm on it. I'll keep you posted. If we use a phone be careful what you say, they may be monitoring it. We don't know the full extent of their capabilities yet.

Okay, thanks Kim. Her eyes started to tear up.

Don't need to thank me girlfriend, again try not to worry too much and get some sleep, I'm on it. She closed the cab door and stepped back to the curb.

Wendy gave the cab driver her address, and the cab pulled out into Washington's traffic.

She worried about her brother and tried to think of something she could do but could not come up with any solution or plan better than Kim had offered. She was probably right that following what she was told and getting the code would not save her brother. She hoped Kim could do something but realistically, what could Kim do? But what else was Wendy to do? She didn't seem to have a workable alternative.

She thought about Kim. Kim was by far the best computer person she had ever met. When she programmed she did it entirely in her head, even large complex programs. She could write the most complicated program in her head and then enter it directly into the computer as quickly as she could type and that was damn fast. She also programmed in machine language, preferring not to use compilers and other programming tools. When Wendy had a chance to think about it, she was not shocked that Kim said she had been in the NSA systems before, but she hoped she would not end up in jail over some of her computer activities.

She thought of her brother Don, and didn't think of much else the rest of the ride home.

* * *

After seeing Wendy safely packed into the taxi, Kim started right away on trying to fulfill her promise to her.

Accessing the NSA computer system was easy for her. The first time she had accessed the system a number of years ago, she had made a number of pathways and entrances for future access. Kim was quickly able to locate Wendy's computer and the code that was at the centre of the problem. She could see why Wendy had been stumped. She had looked at it assuming it was computer code like she was used to. Wendy assumed it was just encrypted in some way and missed what she was actually looking at. Almost every computer expert on the planet would have done the same thing. Instead, the code was something else entirely.

For one thing, what they had was incomplete. It was also not meant for a conventional computer, and its structure was totally different because of that. It appeared to be a portion of an operating system. Crude, by Kim's coding standards, but this portion of the overall operating system seemed workable.

The code gave her a good idea of the scale and complexity of the hardware it was written for. Again, by her standards, it was very crude.

She left a message on Wendy's computer explaining what the code was. Kim then exited the NSA system.

Next, she accessed Washington's system of traffic cameras. She quickly located a camera that showed the street in front of Morrell's restaurant. Hacking into systems like these was not nearly as easy as it was shown in movies. Movies had to simplify things for plot and time constraints. She was not your regular hacker though and her computer access was anything but normal. The usual and conventional rules did not apply.

Kim moved to the video for the time they had been at the restaurant and watched a man exit the restaurant and get into a waiting car that quickly drove away. It was too far for the camera to pick up good details, so she enhanced the image. She noted the manufacturer of the car and the license plate number. She then focused on the man and enhanced the image as much as she could. Other than seeing that he was Asian, she could not get a clear enough image to be much help.

A check on the Department of Motor Vehicle database gave the name and address of the owner. She had thought it would probably be a stolen vehicle but the owner was also Asian, so maybe not.

Returning to the traffic cameras, she tried to trace the route of the car. By checking the files for video from the different cameras and noting the time stamps, she tracked the vehicle west until it left the downtown area and area of coverage by the traffic system. She couldn't use the cameras to trace it any further.

Well, it was a good start. She would just have to use her own resources to get the rest of the way. At least, she had a time and general direction to narrow it down a bit.

Hopefully, she was quick enough. Wendy was counting on her in this. She did not have a lot of close friends, and she tried to protect them. This was not a matter she would normally give a damn about. Spies would constantly play their spy games, and she seldom cared or interfered, but whoever did this made a colossal mistake when they picked a friend of hers to threaten. They would have had no idea how big a mistake it had been, but they would get an idea soon.

Chapter 3

THE BLACK LIMOUSINE PULLED SLOWLY up to the curb in front of the Harvard Faculty of History and came to a stop. A uniformed driver got out and walked around to the rear right passenger door and opened it. The passenger handed a leather carry-on bag and a cardboard tray with three cups of coffee in the cup holders to the driver.

Dr. Michael Pearson got out of the car clutching a paper bag with a half dozen assorted donuts in it. He was a well dressed dark-haired man in his mid thirties. He appeared to be fit and was handsome in a slightly rugged way with a mild tan.

Thanks Dave. I didn't want to spill the coffee, and it was a bit much to handle getting out of the car.

He took back the carry-on bag and put it in the hand with the bag of donuts.

So have fun on your fishing trip Dave.

Thanks, I plan to. It's actually a combination fishing and poker trip.

Michael laughed, I've seen you play poker; you probably should fish more.

Hey, I usually do okay at poker, said Dave with a slightly hurt expression on his face.

If you say so. Just have a good time. You deserve the break. I left a box in the trunk with an assortment of booze for you and your buddies to have some drinks on me.

Thanks boss, that's incredibly nice of you. Is there anything you need me to do before I leave for the trip?

Nope, I'm good. You're free and clear to go. See you in a few days.

You sure you don't need a hand carrying that stuff?

I'll be fine. He took the cardboard tray with the coffee cups and headed towards the main doors of the building. Dave watched him for a few seconds to make sure he didn't need help and then got back in the car and drove off to go home and pack up his stuff for the fishing trip.

When Dr. Pearson reached the main doors, he transferred the coffee tray to the other hand with the carry-on and donuts. It was awkward but he only had to hold it long enough to pull the door open and then took the coffee back with his free hand. He walked down the nearly empty halls and repeated the process on the rest of the doors he encountered until he reached an office with a name plate Dr. C. Wales, Dept. Head, History Dept.. Repeating the coffee balancing act one final time he opened the door and went in.

The secretary was behind her desk and looked up from the computer she was working at. She looked to be in her early sixties, but she had been the secretary here when Michael was a student, and she still looked about the same. Her stern face broke into a half smile when she saw who was invading her territory.

Good morning Mrs. Gibson. How are you this fine morning?

I'm good thank you Dr. Pearson. You look like you have an awkward load, do you need a hand?

No, I'm good. I've reached my destination. Is the big guy in yet?

Yes, he said to send you in when you got here.

Great, I have some gifts for you first though, so he can wait.

I'm hoping you are referring to one of those coffees you have there.

Of course, and your choice of a selection of donuts too.

Thank you. I missed my morning coffee, but I will pass on the donut offer.

Michael shrugged and smiled. More for us then. I just got back from a trip to Japan, and I brought you something else though.

Mrs. Gibson looked surprised but intrigued. Really? You shouldn't have done that.

Michael put down the carry-on and set the donuts on the desk. With a flourish, he placed one of the coffees in front of Mrs. Gibson. He set the tray down on the corner of the desk. Nonsense, I saw it and thought of you right away. He bent down, opened the carry-on and took out a small box wrapped in tissue paper and presented it to her.

Thank you very much, what is it?

Open it and see. I know you have a large collection of tea cups, and I thought this might make a nice addition.

Mrs. Gibson un-wrapped the tissue paper and opened the small box. She gently took out the tea cup and saucer and lifted it up. The cup was in shades of blue and dark grey. There were two dragons curling around the outside of the cup, that were not just painted on but actual small raised sculptures. The saucer had the same raised dragon decorations.

Mrs. Gibson said slowly, Thank you, it's ... very exotic.

Michael laughed. The word you are looking for is hideous. Personally, I like the dragon patterns, and they are central to much Asian art but I know you are more culturally used to tea cups with flowers and birds on them. I didn't buy it for you because of the dragons and no, they were not meant as a comment on how you guard the office here. Tip the cup so you are looking into it and hold it up to the light.

Mrs. Gibson looked at him questioningly but did so. Oh my! There is a woman's face in the bottom of the cup when you have the light pass through it.

Yes, the salesperson said that instead of signing their work with a signature the artists put their face in the bottom of the cups they make by having varying thicknesses of ceramic that let different amounts of light pass through. The differences in the brightness and shadow give you the face. I don't know if it was just a story he made up for tourists, but I saw a few other cups, and they all had different faces in them.

The surprise and the novelty of seeing the face in the bottom of the cup had transformed the cup in Mrs. Gibson's mind from a hideous piece of pottery that she was trying to be polite about into a fascinating piece that would take a place of prominence and pride in her collection. Thank you so much Michael. I've never seen anything like it. I'm going to do some research on cups like this when I get home. I've never even heard of putting the artists face in china like that.

You are very welcome. I should go see the big guy now. You know how impatient he gets.

Yeah, right, snorted Mrs. Gibson. You were always the impatient one, but go on in.

Michael picked up the donuts, carry-on and remaining coffees and entered the office of Dr. Chris Wales, leaving Mrs. Gibson looking at her new tea cup in the light. Hi Chris, I brought coffee and donuts.

Dr. Wales stood up from behind his desk and came to welcome Michael. Great, you didn't have to do that. How was your last round of travel?

It went well but I should be home now for the next month or so. If it's okay I'll leave my bag here in your office until after the seminar.

Sure. Here, let me put it in the corner for you. I got your email with the list of things you wanted for the seminar, and they are all ready and in place. Some were different from the last seminar you gave, so you must have made some changes.

I have a whole new presentation. Have to keep changing it so people don't get bored.

Oh. I'm sure it will be great as always, but I really liked that section you had last time comparing the principles of governance and military command of Julius Caesar with what is common today.

Thanks Chris, but no, it's all new. You videotaped the last two seminars anyway so you can use them any time you want.

True. It looks like Nora and Cody will be able to join us at dinner tonight Michael. They are both looking forward to seeing you again.

"Great, the feeling is mutual. I really should cut back