Mr. Henry Junior entered his parents’ farmhouse. It had been a couple of years since Mr. Henry Junior had been here, and the pain was still fresh. I miss you, Mom, Mr. Henry Junior thought.
“Back here, Son.”
Mr. Henry Junior entered his father’s study. Mr. Henry Senior enjoyed his privacy, and his study afforded certain protections.
“A man came looking for you today. He said you were friends at the Bureau. He also gave me this.”
Mr. Henry Junior handed the envelope to his father. Mr. Henry Senior opened it and read the handwritten note.
“I know that you are not who you say you are. Call for details.”
“Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Son.”
Mr. Henry Junior knew that tone of voice well. He gave his father some privacy.
Agent Appleton’s card was attached to the letter. Mr. Henry Senior called the number listed on the card.
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“I don’t know who you are, but leave my family out of it,” he said.
“I think we need to meet.”
A loud rapping noise came from the front of the farmhouse. Mr. Henry answered the door.
“Agent Appleton, FBI. May I come in?”
Agent Appleton held out his Bureau credentials. Mr. Henry led Agent Appleton to his study.
“What do you want?”
Agent Appleton produced a copy of the memorandum that Brennen and Stohl wrote so many years ago. Mr. Henry just looked at the paper in disbelief.
“I need help identifying some malicious actors. This paper suggests that I can identify programmers by code signature. The problem is that I don’t understand the technical aspects of this process.”
“Why don’t you ask the authors?”
“The lead author is dead, but the co-author is standing before me. Isn’t that right, Mr. Stohl?”
Mr. Henry’s expression immediately changed. “Agent Stohl is also dead. I think you need to go.”
“I don’t think you understand what is at stake here. The Bureau is overwhelmed with evidence of hacking attempts throughout the country. It’s not just the large corporations either; there are lots of victims at small banks getting robbed. Even here in Milford.”
“I don’t understand why you need my help when you have the entire Bureau at your disposal.”
“I need the help of someone that can track an IP address to a physical location, which takes the Bureau days. I need a person who can get me a resource, or point me to software I don’t understand when I need it.”
“In my day, everyone knew how to do basic technical tasks, like finding an IP,” Mr. Henry said with a sigh. “Come by the computer shop tomorrow and I will help you. Now please leave.”
Agent Appleton left without another word.