Meanwhile, back in Newport
In his shop, Nigel turned on a light as the daylight faded into dusk. His stomach reminded him that he had skipped lunch again.
I’ve been working at this all day and my scan is still running. It better produce some results.
Moments later, the door to the loft opened. Jet was struggling with some bags of groceries.
“Let me help you,” Nigel said as he ran toward her.
He was too late. One of the paper sacks burst, and an explosion of fruit, vegetables, and other cooking supplies spilled onto the floor in front of him.
“Shit!” Jet cried.
Nigel scrambled to pick up the bruised items. A carton of milk leaked, and Nigel avoided the expanding puddle as he ran toward the kitchen to get cleaning supplies.
“Go, rest while I clean this up,” Nigel said as he busied himself.
Jet put the half-spilled sacks of groceries on the kitchen counter, then stopped to look at his laptop.
“Why are you running a scan?” Jet asked.
“I found something interesting on Peter’s computer. I was trying to track the manufacture’s serial number of his flash drive.”
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“Why is that useful?”
“Many malware authors buy flash drives in bulk on the dark web. These drives use certain types of controllers that are region locked. Law enforcement has been successful in tracking down the serial numbers for these flash drives for years. I can learn the memory type, date of manufacture, and location based on these numbers.”
“How does that help us?”
Nigel finished putting away the groceries, then joined her at the computer.
“The dark web scan results will help track down the HakSystems flash drives. After some poking around on some dark web forums, I found the flash drive supplier’s database. Since only a few hacking groups even use those devices, I’m hoping to make a correlation to Peter’s computer.”
“It just seems like a lot of work to determine the malware’s origin.”
“I wouldn’t have cared, but the malware has metadata that points to an IP address belonging to Jeremiah Mason’s compound in Edinburgh. I believe someone is planning a cyberattack on the facility.”
Jet didn’t look convinced, so Nigel explained what he had discovered on Peter’s computer. He described the images, giving particular emphasis to the cyborg video.
“I’m very interested in what we find,” he said. “It might be nothing, but something tells me that Leviathan—or April—is being targeted. I just need to find proof.”
It had been months since he’d thought about the events involving the psychotic AI Leviathan that had merged with April, forming Delta. Jeremiah and Gregor had tried taking over key content delivery systems, just to expose the misdeeds of others. If it hadn't been for Melissa’s help, he didn’t think he could have stopped them.
I thought I’d put all of this behind me.
“I think you are reading too much into this, Nigel. When was the last time you took a break?”
“It’s been a while, but I’m so close.”
Jet put a finger over Nigel’s lips, then took his hand. “Shh—I think you need a break.” Nigel’s concerns faded to the background as Jet led him to their bedroom.