Effected Intent

By Alan Ross

Steve Pfister is a reticent polymer chemist who lives in the past, unable to let go of his military experience. His latest invention gets the attention of some high level government officials, leading to an opportunity to work on a top secret project with national security implications.

Life couldn’t be more routine for computer programmer Bill Miller, until he stumbles on information that he shouldn’t have, including a bioterrorism plot. Unable to come forward with the information, he needs to find an ally to believe him before it’s too late.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alan Ross
• Release date: Oct 7, 2011
• ISBN: 9780982686829

Alan Ross

Alan Ross has worked in the information security field for many years and has always been interested in finding flaws in systems, networks and applications. As a writer, he looks to understand the behavior of people (good and bad) and portray the fact that not much in life is really what it seems. He has lots of hobbies and had many different jobs in his life, giving some background and color to what he writes.

Book preview

Effected Intent

by

Alan D. Ross

Copyright 2008 Alan D. Ross

Smashwords Edition

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Just another Day at the Office

Chapter 2: T.G.I.F.

Chapter 3: Scientific Method

Chapter 4: Field Trip

Chapter 5: A boy named Jack

Chapter 6: Senioritis

Chapter 7: When Steve Met Robert

Chapter 8: Dead Man’s Curve

Chapter 9: Bill Gets a Part Time Job

Chapter 10: Steve Starts Work on the Project

Chapter 11: Robert’s a Loose Cannon

Chapter 12: Bill Strikes Gold

Chapter 13: Robert and Steve Make Progress

Chapter 14: Bill Gets In

Chapter 15: The Ties That Bind

Chapter 16: Bill Finds Something Odd

Chapter 17: An Evil Plan is Born

Chapter 18: Bill Finds More Information and an Ally

Chapter 19: Testing Begins

Chapter 20: Homeland Security

Chapter 21: The Plan Emerges

Chapter 22: Pulling it all Together

Chapter 23: Final Planning and Korea

Chapter 24: Darren Gets Enough

Chapter 25: Korean Impact

Chapter 26: The Past Collides

Chapter 27: Last Minute Planning and Go Dark

Chapter 28: D-Day

Chapter 29: Wrap Up and a Hint

Introduction

This book was a long time coming, first conceived in the spring of 2003. A lot of the background on Bill was written in the fall/winter of 2004-2005 and then it sat. I thought of working on it during National Novel writing month in 2007 but wrote Dead Man’s Hand instead.

During May of 2008 I was able to work on it and by early June it was almost thirty thousand words. The rest was finished during nanowrimo this November and just wrapped up.

Hope you like it!

Alan

Chapter 1

Just another Day at the Office

Bill was sitting at his desk, half watching the clock and half programming the new payroll system interface. His desk was in the middle of the office; luckily he wasn’t stuck in some cube farm. The sun was shining behind the trees and the sky was bright and clear, making him daydream about the outdoors. Adjusting the buttons on the payroll screen, his mind wandered. He went to the kitchen to make popcorn and stretch his brain.

Don Nelson was in the kitchen. Hey Bill, how’s everything?

Using popcorn as bait for conversation. What’s new and exciting?

Kids stuff. It’s baseball season, so we’re always running to games or practices. Amelia got smacked in the face by a line drive the other day, she is really proud of her black eye. Joanie’s flower shop is busy since it’s wedding and prom season. She’s going to have to hire additional help next year.

Maybe I’ll design some software to run the business more efficiently, said Bill. I could develop a web site so Joanie would be free to focus on arranging flowers.

You know how she feels about computers. She was unhappy when we upgraded her cash register to accept credit and debit cards. She’s still not used to that thing. Bill laughed and nodded his head. He’d heard plenty of stories about Joanie and her difficulties with the cash register, alarm system, phone system, et technical cetera.

Don made more small talk but appeared to be preoccupied, so Bill let the conversation drop. Don headed back to his office so Bill did the same--back to work on the payroll tool.

Bill put his headphones on and launched an internet radio site. He tuned in to the sports talk zone, which was filled with basketball playoff and baseball season discussions. The two hosts were pontificating about which NBA team was the greatest of all time; and, of course, they were at odds so they could generate the appropriate level of controversy and irate callers. The hosts were debating between the Lakers’ dynasties, with one host picking the Kareem/Magic era and the other selecting the Shaq/Kobe era. Callers were joining the show, yelling about the Celtics and Bulls and just about any other team. Bill thought the Bulls of the 1990s were the greatest team ever.

Adding a logo and confidentiality statement to the interface, Bill entered test data to see how the program was working. He plugged in an imaginary salary of $87,450 annually and then put in standard state, local and federal deductions. He checked the numbers, found the data was accurate, and stared at the screen. He wondered what it would feel like to make that kind of money, what he would be able to afford. His mind started wandering to all the things he could buy with that kind of money. He snapped back to the present and opened a spreadsheet that documented all of the test cases for the new program. Some time must have elapsed, because the yo-yo sports talk hosts were now arguing about which NBA player had the biggest afro and the tallest socks back in the 1970’s. He clicked the radio over to a classical music station and entered the test data.

Bill stretched and checked his e-mail. He generally kept his it closed during the day so he wasn’t distracted when he was programming. Bill told people around the office that he would only check mail a few times a day and if there was something urgent, they should come over and ask him. His e-mail was mostly updates to projects and spam so he spent a few minutes cleaning up his mailbox, enjoying the classical music in his head. He browsed to CNN and checked on the news, but quickly closed the browser as all of it focused on death and destruction. At least the web wasn’t as sensational as the local television news, with all of their news clips of fires, car crashes, and body bags.

Bill was checking his test case document, getting ready to enter the next set of data into the program when a visitor stopped by. Hello, William.

Hi Mom, what’s happening?

Kathy Wheeler took a seat and sighed deeply, Been a really long day, starting to get calls from the media and I think it’s only going to get worse. Do you want to trade jobs with me for the next couple of months? she said with a smile.

Sure, let me talk to the press, I’d have a field day with them. I wouldn’t have a job when I was done, but I’d have a lot of fun in the process.

Oh yeah, you’re so tough, you’d end up winning some kind of award for the way you dealt with them.

Bill just smiled back, knowing that the truth was somewhere in between. Kathy Wheeler wasn’t really old enough to be Bill’s mom. She was an attractive, 40-something woman who could still turn heads. Kathy ran the office, though her official job title was administrative assistant. She had the most inate people sense Bill had ever known, with an ability to deal with all types of personalities and still keep her cool. Bill almost felt corny for thinking about her that way, but she meant so much to him over the past eight years that they had worked together. She always treated him well and had really earned the nickname Mom.

What are you working on, son? Kathy asked.

Fiddling around with the new payroll program, working through test cases and trying to figure out a way to increase my salary by, oh I don’t know, eight thousand percent, Bill grinned.

Kathy laughed and said, I think you’re worth every penny you’re getting paid. They both laughed and shook their heads. You know it’s going to work, why bother testing it?

With the new federal regulations around auditing of all computer systems and applications, it’s best to make sure everything is tested and documented. In fact, I would like both you and Don to do some testing once I’ve made progress so I can include you as references in the regulatory paperwork.

Kathy! Kathy, where are you? Don’s voice boomed down the hallway. I need you in here right away! Bill and Kathy both broke out in quiet laughter, knowing that it was guaranteed to be something minor, and that Don couldn’t survive ten minutes without Kathy.

Coming, dear, replied Kathy, trying to hold in the laughter. As she walked away from his desk, Bill said See ya later, Mom, good luck with Don. She waved and walked to Don’s office. Bill worked on the next test case, trying some additional pay periods to make sure the software’s logic comprehended months with five Fridays, since Friday was payday around here.

Yes, Mr. Nelson, what can I help you with? Kathy asked.

Don starting ranting and raving about some e-mail that he had just received from his boss, demanding to know where the first budget numbers were for next year. When are we going to get started on this? he asked Kathy, a bit frantic.

I’ve already sent them over to Amy. She probably hasn’t passed them to Mr. Peterson yet. Kathy calmly informed Don. I’ll go call her and see what’s happening. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes, try to continue breathing.

Don pretended that he wasn’t nervous and went back to his e-mail. He sure was glad that those numbers had been sent. Even though it had been several years since Don almost lost his job, he wanted to make sure that he didn’t put himself in that position again. His wife’s flower shop was making money but they have a big mortgage, a couple of car payments and two kids with braces. In other words, they were living the American dream, and he didn’t want anything to happen to it.

Don got up from his desk and walked out to ask Bob what was happening with the office equipment upgrade. They had finally obtained budget approval to update the ten-year-old Xerox machine, fax machine and phone system. Bob worked with Bill to select a multifunctional device that would handle all of the scanning, printing, faxing and copying needs, eliminating the need to upgrade their printer at the same time. This had allowed them to spend a bit extra on a phone system that was integrated with the environmental controls for the building and included a complete voicemail system. Bob was charged with all maintenance for the office, including equipment, plumbing, electrical and any other needs. He told Don The MFD will be here tomorrow and we should be up and running before lunchtime.

What is an MFD?

A multifunctional device; the beast that will replace our printer, copier and fax machine and also scan documents. It set us back about twelve thousand dollars, remember?

Great, let me know if you have any problems. Don headed over to get an update from Kathy.

Bill completed his next test and updated the testing document. So far everything was going as planned so he had plenty of time to work any bugs out and get the new system in place. His mind starting wandering, thinking about the comment he’d made to Kathy about modifying his paycheck. He wondered just how difficult it would be to actually do it and ran through a couple of different scenarios in his head. He realized that in such a small office environment, any kind of anomaly would be easily detected by the human controls in place. He continued along with the mental exercise anyway, devising a plan whereby he would create a new vendor in the system. From there, he could enter a purchase order to the vendor for some services to be rendered, like computer software audit. Then, he could issue the funds and divert them into his bank account. He realized that this plan would not only be detected by audit but would also likely require collusion with another person to make it happen. Instead of trying to figure out how to complete it, his mind went to work on the solution to the problem to keep it from actually happening. The most appropriate controls would be to limit who had access to the various functions of the program, protecting it from abuse. Another feature that should be included was an audit function, where all activities would be logged and stored in a location for review. This would also mean that individuals would need to have their own accounts to the application so activities could be distinguished. Bill sighed, wondering why he always did this to himself. He took down some notes and decided that he would need to do some scrubbing on the application to add this additional functionality. He decided he’d better take the time to properly document everything so he didn’t forget. He looked at the clock and realized that it was getting close to quitting time.

Don found Kathy on the phone and started pacing back and forth in front of her desk. She ignored him and continued with her conversation. Yes, Amy, I’m sure I sent it. Check your e-mails from me and you’ll find a message from last Tuesday that has all of the information attached. The message was sent around 2:15 pm. See it? No problem, glad we sorted this out. Say hello to Mr. Peterson for me.

Don smiled and said, Thanks again, Kathy. He headed back to his desk and Kathy decided to spend the last half hour of the day ordering office supplies.

As she began searching for pens and pencils, Margie Brown walked into the office. Margie! It is so great to see you! And look who you brought along with you! Kathy exclaimed as Margie and her newborn son, Joshua, came into the office. Margie had been on maternity leave for three months, and this was the first time she’d been back.

Figured I better come in before next Monday or it will be too much for my system to handle. Margie had a difficult pregnancy and ended up spending the majority of her final trimester on bed rest. Between that and her maternity leave, it felt like she’d been gone forever.

So let’s cut the chitchat, said Kathy. Let me go wash my hands so I can hold him! Kathy ran to the restroom and immediately everyone surrounded Margie and Joshua, oohing and ahhing about the baby boy.

He looks so strong and healthy, congratulations, Margie said Bob.

Don cooed, What a beautiful baby, Margie. I’m really glad you came by the office to let us meet him. I almost remember those days. Everyone laughed. You know that if you need some additional time off that is no problem at all.

Thanks so much, Don. I really appreciate all you’ve done already. I know if I spend any more time home there is no way I’ll be able to come back. I could spend all of my time caring for this little guy, Margie said. By this time, Kathy was back, standing with her arms out ready to hold the baby. Careful with his head, reminded Margie.

I will, even though it’s been a long time, I still remember. As Kathy took the baby into her arms, he started crying.

See what you’ve done, Kathy? Jerry joked as he stepped over and began making funny faces. Jerry was the office clown, but ironically had the serious job of working on all campus policies and disciplinary actions. He used his sense of humor to lighten the mood and to offset the serious aspects of his job. Jerry was blowing up his cheeks and making a monkey face, which was quite comical on his five-foot-ten-inch, two hundred and eighty pound, bald frame.. Everyone was laughing and the baby was startled enough to forget why he had been crying. Kathy smiled and talked baby talk to Joshua.

Would you mind holding the baby a few more minutes so I can talk to Don?

No problem, said Kathy, just don’t go too far ‘cause if he gets hungry, there’s nothing I can do about it! Margie laughed and walked with Don to his office.

Bill approached Kathy as the crowd dwindled and folks got ready to head home for the day. He looked at the baby and wondered if he would ever have a son to hold. It’s been a while since you’ve had a baby to hold.

It’s second nature for a mother. Kathy knew that as soon as one of her kids had a child she will be all over that grandchild. She was really glad that both her son and daughter had chosen to stay in the greater Cleveland area. They might have aspirations to move to warmer climates, but were both so entrenched with friends and family that it seemed unlikely they would ever move away. She wondered if Tony or Kristine would have a child first, but since neither of them was currently involved in a serious relationship, it might be a while. She enjoyed holding Joshua, feeling the soft skin and looking at the little miracle.

Would you like to hold him?

Bill got a bit nervous and said, I’m not sure that’s such a good idea. I’m not sure if Margie would want me to.

Nonsense. Go to the restroom and wash your hands so you don’t get any of your germs on him. Bill walked to the restroom about the same time Margie came out of Don’s office.

How’d that go?

Don was surprised but understanding. He really is a pretty good guy, said Margie. He had no idea that Joshua doesn’t really have a father, but after the initial shock of what I’ve been through ran through his brain, he asked what he could do to help. Margie was on the verge of tears and Kathy asked her to sit down. Bill was coming; Margie got quiet and looked at her feet.

Is it ok if Bill holds Joshua? I already made him wash his hands, so Joshua should be pretty safe. Margie didn’t divert her attention from her feet but simply nodded her head as Kathy handed the baby to Bill.

Why don’t you show Joshua around the office while Margie and I have a quick talk?

Bill grabbed the baby, careful to cradle his head and making sure the blanket stayed wrapped tightly around him. He said C’mon little guy. Let’s show you around and see what kind of people we can introduce you to. He chuckled to himself and walked down the hall toward Don’s office.

So what did you ask Don to do?

I just told him that I need him to be flexible with my work schedule because of my childcare situation. If it weren’t for my sister-in-law I have no idea what I would do with Joshua. I also told Don the real reason I needed to come back to work was because I needed the money in order to survive. Margie was crying now, but trying to hide it.

Let it out, Margie, things are going to be ok, you’ll see. Margie was having trouble hearing what Kathy was saying, let alone believing it. She tried to pull herself together as Kathy slowly stroked her hair and talked calmly to her. You know that I’ll do whatever I can to help you, dear. And my Kristine will pitch in when she can. Joshua has more people to love him than he can even imagine.

I wish he could have his father. I wish I never met his father. Oh hell, how can I say that when he gave me Joshua. Who knows if I would have ever had a child otherwise. Margie wiped her eyes and continued. I have tried to reach him a few times, but he thinks that all I’m after is his money. I told him that I don’t want anything from him except occasional support for our child, and I hope that he wants to take an active role in Joshua’s life. He said, ‘You know there’s no way I can do that, Margie.’ That’s all he said. He hasn’t said a word to me since. Margie got quiet as Don and Bill walked back toward Kathy and Margie.

Babies are fascinating, said Don. All three of my kids were so alert and each day seemed to bring new life and experiences to them. It is so amazing how much they seem to absorb. It’s another thing to remember how short this time is, even though when you’re living it, like Margie, each day can seem eternal. Bill thought about this for a few seconds and didn’t respond. He didn’t know what to say, he was just basking in Joshua’s energy and he knew that words would only cause that bond to sever. He handed Joshua back to Kathy and said hi to Margie. Margie looked away, tears still in her eyes.

Time to wrap it up, people. Let’s shut down everything and head home, said Don. Thanks again for stopping by, Margie. See you Monday, and remember what I said, anything at all. Margie couldn’t reply, but nodded a thank you to Don. Don went to his office to collect his laptop and briefcase.

Bill headed to his desk to shut down his PC, put notebooks and pens away in the drawers and made sure that everything was straightened up. He walked back to Kathy’s desk and Margie was gone. Where did Margie go?

She was too upset to talk anymore, thought it best to leave while she had some composure back, Kathy said as she finished shutting down her computer and grabbed her purse. Don and Kathy said, Goodnight, Bill, see you in the morning.

Have a good night. They left, and Bill rang the buzzer. He took a last look around the office as two armed guards came through the door and took him back to his prison cell for the night, where he was serving a life sentence for killing his friends.

Chapter 2

T.G.I.F.

Kathy was the first one in the office. She liked to get in early, make coffee and settle in without the phone ringing and people asking for things or engaging in idle conversation. Today was Friday, and she was happy because it was the last week she would have to manage both the office and the accounting for the prison. In Margie’s absence Kathy had really stepped up and really had been doing the work of two people.

She saw her voicemail light, ignored it and walked to the kitchen, where she unpacked Bill’s daily lunch. Kathy always packed something special on Friday, because she knew he would be stuck eating prison food all weekend. Today’s special was steak and baked potato, Bill’s favorite, with mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. Friday was also doughnut day, so Kathy brewed coffee. She ran into Bob on the way to her desk, plucked a doughnut out of one of the boxes he was carrying, curtseyed and said, Perfect timing.

Good morning to you too, Bob chuckled.

There were voicemail messages from the Plain Dealer, Beacon Journal and one of the local TV stations. Kathy decided to start with the TV, since they tended to take the first answer and report on it. She called the reporter Jim Reynolds and said, Hi Jim, this is Kathy Wheeler returning your call.

Thanks for calling me back. We have received several anonymous tips about what’s been going on over there and I want to give you a chance to set the record straight. Is it true that you have had seven cases of prisoner abuse in the past six months?

There have been some prisoner complaints, but nothing that has been substantiated by our review boards. You know that our prison has one of the best records for fair treatment of inmates, Jim.

We have heard from several friends and relatives who claim to have seen physical evidence of abuse.

There’s not much more I can tell you, Jim. There have been no substantiated abuse claims in the past six months.

Alright, Kathy. I’m going to keep talking to people and if I have any more questions, I’ll call you back. Have a nice Friday.

Same to you, Jim. Bye now. Kathy had similar, but less pleasant, conversations with the newspaper reporters, who lacked additional stories and were trying to create one out of the alleged reports of violence. Kathy became the self-appointed public relations officer a few years ago when she realized that it didn’t make a lot of sense for her to play middleman between some prison official and the media. Time to grab some coffee and give Don an update, Kathy decided.

Bill was standing in his cell, waiting for the guards to come over and escort him to the office. His morning routine had been the same for the past eight years: breakfast with the population and then an escort to the office. Most of the other prisoners left Bill alone, but there were a few that liked to pick on him about his little office aid job, and some had much worse things to say. Bill was used to the abuse by now and knew it came with the territory. This morning the block was quiet, so he was just passing time by thinking about the weekend. As the guards led him down the hallway, he figured that he’d pass most of it reading and working out.

He buzzed into the office and headed straight for the kitchen. One of the best perks of having this job was getting doughnuts on Fridays. Bill grabbed a couple and a cup of coffee and headed to his desk. So begins another day in paradise, he thought as he powered up his computer.

Kathy was bringing Don up to speed on the discussion she had with Jim Reynolds. Don was listening, nodding his head, and asked a few questions before he told Kathy that he had a meeting. Friday was staff meeting day. Don called in to his staff meeting in the morning, and then the local staff meeting took place immediately after lunch. This was the worst possible time of day to have a meeting, and Don knew that everyone would be anxious to get it over with as quickly as possible. Kathy left the office and headed over to see if Bill was in yet.

Morning, Billy, how was the commute?

Traffic was a bit heavy, but I managed to arrive on time.

Kathy chuckled. I brought in your favorite for lunch today, so don’t eat too many doughnuts. And when you’re awake enough, please stop by. I have a work question to ask you.

I can help you with it now if you’d like. What’s on your mind?

I was thinking that it would be nice if there was a way that I could store and identify reports about the prison and then be able to query them. It is difficult for me to respond to reporters when they have access to information that’s not at my fingertips. It’s not an official request and, if you want, I can run it by Don to make sure it’s okay for you to work on.

I’ll think about it a bit and let you know. Don’t bother asking Don about it until I get back to you, Bill told her. Bill took out a notebook and started jotting down some thoughts and a sketch to solve Kathy’s problem. His mind was always running so if he didn’t write it down, he’d either forget about it or build the wrong tool. Bill got back to work on the payroll program, because he needed to give a demonstration today during staff. He had now documented several test case results and had also implemented username and password controls to limit access to the application and various functions within it.

Don swiveled his chair around so he could look outside. He was thoroughly bored by his staff meeting, paying enough attention so that he could hear his name if there was a question. The weekend was here and the weather was nice, so he knew that it would be the usual--unning the kids around all weekend and trying to squeeze in some yard work. Don wasn’t against working, but as he got older he found that he’d rather just hang out and relax on the weekend. That’s one of the challenges of having kids when you were older: you get to a point where you run out of steam. Don and Joanie had spent the first seven years of their marriage trying not to have children and the next six trying as hard as they could. Don was almost 40 when Scott was born and nearly 45 when Ricky was born. He had a lot of friends that were getting ready to retire, with their kids finishing college or