Encryption: The Iron Eagle Series Book Seventeen

By Roy A. Teel, Jr.

“What the hell does the Jolly Roger application do? Are we dealing with twenty-first century pirates?”

Back Matter:
In a small San Fernando Valley apartment, Kevin Bartlett and Coco Harold are putting the finishing touches on the Jolly Roger. The skull and crossbones logo of the downloadable encryption app flies on the Internet, promising users a way to share encrypted files for free. But nothing is ever truly free. Unsuspecting users, while seeking privacy, are unknowingly making their devices and computers slaves to a deep web application that could destroy not only Los Angeles but the world.
Inside Flap:
When Kevin’s mother Cindy arrives at his apartment for their lunch date, she finds her son’s lifeless body, but all of his computer equipment is missing. Autopsy results reveal the young hacker’s been murdered after his departure from a high-level cyber security firm. But Kevin was more than a hacker; he’s former Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim O’Brian’s estranged son. Together with the FBI, Jim seeks to solve the mystery based on a single clue: a flash drive with cryptic information about Kevin’s work for an unknown employer. While the FBI’s best and brightest work to disable the Jolly Roger, one of their own is brutally murdered, leaving even the Eagle uncertain that he can stop what appears to be a massive international cyber-attack that could wipe out the world as people know it.

CONTENT WARNING: PLEASE READ BEFORE DOWNLOADING ANY IRON EAGLE SERIES NOVEL:

***Content Warning: While the Iron Eagle Series can be read out of order as a stand-alone novel, the reader should be advised that backgrounds and details of the characters may be confusing if the reader choose to do so, as this series has a natural maturation. The Iron Eagle Crime novel series contains mature subject matter, graphic violence, sexual content, language, torture and other scenes and subject matter that may be disturbing to sensitive readers. This series is not intended for anyone under the age of eighteen, reader discretion is advised.***

• Language: English
• Publisher: Narroway Press
• Release date: Jun 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9781943107209

Book preview

Chapter One

This doesn’t need to become a fuckin’ Shakespearean play.

Jim was smoking a cigarette with Barbara next to him on the grounds of Rose Hills Cemetery in Whittier. Cindy Bartlett was standing next to her; both had cigarettes in their hands as well, but no one was talking. John and Sara stood off at a distance along with Chris and Karen. Sam was pacing the graveyard with Maria watching.

Chris asked, John, he never told you he had a son?

John shook his head, and Sara looked on at the three on the hillside and asked, Has Jim talked about Kevin since his mother found him?

John nodded and said, Only a little. He really didn’t know his son. He and Cindy made an arrangement before Kevin was born. He told me that he agreed to support his son and help Cindy out but that Kevin was never to be told who his father was. As far as he knew, his father died before his birth. Barbara gave me more information than Jim. From what she said, it was a teen thing, and his girlfriend got pregnant and wouldn’t abort. Jim didn’t want to marry, neither did she, and they just went their separate ways.

Jim just turned his back on his own child? Chris asked.

Sara spoke up and said, Barbara told me that she has known about Jim’s son from day one and respected his decision. Chris just shook his head and walked off with Karen.

Cindy took a deep breath and said, Thank you for coming, Jim.

He was my son, Cindy. I may not have been in his life, but he was my son.

Barbara looked at the two of them and said, I’m going to step over with John and the rest of the family and let you two have a moment.

She walked away, and Cindy looked at Jim and said, I’m sorry about Barbara. I heard she’s ill.

Jim nodded and said, I’m sorry for everything, Cindy. I wish I would have known Kevin.

You would have liked him. He was a lot like you. Did you know he was in the Corps?

Yeah. Word came down to me through friends. I was told he was honorably discharged after two years due to a heart condition.

Cindy nodded and said, Yes…he didn’t know he had the problem until he collapsed on a run. He made it through basic and on into one of the computer program jobs in the Corps. He was doing a basic physical, and they found that he had a defective valve in his heart. He was devastated but took it with the same type of composure you would. He cursed a blue streak and went into the private sector writing computer code.

Jim laughed and said, You never told him I was his father?

She shook her head and said, No. I honored our agreement and told him his father died just before he was born. I made up some of the story but used a lot of facts after you were shot in the Marshals’ service. I kept the story straight. Your Marine Corps background and work as a U.S. Marshal, but ended it with your death… Cindy paused and said, But you died a hero. I made sure of that.

Jim dropped the cigarette onto the grass and stomped it out. He looked at her and smiled and said, I forgot just how beautiful you are.

I’m an old woman now.

Hardly. Cindy’s blonde hair fell past her rear; she had a medium build with a bit of cleavage showing. Have you heard anything from his autopsy?

I asked Jade to rush the results, but she feels that it was heart related and is saying Kevin died of natural causes.

Yeah, that’s what they told me, and I think that’s what happened.

Jim asked, Had Kevin been sick?

No…not that I’m aware of. We were supposed to have lunch that day, or it might have been several days before he was found. He was fine the last time I saw him and the last time we had a meal together.

Jim nodded and asked, So, what type of computer work was he doing?

Cindy looked out over the Los Angeles skyline in the distance and said, Um…he was working freelance online. He was writing code for several companies, mostly mobile application software for tablets and smartphones. Stuff like that.

Like games?

No…I think it was more financial as well as code breaking. Companies hired him to try and break into their systems to find vulnerabilities. He was very good at it from the way he talked, but he wasn’t making much money.

Well, it’s done. Kevin is at rest. Are you still working at UCLA?

She nodded and said, I’m head of the psychology department at the hospital, which takes a lot of my time. Kevin might be at rest, but I’m not Jimmy.

Jim looked into her hazel eyes and asked, What do you mean?

I mean, things don’t add up. He was healthy, happy. He had a girlfriend. Did you get to speak to Coco?

Yeah, briefly. Seems like a nice girl.

She is. I really like her. I thought they might even get married.

So, what has you unsettled?

She looked into Jim’s eyes and said, Kevin told me he was working on something to do with encryption.

That makes sense. If he was consulting for companies he would be working with encrypting their data coming in and going out.

Yes, but he mentioned he was working on a secret project that was going to make him a lot of money but wouldn’t tell me about it.

And?

And Kevin was a computer programmer, a hacker, and whatever else he did he did it from home. Why weren’t there computers in his apartment? He always had two or three computers, Jim, but there were no computers in his apartment the morning that I found him.

Jim’s look changed, and he said, That is one hell of a good question. I’ll go over the photographs again. I knew so little about his life that I wouldn’t think to look for any of that stuff.

Cindy nodded, and Jim grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into his arms in a strong embrace. He could feel her trembling and held her for several minutes as they cried together. Then he pulled her away and kissed her gently on the cheek and said, You still live in Thousand Oaks? Cindy nodded. I’ll look everything over. Don’t do anything with Kevin’s apartment. I’ve had the manager change the locks, and I paid the next month’s rent. Not to worry you, but as a precaution I’m an investigator, and I need to keep everything as fresh as I can until Jade comes back to me. Cindy nodded, and the two walked down the hill past the tarped grave of their son holding hands.

Barbara smiled and said, I’m glad to see you two getting along.

Cindy smiled a halfhearted smile and said, We always got along, Barbara. Our lives just went in two different directions. I’m very sorry to hear of your health issues.

Barbara laughed, looking Cindy up and down in her black dress down to the knees and her cleavage, and said, You’re aging well, Cindy, but don’t get any ideas on Jimmy. He’s mine. What you two do when I’m gone is up to you, and I support it if there is a spark there. But that spark stays just that as long as I’m alive. Agreed?

Cindy nodded, and Jim shrugged and said, This doesn’t need to become a fuckin’ Shakespearean play. He took Barbara’s hand and looked at Cindy and said, I will be in touch. She nodded with a teary smile as they walked away. John and Sara were behind them, and Chris and Karen were with Sam and Maria near the cars.

Coco had been standing off in the distance throughout the funeral and the graveside ceremony. She watched the events unfold and then watched them all leave. Cindy walked up to her and said, You’re so quiet. Are you okay, sweetheart? Coco shook her head and began to cry. Cindy hugged her and said, It’s going to be okay, honey. It’s going to be okay.

Cindy held her tight with her head over her shoulder. Coco was staring with a teary icy stare in her eyes. Cindy pulled her away, and Coco’s eyes softened as she said, I had no idea that Kevin knew so many people, and so many in law enforcement.

Kevin didn’t know them. I know them.

Coco dried her eyes and asked, You knew all of them? But how?

For reasons I have regretted for over twenty-three years.

I don’t understand.

How could you? One of the men was Kevin’s father.

Coco’s face contorted, and she said, But…Kevin told me his father was dead.

Cindy started to cry and said, Yes, yes, he did, and he knew no different. His father is alive and well and is a very, very powerful man in law enforcement. Cindy hugged Coco again and then walked off.

Coco stood in stunned silence as the area started to clear. She walked back to her car and sat for several minutes then dialed a number on her cellphone.

Yes.

Problem.

I’m listening.

Were you aware that Kevin’s father is alive and a cop?

I have heard rumors to that effect.

Were you ever going to tell me?

No, because they were just rumors.

Right now, they think Kevin died of natural causes. When the coroner gets the toxicology reports back that’s going to change.

So?

Coco sat in her car with her hands on the steering wheel, speaking into the Bluetooth in her car. So…his death will be ruled a homicide, and the cops and his father are going to get into this, which means I’m going to be paid a visit, and I’m sure to be scrutinized.

There were a few moments of silence, and the voice said calmly, You chose to kill Mr. Bartlett not me. You chose that road to protect our project, which, by the way, has surpassed a million downloads in only the past three days, I’m told. You made the mess. You have to deal with it, Coco.

And if I end up across the desk from a cop or worse?

There was a light laugh, If? Did you really say if? When you are sitting across from a cop or whomever, you will do what you are so good at doing…lie.

Polygraph.

One, not admissible in court, and two, you have beaten polygraph tests at least ten times at last count, or have you forgotten the CIA and NSA interviews you went through?

Coco was nodding slowly to herself and asked, When am I going to see you again?

When I feel it is appropriate. Given the situation that you have created, I think that it would be foolish to be seen together. Besides, you need to upload the backdoor key to the application to the secure server. Another person needs to duplicate it and then compress that into a data sorting program, so they can start running it on their systems and start extrapolating the data to see what juicy stuff is in there. Coco agreed and hung up the phone.

John was sitting in his office reading a report when Matthew Hines tapped on his door. John looked up, and Matthew asked, You have a second?

Sure, Matt. What brings one of my cyber-boys out into the daylight?

Matthew laughed and said, You’re the one who relegated the cyber-investigators to the basement when Steve Hoffman left. So, we are now the mole people.

The two men laughed, and John said, It’s safer underground. You know that.

Matthew was holding a small tablet and handed it to John and said, Take a look at this.

John looked at the Jolly Roger sneering at him and asked, New encryption app?

Yes…just came online on the web, but its roots are in TOR.

Aren’t they all?

Matthew nodded and said, Yeah, but this one is more ominous.

Malware, viruses, worms?

No. I scanned it through a clean phone and tablet, and it didn’t have any of that.

Then what makes it so ominous?

It’s using a symmetric app with a huge key, as well as a cipher that I have never seen before. Once someone downloads the app to their device, it automatically encrypts the user’s data and creates a one-time key, then it warns the user not to forget it and to put it in a safe place as the code is randomly generated and is not known to the application developers.

So, it leaves it up to the users to keep not only their data safe but also makes them responsible for this code…and there is no recovery on the part of the app’s creator?

That’s basically it. Once you have the application and your data is encrypted, that’s it. There isn’t even information for the app’s creator. I ran a WHOSIS and our own internal search, and the app’s creators are ghosts. However, once a user’s data is in the program, it appears safe and only the user or those the user wants to see their data can see it; however, if you lose your passcode you are shit out of luck, and that is something I have never seen before.

John looked at the icon and opened the terms and conditions and read them. Matthew had taken a seat, and John said, Pretty cryptic. No pun intended. Matthew nodded, and John continued, No app manufacturer information, just the warning in the T&Cs about the passcode and that’s it. Very, very strange. Have you tried encrypting some harmless data?

No, not yet. I wanted to show it to you first. I have a ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb’ file that I can encrypt.

Well…play with it, cyber-boy, and let me know what you learn.

Matthew took the tablet and nodded. Do you want me to put any federal feelers into the data?

John looked at Matthew thoughtfully and said, Not yet. Whoever developed this app knows that we are going to see it and start playing with it. Let’s stay in the shadows for now.

You’re the boss. I’ll keep you posted.

Chapter Two

I will find the sons of bitches, and I will kill them.

Jade Morgan and Jessica Holmes were just getting ready to leave the morgue for lunch when the toxicology reports came in on Kevin Bartlett. Jade sat down at her desk and began to read over the report. She shook her head and handed it to Jessica, who read it and said, Jesus Christ! The kid was poisoned with cyanide? Jade nodded and picked up the phone and called Jim.

O’Brian.

Jim, can you come down to my office?

Why?

I received the tox reports on Kevin.

Jim took a cigarette out of his top left pocket and lit it next to the open window in his office and said snapping his Zippo shut, I don’t need to come down there for you to tell me that my kid was fuckin’ murdered.

Jade was quiet for a moment and said, I’m sorry, Jim. The toxicology reports show an insane amount of cyanide in Kevin’s blood. I mean, he died within minutes.

Jim took a deep drag off the cigarette and asked, The questions I’m asking myself are who murdered my son and why?

That’s your area, Jim. I thought you should be the first to know…again, I’m so very sorry.

Jim hung up his cellphone and called out, Sam, I need you in my office. Sam walked in and saw Jim leaning on the window ledge blowing smoke out of the building. I just got off the phone with Jade. The toxicology reports came in on my son.

And?

He was murdered. Poisoned with cyanide.

Sam got teary and said, Oh, Jim, I’m so sorry. We need to open a homicide file on Kevin right now.

Jim nodded, stubbing out the cigarette. We need to get a team over to the kid’s apartment. I need answers, and I need them fast. Sam nodded and made a call as the two of them walked out of the office headed for North Hollywood.

Cindy was sitting on her patio when her cellphone rang. It was Jim. I know that sound in your voice, she said. What’s wrong?

I just got a call from the LA County Coroner. The toxicology reports are back.

And?

He was murdered, Cindy. He was poisoned with cyanide. Can you think of anyone who would have wanted to kill Kevin? Cindy was sitting in stunned silence, and Jim asked, Cindy? Are you on the line?

Yes, Jim. I’m here. I…I don’t have any idea who would want to hurt Kevin.

Sam and I are on the way to Kevin’s apartment. It’s now a crime scene. You mentioned that all of Kevin’s computer equipment was missing.

Cindy was teetering in her chair and said, Um…yes. He usually had a couple of laptops and tablets, lots of flash drives, and other things strewn around the apartment, and none of that was there.

I didn’t know the boy, Cindy. I’m going to need any information you have on him, his friends, acquaintances, and people he worked for. I need to talk to his girlfriend Coco.

Do you want me to call her?

No. Let me deal with her. Text me her address and phone numbers, home and work as well as cell. Jim spoke softly and said, I will find the bastard or bastards who did this to our son, Cindy. I will find the sons of bitches, and I will kill them. Cindy nodded and hung up the phone. She pulled her contacts up on her phone and sent Coco’s information to Jim. She put her head in her hands and let out a scream as she collapsed to the pavement.

Matthew was playing with the Jolly Roger application on a secure tablet along with two other techs. He had uploaded several documents into the application and all seemed fine. Brenda Brandis and Doug Solomon were working with the application as well. Brenda was uploading a music file and asked, Do you think this is like a pirate software sharing service like the ones we busted in the early two thousands?

Doug laughed and said, They still exist, Brenda. This is way more complex than just a file sharing program. This is a secret keeping program or even a secret hacking program.

Matthew looked at Doug and asked, You mean a backdoor encryption program?

We certainly can’t rule it out. We need to get this into our servers for monitoring right away, so we can track downloads.

Brenda laughed and said, I doubt these people wrote an FBI-friendly encryption application.

This is not a user-friendly application from our side of things.

Doug looked at them and said, Then we need to make it FBI-friendly.

Matthew got a thoughtful look on his face and said, I know that the Bureau received three digital devices in the Reaper case. Perhaps we can use this to unlock those devices.

Brenda frowned and said, While I would love to get my hands on those devices, John has them locked up in evidence, and I don’t think it would be a good idea to plug devices like that into an unknown encryption application. We could do more harm than good.

Doug nodded, and Matthew looked down at the tablet and the Jolly Roger staring back at him and said, Why do I have a nagging feeling about this app?

Brenda said, Because this is a cipher we have never seen before. Because this app is all wrong and breaks all the rules of coding and cryptography that we have been trained to understand.

Jim and Sam were rummaging through Kevin’s apartment. Both were gloved and silent. Sam was looking carefully through the kitchen as Jim was back in the small bedroom. Sam had gone through all but one drawer when she heard Jim call out, Anything?

No…just kitchen stuff. Your son must have been quite the cook. He might have lived in this hovel, but he has some high-priced cooking items and spices. She opened the bottom drawer and saw a small spice rack. She was about to close the drawer when she