To Russia With Love (Countermeasure Series) Read online

  The keylogger files held details on the applications used, as well as the keystrokes used within each application, such as website URLs, email addresses, and the actual messages typed while using them. It even captured when the backspace had been pressed or letters deleted. Most of the communications were boring emails, some exchanged among the developers and others of a personal nature.

  As he read the files, Trevor’s sense of humor was sparked by the odd things found in them. He shook his head at some of the content he came across.

  Cassandra chuckled while studying her lot of files.

  “Did you find amusing stuff in yours, too?”

  “Sure did.” Cassandra’s eyes sparkled with a mix of humor and incredulity.

  “Amazing that people still discuss personal things using company computers. They have no idea about what can be restored even from deleted files.” He continued with his perusal, scrolling rapidly through them, searching for any unusual communications via instant messaging between someone within the company and an outside recipient.

  After several hours of reading mile-long logs, Cassandra’s eyes were starting to cross. She rubbed them as she twisted in her chair. “I need a break. My eyes feel like they want to pop out of my head.” Her stomach chose that moment to rumble. Trevor’s eyebrows rose, making her laugh. “I guess I’m hungry, too.” Standing, she stretched like a cat. “Heading downstairs to get us something. I’ll be right back.”

  Trevor’s eyes trained on her retreating figure and his heart rolled in his chest. That’s my wife. He’d never been that lucky. Fate had had a great time mocking him in the past, taking from him the people he loved most—and yet, for once it had actually smiled on him. He sucked in a deep breath and got back to work.

  *****

  Down in the kitchen Cassandra pulled out everything to make quick sandwiches. She’d needed a break from the files and from the apprehension that had been assaulting her off and on since they had taken the case. The mindless task fit the bill. Trevor always mentioned his spidey senses tingled when something didn’t jive. She had her own type of sixth sense. The scar on her hip ached again, an indication that things would get a lot more interesting.

  With a sense of accomplishment, she lifted the tray and walked back upstairs into the office. Trevor looked up when she entered and grinned at her when she handed him his plate and a pint of Guinness to chase the food down. “Brilliant, love. I’m famished.”

  She took a bite from her own sandwich and relaxed back in her chair with her feet propped against her desk. “Did you find anything while I was downstairs?”

  Cassandra watched Trevor bite down on his sandwich with gusto and nod in appreciation as he chewed. She couldn’t help but smile as he swallowed and chased it down with a big gulp of his beer. “That’s really good, love. It hit the spot.” Trevor tossed the last bite in his mouth and licked his fingers. “To answer your question, no, I haven’t. Nothing so far. I hope we can get through this process quickly so we can get to Prague and find out if Mucha has the information I need.”

  Cassandra’s heart twisted in her chest when she saw sadness invade Trevor’s features. She immediately dropped her feet to the floor, set her plate aside, and made her way around the desks. His chair creaked under the weight of her hands as she turned it and leaned on its arms. “Patience, love.” She placed a soft kiss on his lips and gazed into his turbulent eyes. “We’ll find what we need. We will make the meeting in Prague, just as planned.”

  Trevor exhaled harshly and scrubbed his fingers through his hair. He stared into Cassandra’s confident eyes and saw the rock-solid strength and determination that had grounded him in his pursuit of the truth. “I know. I just wish…never mind. Back to work. The faster we ID the mole the better. It’s a small company. If we’re really lucky, we’ll end up with only a few possible suspects.” As Cassandra straightened, Trevor trailed his fingers down her arm and gripped her hand, stopping her. “Thank you.” She smiled softly in silent acquiescence of the meaning behind his words.

  Some time later, Trevor looked up from his screen, satisfaction glowing in his eyes. “I think I might have found something.” His voice held a rasp of excitement. “An employee accessed a number of sites with .ru, .ua and .ge extensions.”

  Cassandra raised her eyebrows and whistled. “All former Soviet Union countries—Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia.”

  “Yep. And everybody in this field knows how heavily tied to online fraud those counties are.”

  Trevor stared pensively at his screen. “How about you do a full background check on this guy? His name is Andrey Tomlin. Check company records on him, too. Need to know if he’s a disgruntled employee or something. I’ll focus on finishing the last of the files.”

  Cassandra nodded absently as she jotted his name in her notebook. Working side by side with her had proved to be interesting. He always looked forward to the thrill of having her around during the action. She was definitely a big asset, both behind the scenes and in the field. Cassandra’s frown and look of implacable determination as she focused on the background check amused him to no end. Note to self: find ways to remove that frown from her face later. While she continued her work, Trevor turned his attention to the remaining logs.

  Cassandra was determined to find something that would establish a possible motive. Her fingers pounded a staccato rhythm across the keys as she initiated several financial and medical queries. Next, she opened Tomlin’s HR file. It contained some minor disciplinary actions for misuse of company credit cards. So, Mr. Tomlin, do you have cash-flow issues?

  A little while later, Cassandra eyed the clock on the computer and a wide smile filled her face as she glanced at Trevor. “Done. I packaged it nice and shiny for you. Saved it to the shared drive. He’s a suspicious little bugger, as you would say. He may have a love-hate relationship with money. Take a look.”

  Trevor turned his attention to Mr. Tomlin and the background check she’d compiled. The more he read, the more he felt like there was a good chance they had found their mole. “This is good stuff. If this guy is into something, he has to be communicating with his contact from home as well as from work. He may have curtailed direct communication since the data was stolen. No major money transfers have hit his account yet. He could still be waiting for a payout. We need taps on this guy as soon as possible. I’ll get George’s take on it tomorrow.”

  Cassandra nodded. “Between the two of you, no information will be missed.” Her muscles ached from the long hours hunched over her computer. She stood and stretched, turning her head to release the kink in her neck. “We’ve been at it for hours. Are we done for the day, Captain?”

  Trevor flashed a wicked grin. “I guess we are done for the day, a bhean.” The Irish word for wife rolled smoothly off his tongue. He loved saying it. “Let’s shut it down.” He took her hand in his and led her into the hall. “We’ll talk to George tomorrow at the usual time. We can pass all of the details to him then.”

  The dark curtain of night had descended upon them. The soft moonlight glimmer illuminated the room as Trevor guided Cassandra to their bed. “I can finally start working on getting that little frown off your face.” He chuckled at her puzzled silence and cupped her cheeks with his hands. “Don’t worry, a ghrá. I am sure you’ll approve and enjoy my methods.” Her sigh echoed in the room has he proceeded to show her.

  Chapter Four

  Curious George

  CASSANDRA'S FOOTSTEPS WERE SOFT AS she made her way to their bedroom. The sight of Trevor standing by the window looking out on St. Stephen’s Green, lost in thought, halted her approach. She stood by the door and studied him in silence. His set face, grim mouth, and fixed eyes spoke volumes about his frame of mind. She quietly stepped up behind him, circled his waist with her arms, and hugged him tight before slipping her hands down into his front pockets. Silence descended upon them like a thick blanket as she stood pressed against his back. Whatever was weighing heavily on him she was confident he’d te
ll her when he was ready.

  His concentration implied he was thinking through scenarios regarding the next phase of their current project. As the details of the case filled her own thoughts, they tossed her straight into the memory of Trevor bursting into the room the day of the meet, and the quick, hard love that followed. A slow burn crept up from her chest to her cheeks. Her world had bottomed out in that moment. It had narrowed to only him and the play of his hands and mouth on her body.

  Cassandra rubbed her cheek against his back and dropped a kiss between his shoulders. After a few more minutes, his hand drew hers from his pocket and, with a light squeeze, pulled it to his lips, placing a tender kiss in the center of her palm before resting it over his heart. The strong steady beat under her hand was reassuring. Taking his action as a sign that he was ready to talk, Cassandra moved around to face him. She kept her gaze steady and locked on his as she cupped his cheek, his shaved skin soft under her hand. “What’s up love?” she asked, rubbing her thumb back and forth where it rested.

  Trevor’s eyes held a grim determination. “Devlin called. He wanted an update.” He flicked his gaze to the street beyond. “I told him everything is still on schedule.”

  Trevor’s hand covered hers again and pressed it tighter against his cheek. She watched a frown crease his brow. “George will be online soon. Hate the five-hour difference. If only we could convince him to move here. We would be able to bounce things off each other easier,” Trevor sighed. “But then we would lose the ability to access certain features of Echelon only available to us because he’s in Cryptocity. We need to pick his brain and give him what we have so that he can set the taps.”

  Cassandra drew his attention back to her, searching his troubled eyes for a clue as to what he was really thinking. “When you’ve worked through it, share what’s bugging you with me. Maybe I can help. Two brains are better than one, you know,” she teased, hoping to turn his mood. She dropped her glance to the watch gracing her wrist and rose on tiptoes, placing a peck on his lips. “It’s almost time for George. I better get everything ready.”

  She slipped away from him and crossed the hall to their office. Sitting in his chair, she booted his computer. Trevor followed. While she waited for the security login window, she twisted the chair to face him. “Do you think he’s made any progress with Jennifer?” she chuckled.

  A smile hovered on Trevor’s lips and her insides did a small flip-flop. “The way those two dance around each other, they may never get to first base.”

  Cassandra burst out laughing. “What is it with guys, baseball, and the obsession with bases?” Trevor’s wicked smile and wiggling eyebrows melted her insides. She spun to the screen, seeking activity to clear the image of pushing him back to their room and jumping him out of her mind. She swallowed hard a couple of times to dislodge the lump that had formed in her throat. He always had that effect on her. Even after all those months, he could steal the breath from her lungs with just a flash of his crooked smile.

  Cassandra squared her shoulders, pulled up the summary of the details they’d captured, and opened the online chat. “Okay. All logged in and set up for the call.”

  She stood, handing the seat over to Trevor and scooting her own closer. A comfortable silence stretched between them, each lost in their own musings as they waited for George.

  Trevor struggled to wrap his head around the next steps to trace the decrypter’s location. In the back of his mind, something was niggling at him, making his hair stand on end and his gut clench. Finding the link to the mole had been too easy. Maybe not to an average sysadmin, but to Trevor it had been a piece of cake. Almost as if whoever had taken the decrypter couldn’t have cared less if they’d been found. He mulled over the facts, hoping a light would go off, but instead he kept hitting a brick wall. It was seriously pissing him off that he’d not been able to pinpoint the glitch in his theory.

  He glossed over Cassandra’s notes. The woman could easily get by without taking any—her mind was like an organic file cabinet; but she liked having the notes and records at hand. All details associated with the contact as well as the suspected mole were listed for easy copy and paste. As he read through the background check on Andrey Tomlin the niggling grew stronger—things fit just a little too nicely. Way too easy. The online chat beep sounded in the background. Trevor toggled the window.

  Are you there? George had typed on the screen.

  Yes. Cassie is here, too. Video call?

  Has to be quick today. I have a meeting in about 15 minutes. Something big might be coming our way down the pike.

  Not a problem, George. Just let me know if it does and if we’ll be needed.

  You know how it is when someone wants something yesterday. Oh, wait. That’s you most of the time. LOL.

  Initiating the video call, George’s face appeared on the screen. “Hey, Cassie! Still putting up with this foul-mouthed jerk husband of yours?”

  Cassandra laughed, turned her head, and frowned as she looked Trevor over appraisingly. “Yeah. What can I say? He’s a keeper. Hot geek, don’t you know.” She flashed a cheeky grin at Trevor and shrugged. “Just saying.”

  Trevor shot George a stern look. “Stop ganging up on me or I’ll email Jennifer the pictures I have of you from when you came to Dublin and we partied at the Temple Bar.”

  A clack of teeth sounded as George snapped his mouth shut abruptly, drawing a soft chuckle from Trevor. The man is head over heels. George got down to business. “What do you have for me?”

  Trevor nodded at Cassandra to take the lead. “Georgie,” Cassandra grinned when he scowled at the play on his name. “The MDS project is getting a little sticky.” Her grin faded and her expression grew solemn. “We uncovered some interesting information on one employee in particular: Tomlin, Andrey.”

  Trevor dragged the file into the chat window so George could download the full background check. He watched a crease form between George’s brows as he skimmed it.

  Cassandra continued with the briefing. “He’s single. No current love interests. A fast-tracker within the Company. Used to be a golden boy. That image was tarnished after he was busted and disciplined for corporate credit card misuse. It could have been the catalyst to his involvement in the theft. A good percentage of his personal credit card accounts are maxed out. Possible cash-flow issues. Other than that, he’s clean.”

  George rubbed his chin as he eyed the file. “Still, you never know.” His gaze shifted to the camera, “What’s this about Russian extensions?”

  Cassandra glanced at Trevor. “I’ll let Trevor give you the deets on that little nugget. It’s his find.”

  Trevor took over the debriefing and talked about on the many sites Mr. Tomlin was visiting from his work computer. “It’s a very weak lead, I know, but so far it’s all we’ve got.” He crossed his arms and eased back in his chair. “This is a small company. Not many workers to screen. We had one other potential culprit, but Cassie was able to eliminate him.”

  “Any clue on the path of extraction?” George’s eyes were shrewd and Trevor knew the signs. George’s inquiring mind was already working the lead, just as he had.

  “It didn’t leave the company through the network or I would’ve found traces of the files being removed via remote access or FTP in the logs. I didn’t find any port scans, DNS queries, trace route, or telnet attempts in the logs. No exploits, either.”

  George’s gaze bounced between Cassandra and Trevor. “Sounds like an inside job to me. Someone could’ve moved the files to an external device and walked out with it.”

  “That’s what we think.” Trevor paused, trying to find the right words to express his concern. “The real question is why this was so damn easy to trace.”

  Cassandra looked at him, her eyes sharp and assessing. “So that’s what’s been bothering you.”

  Trevor sighed and nodded. “Why is it that an employee can extract highly confidential data, walk out of the building on a Monday night, and the company no
t notice it’s missing until three days later when the lead developer returns from a business trip and can’t find any trace of the files? It’s just bizarre. You’d think MDS had better security measures in place.”

  George nodded and scrubbed his fingers through his hair “Do you think there’s someone else involved?”

  George hit the bull’s eye—the reason Trevor was so puzzled. “There’s no activity on his computer to indicate any accomplice within the company. That’s why I inputted new keywords in the Echelon library. Keep an eye on it for us, will you? Also, if you can initiate some taps based on the background check Cassie ran, that would help a great deal.”

  George relaxed back in his chair with his arms crossed at his chest and a smirk like a Cheshire cat curving his lips. “Easy peasy. What do I get in return?” His eyes narrowed speculatively. “You know what I want—”

  Trevor sighed deeply. “You’re an eejit, George. Fine. We’ll help you woo your lass. But—” Trevor stressed as a grin of anticipation overtook George’s features. “No guarantee she’ll fall for your ugly ass, even with our help.”

  George rubbed his hands together, grinning like a child at Christmas. “Hey, something is better than nothing! I’ll place the taps and let you know as soon as I have anything.” He looked over the top of his monitor and flicked his gaze back to them. “Gotta go.”

  When the call abruptly terminated, Trevor reached for the mouse and logged them off the chat window.

  Cassandra swiveled her chair to face him and frowned as she studied his face. Trevor must have felt her scrutiny because he glanced at her. “What?”

  Cassandra searched his eyes and then sighed deeply. “You tell me. Why didn’t you mention your suspicions? Did it ever occur to you that I might have had similar questions running around in my head? You should have mentioned it to me, Trev. We could have sounded each other out.”