“You can count on it.”Camden raised his glass in a subtle toast.“Now, about that bait plan...”
“Yeah...we need something compelling enough to trigger action, but not anything that could actually compromise the system if it falls into the wrong hands.”
Camden nodded, savoring the sangria.“What about creating a false vulnerability in the authentication protocols?”
“I could fabricate documentation about a theoretical backdoor in the quantum key distribution.”Rex’s eyes took on that focused gleam that appeared when he was deep in problem-solving mode.“Make it look like there is a potential weakness in the entanglement verification process they could hack in to gain access.”
“Technical enough to seem legitimate to insiders and hackers but actually useless?”
“Exactly.I can code a fake patch that appears to address the issue.Anyone trying to exploit it would just trigger another layer of tracking protocols I’ll embed.”
Camden leaned back, stretching his long legs.“Any thoughts on distribution?”
“That’s trickier.”Rex stood and walked to the window, looking out over New Orleans.“I need to limit access to just the suspect pool while making it appear unintentionally exposed.”
“The problem is...what suspect pool?No one knows who is part of that damn syndicate.It could be high-powered politicians, bankers, billionaires...so far, no one has an inkling what makes up their dynamics.”
“Fuck, you’re right.”Rex ran a hand over his bald head.
“What about your global development server?”
“Could work.I’ll create a restricted access folder, make it appear to have slightly incorrect permission settings.”Rex turned back to Camden.“Then accidentally include a reference to it in the next security update bulletin.”
“Only those with high-level access would be able to find it?”
“And those linked to The Consortium’s hackers.And I’ll handle all the quantum encryption myself.”At Camden’s raised eyebrow, Rex added, “I have trust issues.”
“Understandable.How long will it take to set it up?”
“Give me 72 hours to code the fake vulnerability and tracking protocols and open a fake link to access the global banking network.I’ll need another day to implement the modified server access.”
“Good.Meanwhile, I’ll get my team working on that secure cloud hub and see if we can make some headway on where their U.S.hub is situated.We’ll need to coordinate our monitoring once the bait is live.”Camden finished his sangria.“One more thing...have you considered that The Consortium might have more than one inside source?”
Rex’s jaw tightened.“The thought has occurred to me.The level of detail in their threats...it’s like they’re obtaining information from multiple sources.”
“Could be compartmentalized.One source for technical details, another for personal information.”
“Which means we might need multiple types of bait.”Rex returned to his seat, his mind in brainstorming mode.“I could create variations of the vulnerability documentation, seed different versions to different departments.”
“Watermark them?”
“Even better, I’ll encode unique quantum signatures into each version.Completely untraceable unless you know exactly what to look for.”
Camden nodded approvingly.“And I assume you’ll be the only one who knows what to look for?”
“Trust issues, remember?”Rex’s smile held no humor.“I’ll set up secure access for you on the hub, but the encryption protocols stay with me.”
“Fair enough.”Camden glanced at his watch.“Send me the technical specifications for the hub.I’ll have my team ready to integrate as soon as you give the green light.”
“I appreciate this, Camden,” Rex said in a quiet, sincere tone.
“Don’t thank me yet.Something tells me this is just the beginning.”Camden stood, adjusting his jacket.“And Rex?While you’re setting all this up...watch your blind spots.Personal ones, especially.”
Rex thought again of Xia and the explosive scene with Master DD.Anger once again boiled up inside him.It was a feeling he wasn’t accustomed to...it felt too much like jealousy, and for a man who claimed she was nothing more than his wife whisperer...
Fuck!If only he could forget the rosy cheeks, the convulsions of her body, and the raw screams while another man took her to a sensual plateau.He couldn’t shake the anger, no matter how hard he had tried since that night.He had summarily banished her to bar duty the rest of the weekend and avoided her like the plague.It felt too much like betrayal.
Bullshit.You’re looking for a wife and scening with potentials.Why the hell can’t she?She owes you jack shit, Oliver.
