“Or even communications they might have made via the video games,” Mack added, catching her enthusiasm.
“Okay. Yeah. Yeah. This is sounding more possible.” Kiley wrote the words on the whiteboard in red marker, then grabbed copies of Firuzeh’s journal from her backpack and slid them across the table to Cam. “You and Evan start reviewing those. Look for anything that might fit with the wordswork hour wait win yesterday. Sean and Mack, start on the shipping files.”
Kiley snatched her phone from the table. “I’ll call Cryptanalysis to ask about the letter and give them these details and the PlayStation chat information. Then I’ll get started reviewing the game files.” She sent the game files to the printer and dialed the FBI’s Cryptanalysis Department. She had to go through a few people, growing more irritated with each one, until finally connecting with Ulrich Lane, the person handling their letter.
“Agent Dawson,” he said. “I assume you’re calling for an update on your letter.”
“Tell me you have something for me,” she nearly shouted at him.
“I’ve been working on the letter and believe we have a masonic cipher here.”
“Seriously, it really is code?” She looked at her team, whose heads came up. They were watching her intently. She was glad to see they’d caught the enthusiasm, but they had no time to waste so she twirled her finger, telling them to get back to work.
“Yes, it’s a centuries-old cipher with two X patterns and two tic-tac-toe diagrams to represent the letters of the alphabet,” Ulrich continued. “I use the patterns formed by the intersecting lines and dots to decipher the message.”
She could barely contain her excitement and wished she could jump through the phone and speed up his work. “How long before you finish it?”
A heavy sigh came over the phone. “If all goes well, and I’m not interrupted, by the end of the day.”
“This is top priority,” she said emphatically. “I’ll make a few calls and ensure you’re not interrupted.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Please add the following words to the end of the letter to see if it makes sense.” She shared the odd words from the Soundwave tattoo.
He repeated them back.
“That’s right. Call me the minute you finish, no matter the time of day. Understood?”
“Will do.”
“Millions of lives are counting on this, Ulrich,” she said. “Please do your very best work here. Don’t let your country down.” Kiley ended the call and shared her conversation with the team. “We could have something by the end of the day.”
“And what about the video-chat information?” Evan asked.
“I already asked Eisenhower to get another analyst assigned to it.” She took a seat and sent a text to Eisenhower, updating him and asking him to pull strings to make sure Ulrich Lane’s time was fully committed to the cypher.
He responded, promising to act on Ulrich.FYI, warrant is in the works for Barzani’s customer numbers. Should have it today.
She glanced at her email, disappointed in not seeing a message from Clark yet and willing it to appear.
“Gadi’s phone is done,” Sean announced from the end of the table.
“That completed way too fast.” Kiley raced for the phone and looked at the files. Shocked, she dropped into a chair. “Someone wiped the phone while we were imaging it.”
Sean met her gaze. “Seriously?”
She gave a solemn nod.
He paled. “I’ve only seen that happen once.”
She felt sick to her stomach. “Encrypted phones from Phantom Shield.”
He nodded.
“Who’s Phantom Shield?” Evan asked.
Kiley hadn’t really looked at him since he tackled her. Too many loose ends needed her immediate attention, and she couldn’t even begin to deal with his actions. She shoved it away and focused on answering his question. “The company offers encryption services to businesses and executives, or so they claim. In reality, they’re a criminal enterprise providinggangs and drug traffickers with mobile devices that hide data and mask communications. And if the user’s apprehended, the phones can be completely wiped on command.”
