“Yeah,” she replies softly. “Bogachev is paranoid. It was always so difficult having a conversation with him. He’d watch you like a hawk. The slightest facial tick or change of expression, and he’d be doubting everything you’d just said. It won’t take much to get him to fall for that.”
Now… this surprises me. Normally hacking syndicates like this are nothing more than an extreme and far-reaching web of people who sit in the dark behind their computers and do the dirty work for the kingpin. Most never even know the real identity of who they work for.
“You’ve met Bogachev before?” I ask.
She nods stiffly, her gaze returning to her computer. “Yeah… a few times.”
My eyes cut quickly to Dozer, who doesn’t seem bothered by this information, then over to Kynan, who wears a slightly pained expression and I start to feel a sense of dread.
There’s no time to explore why I’m feeling this way, because Bebe brings her eyes to mine and they’re determined. “Bottom line… he’s paranoid, slightly mental, and dangerous. I think if you can throw him off your trail for a bit, we’ll hopefully be able to come up with something that will work, so this can all be over with sooner rather than later.”
“And you’re okay with me revealing Aaron to him?” I push. I won’t do this if she has any hesitation. We’ll just have to come up with something else.
Her expression is grim as she shakes her head. “No, I’m not exactly okay with that. But he could find that information out on his own if he wanted, and Aaron’s safe in California with good protection. I think the risk is low, as long as we can take him down.”
I nod in understanding, not exactly loving this idea, but knowing it’s our best. “Then let’s start brainstorming ideas.”
“Why won’t phishing work?” Dozer asks the room at large. “You have the capabilities to create something so realistic that it could fool him.”
“Possibly,” Bebe murmurs with a nod. “But unlikely. Plus, he’ll have the most sophisticated anti-virus software program. And I’m not talking about the stuff you buy legally. Black hats have far more sophisticated anti-virus and malware programs to protect against the very viruses and such they create.”
This would be true. “The software out there on the black market, created by hackers for hackers, is insanely good. Bogachev will have the best, which will ferret out anything that doesn’t come directly from a legit source.”
Dozer isn’t put off. “Then go to a legit source and send it from there. I’m sure the FBI has the power to command such stuff, right? Find out where he banks, go there, and have them send him a communication with a virus—”
I cut him off with a shake of my head. “Can’t involve privately held companies in a sting operation unless you have very convincing evidence that’s not circumstantial in nature. So far, everything we have on him is circumstantial.”
“His Wi-Fi is where we’ll need to concentrate,” Bebe murmurs, then immediately starts typing on her laptop. “It’s guaranteed Bogachev is going to have sophisticated cybersecurity, so maybe rather than hacking him directly, we hack the company that provides his router updates, then install a virus in a security patch.”
Dozer shakes his head. “But then you’re opening yourself up to criminal actions. That’s a hard no, Bebe. You should concentrate on perhaps building some type of jammer that will cause his network to go down temporarily, then maneuver something in that way.”
Kynan leans forward, putting his palms on the table. “I think it’s clear we’ve got our work cut out for us. Settle in, and I’ll have some coffee and food sent in. I’ve got some other things I need to take care of.”
He focuses on me. “When do you want to carry out Bebe’s fake death?”
“This weekend,” I say, glancing over to Bebe. She stares with those big blue eyes, completely unafraid of what she’s landed herself in the middle of. I suspect she’s been through so much that there’s not a lot left to fear except for the well-being of her child, and Aaron is safe for the time being. I look back to Kynan. “Bogachev was getting insistent I move on it, and I’ve got to keep him satisfied.”
Kynan nods. “I’m going to put a call into the Cranberry chief of police to see if we can set up a meeting. We should go there this afternoon to get them on board with this.”
“Sounds good,” I reply, feeling hopeful we can pull this off.
Kynan leaves the room, and Dozer leans forward past Bebe to address me. “So what’s the deal with your image, dude? The long hair, beard, tattoos?”
“Called a cover, dude,” I return dryly.
“Hmm…” he replies with a slight wrinkle of his nose, clearly conveying his distaste. The guy is clean-cut and impeccably dressed.