Chapter Ten

Keiji rubbed his face as he shuffled out of the bedroom. He did not know what time it was, but the stillness of the apartment and dark skies told him it was still when most of the citizens of this quiet Baltic town were asleep. A soft glow of light shone from the living room. After getting himself a glass of water, he made his way in that direction to see who was burning the midnight oil.

“Jet lag?”

“Yeah, I always sleep like shit for at least the first couple of days when I travel.”

He sat down next to BB and peered at the computer screen that was currently tracking any data coming in and out of Saber’s systems.

“This seems to work well. I have to say, even though the theory behind this is solid, I was only about forty percent sure it would actually work.”

“Have you come across a place like Saber’s in your work?”

“No, I have been doing some research on how he locked the entire place down. Look at this.” BB pulled up an article about a penthouse in San Francisco. “It says that they thought cell phone radiation was a possible carcinogen.”

“Holy cow! Graphite paint, wire tape embedded in the floors, walls, and ceilings, and EMF blocking polymer on the windows. I mean, that’s one way to do it I guess. Feel bad for the person who buys the place after them.”

“Keiji, can I ask you a question?”

“You can ask. I reserve the right to not answer.”

“Fair enough. Why are you here? You and the military man. We have ten of the probably thirty letters that represent our intelligence community here in an operational capacity. I’m impressed with the groundwork the two of you laid down to get us the information, and you’ve got some useful skills, but why not go back to your lives?”

“If I tell you, will you explain the meaning behind your call sign?”

“Terms?”

“Just curiosity.”

He wasn’t really sure why he’d asked. Keiji wasn’t the type of person who poked at people to give up all their secrets. There was something about BB though that intrigued him. Was it the job that had shaped him into this enigmatic character or was it his natural personality that made him an ideal candidate for a clandestine lifestyle? BB shrugged and Keiji felt some tension release. He didn’t want to get on the bad side of his temporary work partner.

“We could have given everything to King and simply hoped that everything worked out. King cleared Rick of all charges and he was told to report to his job next week. I could go back to my little basement office at Blackraptor and cross my fingers that anyone with power did not discover the real reason for my ‘sick days’. Then I don’t know, hold my breath and pray that you guys were successful in saving the world before the public realized the imminent danger?”

“It is what we do.”

“Yeah, I know.” He chuckled. “I guess, I don’t really know, right? That means you’re doing your jobs.”

BB smiled and nodded.

“Have you ever taken one of those personality tests?”

“Oui, they made me when SCS recruited me.”

“So I took this one not too long ago and apparently I get deep satisfaction in working to achieve goals, I drivingly need to be productive, and have a stupidly acute sense of responsibility. So could we have stepped aside and let you super spies do you jobs? Yes, but it would have really chapped my ass. I just… I just had to see it through.”

“I understand what you are saying. Tate was being his usual irreverent self earlier, but when he said you could have a future in intelligence, it’s not a comment you should ignore. I’ve worked with Tate multiple times, as we often get paired up with CIA officers when in the field. His instincts are uncanny. Also, those traits of yours are exactly what would make you an excellent agent or officer.”

“I’m not looking to bounce around the globe dodging bullets.”

BB scoffed. “That only happens in Hollywood. There are thousands of government employees who spend their day in an office or lab. And those of us who work in the field strive to make sure that our targets never know we are in the same room with them. Just think about it.”

He nodded. Even if Blackraptor rose from the ashes of fallout, Keiji knew himself well enough to know that he’d trust no one within the company again. Which broke his heart on some level. It had been his dream job. Developing software and the innovative technology it supported seemed like the chance of a lifetime. But the flagrant disregard for the potential effects of the corruption in the software by the administration at Blackraptor left an oily feeling in his gut. Where that left him and Rick needed to be determined.

In the short time they’d spent together, the other man had shifted Keiji’s world on its axis. Flying halfway around the world and getting embedded with a group of operatives trying to save the world didn’t exactly give him a chance to find his equilibrium. But the thought of letting Rick go made him catch his breath and his head spin. No, he needed the man in his world to make the vertigo cease. How they did that while they each lived up to their obligations and sought opportunities for professional and personal growth was the big question. Of course, first they had to live past the next few days and stop the world from exploding to get their Disney ending. No biggie.

“Okay, fess up… BB.”

He smiled. “It’s not all that exciting. I was a lieutenant in the Chasseurs Alpins before joining NSA. You know of them?”

Keiji shook his head.

“No? In English it translates to alpine hunters. We are an elite mountain infantry. So I spent my time with the French military training and operating in the Alps. They deployed us to Afghanistan for our high-altitude expertise. When I met Tate, he was like ‘you’re the original Winter Soldier’ and started calling me Bucky, but when he found out my last name is Benoit, it changed to BB. I don’t care, and I find it humorous watching people try to figure out what it stands for.”

“So how does a lieutenant in the French infantry make the move to the United States National Security Agency?”

“A story not unlike your own. French father, American mother. I grew up in Chamonix. My father was an adventure guide. He would take tourists up Mont Blanc in summer and winter. That’s how he met my mother. She was doing a year abroad and fell under the spell of the quaint alpine village.” He paused and grinned over at Keiji. “And the decadent ardor of her French lover.” Keiji scoffed. “She never went home, and I spent my early years in paradise within the embrace of mes parents.”

“I sense a shift in the story.”

“Oui, mon père was one of thirty-nine killed in the Mont Blanc tunnel fire.”

“I am so sorry. How old were you?”

“Seventeen. My mother came home back to the States, and I joined the military. I had no desire to relocate halfway around the world to move in with mes grands-parents, who I’d only seen a handful of times in my life. J’aime la France. It was all I knew.”

“Your mother didn’t want to stay in France?”

“I think her heart was too broken. Everything in our world reminded her of him. I understood. When my time with the Chasseurs Alpins ended, I knew it was time to reconnect with ma méré. So, I packed my life and prayed that the years apart hadn’t hardened her heart toward her son, who tried to climb higher than his grief.”

“You’re killing me, Smalls. Tell me everything worked out?”

“Oui. Ma méré lives in Chevy Chase Village and we have breakfast every week when I’m not traveling.”

“Wait! You live in the U.S.?”

BB chuckled “Oui, you thought I didn’t? I’m usually roaming the halls of the same building you broke your man out of in grand style.”

“I guess I just assumed you represented the NSA’s interests over here. Do you realize that your accent has gotten stronger throughout this conversation?”

“It does that when I think about home.” He shrugged. “I’ve come to love the United States, but France will always have a special place in my heart.”

“When we first met, I heard the hint of a French accent, but that wasn’t all.”

“Just as you said, it takes you a couple of days to adjust your body clock to a new place, it takes my mouth a couple of hours to adjust to a new language when I’ve been in place for an extended period. I’ve been seeing to some NSA interests across Europe for the last month.”

“How many languages do you speak?”

“Nine. Six fluently and three enough to get by. That’s why I get these types of assignments. The agency figures at least one of them will prove useful wherever I’m at.”

“I don’t suppose Montenegrin is one of the nine?”

“Ne, ali ja govorim bosanski, i malo hrv.”

“Right. And here most of my co-workers viewed my life as so international because my first language wasn’t American.”

“It is funny you say American and not English.”

“Too many forms of English around the globe. I’ve been in conversations with more than one person where we are ostensibly speaking the same language, but do not know what the other is saying.”

BB laughed loudly and Keiji looked over his shoulder to see if they’d woken anyone up.

“You’ll have to teach me some Japanese,” BB said.

“Not one in your repertoire?”

“No, but I’d love to learn more about the culture and language.”

Keiji studied BB for a moment. “I think you mean that.”

“I do. I love learning about our world and all its different people.”

“So does that mean we can start with something other than curse words?”

BB rolled his eyes. “S’il te pla?t.”

Keiji smiled. BB was someone he could see getting to know better. His quiet steadiness actually gave Keiji confidence. While Tate was entertaining, and Keiji did not doubt his skills, Keiji also envisioned the layer of exhaustion he’d endure keeping up with Tate’s level of energy.

“You said you’ve worked with Tate before?”

“Many times.”

“The two of you kind of balance each other out, don’t you?”

BB looked over his shoulder. Keiji didn’t know which room Tate currently occupied, but there was a current of emotion in BB’s gaze that hinted of a possible deeper connection between the two men.

“On the job, yes we work well together.”

“And off the job?” He paused when BB stiffened. “Sorry, none of my business.”

“Non, it is okay. There was an occurrence. We had to go undercover as lovers to achieve our objective. We didn’t actually do anything, mind you. That would be unprofessional. But….”

“Something shifted between you? Tate intimated that he’s… shall we say… flexible in his desires. What about you?”

“I know the world is aware of labels right now. I understand that for many having a recognized identity is crucial to their mental health and I suspect a part of navigating their journey through life, but I’ve never cared to figure out which one applies to me.”

Before BB said anything further, the computer screen in front of them alerted it was done downloading the information currently contained on Saber’s computers.

“Now we just have to sort through everything and cross our fingers that we get a hit on a new player.”

Keiji pulled his chair closer to the table. “If you’ll let me, I think I can help.” He popped a flash drive into the laptop and started working his way through various directories.

“What is this?”

“A program I wrote that can scan terabytes of data for keywords or commands and disseminate the material for review.”

“A side project?”

“I needed something to do on the plane while the others snored and farted their way across the Atlantic.”

BB’s laughter filled the room.

“What’s so funny,” King asked, walking into the room with a cup of steaming coffee.

“Pikachu is showing off. The download is complete, and we should have some actionable intel—”

“I got it!”

“Damn that was fast,” King said as he collapsed into a chair at their makeshift command center. “Talk to me.”

“I will say that Saber is a savvy businessman. He has documented invoices for work done for multiple organizations.”

“Legit?”

“The organizations or the invoice? Everything looks on the up and up. If I do a quick query on his historical files, I see actual communications between him and a representative ordering the work. It looks like a lot of it is… huh, that’s unexpected. It seems like most of these are companies or organizations who are requesting him to analyze their data security systems.”

“Isn’t Mr. Saber one of the most wanted black hat hackers in the world? This sounds like legit cyber security work.”

“Yeah. Okay, give me a minute. Maybe this is just fluff on the surface to fend off investigators and his real revenue source is buried deeper.”

King looked over at BB. “Go get some sleep. I’ll keep watch with our little cyber-sleuth here.”

“I would argue with you, but my brain has shut down for the day. I’m liable to input something wrong if I keep staring at these screens.”

Keiji vaguely felt BB give his shoulder a squeeze as he stood up from the table but he’d firmly gone down the rabbit hole of data that was pouring out of Saber’s hard drives.

He may be a software engineer and not as skilled at navigating complex directories as Rick would have been, but Keiji didn’t want to wake the other man unless he absolutely had to. There was something here buried deep in Saber’s files. He knew it, he just had to find the right kernel of data to follow. The scent of King’s coffee drifted his direction and Keiji inhaled, hoping it would transmit some milligrams of caffeine through the air.

“If you inhale any deeper, you might hyperventilate. Would you like a cup?” King asked.

“I shouldn’t.”

“Mmhm, I shouldn’t eat Brazilian sonhos but can’t seem to turn one down when my wife decides she needs a taste of home.”

Keiji looked up from the screen. “Tell me more.”

“An orgasm on a plate. Delicate custard-filled donuts covered in sugar. The Brazilian version of a beignet.”

“You bastard. Now I not only want coffee, but sweets.”

King just smiled. “What’s a taste of home for you?”

“Japanese treats differ somewhat from what I’ve found in other parts of the world. I love onigiri. It’s a rice ball that is typically filled with some sort of protein. I used to pick one up at the 7-11 after class every week in primary school. I’d always try to get my Okaasan to buy me dango. It’s also a rice-flour base but smaller and firmer. Not filled like the onigiri but has a sweet soy glaze. Our treats aren’t as sweet as those in America so it’s easy to eat way more than you should.”

“Do you miss Japan?”

“Yes, and no. I miss my family. But even though I spent a significant part of my younger years in Japan, I’ve lived all over the world. When it came time to pick a place to study, it just so happened that America had six out of the top ten universities in the world for software engineering. While I may not always align with or understand the politics of the country, I’m grateful for the opportunities it’s provided. Plus, I felt I needed to discover if there was a part of me that identified as American on some level.”

“What do you mean?”

“My father used to tell me these fantastical stories of life in America when I was little, and I’ll admit there was a small part of me that used to dream I was a little American boy who would go on great adventures across this vast continent that just seemed so huge compared to Okinawa.”

“And now you’re in Montenegro hunting down a hacker.”

“So I am. I know you didn’t really have to bring Rick and me along, regardless of how we manipulated the situation. Thank you for letting us see this through. Thank you for, well, everything you’ve done.”

“Just help us put an end to this threat. That’s all that really matters.”

Keiji turned back around and let his fingers fly across the keyboard. At some point, a cup of coffee appeared next to him, and he gratefully chugged the brew. The glow of the dawn was creeping up over the hills surrounding Lake Shkodra when Keiji let out a long breath and sat back in his chair. His back ached and although he was ready for a nap, he feared there wouldn’t be one anywhere in his near future.

“Talk to me, Keiji.”

He looked over at King and blinked several times at the sight of the rest of the team, except for BB, scattered around the living area. “How do you all feel about interrogations?”

Tate’s smile had Keiji both optimistic and fearful. That man probably had an inner diabolical streak that Keiji really didn’t want to learn about from a first-person perspective.

Keiji stood and stretched. His back gave a satisfying pop, and he sighed before continuing. “I think to get the answers we seek we are going to have to sit down face-to-face with Saber. Everything in his files directly conflicts with what intelligence and the cyber communities report about him. I’ve dug deep into the trenches and there is something we are missing. If we have any hope of understanding his role in this threat, we need to get answers directly from him.”

“What makes you think he’ll talk to us?” Linder asked.

“Oh, he will. Because I just locked him out of his entire system and left a little message that if he wants to get back in, he doesn’t have any other option but to talk to us.”

“Your man is a smokin’ hot evil genius,” Tate said as he looked at Rick.

Keiji glanced at Rick, his heart jumping a little at being called Rick’s man. They’d fucked. They’d both said words that made it feel like what they had was more than casual, but did that mean Rick was ready to claim him?

“Yes, yes he is,” Rick said with a smile.