Wired - Douglas E. Richards [58]
Desh finally lifted his head and looked at Griffin thoughtfully. “It’s possible that we’re no longer under surveillance or we’re being surveilled by friendlies,” he said. “But we can’t be certain of this, so we need to freeze anyone watching. We need to make sure they don’t have any reason to point their satellites at the exits of this building while we’re leaving.”
“What are you talking about? Whoever is after us can’t just access satellites and get real-time imagery of whatever they want on a whim.”
Desh raised his eyebrows.
Griffin swallowed hard. “Come on, David,” he said nervously. “Are you saying these people are so high up in Big Brother they can authorize real-time satellite surveillance of us?”
“I have reason to believe so, yes.”
“Holy Christ!” barked Griffin. “We’re totally and completely screwed.”
“Don’t count us out just yet,” said Desh. “I have an idea. If we can convince them we’ll be staying here for a while they’ll have no reason to point a satellite at your apartment complex.”
“How do you know they aren’t watching the exits the old fashioned way?”
“I’ll reconnoiter the area before we leave, but I don’t think they are. They’ve told me they’re calling off the dogs to get my cooperation. They know I’ll be checking carefully to see if they’ve gone back on their word.”
Griffin didn’t look convinced. “So what’s your plan?”
Desh told him. He would remove the bugs from the container in which he had placed them and assume they were still active. Then they would put on a little play for their audience. “For a hacker with your social engineering skills this should be a snap,” said Desh encouragingly. “Don’t overact, don’t speak woodenly as if you’re reciting lines, and don’t speak directly into the bug. They’ll pick up your voice from wherever you are. Just be yourself. If this seems staged it’ll blow up in our faces.”
Griffin frowned. “Thanks for not putting any pressure on me,” he said dryly. He paused for a few seconds to get things straight in his head, took a deep breath, and then gestured for Desh to proceed.
Desh carefully removed the bugs, putting a finger to his lips unnecessarily, and then nodded at Griffin to begin.
Griffin’s face was a mask of concentration. “David?” he said in disbelief. “David Desh? Wake up.”
“Wha—” mumbled Desh.
“Wake up and tell me what the hell’s going on here?” demanded Griffin accusingly. “Why did I just wake up in the middle of my floor? What the hell are you doing here sleeping on my couch?” He delivered the lines convincingly, throwing himself smoothly into the role as Desh had hoped he would.
“Sorry,” said Desh, doing a good job of sounding groggy. “I stopped over a few hours ago and couldn’t get you awake. I fell asleep myself while I waited for you to sleep it off. I was exhausted.” He paused. “Still am for that matter.”
Desh went on to repeat the conversation they had had earlier when he had filled Griffin in on the night before. He then repeated the specifics of the assignment he wanted Griffin to work on, an extensive foray into Kira Miller’s past. “Look, Matt, I’m really sorry about this, but I still need to regenerate. Do you mind if I continue to sleep on your couch while you work?”
“Go ahead,” said Griffin.
“Thanks. Can you wake me in exactly two hours and give me a progress report?”
“Will do,” responded Griffin.
Desh gave the thumbs up signal to Griffin and then put his finger to his lips. He carefully returned the bugs to the soundproof container.
“Nicely done, Matt,” he said appreciatively.
With any luck anyone keeping tabs on them would relax for a while and decide that any satellite use for the next few hours would be a waste of resources.
Desh continued to visualize different scenarios that might arise and considered making a stop at his apartment for bulletproof vests, but quickly ruled this out. It would be risky and take too much time. Besides, the vests could only stop handgun fire and not rifle-fire. If the military were involved in this, even a small rogue element, they would assume he was