“To bash Clive Warren’s skull in. I might even hold him for you.”
Chapter 5
Clive Warren tried to hack me. He’d put this device in my headquarters to bypass my firewall and navigate inside my system. Based on the quick research I’d done on this chip, he’d probably already succeeded.
I cracked my knuckles and waited for the database report to finish compiling. I turned to Gabe. “You should go.”
He’d spoken with a programmer friend about the chip, and they were texting each other furiously. He looked up at me, still seemingly distracted by what he’d been reading. His eyes cleared after a moment, but his brow was still furrowed. “I’m not leaving you. This doesn’t look good. My guy says that this is probably a capacitator chip.”
I rubbed my eyes. “That’s what I was just reading about. They ran a study on them at the University of Michigan recently. It’s a piece of hardware that can hack into an operating system, right?”
He nodded. “It’s more like a cell than a piece of hardware, but you’re on the right track. It’s unique in that it has to be physically present on computer hardware in order to work. It takes a while for it to become fully functioning, but once it’s up and running, it can hack into the entire system. But that’s also why it’s preferable to a regular old software hack—these cells are impossible to find.”
“Unless you’re caught on a security tape sticking it to the back of a computer.” Clive might be dumber than I’d thought.
“He did that on purpose, you know. He wanted you to see him.”
I knew Gabe was right, but I still didn’t understand Clive’s motivation. “But why?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I think you’re going to want to call the authorities. You shouldn’t even let him get away with this for a day.”
I shook my head. “I can’t have outsiders in here right now—not even the FBI or the police. We’re finally getting somewhere with our clinical trials. If information about the patch leaks out now, it’s going to compromise everything. We don’t even know if he got any information… It’s not worth the risk.”
“I don’t think you’re being reasonable.”
His voice was even, not preachy, but I still arched an eyebrow at him. “I don’t remember asking what you thought.”
Gabe put his phone down and started pacing. “I have an opinion, whether you want to hear it or not. I don’t want you to be at risk. If you won’t go to the police, we’re going to have to take care of Clive privately.”
“Gabe. There is no ‘we’—this is my problem.”
He stopped and turned to me, and I could see how tired he was, lines creasing his handsome face. “I’m not surprised you’re saying that, but at least listen to me. There’s a ‘we’ to the extent that I’ve asked you to partner with my company. I have an interest in Paragon, whether you like it or not. And I have a background in security. I have connections.”
“You do?” I barely knew Gabe—I’d do well to remember that.
He nodded. “My brother runs a security company. My dad did too. I can help you take care of Clive.”
I swallowed hard. “I appreciate that, but I have to deal with him on my own. I also appreciate that you’re here with me, and how supportive you’ve been tonight, but it’s a one-off. You’re going to go back to Dynamica tomorrow, and I’ll be here. And that’s okay. That’s the way it should be.”
He ran his hands through his hair. “My programmer friend thinks he could have already gotten into your system. Your technology’s at risk. You’ve most likely been compromised.”
“I don’t know that for sure. We have the most up-to-date firewalls, the most sophisticated security on the market. There’s a chance that Clive got nothing.”
“Let me help you.”
“I don’t need your help,” I said, exasperated. Gabe was the last person I wanted to lash out at right then, but he was the closest one to me. “I can handle this myself. I handle everything myself. I’m going to have my team come in and re-encrypt all the data. Even if he got in, he couldn’t have gotten everything. I have some information that’s impenetrable.”
Gabe crossed his arms and smiled at me faintly. I wondered briefly if it was because I’d used the word impenetrable, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to ponder that at the moment.
I turned back to my computer. “You’re not leaving, are you?”
“No.” He shook his head and sat down heavily. “I don’t want to leave you alone.”
“Suit yourself.” I started analyzing my intelligence for signs of a possible breach.
Gabe was snoring lightly on the couch when I found it. Part of the security code repeated itself twice in a row, indicating an irregularity in our firewall.
I wasn’t a programmer, but I could tell from what I’d found that Clive had gotten in. He’d gotten past our sophisticated firewalls and into Paragon’s main database. He’d seen my most recent reports and the results of my first positive prototype trial.
What Clive didn’t know was that the actual design and technology for my working prototype wasn’t contained in Paragon’s database. It was only on my private laptop, which was never synced to the network for this very reason. We manufactured the prototype in house. Because I lived in fear of being hacked, I personally oversaw every aspect of production. I provided my employees the correct data for each portion of the production, but after every cycle was complete, I switched out the most up-to-date specs with older information.
So even if Clive had successfully hacked me, he didn’t have the updated plans for the patch—the plans that finally worked.
This was where being a paranoid recluse came in handy.
“Gabe.” I nudged him, and he hugged his arms around himself as if trying to ward me off and stay asleep. I watched him for a moment, his breathing even and regular, his arms wrapped around his chest.
He opened one eye to look at me. “You’re staring at me, aren’t you? That’s really rude.”
I sat back and rubbed my eyes. The lack of sleep was starting to catch up with me. “Uh—sorry.”
“I’m kidding.” He sat up a little. “What did you find?”
I swallowed hard. “He breached the firewall. He was in. Now that the chip’s been turned off, he probably can’t get anything else. But he had hours. I’m sure he got a good look.”
Gabe patted my hand. “You want me to go fight him now?”
I laughed, but it sounded as miserable as I felt. “If I thought it would help, maybe.”
“It would definitely help. Think about it. Consider me on call.” He looked at his watch. It was six in the morning. “I told you that you’d put plenty of time in today. Let me take you home. You must be exhausted.”
I shook my head. “I have too much to do. I have my entire IT team coming in.”
Gabe sat up and gave me a firm look. “You need to go home and sleep for a few hours. And eat something. And change your clothes, even though I’m quite fond of that dress.”