“I can try.” The man peered into the backpack. “SATA drives, three-and-a-halfers without enclosures, SDs... thumb drives. Some he’s made on his own. I don’t recognize them.” He looked up, his eyes eager at the idea of a challenge, it seemed. “You know, I might find a symmetric back door. And if he uses first-gen DES, then anyone can crack that.”
Shaw and Standish regarded each other, exceptions to the “anyone” rule.
“If that’s the case, I could have readable text or graphics in hours. Minutes, maybe.”
Standish eyed her phone for the time. “Brad Hendricks’s going to be out of class soon. Colter and I are going to follow him. He might lead us to Elizabeth. If he’s just left her to die, though, you’re the only hope.”
A half hour later, LaDonna Standish was piloting her Nissan Altima along an increasingly deserted region of western Santa Clara County, keeping a safe distance behind the car they were following.
Shaw texted Jimmy Foyle:
Brad Hendricks is on the road — not going home. Colton and I are following. Maybe on way to kidnap site but can’t tell. Success with encryption?
A moment later the game designer texted back.
First SATA drive, can’t crack. He used 2-fish algorithm. Working on SD cards now.
Shaw read this to her.
Standish gave a wry laugh. “Two-fish. Computer stuff. Who comes up with those names? Why Apple? Why Macintosh?”
“Google makes sense to me.”
A glance his way. “You gotta smile sometime, Shaw. It’s like a contest now. I’m going to make it happen.” She steered the Nissan around two more turns, then slowed at the top of a hill, keeping far enough back so they wouldn’t be spotted in the rearview mirrors.
In the distance was the hazy blue of the Pacific Ocean. From here, it lived up to its name.
“And our backup?” Shaw asked.
A glance at her phone. “Nothing yet.”
Both Shaw and Standish had understood they couldn’t request tactical backup from the California Bureau of Investigation, given their “renegade” investigation. They’d be closed down in an instant or would have to talk their way up through the ranks to find someone senior to support them. No time for that. Standish had sent some texts, to see if she might “improvise” backup. Apparently with no success. She sent another message.
Shaw opened
