The Russian Crisis

CHAPTER 44

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

Mulling over all he had learned over the past few days, Jackson made his way to JPI and had another coffee with Bill Brownley and Payne in Payne's office. They put everything they had, figuratively, on the table and stirred it well. Top of the list was the still-unknown identify of the source code thief followed closely by what to expect next from the assumed Russian buyers of the stolen code.

Brownley talked of how his team was now scanning all pedestrian and vehicular traffic captured on JPI and other cameras in the area of H.Q. and around the building housing the Blax penthouse. He said that David and Leona, his A/V operators, had used facial and voice recognition tools to track the person who had paid off Barbara Schumacher, the receptionist. "Ah, Jackson had remarked, "our birthday boy," alluding to the birthday card the man had handed to Schumacher.

"He's a Russian GRU man usually based at the Ottawa embassy," Brownley announced.

"Your CSIS contacts were great," he added with an appreciative nod at Jackson. CSIS identified Nikolai Popov - nicknamed Niki - and his former rank as a corporal in Spetsnaz. He was one of a unit of former soldiers based at the embassy and led by Captain Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev. Brownley also said the unit had 'adopted' a Cuban soldier named Ernesto Lopez de Gamboa, possibly for tasks involving people of colour. All were highly trained, including targeting and execution of enemies of Mother Russia.

CSIS had provided photos and short backgrounds of the Russians and Cuban on the grounds that JPI was a 'strategic partner' of CSIS in military matters. CSIS also was putting something in the bank of mutual favours. JPI now owed them one - or more than one.

"Could one of these guys have pushed Max into traffic?" Jackson's question was rhetorical. Jackson, Brownley and Payne concluded that this would be last on the list of ways the Russians would have murdered Blax. It was, literally, a hit or miss method. It didn't fit the typical Russian murder by gunshot, poison or old-fashioned, fatal beating.

It was mildly interesting that the attempt on Max's life had taken place out of the range of the JPI cameras installed up to a block away from the Blax condo building. Did this mean the 'pusher' knew about the cameras and wanted to avoid their coverage? The three had no firm opinions.

The trio also kicked around Max's mention of a woman (or girl) to whom he wanted to apologize. Who was she and why was Max 'sorry'? Was there any connection between 'her' and the attempted murder? Was there any connection between 'her' and the software theft at JPI? Who knows?

One thing the three did conclude was that the source code was no longer of much importance. The Russians - or the Chinese or North Koreans, for that matter - wouldn't get much from the source code and its margin notes that wouldn't be outdated in short order. They couldn't develop and compile working code in less than eight months. It would be a year before any significant cyberattacks could be mounted. The ultimate prize in a year would be Version 3.0 of JPI's defensive solutions and Brownley was certain that 3.0 could be protected better than any software in history.

"That's still not 100 per cent," Jackson observed. "But it will have to do."

"One last thing," Bill Brownley threw in as the three rose from their seats. "CSIS added some stuff on Petrenko."

Jackson looked up with sudden interest. Brownley took the point and went on. CSIS had provided his security people with the short form of Petrenko's biography including his known address, favorite hangouts, known associates and criminal record. CSIS explained how its interest was confined to Petrenko's relationship with the Russian consulate in Toronto. The brief report described Petrenko's role as 'minor' and on an 'as needed, when needed,' schedule.

"Get a few of your best people together, Bill. We're going visiting." Jackson had a wide smile on his face and an eager look in his eyes. Payne took a long look at his friend and thought he saw ten years drop from Jackson's age.