Chapter 5 - The Cyber Threat Emerges
With the legal paperwork signed and Margaret banished to a small apartment on the other side of the state under strict supervision, Lauren hoped she could finally focus on her marriage and her country.
But peace was a luxury a cyber-warfare colonel could rarely afford.
Two weeks after the incident, Lauren was summoned to the secure briefing room at Fort Meade. General Vance was already there, staring at a massive digital map of the United States. Red pulses of light were blinking across the eastern seaboard.
"Colonel Hayes, we have a problem," Vance said, his voice grim. "A state-sponsored hacking collective known as 'Iron Talon' has launched a massive coordinated attack on our regional power grids. They're trying to breach the firewall of the primary substation in your sector."
"That's my team's jurisdiction," Lauren said, her analytical mind immediately clicking into high gear. "Have they penetrated the primary defense layers?"
"They're trying," Vance said. "But here's the concerning part. They're targeting your specific command unit. We intercepted a packet of encrypted data being sent from an IP address very close to your home. Someone has been trying to leak your location and your true identity to foreign intelligence forums."
Lauren’s blood ran cold. "That's impossible. My home network is secured with military-grade encryption."
"It is," Vance agreed. "But a physical device was plugged into your home router three weeks ago. A hardware bypass. Do you know who had access to your house during that time?"
Lauren’s mind flashed to Margaret. For months, Margaret had complained about the "terrible Wi-Fi" in her guest wing. She had insisted on bringing in a "technician friend" to look at the router while Lauren was out of the house.
"My mother-in-law," Lauren whispered. "She let someone into the house."
May you like
"We need to find out who that technician was, Colonel," Vance said. "Because right now, they aren't just trying to ruin your marriage. They are trying to locate you. If Iron Talon gets your coordinates, they will try to eliminate the one person who can stop their cyber-offensive."
Lauren stood tall, her eyes flashing with a dangerous light. "I'm heading back to the house, General. My team will run a diagnostic on the local router. If there is a foreign operative in my town, I will find them."
