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“Hysteria won’t help.”
Hysteria?
But Reid wasn’t wrong. And Ryan had probably disabled his phone for takeoff.
Tamping down my emotions, I said, “The AC passenger is a detective with the Sûreté du Québec, the Quebec provincial police. The man understands security and would never cause a leak. Get word to him.”
Reid narrowed his eyes toward his partner.
“Let me explain why these emails are so hard to track,” said Rossiter, soothing as an EMT talking a jumper from a ledge. “Then I will share—”
“I want my friend off that plane!”
“Please. Bear with us. That flight has just taken off. One call and we can have the plane diverted.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. I understand your concern. But hundreds of lives could be at stake here.”
“Talk fast.” Hating that he was right.
Rossiter resumed his explanation.
“Cloke and Benjamin have been communicating with each other and with the various agencies using a VPN.”
“Donotplay me with jargon,” Monck snapped.
“A virtual private network.” I interceded, sensing the tension in the room escalating to match my own. “A VPN encrypts internet traffic and disguises a sender’s online identity so third parties can’t trackany activities or steal any data. Especially since the encryption takes place in real time. Don’t ask me how it works.”
Monck looked at me like I’d spoken Macedonian.
Rossiter continued.
“If you surf online with a VPN, the VPN server becomes the source of your data. Your ISP—internet service provider—and other third parties can’t see which websites you visit or what data you send and receive. A VPN works like a blender, turning your transmissions into gibberish. Is that clear, detective?”
“Clear as Pickapeppa sauce.” Wired on adrenaline and piqued by Rossiter’s condescending tone. “Why the fuck is this relevant?”
“And why are we sitting in this room doing nothing?” I demanded.
“Those are my orders. For now.”
“They sure as hell aren’t mine,” Monck exploded.
Rossiter lifted a placating palm. I noted that it trembled slightly.
“You asked why we couldn’t trace the sender of the ransom demand,” he said. “The answer is that the message was probably preprogrammed as to time of dispatch, then routed through a dozen anonymous servers all over the globe. The same will be true of the link they’ll provide for deposit of the money. The funds will go through a scrambling process, into an untraceable account, then be instantaneously transferred into the vapor.”
Monck shot to his feet. “Enough, for Chrissake. I’m hitting the street. Obviously, you can’t flush your maniac agent, so my officers will.”
“Please, detective.” Rossiter’s hand rose higher. “Hold on.”
“No way. I’m done.”
Monck strode for the door.
“Several days ago, the OTD intercepted a phone conversation they believe took place between Cloke and Benjamin.”
Monck froze.
