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“I haven’t had a chance to look at it yet, but my guess is your phone has been compromised as well,” Caleb said.
Roman buried his face in his hands, and a heavy silence filled the room. Roman’s vulnerability was raw, exposed like an open wound, and Caleb’s throat tightened with empathy and frustration. He wanted nothing more than to be there for Roman, but all he could do now was stay professional and do his job.
Wander waited until his brother looked up again, then spoke. “Everyone outside this team, even those you’ve known for years, are suspects now. You don’t trust anyone but us. Because if you do, you may end up dead. We’re not fucking around anymore.”
Roman clenched his jaw, the muscles ticking as if grappling with Wander’s words, fighting against a truth he never wanted to accept. But acceptance was not optional. It was mandatory. The look in Roman’s eyes shifted from shock to something harder, more resolved. Wander was right. This wasn’t just about betrayal. It was about survival.
“Got it,” Roman grunted, his response carrying the bitterness of a promise never to let down his guard again.
“You up for some questions?” Caleb asked.
“Hit me.”
“Did the FBI investigate the incident where your files had been messed up?”
“No. Joe said he checked the logs and couldn’t find anything, so I didn’t bother talking to the FBI. I did call the agent on the case yesterday, and he had no updates for me. A lot of BS about not getting anywhere in his investigation, which seems to confirm he’s not really trying. I can’t believe I didn’t see it sooner. Him or Joe Egan. What a fool I was to take their word for it.”
“You gonna stop blaming yourself anytime soon?” Wander asked. “Because you’re no help as long as you focus on hitting yourself over the head for something you couldn’t have known. Learn from it, do better in the future, and move on. If we want to beat these guys, we need you on your A-game.”
Damn, Wander wasn’t holding back. But maybe that was exactly what Roman needed. The bitterness that had plagued him earlier dissipated and resolve filled his expression. “You’re right. What else, Caleb?”
“Let me explain in basic terms what I’ve found so you know what we’re dealing with here. The DA’s office, as part of the Massachusetts Department of Justice, has a pretty state-of-the-art SIEM, which stands for Security Information and Event Management. It means they’re proactive in detecting security threats, including cybersecurity, and use a wide range of systems to analyze, detect, and report. One of those systems was installed on your laptop but not authorized to actually send a warning. The logs are all there if you know where to look, but the system was never able to send you a warning that you had been compromised. That’s not a setting you can engage by accident. That’s a deliberate choice. Outsiders have been able to remotely log in using your network credentials and a VPN to mimic your office. Everything on your laptop is now compromised, including your password management software, which I saw you use.”
“Fuck!” Roman leaned back in his chair.
“Not to pile on with the bad news, but that explains something we discovered,” Lowell said.
“Bring it,” Roman said with a resigned sigh. “Might as well get all the bad news over with.”
“Your apartment’s security system was disabled remotely before the break-in, as in completely turned off. The cameras, motion detectors, everything was off-line, but it never sent you an alert. And right after, it was all reactivated again. Like they were never there.”
“Of course.” Roman massaged his temples. “They got the password right from LastPass, my password manager.”
“That would be my guess based on what Caleb discovered, yes. Which explains why it was so easy.”
“That’s also how they accessed your BMW,” Jonah said. “It has a remote starting option, right? And one of those credit card-like remote keys?”
Roman nodded.
“With the password to your BMW app, they could’ve easily gained access that way.”
“Shit,” Caleb muttered under his breath. His mind raced, scrambling to piece the fragments together into a picture he could understand. “Access, yes, but not easily. Even with the password, hacking into a car is not child’s play. Whoever did this, they’re not amateur hour. This is someone who knows their way around an IT system. They used advanced VPN connections that are untraceable, even for me.”
“Meaning?” Roman asked.
“Meaning we’re dealing with a pro. A fucking ghost. The one good bit of news is this. Judging by the files they opened, I’m confident Whitman is behind this. No other files were even looked at.”
Roman’s eyes lit up. “You’re right. That is good news. At least we know who’s behind it.”
“That will also make things easier for us,” Ryan said. “We can concentrate our efforts, and it confirms what my preliminary investigation into Captain Harmon, your sexual harassment case manager, already revealed. He’s your garden-variety asshole with a rap sheet of complaints as long as my arm, but he’s small fry. Not enough connections to pull off what’s been happening to Roman.”
“Did you get access to any security camera footage from the area where the car accident happened?” Wander asked.
“Yeah, but not the accident itself. And on the footage, we can’t see who’s driving. It’s too dark.”
“The BMW’s on-board computer shows the route they drove,” Caleb said. “From Roman’s apartment, they circled around his neighborhood a few times, maybe waiting for the right opportunity. The accident was so minor, the car didn’t even register it, but right after the time noted on the accident report, it was returned to Roman’s apartment.”
“So, how do we proceed?” Wander asked. “What’s our next step?”
