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“Morning, how are you feeling today?” Susan asked after Greg answered her call.
“Much better.”
“Would you like me to come get you and bring you in to work?”
“Naw, that’s okay. I’ll take an Uber. Have you had any luck finding someone to crack the password yet?”
“Yeah, I think so. I found this young kid who’s a whiz at cracking passwords. His name is Isaac Boward, and he should be in later this afternoon to give it a shot.”
“Cool, I’d love to see how long he takes to crack her password. Then maybe we’ll be on our way to fixing this mess I caused. I sure hope Paulette’s all right.”
“Well, you know her best, and she left prepared for just about anything. I think it had a little to do with her father and his family being preppers. She, at least, picked up on doing the basic stuff, plus she’s skilled and smart. So, yeah, she’s probably doing just fine.”
“Thanks for that reassurance. See you in an hour.”
Greg finished getting dressed and headed to the hotel lobby. It was a quaint little hotel with beige walls and glass exterior doors in downtown Seattle. He headed toward the doors to meet the Uber driver he had called earlier. Upon seeing his ride, he stepped to the curb, opened the back door, and slid inside. Greg barely had the door shut, when the driver sped up and wove into traffic. The Uber driver accelerated down the road, weaving in and out of traffic, as he headed to the P&G Bionics building. Greg did not like how the driver was handling traffic, and rivulets of sweat ran down his face as he hung onto the chicken bar. Fortunately, before he got into a full-blown panic, the car came to a sudden stop.
Greg unbuckled, opened the door, and exited the car, glad to be back on solid ground. He turned and headed to the main doors of the company. He paused a moment, wiped a stray tear from his cheek, and took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping into the company lobby. He wasn’t looking forward to facing the task of trying to figure out how to bring Paulette home
Susan spotted Greg as he walked through the doors and went over to welcome him back. “Glad to see you.”
“Likewise. That driver was crazy. Thought he was gonna kill me.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“When is this hacker coming in again?”
“He’ll be in momentarily. I hope that once we get in, we’ll find what we need to fix the problem and bring her back.”
“Me, too. I was selfish and reckless for changing a complex and sensitive system. I really do hope she’s okay. It has plagued me with nightmares.”
“I hope she is, too.”
Just as they were finishing their conversation, a young man, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, and a pair of all-star converse shoes, walked into the lobby. He looked to be about six-foot-two with sandy-blond hair and grey-blue eyes. He had smooth hands and a sweet baby face, with just a hint of a beard growing on his pointed chin. He started walking to the receptionist’s desk, but Susan interrupted and said, “Hi, Are you Isaac Boward?”
“Yes, I am, but everyone calls me Ike.”
“Good to meet you, Isaac, I mean, Ike. I hope you’ll be able to help us with our password problem. If you’ll follow me to my office, we can get started. Is there anything you need? Would you like a cup of coffee, soda, or water?”
“I’ll take a soda, if that’s all right. Once I see the message on the computer requesting a password, I’ll let you know what I’ll need.”
“Okay, sounds great. Hey, Greg, can you grab him a soda out of the fridge, please?”
“Sure, be right there with it.”
She led Ike into her office and motioned for him to sit down in her chair facing the computer. He brought up the menu and immediately saw the password request message. He looked at Susan. “Okay, I’ll need a pen and paper.”
“All right, here ya go.”
“Good, now I need the following information. What is your birthday, a favorite pet, pet’s name, friend’s name, parents’ names and birthdays, a favorite song, school name, or anything else that might be used as a password?”
Susan thought about the questions and knew she couldn’t answer some of them, since they weren’t about her, but did her best. “Let’s see. The birth date is 7/20/2006; favorite pet is a dog; pet’s name is Danni, d-a-n-n-i; friend’s name is Greg; parents’ names are Mary and Richard; and favorite song is ‘I Wear My Sunglasses at Night’,” she replied. She gave him all the information she could think of. As she spoke, he scribbled the answers down. Then he started to work his magic.
A few minutes later, Greg walked in and handed him the soda. He watched in apparent amazement as Ike’s fingers flew around the keyboard, trying different combinations to crack the password. Susan stood off to the side, keeping an eye on the whole process, making sure that when he cracked it, she could quickly get him away from the computer.
Ike kept working and working and working. Minutes turned to hours, and they were beginning to get hungry. Finally, Susan turned to Greg and asked, “Do you mind going to Subway and getting us some lunch? Ike, do you want anything?” she asked.
Ike paused and looked at Susan for a moment and replied, “Sure I’ll take a steak and cheese foot long, Doritos, three chocolate chip cookies, and a large Dr Pepper, if you don’t mind.”
“Wow, hacking must make you real hungry.”
“Yep.”
Susan turned to Greg. “You got that?”
“Got it. I’ll be back in a bit.”
Moments later, Ike looked up and motioned for Susan to come closer. “I think I almost have it. I need to try a few more combinations to see if I’m correct. I’ll have to say, this is one tough password.”
“Yeah, we need to have good passwords due to the sensitivity and nature of our work.”
“I can see that. I’ve heard everything about your company’s work and how you’ve helped hundreds of soldiers, veterans, and other disabled people. I’m totally amazed at what you guys can do.”
A moment later, he whooped and said he was in. “Well, ma’am, I cracked the password. I’d suggest you put in a new one right away and try to remember it this time.”
“Thanks, I most definitely will.”
He stood up and gave the seat back to her. She sat down and typed in a complete sentence, using numbers in place of the vowels.
“Wow! That is one kickass password you put in there. Heck, it’s longer than the one I just cracked. Hope you can remember it.”
“Oh, I’ll remember it. I used something I won’t ever forget and made it even more complicated, if you know what I mean.”
He smiled. “Yep, know exactly what you mean. Can’t make it easy for the likes of me and my kind to get in.”
“You’re absolutely right. Thank you so much for your help. You can drop an invoice off with the secretary on the way out, and our accountant will get a check to you promptly.”
“If you don’t mind, I deal in cash only. It’s easier that way.”
“All right, if you can wait in the lobby while our accountant gets the cash for you.”
“Sounds great, but I’ve got another job to do, so can I come back tomorrow to collect?”
“Yes, that should work fine. Again, thanks for your hard work.”
“No problem. Hope you find what you were looking for.” He turned and left Susan’s office, almost bumping into Greg, who was loaded down with the food order.
“Hey, watch out.”
“Sorry, man.”
“Oh, hey, Ike. Are you leaving already? I just got back with your food.”
“Yeah, cracked the password and off to the next job. Here, I’ll take that off your hands.” Ike reached out and helped Greg by taking his food and drink.”
“Thanks again, and enjoy the food. Sorry you can’t stay and eat with us.”
Greg peeked his head around the corner. “Hey, meet you in the cafeteria?”
“Sure, be right there.”
“Got your vegan sub, with the avocado on it like you like it.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it. Did you have them put olive oil on it?”
“Yep, I did.” Greg moved over to the table, pulled out the sub sandwiches, and laid them on the table. He placed Susan’s in front of her, then placed her vegan-style chips and lemonade next to her. He then sat down with his Italian-style sub, Doritos, and Dr Pepper. “I saw Ike as I was coming in. He told me he cracked the password?”
“Yep, he got it right after you left. Then he had me put in a new password. I’ll let you know what it is later. The password I chose impressed him.”
“Well, I can imagine you made it hard so it wouldn’t be easy for him to get into again.”
“I did. Plus there won’t be a need for him to crack this one, anyway.” She took a bite of her sandwich and a sip of her lemonade. After clearing her throat, she continued, “I’m really hoping we find what we need.”
“You’ve no idea how bad I’m hoping that.”
They fell into silence while they continued to eat their lunch, knowing the tough work that was head of them.
