Chapter 53

  David Choi and his partner had a busy night. One armed robbery where a clerk was beaten severely for not giving up the store's money fast enough, a fight in a bar over a woman that had led to a fatal stabbing, two domestic violence calls, and the rape of a fifteen-year-old girl. He was exhausted when he got home at a little past two in the morning. After his shift, he listened to his grandfather's voice message several times, and he became very concerned for his grandfather's safety but not his own, although his grandfather warned him to be very careful. As he approached his door, he thought about e-mailing Bennett to tell him what had happened in Phuket, but he didn't think it was necessary and decided to inform him in person. He didn't want to scare him off. After entering his apartment, he removed his gun holster and placed it on his upholstered southwestern garage sale chair. Then he went to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of beer. David walked into his living room and sat on his ugly garage sale matching sofa. He had just set one beer on the coffee table and opened another when he sensed something wasn't right. Seconds later, his fears were confirmed.

  “Good evening, David…two beers…you must have had a very tough night at the office?”

  David spun around when he heard the voice coming from behind him. When he turned, he was looking into the barrel of a silenced pistol, and his gun was way out of reach eight feet away. Just as David was about to answer him, another man stepped into the room. This man didn’t have a gun in his hand, but he was no less menacing.

  “I don’t know who the hell you are, but get the fuck out of my apartment right fucking now.”

  “Or what, David?” the man with the gun asked.

  “What the fuck do you want…money…drugs? I don’t have either one. And as you can plainly see, I am a police officer.”

  “Actually, David, I just want to ask you a couple of questions, and yes, I know what you do for a living.”

  “Okay…so ask your questions, and then you can leave. And by the way…who the fuck are you?”

  Yet David knew full well why they were there. They wanted to know who hired his grandfather because Gramps had given them the slip. And he also knew that they would not leave before he was dead, whether he answered their questions or not. David was fully aware of what happened to Addison and that he would meet the same fate. So, he needed to play along until he figured out how to get out of the situation without getting himself killed. David looked from the gun to the only lamp that was five feet away and made a calculated decision. There was no overhead lighting, and the switch that turned for the lamp was on the wall when he entered. The switch turned on two outlets, but only one was plugged in, lighting the room when he entered.

  "Was my grand-daddy a little too much for you tough guys to handle? I take it that was your men in Phuket?" David asked, trying to buy some time.

  The man with the gun wasn't amused. He moved from behind the sofa to face David man to man. David knew his chances of survival were slim, but he had no other alternative. He was glad he had not removed his radio from his shoulder, although it wasn't turned on. Just before the man walked around the table that the lamp sat on, David pitched his beer bottle. If he missed, he was dead, but luckily, he hit the lamp perfectly, shattering the bulb and sending the apartment into darkness. David's window covering was all closed, and no outside light was coming in.

  Instantly, David dove off the couch and was on the chair searching for his gun. But the impact of David hitting the chair caused it to flip over on its back, dumping David and his weapon onto the floor. Just before David hit the chair, he could hear the sound of two suppressed guns firing rapidly. Not knowing where their target was, the men sprayed the area where David had just vacated and moved to the chair, knowing David would go for his gun.

  David pulled his service handgun from its holster, jacked a round into the chamber, and returned fire from the side of his chair. He had only fired two shots when he felt his body being hit by multiple rounds. He flipped the switch on his radio and yelled, “Shots fired, shots fired, officer down.”

  He gave his address on Franklin Avenue and continued to return fire. His magazine was just about empty when he saw his door fly open and two dark figures exit his apartment. Fifteen seconds later, he could hear the sirens coming just before he slipped into unconsciousness from loss of blood.

  *****

  Shawn continued to stare at the man as he brought his phone down. There was another lane of traffic and motorbikes parked on the street between them, but the man never took his eyes off Shawn. He finally told the driver to pick up speed and gave him directions to his SUV. The Tuk Tuk driver complied, and Shawn was at his Range Rover a few minutes later. As he climbed out, he gave the driver another two hundred Baht and walked to his Range Rover, where Choi was waiting in the passenger's seat. A flood of questions entered his mind, and he said nothing when he got in.

  After a long minute of silence, Choi said, "Well?"

  Shawn didn't reply. He just sat and looked out the front windshield. Finally, he said, "I think Addison is probably dead. I saw one of the men you described just outside your office entrance."

  "Which one?"

  "The big ugly one that looks like he was hit by a Mack truck; I assume they're trashing your office. I took a couple of photos of the guy with my cell phone. Here, take a look."

  Shawn handed him his cell phone, and Choi hit the photo icon.

  Two were blurry, and two others weren't bad, but the last one was very good. The camera caught the man looking straight at Shawn.

  Choi studied the man for a moment, and then zoomed into his face.

  "He's one ugly fucker," Choi said.

  "My thoughts exactly...with your connections, is there any way we can find out who this guy is? This guy must have a record somewhere."

  "I do have my source with the Thai National Police, and he does owe me a favor."

  "Then make the call."

  Choi continued to look at the photos on Shawn's phone, thinking there were more, when he started to laugh.

  Shawn looked at him and said, "What the hell are you laughing at?"

  "You are a naughty boy, Shawn. Who took these?"

  Shawn grabbed his phone from Choi and looked at the current photo, then scrolled through several more.

  "Shit, I don't remember taking these. I hope Kim hasn't seen them."

  "Oh, I think you would have known if she had, Shawn. If I were you, I'd delete them right now." Shawn looked closer at one of the photos and said, "Damn, she has a nice ass."

  Choi looked at his friend with deep concern.

  "Man, you seriously need to cut down on your drinking!"

  *****

  After Choi finished looking at the photos, he called Captain Dok Tong, a very old friend he had known for years. Choi informed him about the incident at his office, including a description of the attackers, and that the men might still be in his office. Tong and Addison had grown up together, and the Captain was very concerned when Choi told him about his lifelong friend. Before the call ended, Tong asked Choi if he could send the photos to his cell phone or e-mail them. Choi agreed.

  Shawn listened to the entire conversation, and when the call ended, he said, "I don't want you to send the photos from my cell. I don't want the police to have my number."

  "No problem. I'll download them to my laptop, send him an e-mail, and attach the photos. Do you have your cable with you?"

  "I have one in the glove box. Do you have another e-mail account besides your business account?"

  "I have a Hotmail account that I rarely use. I'll send him the photos from that."

  "Good, the bastards may be watching your business account."

  *****

  The ten-mile drive took longer than expected because of the heavy traffic. During the drive, Choi called Addison's cell numerous times and still got no answer. They arrived at the Mongoose Club, and Shawn led Choi to a secluded table where they could talk privately. Kim brought them some fish and chips, a large glass of Tiger Beer for Choi, and a bottle of Budweiser for Shawn.

  Kim bent down, kissed Choi on his cheek, and said, "Didn't I tell you not to hang out with this guy? He's nothing but trouble."

  Shawn came back with a smart retort, "Okay, so what's your excuse, sweetie."

  As she walked back to her office, she gave him the bird behind his back, which brought a smile to Choi's face.

  Kim called a local doctor, and he came by to inspect Choi's wound. He cleaned and dressed his arm without asking any questions. When he was finished, Kim paid him and brought Choi one of Shawn's clean shirts she found hanging in his office. It didn't fit very well, but at least it wasn't covered in blood. The conversation soon turned to Choi's client records in his office.

  "Shawn I'm almost positive that nothing in my office would lead those men to you, but I can't be sure. I had a break-in about a year ago, and my computer was stolen along with paper files. That's when my grandson Som set up this laptop for me. As you know, he has a Master's Degree in Computer Science from MIT. He's supposed to be an expert on computer security. Talking to him about computers is like talking to an alien from outer space. He set up my laptop with a state-of-the-art disk and file encryption, including the master boot record. He guaranteed me that my computer was hackproof."

  Shawn looked at Choi with renewed interest, "No disrespect, but why do you need such high security?"

  "Besides yourself, I do have some very important clients that, shall we say, have very sensitive secrets that they shared with me, and they don't want this information to get out to the public or the police. Needless to say, I had some angry clients after my computer was stolen last year."

  Shawn got up to get more beers while Choi tried Addison's cell again.

  When Shawn returned, Choi said, "I just remembered something. Som said if someone tried to hack into my computer, he would be able to tell."

  "Where is Som now?"

  "His office is in Bangkok, but he's here in Phuket for the wedding of one of his friends."

  "Why don't you call him? I think we need to see him."

  After finishing their beers, they were in Shawn’s Range Rover again and heading to see Choi’s grandson.

  He was staying at a local resort with the wedding party.

  *****

  Shawn had never set foot in the Sawasdee Village and was anxious to see it. He had heard some very good things about the luxury hotel. They pulled up to the main entrance and were greeted by a velvet parking attendant who parked Shawn's SUV in the guest parking lot. A beautiful young woman dressed in traditional Thai fashion greeted the two men with a slight bow as they entered the building and were directed to the lobby. Choi was talking to Shawn, who he thought was right behind him. After asking a question and getting no reply, he turned and saw that Shawn was still talking to the now-blushing woman. Trudging back, Choi practically had to pull Shawn away from the woman who seemed genuinely enamored by the rugged man.

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  As they walked to the lobby, Choi said, "You don't deserve Kim, you know that, don't you."

  "You're not the first person that's told me that."

  *****

  The resort was spectacular. Its curious mixture of Far and Middle Eastern architecture and décor dazzled the senses. Choi’s grandson was seated in the lobby with an attractive young Thai woman at his side. Choi greeted his grandson with a warm handshake from his good arm, and his grandson hugged him before Choi could tell him of his injury. Choi clinched his teeth and took the pain but said nothing about the shooting. Choi then introduced his grandson to Shawn. He extended his hand to the much younger man. The last time Shawn had seen Som was when he was a mere child. To his surprise, his grip was extremely firm. The young man was very handsome and slender. He introduced his girlfriend and asked her to join their other friends for a few minutes while the men talked.

  On the way over to the resort, Choi informed him that his grandson possessed an IQ that was at the genius level. With this information, Shawn assumed that he would be a major geek', yet to the contrary, he found him to be very outgoing and charming and a bit of a smart ass. Shawn liked him immediately.

  "Why don't we go back by one of the pools and have some refreshments while I look at your laptop gramps?" Som asked. "

  Shawn and Tim followed Som to a secluded table by one of the three pools. A young man dressed in traditional Thai appeal approached them and took their orders when they were seated. Shawn ordered a Bud while Tim and Som ordered tea. Tim handed Som his laptop, which he immediately opened and started to work. He pulled a flash drive out of his pocket, inserted it in the USB slot, and typed in a few commands. While waiting for their drinks, Shawn asked the young man about the choice of resorts for the wedding.

  "Som, I'm just wondering why the wedding party chose this resort over the ones on the beach. Don't get me wrong, this place is fabulous, and I imagine it's a bit expensive."

  Som held up his hand, typed something on the keyboard, and then looked at Shawn.

  "Very simple, the groom's father is one of the managers here, and he gave us a hell of a rate. And yes, it is expensive."

  A few minutes later, Som stared at the screen and shook his head slowly from side to side. He typed in a new command, and when new information came up, he said, "That's interesting," with minimal emphasis, indicating that he was only slightly impressed by what he saw.

  "What is it?" Tim asked.

  Som didn't answer; he raised his hand again and looked at the information streaming in.

  After he finished his task, he looked at the two men and said, "What have you been up to, gramps. You've had multiple attempts to access your hard drive in the past few days. And not just by the garden variety hackers. These people were very good. But the good news is that they weren't able to gain access."

  "Well, that explains why they showed up in person," Tim muttered almost inaudibly.

  "Can you tell where the attempted hacks came from?" Shawn asked."

  "It appears they came from Russia, the U.S., and somewhere in the Middle East. It's been a while since I've seen this level of sophistication. These people really wanted to get into your computer. They must be very pissed off that they couldn't get in."

  "I'd say pissed off is an understatement," Tim said, touching his shoulder.

  Som was puzzled by his statement and was about to ask why when Shawn piped in.

  "You said the U.S. Do you know who?"

  Som pulled another flash drive out of his pocket and inserted it into the P.C. He copied the files he wanted, then pulled out the drive and closed the laptop.

  "I can't say for sure, but my first guess would be the NSA. I've seen this same footprint before, and they are very good at covering their tracks. I just don't have the right tools to do it right now. I will take a closer look at this when I get back to my office. I have some tools that might trace this back to the source."

  Shawn asked, "Can you tell when the first attempt was made to hack into his computer?"

  "Yes, I can...exactly one week ago today. Did you e-mail or talk to anyone in the U.S. about that time?"

  Tim nodded and said, "I sent an e-mail to your cousin in L.A."

  Som wanted to ask him what was in the e-mail, but he knew it was none of his business.

  "You sent it to David? Did you encrypt the e-mail before you sent it?"

  "Of course, I sent it to David and used the encryption program that you installed. Do you think the NSA was able to read it?"

  "I know it's none of my business, but was there something in that e-mail that would have caused these people to want to gain access to your computer?"

  Tim looked at Shawn without answering his grandson's question, and Som noticed the apparent connection.

  Shawn didn't want anyone else involved in this dangerous game they were playing, so he shook his head ever so slightly when Som looked away.

  Undaunted, Som said, "I see that the e-mail was sent very soon after the bombing in Connecticut that killed President Roberts. I've heard it said that, for the most part, the NSA only monitors countries that have known terrorist organizations. Perhaps the timing is just a coincidence, but I think the U.S. Government is casting a much wider net to find those responsible, and you just might have gotten caught in that net. I can tell you for a certainty that the NSA has supercomputers that can break almost any e-mail encryption, although I didn't think they could break mine. I have to admit now, I might have been wrong."

  Shawn said, "I can understand the NSA, but that doesn't explain the other hackers."

  Som shrugged his slender shoulder and said, "I don't know about the Middle East, but Russia has some of the best hackers in the world. Perhaps the NSA has some on their payroll."

  Shawn came back with a question, "Is there any way that the hackers can physically find him?"

  Som ignored his question and looked at his grandfather with a concerned look, "Is there something that you want to tell me, gramps? Are you in some sort of trouble?"

  Tim wanted to ease his concern and immediately said, "Nothing I can't handle."

  Som wasn't buying it, "Are you sure there's nothing that you want to tell me?"

  "No… I think it's just a little misunderstanding. That's all." Tim said with a straight face.

  Som still looked troubled and said, "Ok, you're a big boy. I'm sure you can handle it."

  *****

  Now, to answer your question, Shawn. The answer is no. Not if he stays off the grid. By that, I mean he can't use any electronic device that they can track him with. Every computer has an IP address, and when you're connected to the internet, you can be traced to your location with the right equipment. I put a scrambler on this computer, but anybody with half a brain can still trace you to your location. I put it on just as a formality to keep people who don't even have half a brain from finding you. The same goes for his cell phone. Besides the U.S. Government, almost every country in the world has a version of StingRay that can track a person by his cell number."

  "What if his cell phone is turned off?" Shawn asked.

  Som shrugged and said, "It all depends on the phone. Are you still using that old-school flip phone of yours, gramps?"

  Tim nodded quickly and said, "Yes, I am."

  "Well, in that case, no. All he has to do is pull the battery or the SIM card out. If he had one of the new phones with GPS, they could track him even when it was powered off, and the GPS was turned off. Or if you had a Faraday case, they can't track you. It blocks the signal." Som answered.

  Som wondered why Shawn was asking all the questions and finally turned to look at Shawn, "Does this little misunderstanding also include you?"

  Shawn decided that he had to tell him the truth.

  "Yes, it does. I hired your grandfather to look into something for me. It didn't have anything to do with the bombing in Connecticut, but I think it is definitely connected. From what you said, I think these people tracked his computer to its source. Because they came to his office about two hours ago, these people are looking for me, not your grandfather. But they don't know who I am, so they came after him to find me. They shot him because he wouldn't give them what they wanted."

  Som's jaw dropped, and he looked at his grandfather, then back to Shawn, then back to his grandfather.

  "WHAT THE HELL…they shot you? Where exactly?"

  "In my shoulder, it's just a scratch… nothing serious," Tim said nonchalantly, as if getting shot was an everyday occurrence for him.

  "Gramps, you're getting much too old to be playing Sam Spade, although it's more like Charlie Chan in your case. Why don't you just retire and play checkers or mahjong like ordinary people your age?" Som said with a slightly raised voice.

  Shawn started to chuckle, and Som shot him a look and said, "And you keep quiet."

  Shawn held up his hands, "Me? I didn't say anything."

  Tim spread his hands and said, "I don't think I'm ready for retirement just yet. Besides, I don't like checkers or mahjong, for that matter. Being a private eye is much more fun."

  "Yea…and much more dangerous," Som shot back.

  Shawn didn’t want to get involved in the family feud, so he got up and got another beer. When he returned, he found both men drinking tea without any conversation, telling him they hadn’t reached a settlement. Obviously, both men were headstrong.

  Shawn sat back down, and Som was the first to speak.

  "My grandfather told me what happened in his office, and I read the e-mail he sent David. I know you didn't have anything to do with the bombing that killed President Roberts, and I'm not going to ask you why you hired him, although I think I can guess from the contents of the e-mail. I understand he will stay with you until this matter is resolved. Is that correct?"

  "Yes, he is. I got him into this, and I think that I can protect him better than the police, who I don't trust, by the way."

  Som had tried to talk him out of staying with Shawn, but he wouldn't budge, so he relented that it was a done deal. Now, he had to help them the best way he could.

  "Fine, now I need to help you stay off the radar. Gramps, I know you have a landline in your office. Has Shawn ever called you on it?"

  Tim shook his head again, and Shawn said, "No, I only called him on his cell."

  "Good; now, do the people who are looking for you have your cell phone number?"

  Tim knew they could find him on his contacts if they had Addison's cell phone, but he had no idea if he had had it with him that day. Half the time, he left it at home, and when he remembered to bring it, it often needed to be charged. Tim had set him up with it, but Addison was old school and hardly ever used it, and he rarely checked his messages.

  "I can't say for sure, but I don't think so." Then Tim went on to explain why.

  "Well, that's good. Who's your provider?"

  Tim gave Som his cell phone provider, and he immediately powered up his iPad mini and connected to a nearby Wi-Fi that wasn’t the resort. He easily bypassed the Wi-Fi’s security password, and within five minutes, he was inside his cell phone provider’s main frame and looking at Tim’s call log. Som was also one of the best hackers in the business.

  Som turned the small device toward Shawn and asked, “Which number is yours?”

  Shawn was blown away by the speed at which he accessed the site. Now he was looking at his cell number and the numerous times Tim had tried to call Addison.

  "That one," Shawn said while pointing at his cell number.

  "Alright, I'm going to do two things just in case they have your number. First, I will remove all of Shawn's incoming and outgoing call history as far back as a year and my number. I could just as easily remove all his call history, but I don't want them to know that his history has been tampered with. This would lead them to look at the backup server, and I want them to do something other than that. I'd like to see if anyone else has accessed his records lately. This should only take a minute to find out, so bear with me."

  Less than a minute later, Som said, "Ok, I removed the history, and it looks like no one else has accessed his records. Now, I will change your personal information to make it harder for them to find you as easily as I did. If they have your cell number, they can still track when you're using your phone. When this is over, I can switch the information back."

  When Som had completed changing Tim's information, he asked Shawn if he wanted him to change his personal information also.

  "That won't be necessary. Nothing is tied to my name." Shawn said flatly.

  Som raised his eyebrows but wasn't even fazed by this. He knew that his grandfather and Shawn had been good friends for decades, but he had never told him much about the man. Som quickly decided not to push it.

  "No problem, but now I want to give you some advice."

  Shawn was pleased that Som was able to remove his number from Choi's call records. He didn't want anyone looking in that direction. However, he had taken precautions long ago to protect his assets and his true identity. With the help of a sharp and somewhat shady attorney, everything he owned was in a corporate name, starting with the first small club he purchased, which he still owned and leased. Everything was legal, and nothing was in his actual or assumed name; it was in Kim's. His cell phone, internet, and everything else was tied to the corporation. He didn't want Kim and Kasem to be left with nothing if he was ever captured and returned to the United States to stand trial.

  *****

  After Som rejoined his party, Shawn sat back in his chair and took a long drink from his beer while his mind processed all the information he had just received. It now appeared that the NSA had indeed broken the e-mail encryption; there was simply no other possibility. The fact that they used his name spoke volumes or were they just fishing as Choi suspected. Besides his drinking buddy at the VFW and possibly Jeffery, only one person could possibly know that he had the document, and that was Sydney. He suspected that Jeffery must have said something to her about their conversation just before they left Xuan Loc. He wondered how Sydney got wind of it so soon, and if indeed she had, would she use someone in the government to question Choi, or would she use one of her many contacts from her days at the CIA. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense that she would use someone or some group other than a government agency. That would explain the attempted hacks by someone in Russia, the Middle East, and the men who showed up at Choi’s door.

  Tim decided to call Captain Tong before pulling the battery from his cell phone. When Tong's phone started to ring, Tim got up and walked away from a group of people who had sat down close by. He went to the bar, where no one could hear his conversation. Shawn followed him, took a stool at the opposite end of the bar, and ordered another beer. The call lasted only a few minutes, and Shawn could see Tim's facial expressions change during the conversation. He suspected that it wasn't good news. After the call ended, Tim said nothing and pulled the battery from his phone. He placed his elbows on the bar and lowered his face into his hands.

  Shawn gave him some time, then walked over and sat beside him.

  "I'm sorry for getting you into this mess, Tim."

  Choi just shook his head. Finally, he looked up and said, "It's not your fault Shawn. David and I took this job knowing there might be some danger involved."

  "Did they find Addison?" Shawn asked, although he already suspected the answer.

  Tim nodded. "He was tied to my desk chair. His throat had been slit, and it looks like they tortured him before he was finally killed."

  When Shawn heard this, he was filled with sorrow. He let out a sigh and shook his head.

  "I'm so sorry, Tim; Addison was a good man. But I promise you this. If I come across those bastards before the police do… I'll kill every last one of them."

  Shawn's sorrow had now turned into rage. Tim had never seen him look like this before. He looked like a caged wild animal. In their younger days, Tim had seen Shawn in many fights. He was never angry; he was just a fighting machine. Now, he saw something different that had probably always been there under the surface, just waiting to erupt.