April 12, 10:00 A.M. EST
The Day after the ExopaTerra Attack
The Office of Director Davis at FBI HQ, Washington, D.C.
Brenda and her father are sitting in his office talking.
“How are you feeling?” Brenda asks her father.
“Like everyone else, I am tired,” Director Davis says “How about you sweetheart?”
“Well it has been a long time since you called me sweetheart,” Brenda replies. “I am doing pretty well.”
“Are you ready to get on to a new life?” Director Davis asks.
“Yes, yes I am,” Brenda responds.
“What about the professor?” Director Davis asks.
“We both need to move on,” Brenda says.
“Are we still pursuing High-tech Tonya?” Brenda asks.
“Tonya Heartfield died in the plane that crashed at LAX.” Director Davis responds. “Her case is officially closed.”
“I am going to California with the President tomorrow to do the usual post disaster rounds,” Director Davis says. “We will be talking to the professor to wrap things up. Would you like to come with me?”
“It might be a little too soon,” Brenda says.
“The President has invited you,” Director Davis says. “I suggest you take him up on the offer. Dick does not like to leave loose ends.”
“Okay, pick me up,” Brenda says.
“And why don't you bring Sharon Lawler with you?” Director Davis suggests. “That is if you would like.”
“I will ask her,” Brenda says. “Thanks.”
Brenda gets up and gives her father a hug and leaves.
April 12, 10:00 A.M. PST
The Day after the ExopaTerra Attack
The Warehouse in Carlsbad, California
The muted monitors were showing scenes from the aftermath of the attack. Newscasters were asking all the experts questions. The team is wandering down from the loft one by one every few minutes.
Brandon, Lulu, Spinx, and Tonya come in and sit down.
“I have some breakfast ready,” Kirkman says.
That perks everyone up and the circle around the food.
“Good morning,” Brandon says cheerfully.
The group moans.
“Food works, sex sells, but food works,” Brandon says.
“I have an announcement,” Kirkman says. “The President and director Davis from the FBI will be here tomorrow morning. They want to thank you.”
“That is not necessary,” Brandon says thinking of Tonya.
“You have known Dick as long as I have and you know he does not like loose ends,” Kirkman says. “He will be here at about 11:00 A.M. and request your presence.”
Lucy abruptly stopped eating, “Well I bought some traveling clothes, I bought some beach clothes, but I sure didn't buy meet the President clothes.”
“Well I certainly don't have a thing to wear that would be appropriate for meeting the President,” Spinx chimes in.
“Well I am afraid I am in the same boat,” Blaster says.
“Shopping time huh?” Kirkman takes the overt hints. “Okay $2,000 each. Here it is.”
“Could go for maybe $3,000 Henry. I know you want me to look real good for the President,” Lucy says. “I mean it is almost like I am your daughter.”
“Don't push your luck Lucy,” Kirkman says as he adds another $1,000 to everyone’s pile of money.
“Get me some Oxford button downs,” Brandon says. “Please.”
The professor and Kirkman sit down to breakfast.
“We are going to miss you Kirkman,” Brandon says/
“How are things going this morning?” Kirkman asks.
“The attacks seem to be over,” Brandon says. “The clean up is underway. And I am sure the FBI will be rounding up terrorist for months to come.”
“That's not what I mean. How about you and Tonya?” Kirkman asks.
“I want her to stay. I think she wants to stay. She said I had to wait until this was all over until I asked her to stay,” Brandon says.
“Ask her professor,” Kirkman says. “Don't be a fool and don't get cold feet.”
April 12, 11:00 A.M. EST
The Day after the ExopaTerra Attack
An Office in the White House
The President is siting at his desk the phone rings. He picks it up. “Send her in,” he says.
The door is opened and Agent Lawler enters.
“Please have a seat Agent Lawler,” The President says.
“Thank you sir,” Agent Lawler responds.
“How are things going?” The President asks.
“The attacks appear to have settled down,” Agent Lawler reports.
“That I know,” the President says. “How are Davis and his daughter getting along?”
“I think they will be fine sir,” Agent Lawler responds.
“And has she wrapped up her relationship with the professor?” the President asks.
“I think that happens tomorrow,” she responds.
“Yes, Davis and I are going to make a trip to California and I asked him to invite her. I think she needs to say an official good bye to the professor. I also so hope they can go on with their lives with out any hard feelings between them.” the President says.
“I think they will sir,” Agent Lawler says.
“I want to thank you for your work,” the President says. “I may call upon you again someday.”
“Thank you sir,” she says.
The President stands up and shakes Agent Lawler's hand. “Until then take care of yourself.”
“Thank you sir and I guess I will see you tomorrow,” Agent Lawler says. “Brenda has invited me to come along on the trip, I can keep her company while you guys talk guy stuff.”
They both laugh a little.
April 12, 2:00 P.M. PST
The Day after the ExopaTerra Attack
The Warehouse in Carlsbad, California
The shopping trip was a success. Everyone is in a good mood. The team is cleaning up and pulling papers and files together.
“Well I am glad that is over,” Lucy says.
“So am I,” Spinx adds.
“We need to do one last thing,” Brandon says. “In 30 minutes I want to go over what loose ends are left. I want to put together a two-page report on it and send it to the FBI, NSA, CIA, and defense. Cover what went well and what the weaknesses were.”
The team members start pulling together their individual notes and collaborating on the two-page list.
“I am getting some food together,” Kirkman says.
“When do you think you will be leaving Kirkman?” Brandon asks.
“I will leave with the President tomorrow,” Kirkman says. “By the way, there will be secret service folks here a couple hours before he arrives to check the place out. It is just a routine.”
“No problem,” Brandon says. “But tell the team so they are not running around naked or something like that. You might also want to sit in on the wrap up meeting in a few minutes.”
“Got it,” Kirkman says.
The team focuses on the discussion.
“My number one issue is that the PRC has all the software used in these attacks,” Tonya says. “They seemed to sit this one out as far as we know. I think they should be considered a more severe threat at this point.”
“My major concern is the modified cell phone technology,” Rabbit says. “There needs to be a counter measure for this.”
“My biggest issue is what happened with the customer support centers at the tech companies,” Germ says. “This could have created an incredible mess. If those updates would have been pushed out, the attack could have been sustained for days by using the open doors the updates would have created.”
“I can't understand why so many people did not believe this could happen,” Blaster says. “Many of the people I worked with were stupid about it. If they would have taken this more seriously some of the things that happened could have been easily prevented.”
“My concern is how well the government can respond in the face of an attack like this,” Spinx adds. “Although it seems like things went well it was Rabbit who saved the day by preventing the Trojan from opening possibly thousands of computers. If it were not for this team, the attack would have been much worse.”
“I am still concerned about the international cooperation aspect of defending against cyber attacks,” Lucy says. “I know it sounds redundant, but we are still in a weak position.”
“Well, I certainly second what Blaster said,” Razer adds. “But I am concerned about the skill level of some of the people we dealt with. Believing an attack can happen is one thing, being able to stop it is another. We bailed out a lot of people.”
“Since the cyber attacks was so global in scope, defenders will need multiple language capabilities,” Lulu says. “If Lucy and I did not know several Asian languages we would not have been able to get some of the clues we were able to find.”
“Kirkman would you like to add anything?” Brandon asks.
“Response time,” Kirkman says. “It all comes down to response time. We barely moved fast enough and in some cases didn't move fast enough. There are not enough defenders.”
“Pull it together and send it to Davis,” Brandon says.
Then it is time for a swim and we are going to have a special dinner. “Kirkman, you are our guest of honor this evening,” Brandon says.
“It will be my pleasure to join you,” Kirkman graciously accepts.
April 12, 5:00 P.M. EST
The Day after the ExopaTerra Attack
Briefing room at FBI HQ, Washington D.C.
The task force members are working on the post attack clean up effort. Director Davis walks in. He hands copies of the team's assessment to an Agent to pass out to the task force.
“The professor's team did a post attack assessment of what they consider the most critical vulnerabilities and issues that they encountered during the attack,” Director Davis says. “As we work on our report I want these included and addressed.”
“What is going to happen to the professor's team at this point?” Agent Lawler asks.
“I have no idea,” Director Davis says. “That is up to the President, but I doubt that they will become civil servants.”
“Does anybody even know who the professor's team is?” Agent Moore asks.
Director Davis leaves the room.
Nobody answered Agent Moore.
April 12, 2:30 P.M. PST
The Day after the ExopaTerra Attack
The Warehouse in Carlsbad, California
The team has finished their wrap up.
“Last one in the pool doesn't get sex,” Spinx says. “Just kidding! Let's go!”
The team leaves the warehouse and heads for the inn for an afternoon swim.
“You are not going to swim professor?” Kirkman asks.
“No, not today,” Brandon says. “These folks worked pretty hard over the last few days. They need some time away from me. Let's go get a beer.”
“Sounds good to me,” Kirkman says.
Kirkman and the professor go to Stanley’s and have a beer.
April 12, 4:30 P.M. PST
The Day after the ExopaTerra Attack
Brandon’s Room at the inn
Brandon gets out of the shower and dries off with a towel and puts a robe on. He walks out of the bathroom and sees Tonya lying on the bed.
“Just what I wanted a fresh clean professor,” Tonya teases.
“Just what I wanted,” Brandon says.
“What?” Tonya asks.
“You,” he says.
“Come and get it,” Tonya teases.
Brandon and Tonya climb under the covers.
April 12, 8:30 P.M. PST
The Day after the ExopaTerra Attack
Stanley’s restaurant in Carlsbad, California
The team is eating dinner and drinking wine. They are moving around and Germ is taking pictures in all combinations. They were all dressed in their new clothes that they had bought earlier in the week.
“I want one with Lulu, Kirkman, and me,” Lucy says. Kirkman is sitting at the end of the table. Lulu is on one side Lucy on the other. They are cheek to cheek. Germ snaps a photo.
“Both of you give him a big kiss,” Germ snaps another photo.
They all laugh.
“Well folks I am getting tired and need to get ready for tomorrow,” Kirkman says.
“Kirkman, daddy, don't leave yet,” Lucy says.
“Stay a minute Kirkman,” Brandon says.
“A toast to Kirkman,” Blaster says.
“Say a few words professor,” Razer demands.
“We all want to thank you Kirkman,” Brandon says. “Having you with us helped to make us strong. Toast!”
Everyone raises his or her glass to Kirkman.
“We have a present for you Henry,” Lucy says.
Lucy presents him with a framed 8X10 photo of the group, which they had all signed.
“Thank you,” Kirkman says. “Thank you all very much. I have never seen a group like you have. I wish you all the best.”
Everyone applauds.
“And we wish you the same,” Brandon says. Everyone applauds.
“I will see you all in the morning,” Kirkman says.
Everyone shakes hands with Kirkman as he leaves. Lucy and Lulu give him big hugs.
“Big party!” Lucy yells.
“What do you mean big party?” Brandon says.
“Lots of sex,” Lucy says. “Everybody come to the loft.”
“Maybe next time,” Tonya says. “I am taking the professor back to his place.”
“Save a little of her for me professor,” Lulu says.
Tonya laughs.
They walk out of the restaurant.
The group heads back to the warehouse.
Brandon and Tonya head for the inn.