Zeros and Ones Chapter 6
0's and 1's: Book 1 CBDT (Cyber-Bullying Defense Team)
By WL
Chapter 6
(Kevin Driscoll, Code Name: Shelley)
That son of bitch keeps surprising me, but I am glad he surprised me again. He was preparing to fight a bigger war than I had ever imagined. I knew Benji had his suspicions about Ryan's attackers, but I never thought it would be that bad. I guess I've been spoiled by loving parents, lots of sexual partners, and a best friend who will probably take Bill Gates' place on Forbes. There's always been animosity between LGBT people and religious fundamentalists; some might call it a difference of opinions. Others like me think of it as a hate crime. I know not everyone likes me outside my friends and family, but this is the United States of America, we don't go around killing one another or implicitly inspire self-destruction to fucking get our point across. We try to get along as much as we can or just get away from one another, because this is a big country where everyone can live.
Then, again, I doubt anyone would have guessed two young guys would use pressure cookers as shrapnel bombs at the Boston Marathon, because they wanted to make a point for their religious beliefs after watching some internet videos made in Afghanistan. The distances between ideology and hate have narrowed to the milliseconds between connections. Hunter is right about the world being how it is, not what we want it to be. The only difference now is we have to engage the crap before it comes after us. There is something fundamentally fucked up with people, when they don't care who they hurt or what their actions mean to other people. They're selfish bastards hiding behind a shield of ideological crap. I don't give a fuck if you're Christian, Muslim, Straight, or gay, there is absolutely no excuse.
I don't know if this will work though; I trust Hunter's judgment, but it all seems too big for the three of us to take on. Sure, we'll probably get some help as this goes along, but we're just some smart gay kids really. Despite Hunter's obvious strengths and considerable resources, he is one boy fighting against a multi-billion dollar social and political establishment that has existed in various forms for more than two thousand years. They can run around the world a dozen times over, while we have trouble just getting out of town without our parents getting worried. I know we're fighting them within the internet, but they do have real world assets we can't compete against. Even if we can win here and now, there are hundreds of cities across the United States, thousands around the world that we have no recourse or standing to investigate these guys.
Hunter probably knew all of this, but he still is willing to go toe to toe despite the consequences to him. That's why he chose to keep all of this so secret. If one of us is discovered, we'd probably end up in a ditch somewhere. It explains his reluctance to open up to us and why he couldn't say our names even on a secure chat. Yet, he won't hide himself from us completely; he will offer an opening like a quote or something, so we know who we're really talking to in order to show he trusts us. I love him for taking up this fight, but I love him even more for being the friend I could always depend on. I'll do what I can; even if it means in the end, I might be dead or some big bulky prison bull's bitch, it would be worth it.
All I can think about is what Hunter will assign us to investigate and research. There's a ton of areas to cover, my mind is just churning out potential avenues of attack and defense. Like a soccer game, you have to find the best holes in the oppositions' defense, exploit it, and score if possible, but if not possible, make sure you don't give up the attack.
(***)
So glad Benji came for a little Call of Duty on Saturday, I needed the company and by the look on his face, he probably needed it too. We both knew we're not boyfriend material for each other; he's too critical and I am too opinionated or as he says "crass", which is pretty unfair in terms of assessments. I had downloaded a new zombie mission pack into the game, so we challenged each other on total head count kills. After 327 dead zombies, oxymoronic really, I was ready to call it. Of course he did point out that he got more accurate one shot kills; I beat him 195 to 132.
Part of me wanted to talk to him about Hunter's plan, but I knew better and he did too. We both had a few moments of silent acknowledgements in between exploding heads. It felt weird not to talk to him, since we're both usually really open about our thoughts and feelings. He complains and I insult, then Hunter compromises and Ryan mends.
When we were done playing video games, we both knew what we wanted to do; there wasn't any need for words. I could tell by the outlines of his shorts that he wore no underwear, which suited me just fine as I rarely wore underwear during the weekends either way. I touched his hands, his boney fingers, while he brought his mouth on top of my glasses and removed them. Then, we went into a passionate kiss, his tongue dancing at the top of my mouth as I pushed my tongue to taste the bottom of his mouth. There was a hint of soy and garlic along with the unmistakable sting of Siracha hot sauce, which gives my tongue slight goosebumps.
I moved my hands over to his zipper and pulled it down to reveal a nice 6 inches of hard teenage meat. As I did this, his fingers had already begun to stroke my cock from within my sweatpants. How he managed to get into my pants without notice, I really don't care. The feeling of touch was so electric I felt like I could just cum right there. Good thing, we knew each other's bodies well; he instinctively pulled himself away from me. In a flash, I pulled down my sweatpants and took off my T-shirt; Benji did exactly the same thing. We got onto my soft bed and began to grind our cocks together. There's nothing quite like frotting, we both enjoyed blowjobs and mutual jack offs, but this was our favorite sexual activity. Anal sex might be what defines gay sex for other people and couples, but you get the best sensations in feeling of skin contact and undulating motions from this. It took only a few minutes, but we both dropped our loads onto each stomach.
As we rolled off each other to regain our breathing, Benji rolled over to his side.
"Kevin, we're doing the right thing, never forget that."
I stared at him for a second and realized his hidden meaning. We might not be a couple or even partners, but this was one of my best friends and what we did was exactly what we're defending. It's not just about an ideal of being gay, a philosophical position, or anything complex. We're defending what we are and what we want. I wish I could share those thoughts with Hunter, along with some other delights I've learned through practice, but at least I would have the chance.
(Hunter Douglas, Code Name: Verne)
Alright, it's Sunday; I have been working throughout the weekend to figure out where to start the investigation. We can't just join the C.I.S.S (Christian Initiative to Secure Society) social network, immediately without issue, but a login without a clear IP would be suspect and if I use a false mirror IP, I run the risk of exposing an investigation into them. I need to find a path of least resistance, a common place from where I could track their hacking schemes. I know Kevin and Benji will be helping me, but I needed a direction.
Looking over my notes, I found one very interesting point that could be expounded on and have large ramifications. How did they gain access to our psychological profiles? I assumed they went through hospital databases and looked over the standard mental health evaluation forms, which is mandatory under state law due to fears of drug abuse and depression. Due to the implementation of HIPAA and HIT regulations from the federal government, hospitals are mandated to keep and protect patient information. A violation or penetration by outside parties should have been noted and sent to HHS immediately, but there were no official issues reported at the Hospital Ryan went to for primary care. I am betting it is the same with the other gay teens as well. It could just be bureaucratic oversight, but if it's not, then it's an important point of penetration, if we can figure out how they got in and develop a way to keep them out, we'd cut off one of their target identification tools. It wouldn't stop them from continuing with their current list of targets or even getting information from other sources, but a small disruption is better than nothing, plus it could be the first shred of verifiable physical evidence.
Still, there's another disturbing development over the weekend; my defense app alerted me that Jeremy Langford's phone was hacked. He has called his cell phone company and checked his online accounts, but the damage has been done. They won't attack him immediately, but they've probably established backdoors into his personal data. I am really worried about him.
Jeremy has been a good friend for the last year; even if he's 3 years older than me. All of us thought of him as our big surly gay brother. Even though Kevin, Benji, Ryan, and I were smarter than him and even had the same classes as him; he never treated us any differently than his senior class friends. Despite his famous "party" persona, he hides a really unhappy and somewhat tormented guy. His parents divorced when he was 8. His mom works most of the time, so he's left alone at home. His dad rarely visits, because he's an ATF agent and travels on cases. I guess that's why he started drinking at 12 and smokes so much pot now; it's a form of rebellion against his dad. When he isn't "partying"; Jeremy is a really talented poet and musician, like a premade rock star. We nudged him to send a demo CD over to Capitol Records, which he got a promo deal with. Ryan and I had hoped to maybe sponsor him as well to raise his awareness level as promo deals don't guarantee fame and fortune. He's a good friend, but I had to choose between concentrating on protecting him or going after a possible opening. I had only one real choice under triage; they wouldn't attack him so soon and we'd still be around to keep his spirits up. When our numbers become big enough, we can do both; right now, we need a proof of concept to show Chief Wayne, Mayor Chance, and Judge Thatcher we're not messing around.
It's time now; I need to set up the temporary site out of the secure server. During normal times, no one can establish a link into the server at all, because I don't have it connected. When we meet in chat, I use a series of portals and redirects to keep the server active. It keeps the server beyond approach without a clear address and plugin decryption software from the custom Tor browser on their devices. It's a common practice among dark net servers; both for legal purposes and illegal purposes. Despite what people might think of these measures being only criminally useful, the US government, along with Israeli intelligence services and several others, have been using the dark net as well; primarily it's a place where their deep cover agents can access intelligence and send off information through encrypted sites with cipher plugin keys like mine. These sites pop up and then disappear without notice; exactly what a good spymaster would want for a meeting place. Of course I've only heard stories from the underground; even I am not so daring to hack into one of those meetings. I know my arrangements are overkill, but if anyone ever tries to back-track us, they'd end up in an Arctic research outpost.
They're signing in right now; it's time to give them their assignments:
Verne: I hope you both have had enjoyable weekends
Shelley: You could say that, Verne
Verne: It's time we begin with our investigation
Verne: Before though, I must note that a hacking attack has occurred to a gay teen named Jeremy Langsford
Verne: If you know him, do not, I repeat, do not engage his hackers
Shelley: Why not?
Shelley: I thought that was our objective
Verne: We have to be selective on engagements
Verne: His attacks have just begun
Verne: We do not want to jump in too soon
Wells: Wait for the prey to come to the hunter
Damn, I hate Benji's double entendre; I know it was meant for me. Maybe, it was a bad idea to let them know this soon about who "Verne" really is. No, I can't doubt my friends; they're just used to a certain way we behave with one another, which should never change, but I got to gently ward him off.
Verne: We must first find the prey, which is why a scout hound would be useful
Verne: Someone needs to be in the right place at the right time to make a difference
Got him back! He hates the "Benji" references to the mixed breed dog, who acts like a cross between Lassie and Air Bud. Ryan and I used to make dog sounds, when he lets an attacker get by him with a scissor kick. No one knew why we did it, except for Benji and Kevin, but they knew we were just kidding around. It actually helps inspire Benji, too.
Wells: I see what you mean
Verne: Our first order of business is to investigate the psychological profiling
Verne: The easiest way to obtain psychological profiles is by getting psych evaluations data
Shelley: Those forms everyone fills out during their annual exam
Shelley: I knew they were stupid
Wells: Also quite dangerous, a complete psychological and physical profile can be used to determine stress levels, predictive indicators of mental health, and find points of behavior to attack an individual
Verne: Correct
Verne: This is one reason why health information should be protected
Shelley: There are only a few ways they could have reached the data
Shelley: A doctor could be handing them the details
Verne: Unlikely as it would involve too large a conspiracy and increase chances of discovery
Verne: I don't doubt they have sympathizers, but how do you remove so much information secretly
Wells: Why not standard Flash drives or encrypted emails?
Verne: Not possible, under the rule of HIPAA, health care professional are not supposed to use those things
Verne: They might break the rules from time to time, but several of the gay teens went to hospital going through their federal HIT audits during the entire time of the attacks
Verne: Whatever method they used had to be simple, small operationally, and capable of eluding standard audit procedures by federal officials
Shelley: If that's the case, then someone has to go into the system and monitor activity for mass downloads under a certain criteria, i.e. self-identified LGBT people under the age of 18
Verne: You have volunteered for the job Shelley
Shelley: Alright, but I need access into the server to create the alert
Verne: You will have that access by tomorrow afternoon
Verne: We will also need two people to monitor the local children's hospital, which has seen several of the victims
Wells: So you and I will do that, but how would we not reveal each other's identities or appear suspicious
Wells: Unless you want to drop your cowl
Verne: Simple, you will act on the inside as you have links to the organization, while I review and observe security recordings
Verne: I will observe all that can be observed, you will observe what you can within, excluded from security recordings
Verne: If any of us discovers a suspicious link in any of our investigations, we will alert one another via the custom smartphone
Wells: No problem
Shelley: I'll start programming a query alert for the specified sets
It has begun...
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