Cyberclipper Read online

  “Let’s get dressed for dinner, Katie” said Yousif.

  “Wait a minute, Yousif, I only have the clothes I wore on the pier,” responded Katie. Then she paused a slight moment and continued: “Don’t tell me you have my size of dress and shoes in the bedroom.”

  The Prince smiled and quietly said: “Let’s go find out.”

  The pair then went downstairs to the Dubai suite.

  “I think you’ll find something you’ll like hanging in the bathroom and the shoes are on the bench,” stated Prince Latif with some certainty.

  Katie went into the bathroom and exclaimed, “Oh, my God!” as she returned to the bedroom holding up a strapless, silver Chanel Haute Couture evening gown. She put it over her bodice and held it at the waist as she spun around in a gleeful circle.

  “Yousif, it’s gorgeous.” “This dinner is going to be a real treat I can tell already,” as she smiled and walked over to the Prince and gave him a peck on the cheek.

  “I’m glad you like it, my dear,” replied Yousif. “You’ll find other treats in the bathroom, including your toiletries.” The Captain and First Mate will join us for cocktails at 7:30.”

  “I’ll be ready!!” responded the flirtatious Harbormaster.

  There were many people on the Blue Clipper II, but Katie never saw them; it was the crew doing their duties.

  She left the Dubai suite and joined her hosts in the grand salon. As she entered the room, the Prince, dressed in a white silk Kaftan, glided over to her, and held out his elbow to escort her to the other end of the salon to meet the Captain and the First Mate, both looking regal in their summer white uniforms. She felt like the belle of the ball as the party of four sipped champagne and ate delicate canopies. Promptly at 8:00PM they sat down at one end of the dining table with the Prince on the end and the seamen across from Katie. Over a sumptuous Rack of Lamb dinner, the conversation was all about the sea complete with real-life stories. The Captain and First mate were enthralled by Katie’s description of her solo Pacific Ocean crossing. The Prince didn’t have much to say; he didn’t need to. After dinner the party moved to a U-shaped conversation area for small after dinner cordials. At 10:00 the Captain and First Mate excused themselves: “as duty calls.”

  “I know tomorrow is a workday for you, Katie,” said Yousif. “But I really don’t want you to go.” “In a perfect world”..just then Katie put her index finger to the Prince’s lips..and finished the sentence: “you would spend the night here.”

  The prince looked her in the eye and said: “Yes.”

  “Well, if that’s an invitation, then I accept,” said Katie in a rather sultry tone.

  The couple then got up and walked arm-in-arm down the hall to the Dubai suite where the bed was already turned down and small candles placed on several window sills.

  In the middle of the room, Katie turned to Yousif and lowered her dress to the floor. They embraced as their lips met in a soulful kiss and her bra was adroitly unhooked. The couple went over to the bed, sat down and continued undressing. They exchanged soft words of admiration as the Prince-now really feeling like Yousif the MAN-tenderly touched her breasts and heightened nipples. They slid between the silk sheets and locked in a tight embrace of mutual delight. The new partners explored mutually-pleasing positions into the early morning. They both realized that the moment was very special and never to be forgotten.

  The next morning as he climbed into his Gulfstream, the prince texted Katie that he would return to her arms before many moons had passed.

  11

  BERMUDA

  On a rainy, chilly morning, Blue Clipper I under the command of Catfish Crowley departed Cork, Ireland for the Royal Navy Dockyard in Bermuda. The voyage was within the range of the megayacht provided the weather was favorable and high sea state waves didn’t require burning more fuel. Indeed, on this voyage, the Gulf Stream current allowed a couple more knots to the vessel’s speed. During the four-day trip, the Blue Gene team ran numerous routines to confirm its ability to detect and neutralize computer encryption algorithms. Blue Clipper II had already run the routines while passing through the Panama Canal on the way to Cabo and provided the findings to Blue Clipper I via secure satellite link.

  While the megayacht was a day away from Bermuda, the Prince’s jet touched down at the airport serving Hamilton, Bermuda’s capital city. A shuttle from the Rosedon Hotel on Rosemont Avenue picked up His Highness. On the front porch of the hotel was Win Parker, the Maritime Harbormaster waiting for the Prince. Captain Parker, a 20-year veteran nautical engineer with the Royal Navy and a member of Britain’s team racing for America’s Cup, reminds one of the actor George Clooney.

  The Prince’s limousine pulled up to the hotel and was met by the doorman. As Prince Latif came up the stairs, Harbormaster Parker went down to greet the Prince.

  “Welcome to Bermuda, Your Highness. We eagerly await your vessel,” said Mr. Parker with an outstretched hand.

  “I’m glad to be here, Mr. Parker, and learn about your dockyard complex,” replied the Prince.

  Soon they were in the lobby being served tea as they discussed the Prince’s requirements. “Except for the cruise ships, our Blue Clipper I will look like a battleship coming into your facility. It’s not only long but 88 feet wide. My research shows that you only have one pier that can accommodate it. I hope we can be a tenant for a month,” continued the Prince.

  “Yes, Your Highness, we have reserved it for your vessel and will run frequent buses from the pier to here in Hamilton to accommodate your crew,” replied the Harbormaster. “And I’ve arranged a reception party because your Skipper Crowley and I are long-time friends. I knew Tom when he piloted Caribbean cruise ships through here.”

  “Excellent, Mr. Parker. “I believe we made the right choice to have Bermuda as our home port,” replied the Prince. “Can you give me a tour this afternoon?”

  “Of course, Sir, when will it be convenient for you?” asked the Harbormaster.

  “Let’s say 3:00 PM for an hour or so,” responded the Prince.

  “It will be done, Your Highness,” said the Harbormaster as he stood up, shook the Prince’s hand, nodded his head in respect and left the hotel.

  For the next day and one-half, the Prince toured the Dockyard, the Hamilton waterfront and some of the tourist sites on the twenty square-mile island. At night, he took his meal on the veranda as he kept in contact with his three Clippers.

  As the sun rose on his third day on the island, the Prince stood on the Pier to welcome the Blue Clipper I. Right on schedule, Captain Crowley’s big, blue baby enter the harbor. It was a thrilling sight as the Harbormaster had arranged for 2 fireboats to shoot their water cannons on each side of the megayacht. The Prince smiled with delight, and the Skipper could be seen waving from the docking platform. One person in the longshoreman group assembled on the pier was overheard asking, “How can one man own something so large and beautiful?”

  As promised, that evening the Harbormaster held a reception for the crew at the National Museum of Bermuda, only five blocks from the Blue Clipper I. Afterwards, the Prince joined Captain Crowley in his chart room to get briefed on his ocean crossing.

  “Your Highness,” began the Skipper, “this craft has exceeded all of our requirements. It is so fast, yet so stable and more efficient than we initially planned. Being on a ship of this caliber should have little impact upon our Blue Gene cargo.”

  “That’s just what I wanted to hear, Tom” replied Prince Latif. “Please ready the ship for the mission next week.”

  Just then came a knock on the cabin door. “Come in,” said the Captain.

  Adam Raviv opened the door and entered room by excusing his intrusion. He saluted the Prince, and said he would be brief.

  “I just wanted to express my appreciation to the Skipper, and now to you, Your Highness, for the marvelous environment created for the supercomp
uter. All of our systems are a “go” Sir, and I have the data logs to prove it,” reported the computer guru.

  “So there’s no change in our Concept of Operations (CONOPS)?” asked the Prince.

  “No, Sir, we are ready to start the mission,” stated Raviv with certainty.

  “Perfect,” replied the Prince. “The two of you will join me for dinner at the Rosedon Hotel tonight at 6:00 PM. And please give the crew the day off tomorrow to enjoy Hamilton but warn them that everything is very expensive.”

  “Will do,” the Captain and the guru replied in unison.

  After shopping in Hamilton’s tourist shops on Pitts Bay Road, Raviv’s two cyber-specialists, Amy and Amira, enjoyed a traditional tea service at a sidewalk café. Amy Grossberg, a blackbelt in Kung Fu, and Amira Atara, a banking industry security expert who remined one of the actress, Natalie Portman, sat next to each other, their thighs often touching under the table. As the wind blew Amy’s long black hair across her face, Amira gently swept it back with the back of her hand. Both seem oblivious of the passers-by as they held each other’s hand on the table top.

  At 6:00 PM, the Captain in his crisp summer white uniform and Dov Raviv wearing white trousers and a blue silk shirt with yellow hibiscus blossoms, walked up to the Prince’s poolside table in the Rosedon’s courtyard. The Prince motioned for his guests to have a seat. Drink orders were taken as the Prince opened the conversation by saying: “we’re alone out here, and I’m reasonably sure nobody can hear our conversation. So both of you be candid and forthright with any comments or criticism, our mission may depend upon it. Is that clear?”

  The Captain and Raviv looked at each other and responded affirmatively: ”Yes,Sir!”

  “Very well, then,” replied the Prince. “I want to be absolutely sure we have the right CONOPS as we will implant the cellphones one week from today in New York and San Francisco and ten days from now in Monaco.”

  Then the Prince addressed Dr. Raviv, “You and your team invented and demonstrated the ability of a cellphone to exploit electromagnetic radiation (EMR) to force a computer’s memory bus to function like an antenna to wirelessly broadcast data to a cellphone over cellular frequencies. You call it GSMem: Data Exfiltration from Air-Gapped Computers. Am I correct so far?” asked the Prince.

  “Yes, sir,” replied Raviv. “And our software is embedded in the baseband firmware of a cellphone which is placed near a data center. In short, we don’t need to be in the computer room to extract data. All we need is to bypass the encryption and activate the cellphone in an extraction mode.”

  “And,” continued the Prince, “the Blue Gene L computer can discover and bypass the encryption in a matter of a few minutes, right?”

  “Yes, Sir,” replied the obedient Israeli. “And we haven’t seen an encryption code yet that we can’t break. In fact, we ran thousands of scenarios while we came here and were successful every time,” stated Raviv.

  “Thank you, replied the Prince. “That’s what I wanted to hear. Now let’s enjoy dinner.”

  Back on the Blue Clipper I, Amy and Amira finished dinner and were showing each other their clothing purchases in Amy’s stateroom. Amira took off her blouse to try on one of her new purchases. Amy then approached her friend, put her arms around her and unhooked her bra. As the garment fell to the floor, the couple hugged and kissed each other. Within minutes the two nude women were on the bed locked in a lover’s embrace with a high state of arousal. Each partner wondered why they had been friends for so long without enjoying such erotica. They fell asleep in each other’s arms.

  12

  MONACO

  A day later, the Prince’s jet landed in Nice, and he was driven to the Monaco Marina Hercule to visit the Blue Clipper III for three important meetings. The first meeting took place in the Grand Salon with Captain Jolie.

  “Sir,” began the Skipper, “we have reviewed the data from our trip from Dubai, and I can report to you with confidence that this ship performed flawlessly. Indeed, most of the critical parameters-speed, fuel consumption, vibration and reduced electrical energy-were exceeded. Even with the Blue Gene running, there was no impact on other systems. I’m truly impressed with your vessel, Your Highness.”

  “Skipper, that’s what I needed to hear,” replied Prince Latif. “How was the passage through the Suez Canal?”

  “Uneventful and very smooth, Sir,” responded the seasoned captain. “We had 23 feet clearance on both sides of the Clipper.”

  “Excellent, Skipper,” replied the Prince. Please give me a report of your consumables at the end of the week.”

  “Will do, Sir,” as the Skipper was excused to get back to the bridge when the Prince said: “Skipper, you run a tight ship. Please continue to do so.”

  “Aye, aye, Sir,” was the response.

  What the Prince did not tell the Captain was that the only other voyage the Skipper would take on Blue Clipper III was the return to Dubai.

  An hour later, the Prince asked Tom van der Heyden to join him in his office in the Dubai suite.

  “Mr. van der Heyden,” the Prince stated, “you’re our clandestine communications expert. Are you satisfied with our cellphone device now that one has been modified per your specifications?”

  “Yes, Your Highness, I am,” replied the engineer. “We ran the tests during our voyage here, and the signals are even stronger than I predicted.”

  He continued: “With your permission, I would like to configure eight of them. Two for each city and two for our lab to trouble-shoot in the event we have a problem.”

  “You have my permission,” responded the Prince. “And please let me know when they all pass the final tests, ideally before next Friday,” instructed Prince Latif.

  “Will do, Sir,” was the proper response.

  The third meeting that day was also very important. The Prince changed into his swimming suit, climbed up the spiral staircase and joined his friend, the yacht broker, at the minibar beside the swimming pool.

  “So glad you accepted my invitation, Nikki,” said the Prince with genuine sincerity.

  Nikki got up from her bar stool and said in a quiet voice, ”Yousif, you know when you call, I come running, my dear.”

  The Prince blushed for a moment and then regained his composure to ask the former model to spin around to show off her latest bikini.

  “I don’t know how you stay so fit, my dear, when you’re always dining out with clients,” said the Prince as a rhetorical question.

  “Well, Yousif, you know I have small gym on my boat, and I use it!’ responded Nikki.

  The couple enjoyed the pool and hot tub for an hour before the Prince invited his friend to dinner.

  “Your yacht or mine?” she asked.

  “Neither,” replied the Prince. “Let’s go to the hotel and afterwards spend an hour at the casino.

  “And I suppose I have an outfit ready in your suite? She asked.

  “You know me too well,”replied the Prince. “Of course, I do.” They both laughed.

  At 6:30 PM, the Prince was seen leaving the Blue Clipper with Nikki. Only minutes later, they arrived at the Monte Carlo Hotel and were warmly greeted by the staff. As the couple walked through the dining room, heads turned to see His Highness and his friend escorted to their table. The Prince was stately in his white Kaftan, and Nikki quite striking in a dark blue pantsuit with a large diamond necklace. Both diners had the menu memorized and ordered quickly.

  As they clinked wine glasses (the Prince’s contained Perrier water as he did not consume alcohol in public), Yousif said to Nikki: “I can’t tell you the details now, but soon you will earn another large commission.” For the rest of the dinner, Nikki tried several ways to educe the sales information out of the Prince but to no avail.

  At 8:00 the couple walked across the plaza to the casino. The Prince didn’t gamble much but slowly strolled
the gaming rooms, deep in thought with a smiling yacht broker on his arm. The more he surveyed the rooms, the more confident he grew that his mission would be a success.

  That night, Nikki was a guest aboard the Blue Clipper III.

  13

  IMPLANTS

  “Honey, there’s a courier at the door with a package for you. Shall I sign for it?” asked Steven Goldman as he held the door open to his New York City condominium.

  “Who’s it from?” asked his wife, Audrey.

  “All it says is HSC,” replied her husband.

  “OK, honey, sign for it,” responded the 48 year-old Godmother of Adam Raviv.

  Steven tipped the young man and closed and locked the door. Together, the couple opened the package on the pass-thru to the kitchen.

  “It looks like Operation Houdini is a go,” said Audrey to her husband as she unwrapped two cellphones and read the instructions in Hebrew.

  “I’m to take the tour of the Federal Reserve Bank tomorrow and Friday and leave one of the cellphones at the Fed at 4:00PM on Friday afternoon,” said Audrey.

  “OK, honey, that means I’m in action on Saturday morning. I sure hope that Adam and his leader know what they’re doing,” said Steven.

  “Honey, Adam is a genius. I believe he wouldn’t be involved if he didn’t think he could pull it off,” responded his wife.

  -//-

  “Honey, there’s a courier at the door with a package,” said Jim Crowley. “Shall I sign for it?

  “Who’s it from,” asked his wife, Ann Nichols.

  “HSC,” replied her husband.

  Ann Nichols, age 56, retired banker and wife to Jim Crowley, Captains Crowley’s brother, opened the package in their San Francisco town home.