“Zing. No, I am speaking of none other than that two-fisted loner, Peter Gunn.”
Ochoa said, “I prefer the seventies. I always saw myself in Starsky & Hutch.”
“Except you’d want to be both,” muttered Raley, obviously still harboring some serious resentment toward the other half of Roach.
Rook set aside his snack and grew serious. “This has been a shoe waiting to drop. We live by technology, and now technology is the new battlefront in state sabotage. China hacked the Pentagon’s contractor networks, the Russians breached two systems in the White House—the White House, for God’s sake—by gaining entry first into the State Department’s computers. The Iranians just hacked a casino in Vegas. So Clooney’s got his plot for Ocean’s 21. The Iranians are highly skilled hackers, and are allies of whom? The Syrians. And here we are, all because young Mehmoud got busted for passing bad currency. So find your carbon paper and stop and smell the mimeo machine. This could be a rough one.”
In her decade-plus at the Twentieth Precinct there had never been a general roll call until Captain Heat ordered one that evening, the first, they said, since 9/11. In the hour since the cyber shutdown, not only had more information come in but public safety and that of her officers, detectives, and staff made it important for Nikki to provide information, direct resources, hear concerns, and answer questions. In other words, to lead.
She held her meeting in the precinct lobby because it was the only indoor area large enough to accommodate all the personnel. It also allowed Annette Caesar to stay at the switchboard behind the glass and get the same information as the uniformed patrol officers, detectives from various squads, traffic unit, civilian clerks, administrative aides, jailers, and interns. “Let me begin by saying this is about two priorities: safety and communication. I am going to ask all of you to keep in mind above all that you can’t have one of those without the other.” For a packed room, it was church quiet. Clearly the group wanted to hear all they could about this bizarre occurrence. There was also a sense of appraisal, and Heat could feel her words and comportment being judged, even if in silence.
“As for safety, until further notice, I want all uniformed patrols to be in threes only. No pairs, no lone wolves out there. Whoever is watching your back is going to have his or hers watched, too. All days off and vacations are canceled, TFN. We need all personnel available. One PP has reaffirmed high-alert status. And, given the bulletin from Counterterrorism, be extra vigilant about potential terror activity now that we are vulnerable.” Of course, Nikki—like just about everyone else assembled there—had her own private suspicions that this hacking incident was terror activity.
“Obviously this event has left us communications challenged. You already know what is not working; here is how I would like us to adjust. I think you’ll see it’s pretty much common sense.” She referred to talking points she had listed on a single sheet of her reporter’s notebook. “We all need to switch immediately to personal e-mail. As soon as this meeting is over, please email each other so that everyone has only to hit Reply to stay in touch. Same applies to cell phones. I am ordering everyone immediately to begin using your personal smart phones and likewise to send email and texts so communication is seamless. In your squads and units, please create text groups right now so everyone can be text-alerted at once and at all times.”