Free The Panic Zone by Rick Mofina Page A

equipment.
    That was when it hit him.
    â€œLuiz, help me out here. Marcelo accompanied Gabriela to the café to meet the source, we know that much.”
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œBut as I understand it, he went for more than a matter of bureau practice and safety. He probably wanted to take a few photos of the source without her knowing. I mean, we did the same thing in Buffalo, in case a source was going to feed you a bad story. If they burned you, you had their picture.”
    â€œI understand, yes.”
    â€œWhat if Marcelo managed to take a few pictures before the café exploded?”
    â€œBut Marcelo’s camera was destroyed.”
    â€œI know.”
    But in his years of working with the news photographers, Gannon had learned a bit of the technical side of things and an idea was taking shape.
    One that could pay off.
    â€œI have a hunch about something, Luiz, and I’m going to need your help.”

CHAPTER 13
    G annon swayed in the chair of his murdered colleague, nurturing his new hunch.
    Taking stock of Marcelo’s desk, Gannon considered an empty package for an Eye-Fi card, thinking about what the photographer could have done at the café.
    â€œMarcelo was obviously familiar with wireless transmission of photos.”
    â€œMost photographers are,” Luiz said.
    â€œAnd the Café Amaldo had Wi-Fi wireless access.”
    â€œYes, the journalists went to the Amaldo often with their laptops.”
    â€œWith this—” Gannon held up the Eye-Fi package “—Marcelo had the ability to ensure that any picture he took at the café was immediately transmitted and stored securely online.”
    Gannon studied Marcelo’s keyboard as if it held the answer.
    â€œWe’ve got to get into his computer.” Gannon switched it on.
    After several moments of whirring and beeping, the system came to life and the password window popped up, stopping him cold.
    â€œDo you have Marcelo’s password?”
    â€œNo, each member of the bureau has a secret password.”
    Gannon tapped a finger next to the keyboard and searched the notes affixed to the edges of the computer monitor.
    â€œYou said he was forgetful?”
    â€œIt is why he attached all those notes to his screen.”
    â€œLet’s go through them. Maybe he posted his password here?”
    Luiz and Gannon scrutinized the notes one by one with Luiz reciting names, dates, numbers, addresses and phone numbers as possible passwords. Gannon submitted candidates, and each time they were denied access. He knew it was likely futile, given the upper- and lower-case combinations. But they tried for nearly an hour, including restarting the computer when they exceeded the number of failed attempts to log in.
    No luck.
    â€œI could call technical support,” Luiz suggested.
    â€œNo. I want to keep this between us for now,” Gannon said. “Think, Luiz. Did you ever see him submit his code or get a glimpse of any of the key strokes?”
    â€œNo, but I heard it all the time. It went like this—” Luiz tapped four quick strokes on the desk, paused then tapped a fifth. “One, two, three, four. Always like that.”
    â€œSo it’s a four-character code, because the fifth would be the enter key. Four characters. That’s pretty short for a password. Okay, let’s check the notes for a four-character word, or name.”
    They had studied them for fifteen minutes when Luiz froze.
    â€œI think I know Marcelo’s password. His girlfriend’s name is Anna, spelled A-N-N-A, that’s four characters.”
    Gannon entered the name with the first letter in upper case.
    It failed.
    â€œTry with no capital letters,” Luiz said.
    Gannon typed anna and pressed Enter.
    The screen flashed to Marcelo’s desktop and screen saver of Rio de Janeiro’s skyline at night, a shot he’d taken himself.
    â€œThat’s it!” Luiz said.
    â€œWe’re