Free Counting from Zero by Alan B. Johnston

Albuquerque airport, he had taken a short cab ride to a tumbledown motorcycle store on the outskirts of the city.   One of his own Ducati motorcycles shipped from his workshop in New York had arrived at a local motorcycle shop the previous day.   It had been uncrated, and was ready for him to ride.   For the duration of his visit to New Mexico, he had his bright yellow 1974 Scrambler 45Ø to ride.   He had chosen the Scrambler since it was a dual sport bike, with combination road/dirt tires that enabled it to be ridden both on road and off road.   Mick had an idea he could find some desert trails to ride on.
    Mick would often make arrangements to have one of his motorcycles crated up and shipped to a part of the country where he planned to spend a week or more.   He could then enjoy riding it all week then have it shipped back to his workshop.   There were advantages to   owning seven motorcycles… and being independently wealthy.
    The scenery was a big change from his usual, with New Mexico offering hills, mesas, and desert all around.   Just over an hour later he stopped outside Santa Fe to fuel up his bike and himself.   Back on the highway, he continued north until his westward turnoff to Los Alamos.   Despite the scenery and the ride, his thoughts kept drifting back to the recent attacks.   In the last two weeks, two of his servers had been successfully compromised… perhaps it was time to increase his vigilance?
    On the smaller highway, he headed towards Los Alamos, following the sun as it receded in the sky.   Approaching Los Alamos, Mick was amazed by the sight of the cliffs of the high mesas making it look more like a fortress than a city.   He rode towards the small inn on the northern side of the city where he had his reservation.   He drove a few extra kilometers around the outskirts of town, going past the offices of LeydenTech, and, as the sun set, he reluctantly pulled into the inn and parked his motorcycle.   The Scrambler had run beautifully for him.
     
    At a civilized hour the next morning, he sat down with Vince at LeydenTech, having breakfast and coffee and meeting the security team.   Vince performed the introductions to Will and Anil who worked in the LeydenTech IT security group.   Mick had switched off his mobile in the morning, since mobile phones did not work inside the LeydenTech office.   Vince had told him the building was effectively a Faraday cage – a shield blocking all external electromagnetic radiation, making all wireless devices useless inside.   He wondered if this was a deliberate security precaution, or just a byproduct of the building’s construction.
    “You really did a great job with that web server attack the other week!” Will, the manager, exclaimed as they sipped lattes.
    “Ah, yes, thanks,” Mick replied, feeling a little confused as to how Will found out about the incident.
    Perhaps he is friends with someone in the NOC in Hiroshima?
    “Yeah, pretty slick.   Not sure I agree with you on the rest of it, though...” he continued.
    What is he talking about?
    “You brought one of your Ducatis here?” Vince asked, and when Mick nodded continued.   “That's excellent.   We'll try not to keep you in our datacenter for all the daylight hours...”
    Mick didn't recall telling Vince about his motorcycle habits, and wondered if perhaps Vince had done a more thorough background investigation on him than he had done on Vince.   Or maybe Vince had just seen him ride in.   Mick wondered what else Vince knew about him.
    According to Mick’s investigations, Vince had been with LeydenTech for two years now, and was employee number thirteen – startups often kept track of the hiring order – whereas now the company employed over 25Ø people.   His degrees in computer science and business must have made him an obvious recruitment target when he finished his Doctorate from Harvard.   He was married with no kids.   His wife worked at Sandia National Labs