Terence Frederick
This gripping story tells of the exploits of a young computer guru who worked for the US on top-secret projects. His boss told him that he had been assigned to work on a joint US/Russian venture known as Détente, a low-profile exchange of information project.
He soon realized that he had been tricked into going. The real mission was for him to be used as the fall guy in order to ensure the return of a ravishing young female working in the Russian Defense Department as a spy for the US.
As retribution, he created a daring program which would bilk the US Government computer out of millions of dollars. This well-written story is a page-turner, guaranteed to keep the reader guessing how he would get away with the biggest white-collar crime in history.
The author honed his writing skills over the years by publishing numerous computer user manuals. He relocated from Colorado to his yacht in San Diego in 1979 where he now writes full time. His first published book, While the World Sleeps, has been acclaimed by the Military Officers Association as a “cannot put it down page turner.” Many others say that it is at least as good as, if not better than most current best sellers. If you enjoy reading well-written suspense novels then this author is a must to add to your library.
How many would jump at the opportunity of making money? More money than one could imagine. And supposing that opportunity encompassed breaking the law but the odds of getting caught, were less than one in one million. Alan and Susan Parker liked those odds and they jumped at the opportunity. And, they got away with it.
Sure, they started out with good intentions and became experts in global early warning defense systems working for the NRO, or the National Reconnaissance Organization. Their job was not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination. Stress was the most prevalent part of their daily routine. They became disenchanted with this way of life and decided to award themselves compensation, to which they felt justly entitled. Alan and Susan thought the political excuses used by their employer were a cover for their betrayal.
It was the reason they were propelled into the world of vast fortunes and greed. Usually, those who find themselves on the wrong side of the politically correct are often faced with ruination. Not so in this case. These were two very sharp cookies. They made sure that those who betrayed them would pay very dearly for their blunder. In the normal run of things, the mind has a tendency to justify inappropriate actions with irrational thinking. How does one react to any given situation that is unfair, or unjust? One’s first reaction would probably be to mumble a few appropriate cuss words. Susan didn’t use cuss words. She used her brain to satisfy her urge to exact revenge.
Alan helped perpetrate the crisis by asserting that his boss’s decision to send him to Russia was the cause of his misery and suffering. He was on the KGB hit list and had no choice. It was escape from Russia, or die a terrible death. They were bitter and angry. Susan made up her mind that these political heathens were no longer deserving of her trust and loyalty. She would make them pay dearly for their misdeeds. Alan had discovered the computer at his place of work gave off mysterious beeps.
Susan investigated this phenomenon. She researched this until she became proficient in their use and quickly learned she was able to manipulate the information processed by any computer, to her own advantage. With the help of Alan, she used this knowledge to formulate a very clever plan to exact her revenge against those she believed had betrayed her. Alan used a weakness in the system to siphon off vast sums of money into a Swiss bank account they had opened. Using expert cunning to cover their tracks, they carefully maintained the trust of those for whom they worked while they set about building their secret empire of untold riches. They also made sure their scheme was impenetrably sound.
However, they could never be absolutely certain their scheme would not be discovered. They lived a life of high anxiety until they eventually figured out a clever ploy to get out of this predicament and avoid prosecution. Susan had used the reasoning that hell hath no fury like that of a woman’s scorn because that is how she truly felt about the way both she and Alan had been treated by the establishment. As for Alan, he was hoist by his own petard. He had not been entirely truthful with Susan and as a result, was unable to dissuade her from her vengeful quest. He had two options. He could tell the truth and lose everything, including Susan, or go along with the plan.
