"Look, Sean, it appears that our system may have been breached," my old friend Aidan O'Connell told me as he recounted the issues that his Dublin hotel's computer system were experiencing. "You know the clientèle we deal with here, any privacy issue could really hurt our bottom line. I really need your help."
"I have plenty of security experts in Ireland and the UK that I could send," I said as I looked out my window as the sunset reflected off of the snow-covered Chicago ground.
"I know, but I don't trust them; I trust you," Aidan countered.
"Not enough to have my company install a new network for you when you took over that hotel," I smiled recalling the conversation I had with Aidan a couple months prior when he purchased the property in Dublin.
"I know," Aidan groaned. "You were right, I thought the assholes that installed it knew what the fuck they were doing. I was obviously wrong. It was a brand fucking new network, I didn't think it was worth the cost of a complete re-do. I was wrong, is that what you want me to say?"
"Alright," I said hearing the tension in my old friend's voice. "I'll come. You know I'd never leave you hanging, but you know I hate flying so you are going to owe me big time!"
"I'll double your normal rate, will that make you hate flying less?" Aidan asked with a chuckle.
"No, but I will take the cash," I said with a grin.
"I figured you might," Aidan said with just a hint of sarcasm. "I'll even buy you a Guinness or two. Can you make it to Midway in two hours?"
"Two hours? That doesn't give me a lot of time to pack and get to the plane, especially with having to deal with the TSA," I groaned.
"Don't worry about the TSA, I was able to get you a seat on a chartered Gulfstream that was already heading this way. Hell, don't even pack, whatever you need while you're here is on me."
"Shit, this really must be serious," I said. "A private jet and an unlimited expense account?"
"What can I say, I need you here pronto," Aidan said and then added, "I never said unlimited."
"Alright, who am I hopping a flight with?" I asked him as I quickly loaded a few of my favorite podcasts onto my Android phone.
"I'm not really sure, it was all booked through the charter company," he said. "All I know is the flight was originally booked by some retail company and they were more than happy to share some of the costs to give you a seat on the plane. I just emailed you the info."
"Sounds exciting, I'll probably be stuck with some stuffed suits for 7 hours," I said as I pulled up Aidan's email and printed out the itinerary.
"Try to behave yourself," Aidan chuckled.
"When have I not?" I laughed.
"More times than I care to remember right now, my friend," Aidan said. "A car will be waiting for you at the airport, have a good flight and I'll see you when you get here."
"Thanks, buddy," I said as I hung up the phone and got up from my desk. I ran up the stairs to my bedroom and found my wife, Jenny, sitting on the bed typing on her laptop. Jenny and I met in college, she is a cute brunette with amazing brown eyes and an hourglass figure.
"Who was on the phone?" she asked as she looked up from her computer screen, she was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black sweatshirt with the Chicago Blackhawks logo across the front of it.
"That was Aidan, I guess one of his hotel's computer systems might have been hacked and he's being a bit paranoid about it," I said as I grabbed a small bag from my closet.
"So where are we going, someplace warm?" Jenny asked with a smile.
"Dublin," I replied.
"Oh, that's all you then! Why don't the computer systems at his hotels in Hawaii or Belize ever have problems?" she chuckled.
"Because my company installed those," I grinned as I threw a few essentials into the bag.
"When are you leaving?" she asked me.
"Now, Aidan got me on a charter flight leaving Midway in less than two hours."
"That doesn't give you much time to pack," Jenny said as she watched me change out of my shorts and t-shirt into a nice pair of jeans and a black polo shirt.
"Aidan said whatever I need when I'm there is on him, great reason for a new wardrobe!" I laughed.
"Don't take advantage of poor Aidan," Jenny said shaking her head in mock disgust.
"Poor and Aidan never belong in the same sentence together, besides my idea of high fashion is more Kevin Smith than Ralph Lauren," I smiled.
"You don't have to tell me," she said as she rolled her eyes. "Grown men should only wear hockey jerseys out of the house if they're going to a game."
"I'll call you when I can," I said as I leaned in and gave Jenny a kiss before picking up my bag and doing a quick inventory to make sure I had my phone, charger, tablet, and laptop, as well as my penetration testing kit which featured a few fun toys that help me gain access to almost any computer network around the world if given enough time.
"Behave yourself," she smiled.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I laughed before giving Jenny one last kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too," she smiled. "Send Aidan my regards."
"I will," I said as I carried my bag down the stairs, put on a pair of black Reebok sneakers and headed out to my car. The drive to the airport took about 45 minutes due to the snow that had started to fall. As I drove I mentally went over what would have to be done to test Aidan's system once I got to Dublin.
Aidan and I first met in high school and became really close friends. We were the terrors of our all-boys Catholic high school as we knew how to get away with just about anything. Aidan truly had the gift of the gab, he could talk his way in or out of just about anything. I was the tech guy, there was no computer system or network that was out of reach. I'm not saying we didn't earn all of our grades in high school, but I'm not saying we did either.
We both went to DePaul University in Chicago and Aidan excelled in his business classes while I continued in my tech pursuits. It was really almost a replay of high school except for the fact that we were dating much hotter girls and enjoying the freedom that such a large university gave us. We started a small website that helped students find off-campus housing our freshman year and by the time we graduated it was purchased for an ungodly sum by the company that eventually became Airbnb.
Aidan used his half to start up a small boutique hotel here in Chicago and I used mine to start a computer security company. Both of our companies have flourished over the years and both of us have expanded our operations quite a bit. Aidan has hotels across the world and has always used my company to set up and secure his networks. I almost felt bad for him that the one time he didn't use my company it was biting him in his ass.
I arrived at the airport and drove up to the private plane terminal and stopped at the valet stand. I got out of the car, grabbed my bag and slipped the attendant a $20 as he gave me my pick-up ticket. I walked into the terminal and saw that the plane I was booked on was already there and waiting for passengers.
I walked outside to the plane and walked up the stairs to the open door. I was greeted by the pilot, a tall, stocky gentleman with salt and pepper hair who was wearing a dark suit jacket and tie. I said hello and handed him the print-out of the itinerary that Aidan had emailed me.
"Good evening, Mr. Ryan," he said with a warm smile. "I am Captain James Leahy and I will be your pilot for this trip. Please make yourself comfortable, we should be ready to take-off in about a half-hour once all passengers have arrived."
"Thank you," I said as I walked into the empty plane. It was laid out into two main cabins, the front had 8 large recliner seats and the back cabin had two couches situated on the walls facing each other. In between the two main cabins was a small galley with a sink, a K-Cup coffee maker as well as a refrigerator and microwave. There were two lavatories, one up front and one at the rear of the plane.
After taking a quick look around I settled into one of the forward facing recliner seats and took my tablet out of my bag. I tossed the bag on the floor in front of me and started checking my emails. As much as I hated flying, being able to skip the TSA lines made things much easier and having unlimited legroom and a comfy chair certainly helped brighten my mood immensely.
I looked up as a smaller figure emerged from the cockpit. She was in her 20s and had to be about 5'5" with long, dark hair and piercing emerald green eyes. She was wearing almost the same uniform as the Captain and she gave me a warm smile as she approached me.
"Hello, Mr. Ryan," she said as she extended her hand. "I'm Lisa Jackson, your co-pilot for this flight."
"Hello, Lisa," I said as I took her hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you."
"Thank you," she said as she shook my hand and then released it. "There was no cabin crew requested for this flight so I just wanted to let you know where everything is."
"That would be great, thank you," I said.
"I see you have a tablet, you can connect that to the plane's WiFi with the information in the side pocket of your seat. It is satellite based so you should have coverage throughout the whole flight. There are charging ports and power outlets under the panels on the armrests. There is a lavatory in both the front and back of the plane and there is a small galley at the rear of this cabin where you can get cold drinks or coffee and some snacks," she smiled. "There are even a few bottles of wine if you're in the mood."
"Excellent, thank you," I said.
"The cabin behind the galley is configured with two couches along each side of the aircraft. You can easily convert them into a king-sized bed if you want to sleep during the flight. We do recommend that if do lay down that you use the straps provided to make sure you don't wind up on the ceiling in the unlikely event that we hit turbulence," she grinned.
"That sounds like good advice," I said as Lisa started to run through the usual safety procedures regarding a water landing and what to do if the oxygen masks deploy from the ceiling. "If you need anything at all during the flight, just press the call button on any of the panels throughout the aircraft and let me know. You can also monitor our flight's progress on the panels as it is constantly updated with our GPS coordinates and estimated time of arrival."
