A/N: Shortest chapter - my apologies.
Charlie rounded the corner of the bullpen, almost running headlong into Megan. "Hey," he greeted breathlessly. "Where's Don?"
"Getting a coffee," she replied. "Where's the fire?"
Glancing at the break room, Charlie said, "Don called and said the agents in Nebraska found a piece of equipment in Mandy Fischer's house. He asked me if I could find out what it was."
"And?" Don strode to his desk, a coffee stirrer sticking out of the corner of his mouth. "What'd you find out?"
"Martin – remember? Martin Luffman?" Don nodded. Charlie took the chair Megan held out for him, dropping into it heavily. "He went over there and had a look. It's a Tempest device."
Don's brow furrowed in confusion. He looked at Megan, who shrugged. "It's a what?" he asked Charlie.
"A Tempest device," the mathematician repeated. "It's a… well, simply put, it's a machine that can be used to pick up information from a computer." He looked up as David and Colby entered the cubicle. "A computer puts out low-level electromagnetic radiation, right?" The agents nodded slowly. "Well, the machine in Mandy's house has the capability to capture and process that frequency of transmission and turn it back into information." He paused, looking at their faces. "Think of it this way," Charlie offered. "You're watching television and someone in the next room starts vacuuming the floor – what happens?"
"The screen goes fuzzy?" Colby put in.
"Exactly!" Charlie pointed at him for emphasis. "The interference is the signal your TV is picking up from the vacuum's motor. The Tempest device does the same thing."
Don frowned thoughtfully. "So… how did Mandy Fischer get her hands on one?"
Charlie shook his head. "It's not an actual Tempest device," he amended. "Martin said it belongs to one of Mandy's classmates – some kind of project they were working on. Apparently they asked Mandy to store it because they were afraid of it being tampered with or broken before they had a chance to submit it."
"Charlie," Megan cut in. "What does that have to do with the case?"
David nodded. "If this machine can eavesdrop on computers – whose computer was she eavesdropping on?" he added.
"Judging from what Martin told me," Charlie replied. "It's a viable machine – but without the peripheral equipment, I'd say the computer would have to have been right there in the house with her."
Don and Megan spoke together. "Gordon Fischer." Don turned to Colby. "Get those sketches in here – I want to see who this third guy is we're dealing with. David," he added, looking at the other agent. "Dig up everything you can find on Gordon Fischer. Megan…"
"Call the Omaha office and get them to seize any computers in Mandy Fischer's residence," she finished for him, heading for her desk. "I'm on it."
Don glanced at Charlie. "Want to tell me how you know so much about these machines, bro?" he asked.
Charlie shrugged. "The NSA and the FBI have been looking at them for ages, Don," he replied easily. "Crypto-analysts and computer technicians have been trying to devise a way to prevent Tempest attacks on the public for quite some time."
"Well," Don said, sitting up in his chair and picking up a pen. "I certainly hope you're getting somewhere with it."
Charlie smiled and ducked his head.
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"Gordon Fischer," David began as he entered the conference room. The other agents and Charlie were seated around the long table and looked up when he came in. "Born August 23rd, 1965…" He paused. "Died January 11th, 1978." Snapping the folder in his hand closed, he added, "Nothing there."
Don looked at Megan. "Anything on those computers yet?" he asked.
"They've got their people going over them now," she replied. "They said they'd call as soon as they find something."
"The two sketches are almost a dead ringer for Fischer," Colby put in, shoving another folder across the table to Don. "Both Janny and the bar owner, Rosie, are willing to pick him out of a lineup."
Charlie peered over Don's shoulder at the drawings. "Sure looks like Mandy's father," he murmured.
"Stepfather," Don corrected. "Mandy's mother remarried." He glanced up as the phone rang and Megan picked up. "What we need," he continued. "Is a concrete trail from Gordon Fischer – or whoever he is – to the home invasions."
"We got it," Megan declared, dropping the receiver onto its cradle. "That was Omaha. They seized two computers from Mandy's residence – one was obviously hers, the other was a laptop computer containing the same information Charlie found on Mandy's PRS device." She beamed at Charlie. "They also found a hand-held radio that transmits on the same frequency received by the PRS."
Charlie grinned. "That's it!" he said. "Mandy picked up information from Gordon's computer with the Tempest device and used the radio to store it on her PRS." He looked at Don. "She must have thought leaving the data on her computer wasn't safe," he added. "And put it on her PRS for later."
"Or as a bargaining chip," Colby put in. "She wasn't stupid – and she changed right about the time the first home invasion happened. My guess is, she knew what Gordon was up to, told him she had his info and threatened to go to the cops unless he cut her in on it."
"All right," Don announced, getting up from the table. "I think it's about time we brought in Mr. Fischer and had a heart-to-heart chat with him, don't you agree?" The other agents nodded. "Let's go, then."
