JK's Code (Brooks/Lotello Thriller Book 4) Read online

  ADVANCE PRAISE FOR JK’S CODE

  JK’s Code is tense, timely and terrific!

  —Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Jack Reacher novels

  Keen research and high-tech suspense drives Ronald S. Barak’s new thriller, JK’s Code; an incredibly timely political thriller about election fraud and the technology behind it; you’ll wonder where reality ends and the fiction begins.

  —Brad Meltzer, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Escape Artist

  If you blended Dan Brown’s conspiratorial storytelling with Brad Meltzer’s political potboiler, you might end up with Ronald S. Barak’s JK’s Code—but the novel is all its own. Both chillingly topical and as fast as an Indy racer on ice, treat yourself to this thrill ride of a mystery.

  —James Rollins, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Odyssey

  Smart, speedy, and suspenseful, JK’s Code is a flat out great read. My favorite kind of book: characters you care about, a story ripped from the headlines, and a pace that doesn’t let up. The definition of a thriller!

  —Christopher Reich, New York Times bestselling author of the Simon Riske novels

  JK’s Code is this generation’s acclaimed and influential War Games. Ronald S. Barak’s prescient, perfectly timed, and polished thriller takes current events and somehow makes them even more terrifying than they already are. Chillingly on point in its message and stunningly effective in its execution, JK’s Code is superb reading entertainment layered atop a cautionary tale. Politics is no fun at all these days, unless Ron Barak is writing about it, and this is a political thriller extraordinaire.

  —Jon Land, USA Today bestselling author of the Caitlin Strong series

  Ronald S. Barak’s JK’s Code is both timely and timeless, and did I mention … terrific? Timely because election fraud is the heart of the story. Timeless because it’s a classic thriller laced with suspense and intrigue. Terrific because it brings back Judge Cyrus Brooks, homicide detective Frank Lotello and attorney Leah Klein to aid Leah’s tech-savvy kid brother, JK, who uncovers a chilling conspiracy between the Kremlin and the White House, only to find himself in dire straits. If the raucous runup to the actual 2020 presidential election has been driving you to drink, JK’s Code will be your perfect nightcap.

  —Paul Levine, #1 Amazon bestselling author of the Jake Lassiter series

  The Brooks/Lotello thriller novels are immediately likeable and pack a bone-jarring punch. In JK’s Code, an unparalleled real-time election fraud political thriller, Barak swings for the fences and knocks it out of the park.

  —Barry Lancet, award-winning author of The Spy Across the Table

  An electrifying blend of political, techno, and international thriller genres, JK’s Code is the most-timely adventure you’ll read this year. Jake “JK” Klein is Ron Barak’s best hero yet, a cool young hacker able to go toe-to-toe and keyboard-to-keyboard with the nastiest and deadliest world leaders. Will JK make it through unscathed? Humorous, often satirical, and always exciting, make JK’s Code your next read.

  —William Burton McCormick, 5-time Derringer Award nominee and author of Lenin’s Harem

  JK’s Code draws from the headlines of 2020 to create a political Armageddon scenario that won’t be soon forgotten. This suspenseful thriller kept me turning pages deep into the night.

  —T. F. Allen, author of The Keeper and The Night Janitor

  Holy Sh#t! JK’s Code is the best damn thriller I’ve read in a long, long time.

  —Anthony Franz, author of The Outsider

  JK’s Code is a book that will captivate readers well beyond the 2020 election. With the exception of Stephen King, Barak is now the first three-time “best of the year” Best Thrillers Magazine honoree. JK’s Code is a really exceptional novel.

  The Bottom Line: A timely, compulsively readable political and legal thriller that wryly connects the terrors of the dark web with the fragile state of democracy. One of the year’s best thrillers.

  In a world where activists like Julian Assange have become famous for extravagant government exposes, Ron Barak’s new political thriller imagines what is at stake for the hackers on the front lines. JK’s Code is named for the text-based key to the mystery that American cybersecurity buff Jake Klein, known as JK, developed to impress his older sister. Little did he know that one day it could be used in an attempt to save his own life.

  In the novel’s early chapters, a brilliant Russian hacker named Leonid Gradsky takes a meeting with Russian President for Life Alexi Turgenev and demonstrates the power of his new computer program. Turgenev’s advisors soon come to the conclusion that the technology will enable them to manipulate the 2020 U.S. election results effectively and discreetly. They also initially assume that they can appropriate Gradsky’s election-manipulating solution at any time. Little do they know that the software is dependent on the innovation of a Kazhak developer named Cipher.

  Enter JK, who soon discovers Gradsky’s real identity, and more importantly, that Turgenev is conspiring with the President of the United States to rig the election.

  In the book’s early chapters, Barak’s burgeoning fan base may wonder what this all has to do with retired U.S. District Court Judge Cyrus Brooks and homicide detective Frank Lotello whose names are the basis for the entire Brooks/Lotello series. The connective tissue is Leah Klein Lotello, the older sister of Jake “JK” Klein, wife of Frank Lotello and stepmother of Charlie Lotello and Madison Lotello (if you didn’t get all that, don’t fear—Barak has generously added a cast of characters at the beginning). Leah also happens to be an attorney. To say much more about Cyrus and Frank’s involvement would add spoilers, but it’s safe to say that both play a significant role. Barak has created perhaps his most ingenious plot yet, one that maintains a coherent, suspenseful thread across two continents and the dark web while still carving out a hefty lift for Brooks and Lotello. The dynamic duo’s entrance also adds a layer of wry humor to the high stakes political and legal drama.

  —Best Thrillers Magazine

  JK’s Code is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Except as otherwise noted in the Author’s Note, any resemblance to actual events or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2021 by Ronald S. Barak

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be produced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning, or by any other information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and in certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Printed and published in the United States of America by:

  Los Angeles, California

  www.ganderhouse.com

  Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-7345397-1-4

  Trade Paperback KDP ISBN: 978-1-7345397-3-8

  Trade Paperback IngramSpark ISBN: 978-1-7345397-2-1

  Ebook ISBN: 978-1-7345397-4-5

  Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-7345397-5-2

  FIRST EDITION

  Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Barak, Ronald S., author.

  Title: JK’s Code : a Brooks / Lotello thriller / Ronald S. Barak.

  Description: Los Angeles, CA: Gander House Publishers, 2021.

  Identifiers: ISBN: 978-1-7345397-1-4 (hardcover) | 978-1-7345397-3-8 (trade pbk.) | 978-1-7345397-2-1 (trade pbk.) | 978-1-7345397-4-5 (ebook) | 978-1-7345397-5-2 (audio)

  Subjects: LCSH Hackers–Fiction. | Computer
security–Fiction. | Elections–Corrupt practices–United States–History–21st century–Fiction. | Presidents–United States–Election–2020–Fiction. | Thrillers (Fiction) | Political fiction. | Legal stories. | BISAC FICTION / Thrillers / Political | FICTION / Thrillers / Espionage | FICTION / Thrillers / Technological

  Classification: LCC PS3602.A745 J5 2021 | DDC 813.6–dc23

  To my Goosers, forever and ever, whose help to me on JK’s Code, and in all other ways, is singular

  Those are my principles, but

  if you don’t like them … well, I have others

  —GROUCHO MARX

  Even if you’re on the right track,

  you’ll still get run over if you just sit there

  —WILL ROGERS

  I’ll probably will do it, maybe definitely

  —DONALD TRUMP

  My mother and father believed that if I wanted to be

  President of the U.S., I could be, I could be Vice President

  —JOE BIDEN

  CONTENTS

  Cast of Characters

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Chapter Fifty

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Chapter Sixty

  Chapter Sixty-One

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Chapter Sixty-Six

  Chapter Sixty-Seven

  Chapter Sixty-Eight

  Chapter Sixty-Nine

  Chapter Seventy

  Chapter Seventy-One

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  Chapter Seventy-Three

  Chapter Seventy-Four

  Chapter Seventy-Five

  Chapter Seventy-Six

  Chapter Seventy-Seven

  Chapter Seventy-Eight

  Chapter Seventy-Nine

  Chapter Eighty

  Chapter Eighty-One

  Chapter Eighty-Two

  Chapter Eighty-Three

  Chapter Eighty-Four

  Chapter Eighty-Five

  Chapter Eighty-Six

  Chapter Eighty-Seven

  Chapter Eighty-Eight

  Chapter Eighty-Nine

  Chapter Ninety

  Chapter Ninety-One

  Chapter Ninety-Two

  Chapter Ninety-Three

  Chapter Ninety-Four

  Chapter Ninety-Five

  Chapter Ninety-Six

  Chapter Ninety-Seven

  Chapter Ninety-Eight

  Chapter Ninety-Nine

  Chapter One-Hundred

  Chapter One-Hundred-And-One

  Chapter One-Hundred-And-Two

  Chapter One-Hundred-And-Three

  Chapter One-Hundred-And-Four

  Chapter One-Hundred-And-Five

  Epilogue

  NOTE FROM JK

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  AUTHOR NOTE

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  MORE … BROOKS AND LOTELLO

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Name Description

  Adele Manners

  Pennsylvania Secretary of State

  Alistair Dobbs

  Georgia State Election Supervisor

  Anya Lebedev

  Russian student studying English at Harvard

  Alexi Turgenev

  President For Life of Russia

  Amir

  Kazakhstan tour guide

  Betty Bianchi

  Speaker of the House of Representatives

  Cailin Molloy

  Montreal based computer scientist

  Cassie Webber

  Young LPGA golf pro and best friend of Madison Lotello

  Charlie Lotello

  Son of Frank Lotello, step-son of Leah Klein Lotello, brother of Madison Lotello

  Cipher

  Kazakhstan based dark web high tech entrepreneur

  Cyrus Brooks

  Retired U.S. District Court Judge and occasionally still practicing lawyer, husband of Eloise Brooks, colleague and close friend of Frank Lotello

  Daniyar Aronov

  Kazakhstan citizen traveling to Barbuda

  Dhruv Bhakta

  Barbuda citizen traveling to United States through Bermuda

  Dimitri Ivanov

  Russian government computer scientist

  Dustin Baker

  President of the United States, otherwise POTUS

  Dustin Baker, Jr.

  Young adult son of POTUS

  EBCOM

  Executive Board of Committee to Reelect POTUS

  Eloise Brooks

  Wife of Cyrus Brooks

  Frank Lotello

  D.C. Homicide Investigator, husband of Leah Klein Lotello, father of Charlie and Madison Lotello, colleague and close friend of Cyrus Brooks

  Franklin Kelsey

  Wealthy Baker donor and publisher of conservative Red Crier print and online publications

  Fyodor Gancharov

  Russian exchange student at Southern Connecticut State University

  Gali Abelson

  Mossad agent studying in U.S.

  Geoffrey

  Montreal dog being walked by teenager Jaime

  Jaime

  Montreal teenager walking her dog Geoffrey

  Jake “JK” Klein

  College computer science genius, younger brother of Leah Klein Lotello

  Kelly Moore

  American girlfriend of Jake “JK” Klein

  Lars Nilsen

  Danish based computer scientist

  Leah Klein Lotello

  Lawyer, older sister of Jake “JK” Klein, wife of Frank Lotello, stepmother of Charlie Lotello and Madison Lotello

  Leonid Gradsky

  Russian based computer scientist

  Li Wei

  General Secretary of China

  Logan Sullivan

  Democratic candidate for Vice President

  Louis Tenenbaum

  Director of the FBI

  Madison Lotello

  Daughter of Frank Lotello, step-daughter of Leah Klein Lotello, sister of Charlie Lotello

  Matthew Carter

  One of Jake “JK” Klein’s computer sc
ience professors

  Mikhail Oblonsky

  Russian tourist attending Harvard international studies conference at Harvard

  Regina Liu

  Washington, D.C. based online blog journalist

  Rupert Austin

  Chairman of EBCOM, the Executive Board of the Committee to Reelect the President

  Sam Townsend

  Atlanta based lawyer classmate of Leah Klein Lotello

  Simon Lefevre

  Chairman of the DNC, the Democratic National Committee

  Yuri Melchenko

  Russian government computer scientist

  Yvgeny Barovsky

  Head of Russian Main Intelligence Directorate, known by its Cyrillic acronym as the GRU

  INTRODUCTION

  FOR THOSE OF YOU kind enough to read JK’s Code, please keep in mind that this novel is pure fiction—meant to entertain and to poke a little fun at our representatives in Washington, D.C. at the same time. Think Saturday Night Live, not the op-ed section of your favorite newspaper.

  I’m a thriller novelist and a courtroom trial lawyer, not a political scientist. I try to write timely, tense mysteries and suspense novels, with a bit of biting satire and humor thrown in. Timely means what is going on in the world around us today. Tense means readers will want to read just one more chapter before turning out their reading light, but maybe not their night light.

  Can I lace tension with a modicum of humor—often at my own expense? I believe so.

  Can I call upon my roots as a trial lawyer and as a political junkie following those who think they are running our country—without taking myself, or them, too seriously? At least not as seriously as our political “leaders” take themselves? I think I can. At least I try. Some go so far as to recognize that I am trying. Very trying.