“Code: BYPLAY, Priority Alpha, BRI 1100. INV/????”
The moment this message had arrived in my encrypted channel, I knew something seriously unprecedented was happening. An urgent request for a face-to-face meeting was almost unheard of among members of Mayhem 5, the protocol reserved only for the most dire of circumstances. Invictus--- the ranking member of Mayhem 5--- would be meeting me under the Fourth Avenue overpass at 1:00PM with another member whose identity I would not know.
I walked alone. The overpass wasn’t in a terrible neighborhood, at least not as far as Neo Holbrook is concerned. The slums had been pushed further to the outskirts of the city over the past few decades and the private police force had done a more than efficient job in removing the “undesirables.” Everything shiny, new, clean. Corporate. Everything Mayhem 5 stood against. The Fourth Avenue overpass was one of several places that didn’t have 24-hour surveillance.
When I arrived at the meeting site, a man in his early-to-mid twenties was slowly using a scanner to sweep the area under the bridge for listening devices. He motioned to me not to speak, and scanned across my person several times. This was Invictus. A second man in a hoodie and sunglasses was nervously smoking a cigarette. He was younger than Invictus, probably a teenager. I waited until Invictus gave me the all-clear to speak. When he was satisfied that I wasn’t compromised, he addressed me by my handle.
“Alright, Whisper, this is Chillain,” Invictus said, indicating the shaky smoker. “Chillain is in some deep shit right now. Three hours ago, we got an early warning that Warrant Enforcement Services had papers on Chillain.”
“Shit,” I said, “What’s the charge?”
“Four counts of illegal trespass into GenTech systems, two hundred thirty-five counts of Grand Data Theft,” said Invictus.
“Jesus, dude,” I said, “What did you steal?”
“I didn’t steal anything,” said Chillain. “I don’t know how my name even got into any of this.”
“Someone
allegedly
hacked into the GenTech mainframe two days ago,” said Invictus. They took the genetic data of over two-hundred GenTech customers, along with proprietary government beta software. This stuff is worth millions to the right buyers.”
Invictus sighed, then looked at Chillain. I looked too. Chillain was obviously afraid, and who could blame him? Charges like that, the government isn’t going to negotiate in sentencing. This is life imprisonment territory.
“I don’t think it was him,” said Invictus. “I mean, I’ve known Chillain since grade school. He’s got the hacktivist spirit. He’s been down in the trenches with us since day one, and I know if he’d had access to that system, he’d have destroyed the data instead of stealing it.”
Chillain spoke up. “Material gain isn’t my thing, man. I want to bring down the system, not profit off it’s back.”
I looked at Chillain, searching what I could see of his face. I instantly knew I believed him, and what’s more, Invictus was vouching for him. Invictus was usually an excellent judge of character.
“So you think---” I started.
“He was framed,” said Invictus.
“Who? How?”
“Probably those corporate sons-of-bitches at the Digital Cowboys,” said Chillain. “DC had a bounty on me after I took down their cyberwall at the Department of Redistribution.” He was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet while he lit another cigarette.
I gagged slightly at the mention of the Digital Cowboys. Big business’ mercenaries, these hired keyboard warriors were the opposite of everything Mayhem 5 took pride in. I knew Invictus had a particular distaste for the group, as most of us did.
“Somehow they managed to attach Chillain’s digital signature to the attack on GenTech,” said Invictus. “If the hack even happened at all. I’ve heard rumors of the data turning up on secure auctions, but nothing concrete.”
“It’s bullshit,” said Chillain, pacing nervously a bit. “If I had millions of dollars coming to me, I wouldn’t be chain-smoking under an overpass.”
“So if Warrant Enforcement is after him, what am I doing here?” I asked.
“Well,” said Invictus, “W.E.S. doesn’t seem to have his physical name yet. The warrant is under his handle, which tells me that the feds don’t know who he is. Or where he is.”
“Right, but they must be close if they’re issuing a warrant,” I said.
“Exactly. They wouldn’t have put out a warrant if they didn’t think they could tie him to a physical name and address within forty-eight hours or so.”
“So we’re hiding him.”
“That’s where you come in, Whisper,” said Invictus. “We can’t let the government or the DC find him. In all likelihood, DC carried out the hack themselves. If a high-ranking member of Mayhem 5 gets arrested on charges like this? Shit, it’s the end of the line. We can’t carry out rebellious operations with our guys getting arrested for selling consumer data. He goes to prison, Mayhem 5 is done for, and all the good work we’ve done. Public opinion, media favor, all of it just vanishes in one warrant sweep.”
I exhaled deeply. I had considered, of course, that hiding a fugitive member was the reason I had been asked to this meeting. I’d done it twice before--- and successfully at that--- seeing as the government hadn’t found either of them to this day. But nothing on the level of a warrant for so serious a crime.
“I think it can be done,” I said, hesitating a bit. “We’ll have to act fast. There are safehouses, right here in the city. I can place you in one under an assumed name until we can get you out of town. I’ll use my back-doors at the Department of Identification to get you paperwork. By the time they serve that warrant, you’ll be a thousand miles away.”
Chillain just nodded. Given the choice between death and starting a new life, most people wouldn’t hesitate to take the latter. That doesn’t mean it’s an easy thing to do.
Invictus smiled wide. “That’s what I’m talking about. See, Chillain, this girl here, she’s got the power.”
I smiled back. “It’s what I do.”
I turned back toward Chillain. “Alright, you’re going to head to a safe-house on the corner of Cross Street and Byre. I’m going to need your physical name. Once I get home, I’ll go into the Department of Identification and change your status to deceased. I’ll contact you with a new name and within forty-eight hours, you’ll have all the paperwork you need to stay out of prison.”
“Thank you so much,” said Chillain. “God, I owe you my life.”
“Defending the innocent is what we do,” I said.
* * *
Later that night, I sat at my computer, tying up some loose ends. On the television to my left, a news bulletin caught my attention.
“Good evening everyone, today is July 1, 2125. Our top story tonight: Police have informed us that an arrest has just been made in the recent GenTech security breach. Dozens of consumers had their genetic data compromised, and multiple cutting-edge government projects were stolen as well. Police have identified the suspect in custody as Adam Layton, a nineteen-year-old hacker who called himself ‘Chillain.’ Police allege Mr. Layton is a known member of the hacker group Mayhem 5, who...”
My attention turned back to my computer. An encrypted message awaited me.
“DC Charade- Thank you for your help in recent matters. The Cowboys look forward to working with you in the future. Welcome to the rodeo, Whisper.”
I smiled, but it was nothing compared to the smile on my face when I received the next series of messages.
“Blackweb Market- Your auction of GT40663-032.dat was successful. The Winning Bid of $863,021.44 has been transferred to your account ending in X206 at SWISS SAVINGS AND TRUST.”
“Blackweb Market- Your auction of GT3353-221.dat was successful. The Winning Bid of $243,217.22 has been transferred to your account ending in X667 at FIN NATIONAL.”
“Blackweb Market- Your auction of GT3211-20.dat was successful. The Winning Bid of $114,566.20 has been transferred to your account ending in X521 at CA FIRST.”
I sat back in my chair, the messages continuing to come in, one after another--- Two hundred thirty-five, to be exact. Each auction closing in its turn, each for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Although Invictus was probably infuriated that his dream of a hacktivist revolution had died today, I had to admit he was right about one thing. I was the one with the power.
![:]](./images/smilies/icon_smiling.png "Cheerful Smile")
I don't know if Zuck is really a fan of classical music or if you made that up, but either way, it was well executed. It reminds me of how music is used in A Clockwork Orange.