The Hack, page 12
Ari opened the email he knew his mother used and typed her email address into the username field. A pang of guilt caused him to pause as he clicked the password field. It felt like an invasion of her privacy—it was an invasion of her privacy—but Ari wanted to know exactly how involved she was in the business and if Uncle Thomas had made any threats against her. Ari would not let his uncle bully his mother, even though she’d sounded like she could handle herself.
He pushed the feelings of guilt from his mind and typed the password he knew she used for most systems, but that password was incorrect. He thought about other combinations, but decided on another tactic altogether.
He created a phishing site for her favourite department store—one he knew she shopped at on a weekly basis—and then generated an email advising her that there was a problem with her order and she needed to log in to select an alternative product. She might not use the same password, but chances were they were the same. Most people used the same passwords or a variation of the same password for all sites.
Ari felt uneasy as he finished creating the site and sent her the email. Then he waited, wondering how long it would take her, presuming she clicked on the link, to log into his phishing site.
It turned out he didn’t need to wait long. Celine Rossi was an excellent shopper and she went right onto it. Ari watched in real time as she entered her email and password. Then, he went to her email account and tried the same password and bingo, he was in. Ari scanned through her inbox, looking for anything of interest but it was mundane at best. He then checked her deleted emails, surprised to see an email from Thomas Rossi earlier this morning.
Celine,
I’ve been trying to reach Ari.
Have you heard from him?
Thomas
Of course Thomas couldn’t reach him because Ari had removed the battery from his phone when they’d gone to the warehouse and he hadn’t turned it on since.
Ari’s gut feeling was that Uncle Thomas was trying to reach him today because his security guys had failed to produce any new photographs of Ari over the last few days.
Celine hadn’t responded which didn’t entirely surprise him.
Ari mulled over the email while he scrolled through the remaining deleted items but he saw nothing of interest.
Ari sighed, returning his attention to the inbox folders on her account, but again he saw nothing of interest.
The pang of guilt he’d felt earlier now felt like a sword in his chest.
CHAPTER 22
He didn’t like snooping through his mother’s emails, but he was somewhat relieved to see there were no menacing emails from his uncle.
Ari paused, realizing the email he’d read this morning was the only one from his uncle he’d seen. That was strange. He wondered if anyone else had access to his mother’s emails.
Opening the internet browser, he quickly found a listing for a short-term rental cabin on the lake. He copied the URL and typed an email to his mom:
Mom,
I’ve taken a few days off to spend time with friends. We’re staying here tonight and I’ll be back on Sunday for family dinner.
Ari
He hit send and booked the cabin so he could obtain the address. He was so absorbed in the plan to test the lengths his uncle was going to that when the bathroom door opened and Raya stepped out, his jaw dropped before he could catch himself.
“Do I look different enough?” she asked, biting her lip.
He cleared his throat, buying him some time to sort out his rattled brain. She’d bleached her blonde hair into a platinum bob—he was surprised anyone could make a box bleach job look so good but that was the thing he was learning about Raya—she made the most of every obstacle.
“It suits you,” he said, his eyes lingering on her, following her as she walked around the room.
“What are you working on?” she asked, looking over her shoulder as she organized the clothes on her bed, pulling off tags and refolding them.
“A test for my uncle,” he said. “I want to see if he’s monitoring my mother’s emails. We need to go for a drive to a cabin this afternoon, if that’s okay with you.”
She gave him an odd smile. “I’m sorry, I’m busy with other plans.”
Ari chuckled. He appreciated she could make him laugh, even under these circumstances.
“So, I had an idea while I was in the shower,” she said, walking over to the table and taking a seat beside him. “I was thinking about the version of the honeypot I used to find out who you were. I want to create another one to find out who sent me the warning message. Someone else knows about HaloTech because they were in the system too and they were on my side, not HaloTech’s. I need to know who that was because they might be able to help.”
Ari considered it, running through the risks. “If you’re in the system setting this up and they detect you, can they trace your location?”
She blew out a breath. “Maybe, but their warning message is the reason I’m still alive, so does it matter?”
Ari rubbed his jaw. “It’s your call, Raya.”
She opened her laptop and pulled out the chair beside him. He watched her begin, fascinated by the way her mind worked. It was so simple yet so effective. He’d fallen for it himself, so had the other hackers. He knew the simplicity of it was the reason it was so effective.
His eyes dropped to her slim fingers with black painted nails. She typed without referring to any notes, line after line of code. “You memorized all of this?” he asked.
“I have a good memory,” she said without missing a beat, but also like it was the most normal thing in the world.
He smiled. “You have a brilliant memory, Raya,” he said as he took in the slight crease between her eyebrows as she concentrated and the way her jaw moved side-to-side subconsciously. She paused, running a hand through her soft hair, then returned to typing code at a furiously fast level.
“You’re making me nervous,” she said without looking at him.
“What? Why?” he asked, his lips curling up.
“Stop studying me like I’m an insect,” she said, her eyes on the computer.
Ari chuckled. Studying her like she was an insect was the furthest thing from reality. He was impressed by her—on every level—but he didn’t tell her that. “That is not what I was doing,” he said vaguely as he turned his attention back to the computer.
“The door still works,” she said with disbelief.
Ari grinned when he saw that she was back in the system using the hack he’d provided her with a few weeks ago. Ari was good at hacking systems, at finding ways to break through the security features. Raya was a different kind of hacker, once inside the system she was able to move quickly, searching through multiple files and finding the information they needed.
Ari got her into systems, and she found the treasure with record speed. They made a good team.
Raya moved files around, working faster than he ever could. He was trying to follow her method but she was too quick. She sat back, crossed her arms and said, “Now we wait.”
Ari opened his mouth to speak when a message popped up on the screen.
Clever, Raya.
She gasped and his mouth dropped open.
Raya typed fast, working to trace the IP but she banged her fist on the table a second later.
“Damn! How are they doing that?” She looked at him expectedly but he didn’t have an answer for her.
She shook her head, staring at the screen. “Wait a minute,” she said, her hands hovering over the keyboard before she typed new lines of code without taking a breath. She was working so fast he could hardly keep up with her, trying to decipher her code while simultaneously trying to work out what she was attempting to do.
“There!” she said as an address popped up but his blood ran cold when he realized it wasn’t the IP of the person in the system with Raya, it was the address of the motel. “Did you make a mistake?”
“No! I used the same method I used to trace you.”
“Are you sure?” Ari asked. “Is there any way the address is wrong?”
“Ari,” Raya said, her voice wavering.
He shook his head. “It can’t be right, Raya. What are the chances that there are three computer hackers staying at this motel?”
“Only two might be staying here,” she said. “One is—”
A new message popped up, silencing Raya.
Two lines of code flashed on the screen. Ari didn’t have a chance to note it down before it disappeared.
Raya quickly typed a response.
Who are you?
The response came quickly.
Your friend, Samuel.
Raya sat back as the message box went black.
“What just happened?” Ari asked.
“He gave me two lines of code—it’s a hack for my hack. It switched it around . . . it played us, reversing the IP address I was trying to hack. That’s why it showed the motel. He knew what I was doing and reversed my hack in real time. I’ve never seen this before . . . it’s brilliant,” she said in awe.
Ari wasn’t sure he agreed. “It’s dangerous.”
Raya shook her head. “He didn’t have to reveal that to me, but now I know the fix for the vulnerability in that code sequence. He didn’t have to send the warning message either.”
“So why do it?” Ari asked.
Raya chewed on her cheek. “I don’t know, but sometimes other hackers are the only friends people like me have—the only ones who understand them.” Her eyes were on the computer but he didn’t miss the sadness in her eyes.
He wanted to tell her he understood her. Even though they’d known each other only a few days, he felt a connection to Raya he’d never felt before. He’d told her things he’d never told anyone. But more than that, he didn’t want her to feel alone because he suspected she’d felt alone for most of her life.
CHAPTER 23
Ari grabbed items from his Walmart bag and cradled them in his arms.
“I’m going to take a shower,” he said before moving toward the bathroom.
Raya nodded as she reorganized her purchases. Whether she’d been living in her apartment or on the street, she’d always been meticulous about taking care of her things and keeping her space clean and tidy. She folded her jeans, frowning when she saw a lump in the pocket. She stuck her hand in, her eyes darting toward the bathroom door when she touched the crumpled paper.
Trust no one, Raya.
A part of her told her to ignore the warning, because Justin couldn’t know that for sure. If she’d been judging Ari based on his reputation and the reputation of his family, she wouldn’t have thought she could trust him either. She’d never intended to go into this fully trusting him but rather using him until she had what she wanted and then she’d planned to figure out the rest later.
She shook her head. Ari had done nothing to suggest she couldn’t trust him. She’d risked her life and he’d protected her. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe Justin had known something she hadn’t. Raya’s eyes landed on the laptop and she grabbed it. She had one last test for Ari. The computer wasn’t technically hers and she didn’t own the data, but she wanted to see what he’d do and what he’d say as a result—so she used this time alone to her advantage.
It was one thing to be alone in the world, but worse than that was feeling alone when you should have someone you can count on. For once, even if just for a few weeks, she wanted to be able to rely on someone, to know someone had her back no matter what they faced. And she was scared to let Ari be that person. If he let her down, she didn’t know how she’d recover, so it was best she made sure—absolutely sure—that he was the person she thought he was.
She typed lines of code into the laptop then set it aside, leaving it open on the table. All she had to do now was wait. She passed the time searching through the files from HaloTech, looking up only when the bathroom door opened and her eyes landed on his naked chest. Raya looked away quickly but she couldn’t stop the blush creeping into her cheeks. It wasn’t like she’d never seen a man shirtless before, but Ari was a sight to behold—a sight that warmed her entire body. And although his short bleached hair had suited him, he looked even more like a bad boy with a shaved head.
He, however, either didn’t seem to notice her reaction or had the grace to pretend he didn’t.
Ari walked to the bed and dug through a bag, pulling out a small white bottle. He twisted the cap, cracking the seal. “What are you taking that for?” she asked.
He shrugged. “A headache, it’s Tylenol. I just need to sleep for a few hours and I’ll be fine,” he said as he popped two tablets into his mouth followed by a swig of water. “I want to take you to meet someone before we go to the cabin—he’s a friend I trust with my life, and I think he can help us. It’s on the way, so it’s not much of a detour.”
Raya nodded, all too aware of the laptop that had a trap set for Ari. She felt like she was being sneaky—she was being sneaky—but she had too much to lose.
She nodded, running a hand through her hair, jarring when she reached the ends of it. Her eyes widened and then she gave a small smile. “I forgot I cut it,” she said.
“It looks good on you, Raya,” he said, the corner of his lips turning up.
She looked away, like she didn’t know what to do with the compliment.
“We have a few hours to spare, so I suggest we get some sleep. It might be another long night,” he said.
“You get some sleep first,” she said, taking a seat at the window. “You didn’t sleep last night.”
He nodded, not even arguing with her, which was rare for Ari.
Raya relaxed back into the chair. Ari was correct: it was going to be a long night. And she already knew this was not a life she was cut out for. She’d been much younger when she’d lived on the streets and maybe that had made it easier, but living like this was draining—exhausting. At least on the streets Raya had known where the threats were coming from—other people living on the streets, people who were desperate and trying to survive. But now, tonight, other than assuming HaloTech was behind her planned assassination, she didn’t know who else had a reason to kill her.
Raya blew out a frustrated breath. She needed to keep busy while Ari slept, otherwise her mind would start reeling. She made a mental list, memorizing the things she needed to look at tomorrow, the questions she needed to ask Ari, and the things they would need to survive. She prioritized and catalogued it all in her mind like she’d written it down on a to-do list.
Then she got to work on Gregory Higgins, finding out everything she could about him. When she stumbled across a security installation invoice he’d put through the business, she realized the address was different; it was her home address. A grin spread over her lips—it was exactly what Ari needed to give to his friend. She saved it and continued searching through the remaining files but found nothing of interest.
When she was done, Raya was surprised to find over an hour had passed. She looked to Ari, who hadn’t moved an inch. She wasn’t sure if he felt her eyes on him, but he slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.
“Hi,” he said, his voice gruff.
She gave him a small smile. “You know, you sleep like you’re dead. You didn’t move at all.”
His eyebrows lifted. “I normally toss and turn all night. I’m not a good sleeper,” he said, then he chuckled. “Good to know I wasn’t snoring, though.”
Raya laughed. “You didn’t move enough to snore.”
He pushed himself up and leaned against the metal headboard. He was still shirtless and for a moment Raya didn’t know where to look but ultimately focused on his eyes.
“Your turn, Raya,” he said, tilting his head toward the other bed.
Raya doubted she’d sleep, but she was at least going to pretend because the laptop was sitting there, ready for him. Once again the guilt made her stomach turn like a bad smell, but she had to know.
She closed the laptop she’d been working on, putting it on the table beside Justin’s laptop and crawled into bed.
“I’ll wake you up in an hour,” Ari said.
Raya mumbled a response, closing her eyes and pulling the blankets under her chin. Even if she didn’t plan on sleeping, she was grateful to have a few minutes to close her eyes and give her mind a break. She’d intended to stay awake, but sleep came faster than she could’ve imagined.
CHAPTER 24
“Raya?”
“Raya?”
Raya’s eyelids felt like they were suctioned to her eyeballs as she struggled to open her eyes. She looked to Ari, who was dressed and standing at the end of the bed.
“We need to be on the road soon,” he said.
She raised her eyebrows, looking toward the window. The sun filtered through the blinds and she squinted. She wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but the reality of her situation woke her up like a bucket of ice being thrown on her.
She threw back the covers, rubbing her eyes.
“I’m going to go to the front desk and pay for another night. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Ari said.
Raya nodded, waiting until he closed the front door before she jumped out of bed. She grabbed the laptop and moved to the window so he couldn’t surprise her.
Her fingers fluttered over the keyboard as she typed, her eyes bouncing between the laptop screen and window, but it was clear.
She typed in the code to reveal the last actions taken on the computer. She felt a pang of relief when she saw the last movements had been hers. Ari hadn’t accessed the computer while she’d been asleep. But, Ari was also a hacker and he could work without leaving a trace. She typed more code, showing the laptop camera footage that she’d run a hack on. She might not be able to see Ari’s digital footprint, but did he leave a visible one? Raya entered the time she’d gone to sleep, because she’d noted it before she’d closed her eyes.
