Savage Plights
By Martin Jansen
It was a great day for a ride home. Olivia started her new Lawson Criterion motorcycle, the newest model with a fusion powered core. Unlimited power that never needed to be plugged in.
Olivia drove slowly enjoying the scenery on her nearly silent bike. Suddenly, behind her she could hear the mechanical footfalls of two robot dogs. The dogs were running full out trying to catch up to her. Olivia accelerated quickly to the full speed of the bike, yet the dogs were still closing. These were not friendly dogs, they were military dogs obviously sent on a mission to maim or kill.
Olivia thought about her early morning meeting with her boss. Olivia was a computer expert in the area of cyber threats. She had detected some illegal activity on the servers and was duly reporting to her boss the magnitude of the threat. No one else knew of the breach. She should have known that her boss had something to hide due to his shocked reaction to her report.
Now here she was literally riding for her life. She silently cursed the governor on the motorcycle that limited her speed. She looked nervously behind her to see that the dogs were getting closer. She had one chance. In the woods, she knew of a boggy area with a single plank covering the expanse. If she only could get there in time.
Olivia was terrified as the robot dogs were nipping at her heels as she entered the woods. She aimed the bike carefully to cross the plank, if she missed, she would come to an ignominious stop and the dogs would have her. Crossing the plank, she heard the dogs falter and become mired in the bog. The dog’s weight was their doom as they thrashed to clear themselves from the bog they sunk further and were soon not to be seen.
Olivia stopped her bike looking back as the dogs disappeared. Someone or group wanted her dead and they had access to powerful resources. What could she do? Run and hide? No, that was not her style. Instead she would fight to find answers, find the would-be killers and bring them to justice.
Home Sweet Home?
Olivia had to use her time wisely. She had to get home before the killers found out about the failures of the dogs. Fortunately she had her super thin quadfold computer in her pocket, but she needed other supplies.
Olivia was a realist, her job exposed her to many cyber thieves, many of whom she had identified and turned over to the authorities. Many had been convicted on the evidence she provided. She had taken precautions, but she never thought she would be attacked in such an overt manner.
She parked her bike blocks away from her house. She had a plan to enter the home from a secret entrance in the basement. She felt an overwhelming sense of dread as life, as she knew it, had ended. Her house, her job and all the benefits they offered were forfeit.
Still, she had no time to feel sorry for herself. She had to get inside the house, get her things and get out as soon as possible. She stealthily approached the secret entrance, looked around and biometrically opened the door. Only her palm print would open the door. She had packed a ‘go bag’ for just such an event and it was there in reach.
She grabbed the bag and then thought it would be nice to get other things in the upstairs of the house, but an inner voice told her no. She was pressing her luck as it was. Surely the killers would know where she lived and it was possible that they had doubled down, anticipating her homecoming.
She left as silently as she had entered, closing the secret door and a chapter of her life.
As walked away from her home she felt a blast behind and was knocked to the ground. Fortunately, she was unhurt, but was badly shaken. The killers had destroyed her home. This was the second time in the last few hours that she had narrowly escaped with her life. Now to plot her revenge.
An Ally?
Olivia had to find another place to stay. Fortunately, her ‘go bag’ had a separate identity package. Anticipating that she might one day be on the run, due to being a ‘white hat’ in the field of cyber threats, she had carefully built up another identity under the name of Brian Smith. She had slowly built up a credit rating in small purchases and payments. Everything in her world was based on credit and a ‘cashless’ society. Now ‘Brian’ was going on a small vacation and renting a home for a few weeks.
Using her quad-fold computer, she used a VPN and further obfuscated her location using the dark web to find a nondescript home to rent. After her purchase and contact with the homeowner, she was given a code to enter the home. She carefully surveyed the home before approaching the keypad, opening the door and entering her new temporary headquarters.
Finally, she could get some much needed rest. Exhausted, she found the bedroom and as soon as her head hit the pillow, she knew no more.
——————————————————
“I’m sorry, sir, but we have lost her trail.” said Sydney, the lead tech. “You mean to tell me we have all these computers and AI working for us and you don’t know anything about her whereabouts?” Sydney shrunk at the rebuttal. “We have no record of any transactions after the house was destroyed, Sir. No idea where she went. We never anticipated she could enter the home another way and leave so quickly and I agree, before that, the dogs were a total failure. There’s not much we can do to locate her unless she shows up on camera or buys something.”
“This is totally unacceptable. You and your team better find her soon or all our plans are going to be ruined. How can you let one girl get the best of you? Now, get out of here and FIND HER!”
——————————————————
The next day, over a breakfast of snack bars, Olivia started to plan her day. It was obvious that she needed someone on the inside of her previous employer if she was to get the information she needed. Her former boss was not the mastermind behind her death defying yesterday, of that she was certain. He was a corporate sycophant who did not know much about cyber security, but managed a team of people who did. He often made promises to upper management that stressed the team and set unrealistic deadlines, all of which affected morale.
No, she needed to find a person on the inside who she trusted. She thought for a while and came up with Devin George. Devin and she liked each other and had similar interests. They even tried dating for a while, but that never went anywhere. They both decided that they were better off as friends. Now that she needed help, Devin could be the man.
Like many of her compatriots in cyber security, she used Linux as her primary operating system. In this future world with plenty of internet bandwidth, everyone was used to 3-D video chats. But Devin and she would use a lightweight app called Pidgin to communicate with each other without notice of anyone else in the company.
Olivia opened the Pidgin app on her computer. She knew just what vulnerabilities in her former company network that she could use to communicate with Devin. Even so, it was with some trepidation that she typed the first word:
Olvia: Devin?
Devin: Olivia, is that you? Everyone thinks you are dead.
Olivia: Rumors of my death have been much exaggerated, to paraphrase Mark Twain. She knew that Devin would get the connection to Mark Twain, aka Samuel Clemens, further verifying to Devin that it was indeed her. But actually, I came close to death twice yesterday. First they sent military dogs to maim or kill. And then I was seconds away from leaving my home before they blew it up.
Devin: The News says that it was a gas leak that destroyed your house.
Olivia: The News reports are wrong. Some group is trying to kill me after reporting a breach to our boss. I don’t know what it all means, but I need your help to find out. Will you help me?
It took a few seconds for Devin to respond like he was contemplating his choices.
Devin: Screw it! I hate this job and my boss. To be honest, I only kept on working here because of my friendship with you. Yes, I will help you. What do you need me to do?
Olivia: I have to warn you, it could be dangerous! These people want me dead, and by extension anyone helping me could be at risk.
Another pause
Devin: I’m willing to take the risk. When can we meet to discuss your plans?
Olivia: Thank you so much. I will contact you at home on a secure line to arrange a time to get together. See you soon.
As Olivia closed the chat, she went over the communication. Devin seemed genuine in his desire to help and the style of chat was definitely his. Olivia hoped that he was definitely going to be an ally in her attempt to find the killers and determine their agenda.
——————————————————
“Sir, I have to report that we detected a trickle of data on the network on a seldom used port on our network. The data was highly encrypted and we don’t know the source or recipient of the information,” said Sydney. “Great! Do you know ANYTHING!” bellowed the boss. Upon reflection, however, he knew that this might be an opportunity. “This probably means that she has been communicating with someone on staff. Start surveilling any staff members who are associates of Ms. Savage, IMMEDIATELY!” “Yes Sir,” said Sydney as he slunk out of the office.
——————————————————
Alteration
Olivia’s go-bag also contained hair dye and scissors. She had to alter her appearance if she hoped to remain unidentified. She reflected on her appearance in the bathroom mirror. She liked her hair style, but knew it had to change. She cut the hair into short spikey strands. While not a cosmetologist, she thought it looked OK. Then she applied the hair dye according to directions which turned her blond hair into a dark brunette. She did a decent job of keeping the dye from staining her skin.
After washing and drying, now, one final touch. She pulled out some contacts from her go-bag which turned her blue eyes brown. Looking in the mirror again, Olivia was pleased with her transformation. She hoped that the many cameras spread out the city would not be able to identify her.
Now she had to take some time to plan for her meeting with Devin. They couldn’t meet at her rented home or his place, no, it had to be a place with low security and no cameras – very hard to find in her time. She thought for a while and came up with Frank Dino’s. Good Italian food in a low rent neighborhood. She didn’t see any cameras in her last visit with Devin. ‘Brian,’ her made up financial identity, would pay for their meal.
LC
In the future everyone will have an advanced AI that can help them make choices in life. The AI knows their person intimately, their strengths and weaknesses and can guide them accordingly. Olivia’s AI, called LC (life coach), helped her find the right learning institutions for her needs. Helped her to find the right job and the financing of her home. Now she turned to LC in offline mode to help her decide what to do next. How can she turn the tables on the organization that wanted her dead? Should she turn to the police? Can the police be trusted? Who is behind this organization and what do they want to do? To the darker side: What were her chances of survival? LC would certainly be tasked with all these questions and more.
Phone Call
Olivia looked at the clock after consulting with LC. Devin would be home soon. She knew that he was smart enough to act normally at work after their Pidgin chat. She waited until the appropriate hour and set-up a VPN call through her dark web VoIP service.
Devin: “Hello, who is this?”
Olivia: “Devin, it’s me, Olivia. So good to talk to you.”
Devin: “Thank God, you are OK! Is this line secure?”
Olivia: “Yes, I’ve taken precautions. Listen, I’d like to meet in person.”
Devin: “Are you sure that’s wise? What about the cameras?”
Olivia: “Don’t worry Devin, again, I’ve taken steps to avoid identification. I’m thinking we should meet tonight at our favorite Italian restaurant. Are you available at 6:30 tonight?”
Devin: “Yes, I’m looking forward to the meeting and the meal.”
Olivia: “See you then and, Devin, you might not recognize me at first.”
Devin: “It’ll be a surprise then. See you then, Bye.”
As Olivia terminated the call, she knew that she was doing everything possible to avoid detection. She just wondered if it would be enough.
——————————————————
“Sir, we have been monitoring known associates of the subject and they have been acting normally, just doing their job. One person, however, is especially close to Ms. Savage. His name is Devin George. He did receive an encrypted phone call at home that we could not trace. It may be nothing, but I thought I should report it to you,” said Sydney, the lead tech. The boss, as usual, was visibly agitated. “In other words, you still haven’t found her and now you can’t even trace a phone call. It’s time to track down Devin George and make him pay for even knowing Ms. Savage.” Sydney objected, “But Sir, we don’t know for sure that Devin is involved with Olivia.” The boss shot back, pointing at Sydney, “I don’t care, you will follow my orders, you hear?” Totally cowed, Sydney left the office and went back to his cubicle and his team to do the boss’s bidding.
——————————————————
Meeting
Olivia arrived minutes early to park the bike a few blocks from the restaurant. She carefully surveyed the restaurant to look for any unusual activity before entering. Earlier she had completed her disguise by choosing a synthetic leather jacket that gave her athletic frame a distinctive triangular shape – wide shoulders tapering down to her waist. This was the style of the modern goths adopted by hundreds of youth. Normally Olivia would never wear something like this get-up, but as they still say, “desperate times require desperate measures.”
Devin, as always, was a bit early anticipating their meeting. He was on the lookout for Olivia, she could tell. It was with some amusement that he looked right past her as she approached his table. “Devin, it’s me, Olivia!” Devin looked up and stared, “You’re kidding me, is that really you?” Olivia said as she sat down at the table, “Quite the change, I know. Do you like it?” Devin was still staring, “Yes, but please give me a few minutes to get used to the new look.”
“Fair enough,” said Olivia, “If you had trouble identifying me, so will any cameras on the street. As I saw last time, I don’t see any cameras in the restaurant.”
“That’s good,” said Devin, “should we order? I’m starving!”
They each had their favorites ordered and served, having their meal with a red wine they enjoyed together. The meal calmed their nerves and they felt moderately safe in discussing Olivia’s problem and how Devin might help.
“We’ve got to find out who or what organization is behind the attempts on my life and we need to know the source of the breach on the company’s network,” said Olivia. Devin nodded, “I’ve been thinking about the breach too, it may be an inside job.”
“Think about it,” Devon continued, “what better way to cover-up an inside operation than by making it appear the breach happened from outside the company.” “Yes,” Olivia joined in, “I noticed that the breach was aimed at the company financials and the access was almost too perfect, like the thieves knew the way in. Maybe this has been going on for some time. I just caught it when a transaction was being made.”
“Maybe we should contact the police,” said Devin. Olivia responded, “I thought about that too and consulted my LC, but I have no proof. “The robotic dogs that attacked me are gone and my house was supposedly destroyed by a gas leak. I’m officially dead, and should probably keep it that way until this is over, one way or another.”
Devin patted her hand. “Don’t let this get you down, you are the bravest and smartest person I know. If anyone can find a way through this, you can!”
“Thanks Devin,” Olivia said gratefully. “One way you can help is to look for any activity on the network matching the signature that I detected in the breach, it looks like this,” and she showed Devin the code she retrieved from memory.
“Sounds easy enough,” said Devin, “I’m supposed to be monitoring the network anyway, right?”
“Yes, you are, Olivia said, “but be careful, these people aren’t messing around. You know I care for you and don’t want to see you get hurt. Act as normally as possible at work, do your job and I’ll call you again after work tomorrow.” Her financial alter ego ‘Brian Smith’ paid for the meal and left a big tip.
Finally, they stood up and hugged, leaving the restaurant in different directions.
A Corporate Life
The boss, Anthony Camio, had slowly risen through the ranks to Vice President of the anti-fraud department at the company. Along the way, he had gathered his supporters, either through intimidation or rewards of better positions in the company. His few enemies in the corporate structure were vanquished through firings due to manufactured malfeasance – hard to defend yourself once accused of wrongdoing. And so, Anthony had risen in the pecking order of the company.
Anthony’s superiors didn’t know of his hidden lifestyle, his penchant for fast cars and faster women. Anthony chuckled to himself, his bosses certainly didn’t know of his business within their business.
Instead, he was frequently rewarded for bringing in people defrauding the company. He, Anthony Camio, had saved the company roughly a billion dollars annually. Sure, he gave lip service praising his team to his bosses, but he made sure he got the credit. His bosses didn’t know that he was skimming fraud funds and personally taking the proceeds.
All of it was carefully crafted to look like a breach from outside the company should the money loss be discovered. In the end, he would blame the cyber security department like everyone else.
But now his venture was being threatened by a single analyst who had seen an illicit transaction. If she dug further, she might determine that the traffic actually came from within the company and trace it to his department. That would be disastrous. He was too used to his high income lifestyle to give it up.
As he readied himself for another day at work, he resolved to put more pressure on Sydney to find Olivia Savage in order to destroy her and her friend, Devin George.
Detection
The next day at work, Devin started looking for the pattern given him by Olivia. There was nothing at first, just the routine daily network traffic. There were a few SSH calls to remote servers by the financial department – he recognized their IPv6 addresses. But then, a quick search and there it was: the exact pattern he was looking for. He should have stopped there and reported to Olivia that evening, but he wanted to break this wide open. He hastily put a trace on the traffic which led him to the workstation of Sydney Leggett, in the anti-fraud department. Devin couldn’t wait to tell Olivia what he found, but that would have to wait until after work.
A Tragic Accident
Devin wasn’t going to buy the most expensive car. In fact, in his time, despite the advanced safety features, his car was a wreck. Still the car started regularly and was reliable to a point. Newer cars had anti-theft features, but Devin didn’t care about all that.
Once Devin had left work at his normal time, he hustled to his car because he wanted to contact Olivia badly. His discovery could save Olivia and the day.
Instead of waiting for Olivia to contact him, he was going to call Olivia instead. He dialed her number and after 6 rings Olivia answered:
“Devin, I was going to call you when you got home. I didn’t get a chance to secure the line.”
Devin started driving home which was out of town. His route took him on the highway. “I know,” Devin said, “but I couldn’t wait to tell you. I did a trace on the transaction code you showed me and it led to Sydney Legget in the Anti-fraud department. I think we got him.”
Devin was approaching a curve when his car started speeding up. He pumped the brakes to slow down to no avail. “Olivia, my car is speeding up and I can’t brake!”
Olivia shouted, “Oh no Devin, what’s happening? Devin? Devin! Then all she heard was a scream, crashing sounds and then nothing but dead air.
——————————————————
Sydney was excited as he ran into the boss’s office. “Sir, as you ordered, we were able to find a way to infiltrate the subject’s car and control the throttle and brakes. We mapped his route home and knew precisely when to accelerate.” For once, the boss was pleased. “I take it then, that Devin George had a “Tragic Accident?” With the last two words he smiled while using his fingers in air quotes thinking he was being funny.
“But what of Olivia Savage? Have you found her yet?”
Sydney shook his head. “No sir, Devin made a phone call as he was driving, but the call didn’t last long enough to trace.”
Sydney was eager to please and withheld the detected trace of the transaction information on the network.
The boss was being magnanimous with the news about Devin. “Well, keep at it. We will give Ms. Savage similar treatment when we find her.”
“Yes sir,” said Sydney as he proudly left the office.
——————————————————
Grieving
Olivia was feeling a plethora of emotions when she contemplated the injury or death of her friend, Devin. First she felt shock and then denial – it just couldn’t be. But most of all she felt guilty for getting Devin involved with her problems. She prayed to God to save Devin.
Olivia was always analytical in her thinking, perhaps too much brain and too little emotion. Should she give in to her overwhelming sense of dread? No, now was a time for action. First, she consulted a map for the likely place where Devin’s car left the road.
She scanned the police bands for any news of an automobile accident and learned that a passing motorist had seen the accident in progress. The motorist had called the police which dispatched an ambulance to the location – the description matched Devin’s car. No other news yet.
A fretful hour later, she located the nearest hospital to the accident and hacked into the network looking for Devin’s name. Thank God! She found that he had been admitted to the Emergency Room and was under treatment for severe injuries. Devin was alive!
Devin would want her to follow up on his hard earned information, she knew. She went on the offensive and investigated Sydney Leggett. He did work for the anti-fraud department under VP Anthony Camio. Olivia was easily able to breach the company’s HR records and found Sydney’s banking information. Other than a slightly higher than normal salary, Sydney was an exemplary employee. Olivia was also able to see that Sydney lived a modest lifestyle – no hidden accounts. Obviously Sydney was no mastermind, so she went on to investigate Anthony Camio. Later that evening, she would pay Sydney a visit.
Confrontation
Sydney was finishing up at work after a satisfying day. He had finally pleased his boss. To him this was just like a game and he had proved he was a better gamer. Somewhere in the back of mind, however, something was wrong.
As he drove home all he wanted to do was eat and get on with his favorite game on his 3D gaming console. Sydney parked his car and punched his code to enter his modest home.
There, sitting in the dark, was Olivia Savage waiting for him, she said simply, “Hello Sydney.”
Sydney was in shock and nearly had a heart attack right there, but recovered just enough to say, “Please don’t hurt me.”
“I’m not going to hurt you Sydney, but we are going to talk, do you understand?” said Olivia.
Sydney relaxed a little and said, “Not really, all I was doing was following orders at work, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, it was just like a game…” The last few words trailed off as he finally knew what was wrong.
Despite her anger and her grief, Olvia managed to stay outwardly composed. “But Sydney, can’t you see this is no game, this is life and you did try to hurt me and you did hurt Devin!”
“I’m sorry,” Sydney recoiled. “But it wasn’t me, it was my boss that ordered all of this. His name is Anthony Camio and he’s really…mean.”
At this point Olivia realized that Sydney was nothing but a spineless sycophant doing the bidding of anyone who ordered him around. She would use him to get back at Anthony Camio.
She changed her demeanor and said, “Sydney, I understand, do you know that your boss is skimming funds at work to line his own pockets? He is living a double life, claiming to be saving the company money, while abusing power and using his influence to promote only his people. At night and on weekends, he is a high roller, spending money freely on women and fast cars. He has several foreign accounts totalling about a billion dollars. Meanwhile his underlings get practically nothing.”
Finally Sydney was angry, maybe for the first time in his life. His boss was a bully, just like those kids at school after school. His boss was taking advantage of him, his team and the company.
Olivia’s next words were a welcome relief: “Sydney, I want you to help me take down your boss for the good of the company and the employees. He is a cancer that must be stopped.”
Sydney said, “How can I help?” And Oliva’s plans for the boss were planted.
First Cut
The next day as usual, Sydney went to work. After a while the boss ordered him into the office demanding the whereabouts of Olivia Savage.
The boss, Anthony Camio, was surprised when Sydney no longer responded by shrinking at his threatening demeanor. Instead, Sydney just said that he and his team would try to find Olivia, and he left the office.
For the boss, it was like punching a pillow, no real response which left him frustrated.
Sydney was not going to help his boss any longer, as he discussed with Olivia, he simply went back to doing his regular job duties.
As the workday came to a close, the boss left a little early. He had a hot date and wanted to get ready. After dressing in his finest clothes, he drove his most expensive car and picked up his date. He wanted to impress his new girl.
They drove to his favorite restaurant where he had exclusive reservations. He ordered the most expensive meals for his date as well as himself, and the waitstaff hustled to fulfill his order because they knew he had a terrible temper. The least thing wrong with the meal or presentation would send Anthony over the edge.
Anthony thought he was a take charge type of guy, respected by everyone, but in reality he was an awful customer. The waitstaff was only looking for their tip and were glad to see him leave.
When it came time to pay for the meal, Anthony pulled out his phone which was attached to one of his credit cards. Normally the phone would give a pleasant beep indicating that the bill and tip for the meal was paid.
This time, however, the phone loudly screeched and big black letters announced: CREDIT DENIED!
Anthony started arguing with the waiter that the problem had to be on their end and he tried again: another loud screech and the words CREDIT DENIED!
By now everyone else in the restaurant was staring at him and his date was getting nervous.
Finally, after arguing with the waiter once more, Anthony had to switch to another credit card to pay the bill. By then, however, his date was finished with him. She demanded that he pay for a cab back to her home and said she never wanted to see him again.
Anthony drove home alone, furious with the whole situation. He would call the bank in the morning and read them the riot act!
Redemption?
Olivia Savage took no pleasure in Anthony Camio’s rough evening. He probably was not yet aware, but the credit card problem was designed by her as a warning – that money was the root of all evil.
Perhaps she was being too subtle. Anthony was probably blaming the bank or anyone else except himself for this minor inconvenience.
Next time she would give an obvious warning. Olivia wanted Anthony to repent of his money loving ways. She wanted him to turn himself into the authorities, and start life again as a better person. She honestly believed that people can change for the better.
But, in reality, she doubted that the boss would change. Further investigation into Anthony showed that he was behind the outright persecution of anyone he thought had defrauded the company. Sometimes the claims were coded incorrectly, but that didn’t matter to Anthony.
Of course it was the company lawyers that prosecuted cases, but Anthony went further by threatening people and their families – even if they were not yet found guilty. Anthony was trying to bankrupt the individuals he thought was defrauding the company.
It was all self-serving, for the more money he gathered from his anti-fraud duties, the more money he could skim into his foreign bank account.
No, Olivia thought, it was doubtful that Anthony Camio would ever change of his own volition.
Lack of Control
The next day the boss was still in a bad mood from his rotten evening. He called the bank as soon as they opened and asked for the manager. The manager was able to see the denied credit record, he apologized for the inconvenience, but was at a loss as to why it happened.
An apology was not good enough for Anthony. He yelled into the phone that “if this ever happens again, I will take my business elsewhere.”
The manager apologized again and said he would credit the cost of the meal back to his now working credit card. The boss was slightly mollified by this offer and accepted the credit as his due. He hung up with some satisfaction.
Like Scrooge, counting his stacks of money, his next order of business was to check on his foreign bank account to see if the daily returns from the skimming program had been added to his already burgeoning account total. Upon accessing the account, he was startled to see the total was slightly less. Comparing the numbers, he subtracted from the previous day’s total and saw that the number was exactly the cost of the meal and tip from yesterday.
This couldn’t be a coincidence.
At the best of times, Anthony Camio was not a happy person, but this deduction from his foreign account had him panicked. Someone had access to his account. He immediately called for Sydney to come into his office and demanded to know what was happening with the skimming program.
Sydney said that, somehow, the skimming program was deactivated and it didn’t look like it would work ever again – the code was completely rewritten and any backups were completely destroyed.
At this news, Anthony completely flipped out, threatening Sydney’s job. But, of course, he couldn’t really do it – after all what could he say to HR? “I want to fire Sydney because he didn’t maintain my illegal skimming program?” Talk about self incriminating.
In reality, Sydney had helped Olivia deactivate the program and showed her where the backups were held. He was actively working against the boss and Anthony’s rants had no effect on him. Sydney was working with Olivia to bring his boss down.
At the end of his frustrating day, the boss was leaving work and went to his work car. Like all newer models, cars have heads up displays (HUD) that appear on the windshield. As he started the car, instead of the usual car logo on the HUD, it briefly read: TURN YOURSELF IN!
Hospital Visit
Now that the boss was preoccupied with his own troubles, Olivia felt confident that she could visit Devin at the hospital. His latest health reports were encouraging, but she wanted to visit him personally. She still felt guilty for getting him involved with the whole situation.
His car ‘accident’ may have him rehabilitating for months. It was with some trepidation that she rode her Lawson Criterion motorcycle to the hospital.
As she entered the hospital she had to stop herself from avoiding the many surveillance cameras. There was no more threat from Sydney or the boss.
She found Devin’s room and entered slowly. Devin was sitting up and reading and when he saw her, he dropped the tablet and smiled broadly. He was happy to see her.
Olivia went to his bedside and gave him a hug, careful to avoid squeezing his ribs, she said, “Devin, I’m so sorry this happened to you. I feel so bad to have gotten you involved with my troubles.”
“Olivia, I’m so glad you came to visit,” said Devin. “Really it was my fault. You warned me that these people were dangerous. I was driving that crappy car that was so easy to hack and I broke protocol by calling you with news that Sydney Leggett was behind the attacks on you and your destroyed home.”
Olivia was relieved that Devin didn’t hold her responsible for his ‘accident,’ but she corrected Devin. “It was actually Sydney’s boss, Anthony Camio, that was behind all the attacks. He bullied Sydney into compliance with his evil work. Not only that, Anthony was trying to cover-up that he has been skimming the proceeds of the anti-fraud funds to the tune of just short of a billion dollars over several years.”
Then Olivia informed Devin of the actions she had taken to neutralize Anthony. How she had visited Sydney to convert him into an ally, taken control of Anthony’s credit cards temporarily, stopped the skimming program and had taken control of Anthony’s foreign accounts.
Devin was impressed: “Wow, you really have him cornered now! Are you going to turn him into the authorities?
“No, I was hoping that Anthony would see the error of his ways and turn himself in,” said Olivia.
Devin was shocked, “After all he’s done to you and the company, you still want to save him?”
“It’s worse than you think, Devin, the boss has been bankrupting people who make questionable claims. He has misused company lawyers and resources to harass people and make their lives miserable, all to further line his pockets” said Olvia.
At this point Devin and Olvia discussed next steps for the boss, Anthony Camio.
Final Battle
James 4:1-3
Where do the wars
and where do the conflicts among you come from?
Is it not from your passions
that makes war within your members?
You covet but do not possess.
You kill and envy but you cannot obtain;
you fight and wage war.
You do not possess because you do not ask.
You ask but do not receive,
because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
The boss, Anthony Camio, had tried to reset his password to get control of his foreign bank account, but the authorization questions had changed. He couldn’t prove he was the owner of the account. His ill-gotten funds were out of reach.
To make matters worse, his credit cards were unreliable. Sometimes he was granted access to his local funds, but sometimes – at the most inconvenient times – his credit was denied.
Now he was receiving repossession notices on all his best cars for non-payment. He had called, he had threatened, but he had no financial standing with the leasing companies.
At work, auditors were looking into his Anti-Fraud department and the handling of finances. His salary and the salaries of his staff were higher than normal and HR was questioning whether it was in the company’s ‘best interest’ to retain him.
The boss had found out that a whistleblower had come forward to expose his department to scrutiny. He had his suspicions on the identity of the whistleblower, but that person would be protected by the company.
All this had the boss fuming, but what could he do? All his ‘so called’ friends at work were only tied to him through their own financial gain. They would not stand up for him when the going got tough. His superiors, who were quick to applaud his department when it was saving money, were just as quick to condemn him for any financial problems.
His terrible day continued as he received hourly messages about the state of his foreign bank account. The amount of money was receding quickly. The recipients of the funds were those people he had wrongfully accused of fraud. They were anonymously compensated including additional funds for ‘pain and suffering.’
He left work early again and went to his work car. As he started it the now familiar words appeared on the heads up display: TURN YOURSELF IN! But now the message stayed on all the time.
The boss, Anthony Camio, was defeated by “a girl.” Could he live with this much loss? He had built his empire on sand and now it crumbled away. In the end, he was out of options. He drove to the police department and turned himself in.
Epilogue
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for everything under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.
What advantage has the worker from his toil?
I have considered the task that God has appointed
for the sons of men to be busied about.
He has made everything appropriate to its time,
and has put the timeless into their hearts,
without man’s ever discovering,
from beginning to end, the work which God has done.
For Olivia, it was a time of rebirth. With the boss, Anthony Camio, in custody, she came forward to give her statement to the authorities. She provided the evidence necessary to assure that the boss would be incarcerated for a very long time. She also hoped that Anthony would rehabilitate and become a productive member of society, but that was up to him.
Her reappearance caused quite a stir in the news and social media. She was thought dead in her house explosion, but here she was revived and giving interviews to anyone who asked.
The company, of course, wanted her back to clean up the mess that Anthony had caused. Who better than her to find the people involved in covering up Anthony’s money skimming schemes? But Olivia declined their offer. Her corporate life was over. Instead she would become a freelance cyber-security expert helping other companies harden their systems. She would be much in demand after the stories came out of her penetration of many systems to bring Anthony to justice.
As a bit of free advice to the company, however, she told the CEO to start competency testing supervisors and managers. No one should be in charge of workers if they didn’t know the job intimately. Potential managers should be trained and vetted to avoid the ‘peter principle’ – being promoted to jobs where the person was most ineffective. She knew that her former boss would never pass the test.
Devin was out of the hospital and rehabbing at home – he would make a full recovery. He would join Olivia in her new company for she badly needed people she could trust.
As for Anthony’s victims, she made sure that the foreign funds were completely depleted, compensating them for their losses. Her final withdrawal was for herself and Devin to pay for a new home and car, respectively. Devin would help her find a house like the one that had been destroyed.
As Olivia looked back on the whole ordeal, she surprised herself by being thankful just to be alive. It was as if a huge cloud of doubt and suffering were lifted from her shoulders. She looked forward to her new life and the adventures it would bring.
THE END
Author’s note: I would like to thank many people for this, my first story. First of all, Lydia, my wife and rock that gave me time to pursue this item on my bucket list. And thanks to my family and corporate life on which I drew inspiration for the characters in this story. The characters are, of course, entirely fictional, but their actions could be real if taken to extremes. Good stories speak of desperate people doing desperate things.
And first and last, alpha and omega, I would like to thank God, who makes all things possible. Even taking an old retired IT guy and making him a story teller.