Conscious Revenge

  Conscious Revenge

  Book 1 in the Hackers thriller series

  by

  L. J. Greatrex

  Published by Createspace

  Copyright © L. J. Greatrex 2016

  First Edition

  The author asserts the moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior consent of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent publisher.

  All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  When I first heard the thunder, I didn’t realise the implication. I was tired and aching and my throat was dry and sore from the shouting and then the screaming I had done during the daylight hours. Having no idea how long I had been down the hole or whatever it was or how many days I had shouted, the restless nights turned into days with little hope of anyone finding me. Whoever had done this to me wanted me dead and had made a good job in the process.

  It took several moments following the downpour of rain for me to get the picture, an old mine shaft of some sort, or a storm drain maybe, then the real horror swept over me. I was trapped and the realization that I may never get out was hard to comprehend.

  I tried desperately to put together a plan but it was hopeless, the blood from the fall had congealed around my left eye and it was hard to think with the pain in my head. Whatever the outcome, I felt helpless to do anything about it. All I could do was lie here staring at the top of the hole without a clue how this would turn out.

  In the darkness thinking about how much I had to lose didn’t help. It seemed to me I had more than most, a fortune in the bank, a wife and children I adored, it was then that it began to dawn on me getting the money was probably the reason I had ended up here in the first place. This thinking made me feel worse. I was wet, freezing cold, injured and unable to move. How could I feel any worse? Then the thought of drowning or being buried alive occurred to me.

  I have to confess that during the past months, I had considered a hand on my shoulder by the FBI but never this predicament. I tried to give myself the advice I would have given to anyone else in my situation but nothing would sink in. Maybe I had brain damage as well as all the other things inflicted on me when I was unceremoniously forced down the hole. I drifted in and out of consciousness. It was then that the loud clap of thunder startled me and water started to rise all around me. I wanted to pray but, it the light of my past misdemeanours, I thought better of it. Even the Almighty could not help me now.

  Chapter Two

  The afternoon of the 30th October 2011 was when the rot set in. I was spending a great deal more time that day formulating a plan which was to make me a fortune and at the time it seemed brilliant. The basic plan was to discover how much money was held in the overnight client accounts. I would use only the larger accounts as the rewards would be greater and the risks less or so I thought at the time.

  Working hard in the day, I was also busy taking note of my clients who had their daily surplus cash transferred overnight into overseas currency accounts. These accounts were set up by investment bankers like me, using the highest yield exchange rates around the world, buying when the rates were low and selling when they were at their highest. Moving money was the name of the game and there were some smart movers at Gerard & Fortuna plc. for whom I had worked diligently over the last fifteen years, but now I wanted a share of the action without risking my own money.

  The process I considered to be the best would take some time to work out, the speed at which my computer program would have to work would be of the essence. Due to the rise and fall in the markets with little notice, only the very astute could keep a grip of the comings and goings and I considered myself to be one of them. I would sit each day following the markets and trying to perfect my plan, getting rich quick using someone else’s money was too good to pass up, writing the computer program would take some time but the rewards I knew would be high. I was a master at making my clients vast sums of money and, although I knew the rules, I was quickly falling deeper into the greed trap.

  For my part, it worked like this. When the markets were closed and the vast financial gains were transferred to off-shore client bank accounts, the ones that offered the least chance of being detected by the Internal Revenue Service, I formulated a piece of software that would pick up when the transfers were taking place and siphon a small percentage from each cash transfer into the bank accounts that I had set up for myself. The balance of the money would then move into the clients’ accounts in the country of their choice.

  The clients I would choose would be the ones with the largest amount to invest and the most stable reputation for cash surplus. Although my fixed percentage was small, the sums that were involved I considered would be big enough to make me rich. I had set my bank accounts up in different countries and names, with P.O. box numbers for all correspondence. My weekly trips to the local post office to collect my mail soon became a matter of fact and no questions were asked.

  It was just left for me to count the money entering my various accounts, because the amounts were small by comparison to the sums invested. I considered the chances of them being discovered missing by my clients would be negligible, but more than enough to increase my income considerably.

  I now see the errors of my ways. It didn’t take a genius to work out that someone would want to put me out of action. One or more of my clients had obviously discovered my software. Whoever they were, they did not want a full-scale investigation by the Department of the Treasury due to the nature of the tax evasion that was involved in their dealings and decided to take the mafia-style route instead.

  I was hoping they had no idea how successful I had been. As time went by, I had amassed an amount that would make your mouth water, enough to meet all of my needs for many years, the only thing I had to concern me now (well not the only thing, getting out of the drain was well up there with my priorities) was how I would find out which client it was that discovered my scam, protect the rest of my money and get my revenge. As the rain washed the blood from my eye, the reality of the situation became even clearer. It didn’t take a genius to work out I would not get out of this without a miracle and I didn’t quite meet that qualifying criteria.

  The morning of the 25th April 2012 started as usual. The financial trading floor was well underway. James Hollingsworth from the executive suite sat down beside me and began to look over my shoulder. “How are you old chap?” was his first question. Too familiar by half, I thought, never liked the man. I began to wonder why he was showing an interest in me, as normally he only ‘hobknobbed’ with people he considered could enhance his position in the firm.

  I certainly didn’t fall into that category as I figured him to be a prat. I felt uncomfortable that he was sitting and beginning to look at the three screens I had in front of me. Lucky, I hadn’t been working on my own project, but the less he found out about my clients, the better. I quickly moved out of the screens I was using and asked in a very pointed manner if I could help him. He must have taken the hint as he moved on without another word.

  This odd behaviour made me a little uncomfortable as he usually only gave me a sideways look and passed without giving me a second thought. I was probably being paranoid due to the fact that the program I had written was in company time. I had been working my scam far too long to let this little prick worry me. Maybe on reflection I
should have worried more.

  The water by this time was filling the drain beneath me. My body was cold and I was struggling to free my foot which was wedged into a grid of some kind on the bottom of the shaft. Panic hit me and my powers of self-preservation kicked in. I pushed hard with my good foot and at last felt a movement. One more push and my foot was finally free. The pain was excruciating. As the water began to fill the drain, I began to rise with the force of it, using my arms, reaching out for everything and anything and my good leg to push upwards.

  With half-closed eyes, I could see the light at the top of the shaft but the water stopped just short of the top, stopping me being able to scramble out. I reached for the drain cover and hung on for dear life hoping to be inspired with any sort of idea. In the films, it seemed easy for the hero to brace himself and miraculously push the drain cover up and escape, but I was no hero and had no hope of that in real life. Hanging there by my slipping fingers each second seemed like an hour. I was about to drown, swallowing water by the gallon, then the noise of raging water filled my head, nose, ears, eyes – this was it.

  With mud and slime all over me, I was barely able to move. Every part of me was in pain. My only thought was that I must be alive if only just. I had no idea how long I had been unconscious. It must have been a very long time as when I awoke, the mud had dried onto my eyelids and I couldn’t see.

  Chapter Three

  December 2012 and I was still recovering. It had taken a long time to get to where I was physically but mentally it would take longer. The thought of the money and revenge was now becoming uppermost in my mind. I could hear the sea from my bed and the warmth of the sun on the veranda was the tonic I needed to get back in the saddle, although in my case that old saying was probably an overstatement. I was only just able to stand let alone ride a horse.

  My rescue must have taken a long time and you may say that the hurricane saved my life, as without the colossal waves pushing me upwards out of the hole and the Air Sea rescue team who were winching three fishermen from their scuttled boat, I would not have made it back into the real world. The transfer to the local health recovery unit on some island or other just off Grand Cayman was not the easiest journey I had ever made, but the care everyone had shown was well-beyond the call of duty.

  It became obvious that my perpetrators had gone to great lengths to make sure no one would know who I was in the unlikely event I would be discovered dead. I decided to use this to my best advantage for the time being and extend my temporary loss of memory for the foreseeable future.

  The fact that my family must be thinking I was dead was the worst part of all. Not being able to contact them, I was really missing them but not letting them know I was alive was better than putting them at risk. If I was to fulfil my revenge, I must stay dead to everyone, at least for the time being.

  I was getting better a bit each day. The beard that grew and was carefully trimmed by my carer and my face tanned by the sun all helped to keep me safe. No one would recognise me as the pale faced, dressed to kill, Financial Executive I used to be, and I was glad of it.

  The convalescence overall was pleasant and I was treated well by the nursing staff, but as much as the authorities tried, I was a lost cause. The memory loss that I feigned added to their conclusion that I belonged nowhere and must be a nobody and I was all too happy to go along with that.

  Following the next few months when my strength was returning, I was told by the management of the care facility that I would have to be transferred from the main part of the recuperation unit into a place that I would be able to stay until I either found out who I was or became well enough to take care of myself and find other accommodation. I felt bad still putting on some, or shall I say most, of my health issues, as I didn’t have a clue how I would begin to put my life back together. I had no money and, on this small island, was unsure how if any, there would be a way to make money. All of the bank accounts I had with what would now be many millions of dollars were unattainable without passwords and the lists I had made on my computer at G&F plc. The only good news in all of this was that I had made sure that all transactions and any of the dealings with the banks that now held my money were completely safe and secure.

  No one but I could access them, I was sure about that. Getting my hands on it without a penny to my name would have to be my first task, the next would be downloading the information from my computer at work, then to starting the search for whoever had discovered the scam.

  I thanked them for their kindness once more and carried my few bits and pieces from my room in the main building to the condo that had been allocated to me by the healthcare authorities. I had no idea what to expect so to my great surprise, although the condo was small and compact, it had everything I could want and more. It was situated near the sea adjacent to the most beautiful beach you could wish to see How I could be so lucky after everything I had done? It was at this time I found not having Lorna and the children with me to enjoy this wonderful place the hardest thing to bear, as they would have loved it.

  Chapter Four

  The computer in the local library was the only means of communication I needed to check if the money I had transferred was still in my bank accounts, but I would not be able to do that without the book I had used for the passwords. I had moved $15 million from the client accounts up to the time I was abducted. I had several accounts in different currencies and hoped that most of them had not been discovered.

  Tracking the cash without detection would be tricky, as I was unsure how far my assailants had gone to recover the substantial losses for their clients. I felt sure bonuses would be given to anyone recovering the stolen money. All movements I made on the computer would have to be carried out with the utmost skill. Although this had been my forte during my employment with G&F plc., I would still need all of my training to find the accounts using the antiquated computer systems usually found in libraries around the world.

  Travelling back and forth from the library by bus, the island I was bought onto was, to say the least, an experience in itself. The locals transported their kids, chickens, geese and other produce to the markets in the surrounding districts using the bus and on top of that, I stood out like a sore thumb. But after what I’d been through, this was a piece of cake.

  I discovered this island was not too far from Grand Cayman which was known as the centre of all financial dealings for the very wealthy. It was far enough away from G&F plc. for my discovery to be almost impossible. I was taken by boat prior to my expected demise, without them realising this place was perfect for me to hide until I could perpetrate my revenge and make no mistake, they would be sorry one way or another.

  I knew a decision had to be made at this point. I could either go it alone, which was daunting for such a difficult task, or involve my loyal friend, colleague and computer expert, Paul Max. We had many similar qualities when working together at G&F plc. and I thought this would give me a sounding board as to how my disappearance had been taken. My planned revenge was progressing in my mind, but I needed someone I could trust implicitly, and Paul was the only person next to family I could fully rely on.

  Approaching him would be the difficult part. Like all the others in my circle, he thought I was dead. A careful plan was needed to be put in place so that he would know it was me contacting him and not some weirdo with an axe to grind.

  Trying to piece together how my paperless trail had been discovered was going to be a mega challenge and I needed an ally. Searching for the book in the library which held the key to the many passwords I had used proved fruitless. Touching the side of my head where the trauma was made me realise it had probably fogged my memory. This would be the first of many hurdles if I was to retrieve the cash and I was going to need some help.

  I spent many waking hours going over how this all began, going back to the start would hopefully open up the paths I had set up in the maze needed to confuse the many clever computer checkers hired by G&F plc. to discove
r the likes of me in the act. I was confident, however, that, if a small part of the stash was found, the complex web I had set up may just end the trail quickly. My hope was that this would be sooner rather than later, leaving me with the $15 million I had already taken.

  The day was glorious and the white sand was warm to my feet. I must have covered maybe a mile this morning telling me my recovery was well on the way. Finding work to pay my way would be next on the agenda and I needed the job to involve computers.

  I read the ads on the notice board outside what was obviously Cayman’s version of an Employment Agency. It was mostly waiters or cleaners which. Whilst I was not adverse to hard work when needs must, long-term career move it was not. Nevertheless, a visit inside would be necessary to get a feel for the job market.

  The girl behind the counter looked puzzled to see a stranger with trimmed beard and odd clothes looking for work, but I put her mind to rest with my created sob story. Collecting a variety of cards which she deemed appropriate work for a stranger with no visible Curriculum Vitae or letter of recommendation, I feared my prospects looked bleak. I needed to get some sort of details down on paper before she could run my skills through the system.

  The computer system she referred to seemed vague and may restrict the job market for me, so the idea I had run through my mind of asking her to watch my skills at the keyboard, whilst I checked out the programs that could be run from it. I knew it was a wild card, but I hoped one thing would lead to another and a better job prospect with computers may result. I approached her with my idea and the intention of blinding her with my keyboard skills, at the same time hoping I was not too rusty after the time spent away from the job.

  As soon as the computer was switched on, the small screen made a weird flashing movement and it took several minutes for the whole thing to come to life. I looked to see what icons were visible at a glance, but it seemed remote that I would find what I was looking for. Without more ado, I asked her to direct me to a page so that I could show her I was well-versed with technology and possessed proficient keyboard skills to enable me to obtain work within the computer profession.