Fraudulent Death, Draft 01, CH 50 (Patreon)

“Were you followed?” Harik asked as he let Marlot in.

Marlot shook the snow off himself. “Oh I can guarantee someone followed me.” He didn’t slow until he was in the computer room with the others.

“Ukely, you’re on defense,” Harik ordered. “If they know where I live, they’re going to try to get in to figure out what we’re doing.”

“I doubt they’re going to have much time to organize an attack,” Marlot said putting his jacket on the back of the chair and sitting.

“I’m putting the names I was working on back in the pool,” Ukely said.

Marlot motioned to the zebra. “Send them to me, I’ll take over your searches. Were you able to put everything in place?”

“Yeah,” Afirna replied. “Every piece of evidence has been altered to show you’re actually the one behind it.”

“I even got my claws on the evidence from those amateurs your mate hired,” Joren said, “and now, instead of them doing the hack, it looks like they covered up yours.”

“The money trail?” Marlot asked, putting the list in alphabetical order.

“I had to create a thin on. Your lion’s smart enough to have payed them with physical currency, but I created a withdrawal for the full amount, with a nearby camera catching him at the kiosk. The moment he admits to having done everything to cover up your work, they’re going to have to take a second look and they will see the truth we want them to see.”

“You lion is going to blame you, right?” Harik asked darkly as he set to work. “If he doesn’t, none of this means—”

“He will,” Marlot stated. He had to. Trembor had to understand this was the best, the only way to resolve this. If he remained stubborn and sacrificed himself, Marlot was going to break into whatever caging complex he was help into and give him a solid piece of his mind. He will play his part, Marlot told himself before setting into the search for who the names were and what their connections were to the cartel.

Once he had the first one’s employment, a security agent at the airport, he tabbed into the pool to add that information, and along with the list of names he saw a familiar program running.

“Harik, why is my tracking program running on your computer?”

The mouse didn’t look up as he answered. “While you were gone I went into you home computer and found it there. It’s been a time safer, we can run seven copies before the server slows.”

“Harik, it’s—”

“A good idea?” the mouse cut him off. “Smart thinking? Exactly what you would have told me to do if you’d been here?”

“Not finished.”

The typing stopped and the three of them look at Marlot.

Ukely went back to typing. “You’re telling us that the program that’s cut out search time in half is incomplete? Just what do you want it to do?”

“I don’t know if I can let you keep this,” Harik said. “As it is, it’s uncovering links between people none of us would have come up with. It’s not going to take much more for you to have a work of code that’s going to lay bare anyone’s life.”

“That’s not why I did it. I just needed something to help me work out Hardir’s life so I could figure out how he died. It wasn’t really helpful.”

“Because he didn’t have an ID number,” Afirna said. “The moment we put an ID in here we get a lot of information some of which I’m not even sure how your program gets. I’m with Harik, I’m not comfortable knowing you’re planning for it to do more.”

“Then I won’t do more with it,” Marlot said, watching a copy of his program pull IDs and movement for a Kellan Longears.

“That’s crap and we all know it,” Joren said. “You won’t be able to stop yourself from adding to it. Getting it to do more. We’re just going to have to keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t abuse the power this is going to give you.”

“Anyone has the list of the names his lion’s accused of having put in place within the city’s infrastructure?”

Marlot shook himself and found the list they’d built from the information they hacked out of the judicial system. “I have it.”

“I’m sending you an name, tell me if it’s in there.”

It was an easy search, Trembor was only accused of putting twenty-six people in positions of power throughout the city. “Not in here, why?”

“They’re from that list you had, people the cartel groomed. They are on the city council.”

Curses sounded around the computers.

“It’s not that bad,” Joren said. “There’s thirteen people on the council, including city leader Shaprhorns. One person doesn’t give them a way to control what’s going on.”

“I have two more,” Harik said. The names appeared on Marlot’s screen and he confirmed they weren’t on the list. Under half an hour, they had seven of the council members.

“Fuck,” Joren said. “How is it that we’re not living under a criminal empire is they have the majority already?”

“They aren’t stupid,” Afirna answered. “If they push too hard, they’ll be noticed. It’s the same reason they’ve made sure not to include any of them among the ones they used to build the case against Marlot’s mate. Anyone liked to that will be removed. They have to use them selectively, only make scratches on the most important of decisions.”

“Okay, so what do we do with the information?” Ukely asked. “With what your program found, we can destroy them, right?”

“I’m not talking part in blackmail,” Afirna stated.

“I’m not saying—”

“Yes you were,” Joren replied.

“They’re criminals, so who cares?”

“You’re not doing that in my house,” Harik said.

Marlot listened to them, the words mixing in with the typing. He hadn’t expected this to go so far up as to be around city leader Sharphorns. As far as he was concerned, there was only one course of action possible, a backup plan in case things didn’t work out.

“Ukely, what’s the firewall situation?” he assembled the names along with all the connections his program had made reinforcing their involvement with the cartel.

“People have been scrapping claws against it, but it’s holding, with my help.”

Harik snorted.

“Harik, I need to put a file in a secure location on the net without the pack surrounding us noticing. What are my options?”

The mouse left the room and returned a few minutes later with a pad made of dozen disparate parts. He placed next to the computer Marlot used and connected it. “It’s never been used, so they won’t know it’s from here. The screen will give you a thirty-two digit encryption key, you’re going to have to give it to whoever needs to access that file.”

“Can I use it to place a call?” Marlot asked tentatively, unsure how he’d do that with it.

“Not while it’s connecting you to the net,” Harik answered in his ‘are you an idiot’ voice as he went back to typing.

Marlot accessed the net using the modified pad, and wondered how the mouse had his tracker program contact the net without being traced, then realized it might not matter, his program used raw data and without it, even if it was intercepted, the information would be meaningless. At best, the listeners would work out they were accessing ID information.

With the file on an anonymous server, Marlot wrote down the address, then the encryption key and disconnected.

Letting out a breath he placed the call, the pad poking uncomfortably at his head.

“City leader’s office, my name a Kranin, how can I help you?”

“Hi, I’m Registered Investigator Marlot Blackclaw, I need to speak with city leader Sharphorns, please.”

“I’m afraid mister Sharphorns doesn’t take unsolicited calls, if you tell me the issue, I’ll direct you to the department best suited to help you resolve it.”

Marlot could just imagine the odds of that department having someone from the cartel in it. “I’m afraid this needs to go to city leader directly.”

“As I said, mister Sharphorns doesn’t—”

“Tell him I’m calling in my favor.”

That silenced her.

Marlot expected there weren’t a lot of people who the city leader owed favors to. A man in his position couldn’t afford to be have other people’s claws into him. The silence was replaced by a soothing music with the sounds of water in the background. If he had visuals, he expected he’d be looking at a creek of a river. Instead he was looking at the surprised expression of the three other hackers. He’d never told them of his conversation with the city leader months ago. It felt like a full lifetime ago now.

“Hello, and who am I speaking with?” The voice was deep and confident.

“This is Registered Investigator Marlot Blackclaw.” He gave his ID number.

“I hope you understand that this isn’t enough, considering why you’ve implied you’re calling. I’d like to see who I’m talking with.”

Visual? He mouthed to Harik, who shook his head.

“I’m afraid the pad I’m using isn’t capable of visuals. It’s been modified to be more secure and I can’t risk my security right now, there’s too much at risk.”

“Then I’m not certain what you expect from this call.”

“I’m going to work under the assumption you didn’t give details about our last conversation, and hope you understand I wouldn’t have divulge anything about it myself considering it’s the only proof I can offer to call in my favor. You twisted my arm to I would go to Lowvalley, you did that under threat of a vegetable shortage by counselor Arlion Tuff. You said that if I’d go there you’d consider it a personal favor, and that if I didn’t you’d feel the need to make my life difficult.”

The silence stretched. When the city leader spoke there was a hint of embarrassment in his voice. “In my defense, it had been a rather hard quarter when this happened, I probably shouldn’t have said that.”

“It’s okay, I don’t hold you responsible for the mess that turned into, but I do need your help now.”

“I am listening.”

“First, how confident are you no one is listening in on this call from your side?”

“As confident as I can be. I have a security company do regular scans of the office and all the connections go through one of their monitoring stations, any irregularities and I’m informed.”

“Alright, It’s going to have to be enough, but I suggest that you get the file out of the node I’ll give you quickly.”

Typing came from the other end. “Give me the address.” Marlot gave it, mildly surprised the city leader was this agile with the net. Anytime he’d had to deal with the councilors back in Low Valley it had taken longer to explain why they needed to go on the net for the information than the entire investigations at times.

“I have the file.”

Marlot gave him the encryption key. “The file is a list of people on your council, with links to a criminal cartel. I’m asking that you not act on that information right now. I need time to do something on my side and if you do anything it’s going to tip off the people I’m dealing with.”

“How long? If they’re dirty, I can’t afford to leave them there.”

“A few days, at most.”

“Alright, I can do a few days, it’ll give me the time to review this file. I do warn you that I’m not going to owe you another favor for this. I consider this you doing your civic duty.”

Marlot smiled. “It’s okay, I think that when you hear how I’m calling in the favor you already owe me, you’ll have to add this to it.”

“I am listening.”

“There’s a male being held by the enforcers, Trembor Goldenmane, he…” Marlot faltered.

“RI Blackclaw, I can’t step into the judicial system. I’m sure you feel he isn’t being treated correctly, but he wouldn’t be there is there wasn’t real evidence against him.”

Marlot wanted to laugh, or maybe cry. If only the judicial system was that clean. “No, I’m not asking you to step in now. I’m working on resolving the issue myself, but there’s a chance it won’t go the way I want. If it does, I need you to go see him, I need you to tell him that I didn’t plan for it to end this way. And I need you to transfer the favor you owe me to him. I can already tell you he’s going to ask for you to protect his family, it’s not even going to occur to him to ask you to get him out of the trouble he’s in.”

The silence stretched again. “Protecting an entire family from some unknown danger is a little more than I expected when I said I would owe you.”

“I know. Like I said, you’ll have to add the file to make this worthwhile.”

“Alright, how will I know if it’s time to go see him?”

Marlot laughed. “I will have died in a rather spectacular way. If this screws up I’m still taking as many of the people behind it as I can.”