Bank Roll Cracking

[Kayto Styles]

Makter had already gone through Comp Corp & More and used up the coupon to get himself a decent lap top. He had made his way back to the depths of the slums and found a place to squat for the night. Sure he had enough to get a room at a motel but he first had to make sure he'd get a little income. He didn't want to waste what little money he had on a nice room and board when he was unsure of his ability to crack into Corvek's bank roll for future funding.

The squat was just a run down building where homeless and criminals on the hide would come and take refuge from the world. There was no rent to pay nor was there really any personal privacy unless you found a door that could lock. The place smelled foul of sex, drugs, mold, and rot. This was one of the better squats he had been to though others even smelled of death and decay.

Fishing the remains of a chair without it's back support out of a pile of broken up wood he set it up in a clear patch of floor. Digging around in the would pile he most of a table and used little bits of other chairs and wood stakes to hold it up where it was missing a leg. The make-shift table was a bit wobbly but he wasn't going to be leaning much on it.

Setting up his lap top on the good side of the table he removed his back pack and set it on the floor next to the chair. Sitting down he reached down into it and fished out a few wires and the charge card reader. Making a few connections from the card reader to the lap top he fished out of his pocket his card and the blank card he had made Corvek swipe and turned on his computer.

While the lap top booted up Mak was unrolling a wire from the computer to the window carrying a small dish that was no worse for wear then triangle shaped missing piece on the left side of it. He had most likely just picked it up off the ground in this room and it would hold enough power to get his signal to a nearby relay station. It wasn't like he needed it but it never hurt to give it a extra little push.

When he got back to the table everything was set up and waiting for him to start his thing. Running the computer to make sure his charge card reader was hooked up right he let out a brief short laugh. He was more excited about having his own lap top then what he was actually doing with it. Once he was satisfied with the set up he swiped his card through the card scanner and watched to see if it worked.

The screen ran numbers and processes across the screen to quick for the eye to follow yet he still monitored it to find out it's plotted course. He swiped his card a few more times and kept attempting to trace the information to get inside of the banks files of his account. After the third try the bank's security AI was up and running looking for the violator. Quickly typing away on his computer and pulling out 1 of the 2 free back-up disks that came with the computer he started making a quick fit dummy probe and added it to the blank disk. The dummy probe scanned the account numbers he was running and shot off to project a false scan loop over and over not really trying to break into the account but realistic enough to draw some attention.

He followed the information back once again and now on the fifth try he figured out how it was working and processing the information. Pulling the plug out of the banks files just as the AI had come back from chasing the dummy probe he sat there wondering and working on a few new programs he'll need for this up coming task....

"Such a pain... they'll be watching that account for awhile and most likely beef it up. I'll have to get everything right on the first attempt or else they might lock my funds in and me out."

He was talking to himself rubbing the side of his cheek which smeared dirt on it from when he was picking the table and trash out of the pile on the floor. What he wouldn't do to be in a motel right now taking a nice long bath, but he had work to do to insure that he had money to have a relaxing time like that.

Mak left the thoughts of a nice bath to work on some programs he would need and 1 spike file that would take out at least one AI scanner if it got two close. Yet the spike was meant really for a last call he treated AI as if it were a human being. Killing was beneath him.... unless absolutely threatened which he hoped never happened.

 

[Kayto Styles]

Mak was ready or so her thought. He had spent most of the evening creating probes that would split up sending the AI chasing after different false intruders, a small worm file that would eat away at memory systems that held account records, (which would take priority to an AI to fix. Someone may implement this into their RP as if they lost some of their funds on their cash card.) and a false account input file to set himself a fake account in the banks memory that would be over looked by the AI for the moments needed to gain access into the transactions network.

Getting everything set up on his screen short cut files in place for easy access he smiled and took in a deep breath. Hooking up the card scanner again to the lap top he held the blank card in his hand that had scanned Corveks access code he typed in after the second swipe. He would use this cards memory read to gain access through Corveks account rather then his own so if he was busted they would freeze his account and question Corvek instead of him.

"Alright time for the big win or a complete waste of time. Do or die time do or die."

Swiping the card through the scanner he dropped it at the side and his hands went to the computer typing quickly remembering the routes the information traveled and just barley kept up with it. The AI was quick in response of his intrusion. The account he was following had a sizable amount in it but he couldn't touch that this mission was to set something up to let him scrape off some of Corveks funds each time he put money in.

Activating the fake info diving probes the AI took off after them some still keeping tabs on where he was going. It only took a moment for the probes to do there first few splits. Now there were about 9 people poking around in the banks computers or at least thats what it looked like to the AI. Again they kept splitting some being cornered and terminated once hitting dead end info streams. There were still some tracking him but he was getting deeper into the banks files and thats when he dropped the worm file. It quickly started eating away at random accounts memory and some of those accounts money was just disappearing. This drew the bulk of the AI to it immediately to counter act the virus file. This would cause the AI to briefly lose track of his wear about and by him a minute or two. With the AI off him he dropped one more fake probes just in case they kept track of him and went for the mainframe.

As soon as he was into the mainframe he started downloading his new user account information into it to set up a way to make it look like he was an employee of the bank. This would cause the AI to overlook him for a time as he made the modifications to Corvek and his own accounts.

Signing into the newly created bank personal account named "Raccoon Man" he went to work. Diving into Corveks main account he started hooking up a transaction monitor and collector. This basically monitored each time Corvek would put money in and transfer a small amount of that into a separate area of his account. Next Mak set up for that part of his account to send it's gathered funds to a blank set up account that was just there to filter out the unwanted eyes. From the set up account it would then be transfered to several other fake accounts before reaching Makters account.

Setting it up so every week whatever money the file scrapes off of Corveks transactions were transfered to the dummy accounts and then to Mak so he had a weekly income. This would make it look more real then just gaining money into his account every time Corvek put money into his.

The AI was hovering around him they had rounded up all his probes and had eliminated his worm which did little damage to their bank roll but would cause some unhappy customers in the morning. Quickly signing off the account he made he disconnected the link up and shut down his computer blinking out of existence from the AI's sight.

"Well I hope I got that all set up correctly... I'm sure I did but I could have been faster."

He had started talking to himself as the night wore on until sleep finally caught up with him. Propping himself up against the door to the room he was staying in holding his lap top and back back close to him for safe keeping he drifted off to sleep. In a week he would find out if his hook up worked.... If every thing was alright he would see an increase in his account. Until that time came he only had 150 KS to his name for food and the such.... it was all left in the hands of if his skill was quick and well plotted out enough to where the AI didn't notice the program he attached to Corvek's account. Though the AI shouldn't really be allowed to poke around in peoples private accounts to look for things like that.

 

[Tom]

The AI was not as defenseless as the intruder might have thought, using its adaptive firewalls to shut off several of the dummy access points into its system as soon as improper intrustion into the system was detected.

With the backing of both the government and the financial sector, this AI proved to be the composite of several of the most brilliant programming minds on Nepleslia. The very existence of Nepleslia's economy relied on good faith in the secruity protocols protecting money.

The bank's AI left some of the intruder's access points open so that he could continue to poke around in the files under the AI's passive watch. During this time, the AI traced the hacker and pinpointed his connection either through referencing the IP address, which hadn't been scrambled, and comparing it with known blueprints fromt eh city against existing network lines that had been installed to determine which outlet he was using, or by triangulating his location using the lag time from wireless network connectivity. The room's address was then forwarded to the police department and the bank's president.

The bank also traced the stolen account number of Corvek.

Warnings and notices were sent to freeze accounts as soon as the hacker left. Accounts with the worm program were viciously attacked and destroyed. Notices to other banks and government bodies were sent. Hours of paperwork was caused by this effort, as bank employees had to physically check the accuracy of bank records from before the attack.

As the hacker went to sleep, an FCPD swat force had been dispatched to both Corvek's location and the location where they traced the IP to originate from. It didn't take them long to arrive.

The screams of the homeless and destitute filled the air as doors were battered down in the area. With a loud slam, the door to the hacker's squat had been battered in and four soldiers entered. Their footsteps pouded on the ground as they searched, room by room, for the hacker with the computer...

 

[Kayto Styles]

The bangs of doors and the screams of the fellow homeless on the lower levels had already torn him from his sleep. Something had obviously gone wrong on his first real attempt at hacking a government protected building. The thumps of what sounded like soldiers due to there gear they carried causing their footsteps to be louder then normal were drawing closer.

"Shit shit shit dumb move Mak dumb move. Get up and get out of here.. Where Mak where your on the third floor.." He was cursing himself and thinking out loud as he worked to throw his things into his back pack only leaving the busted transmitter dish that he had found in the room behind.

Looking to the door and still hearing doors nearby being kicked in he bolted around to the next room of the squat just as his room door was kicked in.

"shit shit.." He looked around the new room and spotted a window and before he was clear on what he was doing he leeped out of it breaking what little glass was left on it as he crashed through.

His trench coat billowed out behind him as he remembered he was on the third floor and his right arm stretched out and back. The powerful vise like grip of the Robotic arm caught hold of the building and tore away at the cement outer structure. If the arm wasn't fastened all the way behind his shoulder he would have surly pulled it out of its socket. Instead the violently slowed fall jerked his body hard which no doubt he'd be feeling later on in the evening if he lived that long.

Not giving himself the time to look up from where he came from as he slowed enough to jump the rest of the way down without breaking his legs he bolted for the alley ways. Behind him he could still hear screams from people running out of the only door to the building that the intrusion was taking place in.

"Hope they are keeping that door blocked off enough to get me a decent head start."

 

[Tom]

A soldier came to the window, having heard the horrible noise being made from the hacker's descent. As the man ran, the soldier aimed his Type 28 submachine gun.

"FREEZE! YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!"

He fired just as the suspect turned the corner of the building. Explosive blasts of energy flashed on the ground right behind Kayto.

"SUSPECT IS ON FOOT, HEADING SOUTHBOUND!"

The blaring of police sirens came nearer...

 

[Kayto Styles]

As he rounded another corner of the alley he was blocked off by a fence but only momentarily as the titanium alloy fist griped a handful of the links and twisted a wide enough hole through it. Crawling through his trench coat tore slightly at the tail end.

Once on the other side of the fence he started checking doors that he passed by looking for one that might be open for him to slip into. If he was lucky they didn't catch a glimpse of what he looked like and if he could get into a crowd he just might blend in.

His heart was racing and he was trying to catch his breath. All the extra weight he was carrying around was slowly starting to affect him. He hadn't quiet gotten used to lugging all of it around yet and here he was already having to run for his life with it all on.

"Come on damn it be unlocked!" *He reached to twist the handle of another door throwing his shoulder into it.*

 

[Tom]

The door gave way. Inside was what appeared to be the remnants of a store. The shelves, long barren, now held only dust. A counter with a ripped open cash register was to the right. Coolers were to his left, the windows long covered with an opaque thick brown grime. Even the floor of the store was ripped apart. Dried paste used to stick the tile to the ground provided a firm, yet uneven surface.

A rusty emergency exit sat against the north wall, but it was closed and years of disuse had sealed it shut.

A large crash came from behind. It sounded like the chain fence being torn off.

 

[Kayto Styles]

His idea came fast he had maybe a minute or two to pull it off. But he had to be convincing.

Running over to the rusted door he pulled off his trench coat, back pack, and GP-12B1. His left him in his already ragged black T-shirt and the bi-cybernetic arm wrap. Holding his gear in his left arm he rammed his wedged finger tips of the right arm into the joint of the door and pried it open enough to get a better hold to almost peel it down enough for some one to climb through. Running over to the left wall where the coolers where he stuffed all his things into one and started tearing pieces of his black T-shirt up and throwing it in with his stuff making his clothes look even more ragged. Closing the cooler and sliding his hand against it's back side picking up a mess of dirt and dust he smeared it on his arms and face.

Standing almost dead center in the room he turned away from the back door where he had come from and out the door he had peeled away waiting. He looked just like some homeless man and with a slight lean to the side played off what looked to be a hangover. Now for the final bit of it...

"WHAT DA 'ELL MAN! DAT'S MY DOOR!" Mak yelled it out loud enough for anyone around to hear and it sounded genuinely angered and slightly degenerate.

 

[Tom]

A team of four officers bursted into the room. They were dressed in full bodyarmor with helmets and wielded submachine guns. Two immediately surrounded what appeared to be a bum, while the other two ran to the door.

One of the soldiers grabbed the bum and slammed him against the aisle's shelf.

"TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW, SHITSTAIN. THE MAN, WHERE DID HE GO?"

 

[Kayto Styles]

Maks body was as loose as a rag doll as he was thrown back into the wall. "Every body's pushing me... no manors in this part of town any more. First the kid that ripped up my door..." Mak was leaning forward almost as if he were going to topple over if the man let go of him. "now you guys waving your guns around. Who's gonna pay for my door now the cold can get in."

Mak was acting a bit wobbly as he pointed to the ripped up door and took in a deep breath but instead of talking let it out and took a shallower one. "That kid was strong man he had some kinda super strength arm I mean look at the size of that door and what he did to it man... This sucks think you can buy me a beer to keep me warm tonight man?" His head tilted to the side and looked up to the soldiers eyes half squinted half bolting side to sit as if he were having trouble focusing.

 

[Tom]

The 2nd man was quiet, watching his partner smash the bum into the aisle.

"WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR, SOME KIND OF LIQUOR STORE? SHUT THE HELL UP BEFORE I BEAT YOUR FACE IN, SMARTASS!"

The second man waved the first off, and approached the bum. His eyes narrowed through his protective visor.

"Wait up, Joe," the second man said as he addressed the bum. "You been here long, buddy? Sleeping here or something? This is a nice squat. Tell us what you've been doin' and we'll buy you a beer."

 

[Kayto Styles]

"Aww man this place is great man." Mak was smiling happily now at the thought of a free beer no doubt would be what the guard might think. "This place used to hold food back in the day and the rodents still pop around. it's a perfect place to set up for catching them for dinner man. You get a nice barrel fire going and you fire the thing up it's home cooking at its best."

Mak leaned toward the new guy and grinned hard. And such a big place attracts the lady's too they need a place to squat too ya know? Man and thees things make great toilets." He was trying to move toward one of the coolers on the other wall to open it for them to see. "They hold a lot and keep the scent from coming out until ya open them. Come on man how bout that beer?"

He scratched as his messy brown hair most likely covered in lice if he really was a bum. Offering the same hand he just scratched with to the man. "Come on is it a deal can I get a beer man?"

 

[Tom]

"You can get a beer, bud, but you didn't answer my question, man. Lemme ask again. What'd you do today?"

They both followed the bum as he walked to the coolers. The first person had let his gunsight down, but was almost twitching, waiting for an exuse to draw it and shoot this guy.

Meanwhile, the other 2 soldiers attempted to squeeze through the door, one of them helping the other through the opening.

 

[Kayto Styles]

He kept his eyes on the soldier the best he could the eyes still shifting side to side as if he were unsteady and about to tip over. "Man I was trying to get some more beers last night cuz this buddy guy I know he got himself 20 KS off this lady and he had gone and gots himself some bottles. He shared em nice and plenty with me but when he ran outs I tried to go get me some to but they kicked me out of the store saying I'd be drivin paying costumers away. I mean what gives him that right to kick me out like that I could have had moneys ya know man? But any ways I come back her and passed out in my corner there until dat kid come busten my back door down and tearing up my front one. Man you guys need to put some better guards up around here to keep us safe."

 

[Tom]

The second officer cracked a smile at the man's words.

"Oh really, now? You been kicked out a store for just tryin' to see what's there and grabbin' a beer? That sucks... that sure does suck..."

The man wiped his hand over the bum's head, then rubs the fingertips of his black gloves together.

"Sounds like a world of pain... really. But see, you look like you've been sweatin' quite a bit for a man who just got woken up by some punk kid."

His smile grew into a big grin.

"You must've been doin' a lot of running... in your dreams no doubt."

 

[Kayto Styles]

Mak only tilted his head to the side to this thought and nodded to the door that was peeled open. "Yeah man and thanks to that kid it's not going to stay warm in here any more. This place kept the heat in good man well insulated cuz it was one of them there food joints."

Mak wasn't flinching from the man's questions like some nervous punk but he did look slightly confused at being questioned. "you not trying to weasel outta getting me that beer man are you? Come on man you gotta nice job look at all that stuff you got man all I'm asking for is like 5 KS for a beer to help me keep warm now that my doors fucked up." He had been saying for awhile now that he needed the beer to keep warm and still hadn't changed one piece of his story nor flinched to any of the questions. If in fact you stay in a well insulated room a persons body heat and breathing could bring up the heat in the room hell he even looked kinda sickly and might be suffering from a cold but since now there was a large opening in the building from two doors being open it's not like the place couldn't have be cooled off over the time i took for them to question him this long.

Mak scratched at his head again still playing on the lice thing as his jittery eyes kept darting from one of the mans eyes to the other leaning heavily to one side. "Come on man what do ya say man do I get my beer now? I told you every thing man I've had a hard day as is now that I gotta be finding me a new place to stay."

 

[Tom]

The second man started to laugh out loud, and he looked to his colleague, who also began to laugh. It was a fake, sarcastic laugh. These men were just looking for an excuse, and they found it.

"Oh, are you being a wise-ass with us? Insulated? This building is fuckin' old and rotting away... IT DON'T EVEN GOT NO FLOOR TILE! You take me for a fucking idiot, boy?"

He motioned to the first officer, who raised his gun at the bum. The second man continued.

"Maybe I believe you... maybe I don't... you ain't been very polite to your fellow officers, the men who make your life possible to exist. You think we'd stoop so low as to buy you a fucking beer when we got more important shit to do? Yeah, we got your beer-- in the back of the squadcar."

The second man punched the bum in the gut as the first kept his rifle trained on him.

"You just won yourself an all-inclusive paid pass to jail, asshole. Compliments of FCPD. You going to come quietly or do I have to have my friend here blow your brains out?"

He kneed the bum in the gut.

 

[Kayto Styles]

He stumbled to the side almost as though accidentally dodging the first blow to his gut but the second one made contact and he dropped to his knee's. Coughing yet still keeping the act of a bum he kept his eyes off them and onto the floor.

Sure, the whole damn planet was hot most of the time thanks to it being industrial... Mak thought bitterly. Yeah, and sure the floor might not have tile but the building was still sound and insulation was decent. I could have even argued that there was no way I could do something like that to the door. It's not like I look like I could afford enhancements to do something like that. Yeah, once they scan me, they'll find I'm 100% Nepleslian, no add ons or nothing. And won't they be surprised when they find out I REALLY am a bum.... or at least some street punk without a home.

"Heck free room and board man i ain't complaining. Least I'll get a cot to sleep on instead of the floor." He kept his eyes on the floor the entire time he knew they were still itching to kick him around and drag him off.

If these guys would rather take in a bum that has a very slim chance at being ID as a hacker they didn't know anything about, except that he had some form of powerful right arm, then to keep looking then so be it. It was a bunch of bullshit. He must not have been in all that much trouble or these guys just wanted to slack off on their job and could careless who they brought in. Either way that arm was his scapegoat. When he ran negative for enhancements then they'd know that I'm the wrong guy.

The arm he used was well covered and he was around a corner by time they actually got a glimpse of him. It was an out dated model being a wrap and he doubted they'd even think some one would have something like that and would jump straight to the conclusion of a android arm or the strength enhancers. Breaking his train of thought he lifted his hands over his head and still didn't look up.

"I'll go quietly and are you sure you don't wanna get me a beer man? You'd be helping a guy out big time."