Overthrown: The Great Dark (Overthrown Trilogy Book 1)

by Judd Vowell

  “Mr. Marsh,” he said, with a casual air. “Such a pleasure to meet you. Let me say, I have admired you from afar for a long time now.” The way he said these first words was with esteem, but they held a deeper meaning. He was informing Jacob that he had been able to surveil him, even as hidden as Jacob thought he had been.

  “I see, Mr. Sebastian. My work precedes me. But that begs the question...how do you know that it’s my work?” Jacob had recognized the veiled power-play, and his tone suggested that he would defend his secretive territory with vigor.

  “Yes, Mr. Marsh, that is the question, isn’t it? The best hacker in the country, if not the world. So good, in fact, that he is anonymous. Undercover. Utterly unknown. And yet, I found you.” Sebastian sat down in the chair across from him. “First things first, Jacob, if I may call you that. I’m going to tell you exactly how and when I discovered your exploits. But under one condition.” He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

  Jacob relaxed in his chair and smiled. “And what condition would that be...Salvador?”

  “That you listen to the rest of what I have to say, as far-fetched and wild-eyed as I may start to seem. That you allow yourself to think on a bigger scale than your mind has ever thought before. And that you accept the possibility that the entire world could be yours. Really, truly yours.”

  9.

  J acob could only assume that it was his two-month-long exploration into that first music file-sharing program that drove them away. The two women who had been supporting him were gone by the time he had satiated his destructive desires. If they had tried to say goodbye, he didn’t notice. And, in the end, he didn’t care. They were just a crutch for him by then, but their departure left him with a financial problem. He needed money to pursue his next computer endeavor, and he needed it fast.

  He landed a telemarketing job that he could sleepwalk through, so that he could focus his off-time on hacking. It was horrendous work, inherently filled with abuse and rejection by way of constant hang-ups. But, more importantly, it was the two things that he needed it to be: mindless and anonymous.

  His phone shift was weekday afternoons into evenings, from 2 PM until 10. He would hack at night, after work, until his eyes would begin to blur. After a few hours of sleep, he would pull his telephone shift, then back to the computer. Weekends were reserved for decompression, from hundreds of hang-ups and hours of hacking. And there was no better place in the world to decompress than Seattle. It was a city of rain, barbiturates, and experimental women. Jacob learned more in those few years of his existence than any college could have ever taught him.

  After a year in the central call center, Jacob’s manager allowed him to start working out of his apartment. In an industry where the average employment length was five weeks, he was the longest-tenured employee in the history of the company. So, he was given some personal freedoms. Once he was working from home, he was able to install his auto-dial program. It would make the phone calls based on the numbers he loaded into his computer at the beginning of each shift, using a pre-recorded introduction message. When a potential prospect would stay on the line for longer than 30 seconds, the program would sound an alert and Jacob would pick up the call. It was perfect for his greater goal. It gave him an additional eight hours a day to work on virus creation, encryption, and all of the other techniques a good hacker needed to have in his arsenal. Especially if he was going to hack his way to a fortune.

  The computer scam that Jacob created in that time was simple in nature, and it eventually became commonplace within the hacking community. He never looked at it as stealing, because what he took wasn’t important to him. In his mind, he was providing a service to the companies he was attacking by showing them just how unsecure their systems were. But showing them was just the beginning of the scam.

  Jacob would build a virus specifically for the company he wanted to infiltrate, and that virus would mirror the company’s systems administrator profile. It would act as that user. The same keystrokes, passwords, and so on. But it would hide itself, only logging into the system when that user was offline for long periods of time. Typically that would occur during overnight or weekend hours. Without someone investigating the logon times, the virus would appear to be operating just as the user might. But all the while, it was digging into the hard drives of presidents and vice presidents and CEOs and CFOs, slowly feeding bits and pieces back to its source: Jacob. Once he had copied the complete contents of the victim’s hard drive onto one of his own, the virus was programmed to shut the system down, leaving no trace and no access.

  It was a lucrative operation. Most black hats called it “hostage-taking,” but Jacob justified his actions and slept quite well at night. He may have been demanding a ransom, but that didn’t mean that he was going to hurt anyone. It was the fear of lost privacy, of secrets revealed no matter how trivial, that drove people to pay him. Most of the information he was able to obtain was company-related, but Jacob always believed the reason why those corporate giants paid him off was to keep their personal files from being exposed. He learned that people’s depravity seemed to increase with the size of their bank account. He was just the one taking advantage of it.

  10.

  J acob’s file-stealing scam made him wealthy, but the real rush he got from doing it came from something else: control. Salvador already knew this about him. He seemingly knew everything about Jacob in their first meeting. But Salvador also divulged some secrets of his own that day. He had to in order to complete Jacob’s recruitment.

  ◊◊◊

  Faultline housed a secret division underneath its legitimate web business. The division was small and agile and wickedly smart. They created viruses to infiltrate systems and servers, much like Jacob’s did. But while their means were the same as his, their end was completely different. Their viruses were built to patiently lie in wait on a company or government server, only coming to life at the most opportune times. Their mission was information, and they collected it from every company and government agency with which they were contracted. Proprietary, personnel, patent, and so on. The viruses gave Salvador Sebastian knowledge, and therefore quiet power.

  One of Faultline’s viruses had discovered one of Jacob’s while probing an insurance conglomerate that he had eyed to extort. The viruses that Jacob had created were virtually undetectable, but Salvador’s group proved to be even more sophisticated. They traced Jacob’s program back to him and, under Salvador’s instruction, burrowed deep into his system with one of their own. The young hacker was oblivious to the viral mole on his hard drive.

  “And that’s how I found you, how I followed your work,” Salvador finished. “Impressed, I’m sure?”

  “Very,” Jacob said. He thought for a few moments, while Salvador waited in silence. “But I don’t get it. If you’ve gathered and stored all of this information, if you know so much about the inner-workings of these companies and agencies, why don’t you do something with it? You’re sitting on a goddam goldmine. There’s got to be something more.” Then it became clear in Jacob’s mind. “You’re planning something…monumental.”

  Salvador gave him an approving smile. “Good, Jacob. I was hoping you would get there. I like that word – ‘monumental.’ With your help, it will be exactly that.”

  11.

  B efore he presented his grand plan, Salvador described to Jacob what was going to happen next. “I know you, Jacob, even though we’ve just met. And I believe that I can trust you. But I need to know that what I’m going to tell you stays between us. That, should you decide not to participate, it will go no further. Understand?”

  Jacob’s curiosity was peaked. He was desperate to hear what Salvador wanted to tell him, and so he agreed. “Of course I understand.”

  “Good. Then this part shouldn’t hurt one bit,” Salvador said with a smile. “This room, Jacob, is my ‘truth chamber,’ for lack of a better term. Sounds like something out of a Bond movie, right? Sorry about that.” He laughed a bit. He
had stood from his chair and was pacing along the walls as he talked. “With no windows to provide distraction and its painted surfaces a cool blue, this room will ease you into authenticity. I’ve put all of my closest people through it, including Simone.”

  Jacob remembered then what Simone had said to him before he entered the room. “This is more serious than you could ever imagine.” He was beginning to believe her.

  Salvador continued. “I have to make sure you can be committed to me and this...’cause.’ That term has become completely exaggerated, so I hate to use it. But that’s what this is. A movement. Growing faster than you can imagine. I want you to become a part of the engine of that movement, Jacob. So I have to know that you can handle the power of it all.”

  Everything he said drove Jacob’s imagination further. He had no idea what he might be committing to, but he wanted to commit nonetheless. “Understood,” he replied.

  “Ok, then, let’s get started. First, I’d like to know about your family, how you were raised. Be as descriptive as you like.”

  Jacob tensed, unnoticeably he hoped. His family was far in his past, but not yet totally forgotten. The subject shouldn’t have bothered him, but it did. “I was raised by my mother. Sorry, let me rephrase that: my mother was the only parent I had growing up. I can’t say that she really raised me, because I feel like I did that all on my own.”

  “Do you know your father?”

  “No,” Jacob responded tersely. “Let me get to the quick of this right now, Salvador. My mother was an alcoholic, drug-riddled whore. If I believed in miracles, then I would classify my birth as one. But I don’t. I always chalked my existence up to luck. I guess I’m an exception to the statistics of unsuccessful pregnancies. Rare, but they do exist.” Jacob took a deep breath. He had never talked about this with anyone. “If she knew who or where my father was, she never told me. Granted, I didn’t ask. It’s hard to give a shit about a guy who obviously doesn’t give a shit about me.”

  Salvador had stopped pacing. He walked over to the chair opposite Jacob and sat. “So tell me, how long has it been since you’ve spoken with your mother?”

  Jacob was stunned by the question, only because it assumed what was true. That he had left home long ago and never looked back. He wondered if Salvador knew his answers before he gave them. “Years. After high school, I moved away from that hell-hole and haven’t thought about it again until right now.”

  “And tell me about high school, Jacob. You never attended college. How were your grades?”

  “High school?” Jacob asked sarcastically. “How can I say this? The organized structure was a worthless waste of time. But in those years of my life, I fully realized how I could rein in the abstract thoughts that had been bouncing around my brain as a child. I know I’m smart. I knew it then. But I didn’t care about grades or tests, and the teachers loathed me for it. It wasn’t until I sat at the keyboard of a computer that I understood what focus and passion were. No teacher or class had ever done that for me.”

  “Do you regret not pursuing a formal computer education in college?”

  “Not for a second. Not for what I do.”

  Salvador nodded. “And why, Jacob, do you do what you do?”

  “Because I can,” he replied. “Because I can make the most powerful people in this country feel powerless. Because I can take away any semblance of control from those who try to control the rest of us.” Jacob’s pride was getting the better of him, but he couldn’t stop it. And something told him that Salvador liked it. “And until today – until you brought me here and told me about your operation – I thought I could do it better than anyone else in the world.”

  12.

  S alvador stood from his chair, and Jacob did the same. He extended his arm and gave the young man a firm handshake. “Thank you for your candor, Jacob. I think you’re going to be quite the asset for us. There is one last bit of questions. Simone will be handling those from here. Tonight, you will have dinner with me. And as long as this afternoon develops as I predict it will, I will lay out our plans then.”

  He walked to the door. When he opened it, Simone was there waiting in the hallway. Salvador leaned to her and whispered something that only she could hear. Then, before he left the room, he turned back and said, “Come hungry, hijo. People tell me I’m one hell of a cook.” Jacob didn’t understand the nickname, but he couldn’t help but like the way it sounded.

  ◊◊◊

  The battery of tests that Simone administered were all psychological in nature. They had been designed by doctors hired by Salvador specifically for that purpose. He was recruiting some of the brightest minds in the world, but his scheme was scandalous. He needed to make sure his recruits were mentally fit and stable. And he needed reassurance that they could withstand the time and effort that it would take to complete the mission. His plan was to change the world. Weakness in mind and spirit would not do.

  As late morning turned into afternoon, Jacob came to realize Simone’s importance to Salvador. She was his second opinion, the left side of his right-thinking brain. Of course she was a brilliant legal and political intellectual, with credentials to prove it. But she was so much more. Jacob felt her analyzing him and his answers as they progressed through the examination. He had initially wanted to start a playful flirtation with her, but he quickly found that he didn’t want to disrupt her work. It was a strange feeling for Jacob, something new. He respected Simone, unlike any woman he had ever known. So he allowed her to question him without interruption.

  When they were finished, she thanked him for his patience. “Now, you’ll be taken to your hotel. I suggest you take some time to rest. Tonight will be overwhelming. Dinner with Salvador will be at his home. A car will pick you up at 6 o’clock to take you there.” She finally began to ease her strict composure with him. “And one piece of advice, Jacob – enjoy the sunset. From Salvador’s place, it will be the best you’ve ever seen.”

  ◊◊◊

  It was a full forty-minute drive from the hotel to the coastline, where Salvador lived. The last few miles of the journey took the car upward, around tight curves on a narrow roadway that gashed through dense California woodland. The twisted cypress trees began to thin as Jacob and the driver approached the summit of the small mountain they had been ascending. Houses had been scarce as they made the climb, and Salvador’s driveway seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The driver pulled onto a dirt path that led a few hundred feet to the house and stopped when the car arrived at the front portico. Salvador was waiting there, and he led Jacob through the front door into his hideaway home.

  Jacob expected something grandiose, but it wasn’t. Instead, it was a reflection of the uncomplicated side of the man Jacob was just starting to comprehend. The house was a single-level Spanish-style structure. All of its floors were hardwood, its ceilings rustic with exposed redwood beams. It was furnished with hand-crafted tables and chairs, just enough for a single man who may host an occasional small group of guests. The central room was expansive but held only six leather chairs on a large oriental rug. Jacob noticed that one of the side room’s four walls were lined from floor to ceiling with shelves holding hundreds of books. The kitchen was large, with every open space occupied by various utensils and tools and dishware. There wasn’t a single example of modern technology throughout the home, which, to Jacob, seemed fitting.

  “Follow me, hijo,” Salvador directed as he walked toward the back of the house. Jacob had learned that the endearing word meant “son” in Spanish since the meeting. It made him feel carefree and comfortable with Salvador. “Let’s enjoy the view from the patio before dinner.”

  Simone had been right. The scene was breathtaking, with the backyard abruptly becoming cliff after just a few feet of grass. There was Pacific Ocean as far north and south as the naked eye could see. And the sound of her white-capped waves pounding against giant rock was the only noise in the air. Jacob walked to the end of the yard. It felt as if he were standing on
the edge of the earth.

  “This...is...beautiful,” Jacob whispered, almost to himself.

  “Glorious, isn’t it?” Salvador said as he walked up and placed a drink in Jacob’s hand. “You spoke of control earlier. What you see before you is the definition of control. Natural control.”

  Jacob had never been an emotional person. Life had taught him that emotions could only get in the way of logic. But that moment brought unknown emotions to his surface. “Power,” he said.

  “That’s right, Jacob. The most powerful force on this planet. I’m glad to see that you can appreciate that. Come on over, have a seat.” There were two wooden chairs on the tiled patio, where they sat. “I’ve gotten the report from Simone on your psych evaluations. Very interesting.”

  “That doesn’t necessarily sound good, Salvador.”

  “There’s no good or bad on these types of tests. There’s just you. And, for our purposes, you passed.”

  “I’ve got to say, you guys have done one hell of a job hanging me over a cliff. The suspense of this whole thing is making me sick.”

  Salvador laughed. “I know, and I’m sorry. We had to keep you in the dark until now. But I certainly don’t need you to be ill before we eat – I’ve spent the entire afternoon preparing our dinner. So, where do I start? How about the part where you create the most vicious computer virus the world has ever witnessed?”

  13.

  S alvador described his scheme to change the world over a dinner of cioppino, a fish stew that he had made with fresh clams, mussels, shrimp, and crab. After he and Jacob finished eating, he opened a second bottle of wine and they returned to the patio. The bottle was empty by the time he finished relating his elaborate plan.