Special Forces: Operation Alpha: HACKED (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Sue Coletta

  With no warning, no two-week notice, what was he supposed to do now? Charlotte would kill him if he didn’t find another job right away, especially with the new baby coming.

  The F250 pickup took off like a bullet at the firing range, and he tightened his grip on the wheel. He pumped the brake. The truck didn’t slow. Sliding the shifter into neutral had no effect. The engine revved faster, the vehicle hauling ass at eighty-two miles-per-hour.

  Sweat needled his hairline as he zigzagged in and out of lanes. What could cause this to happen? Had Ford recalled a part and forgot to notify him?

  Once he crossed into a residential neighborhood, he twisted the key in the ignition, hoping to kill the engine. It didn’t work. With the shifter in neutral and the key set to OFF, how was this even possible?

  A mechanical voice interrupted ZZ Ward’s Put the Gun Down. “You will die tonight. It’s your call on how long you suffer.”

  “What? Who are you?”

  “Rather than ask questions, I suggest you get right with your God.”

  He swerved to avoid a kid’s ball that rolled into the street. “Why are you doing this?”

  “I can speed up the inevitable if it’s easier. Do you want to end this quickly, Mark?”

  “Yes. No!”

  “Which is it, yes or no?”

  “I can’t die. I’m only thirty-five.”

  “That’s a moot point. People a lot younger than you die every day in this country. What makes you so special?”

  His mind buzzed with how to answer. Truth was, he’s an average guy who married his high school sweetheart and worked hard all his life. They were happier than most, but nothing in particular made him inherently “special.”

  “I’m about to be a father. I can’t die before seeing my son. We’ve waited a lifetime for him. Surely you can understand that.”

  “Say goodbye, Mark Madison. This ride has come to an end.”

  By itself the steering wheel jerked to the right. The truck smashed through a barrier of neon-orange cones, slid sideways in the sand, and plummeted into a wide opening in the street, where workman had replaced sewer lines. Pinned, Mark couldn’t move his limbs, blood trickling down the bridge of his nose from the deep gash in his forehead.

  “Please, God,” he managed in a soft, scratchy voice, “don’t let me die down here.”

  Chapter 14

  7:00 p.m.

  Half the day I spent convincing security that Dexter was a key eyewitness in a serial murder investigation. Granted, not the finest moment of my career, but with Levaughn backing my story, they bought it. How, I had no idea. All right, there might’ve been some good ol’ fashion begging on my part, heartfelt wailing from Nadine, and sexual innuendos from Lolli. In the end, we all deserved Academy awards for our performances. They banished us to the top floor with empty rooms on either side. And, lucky me, security insisted the four of us stayed in the same suite.

  I could almost hear my sex life withering away. The only plus was, at least now we had separate bedrooms. Still. Did I really want to ride Levaughn like a horse in last place with Nadine and Lolli on the other side of the wall?

  To make matters worse, while detained in the security office my cell phone alerted. The hacker had connected to the same cell tower, and there was no way for me to triangulate the signal. Hence, why my day hadn’t improved by the time evening rolled around.

  Once we settled into our new luxury suite I gestured for Lolli, and by extension Mr. Chatterbox, to join me in the other room for a private chat. Had to admit, now that Dexter couldn’t get my ass thrown in the street with fines up the yin-yang, his vocalizations cracked me up. Never in my life had I seen a cat with so much personality. Apart from my own of course.

  “Gimme one sec, Lolli.” I darted to the archway, separating the office from the living room, and jabbed my chin at Levaughn. “Hey, who’s takin’ care of Berkley and Katie McGuire?”

  “Christopher.”

  “Seriously? Let’s hope he doesn’t find them attractive.”

  “Hey,” Nadine admonished. “That’s my fiancé you’re talkin’ about.”

  “After all he’s done you’re still gonna marry him?”

  “There’s two sides to every story. I should hear him out is all I’m sayin’.”

  “So, beatin’ the shit outta him is off the table, then?”

  “For now.” She winked. “But that could change.”

  “Atta girl.” I stuck out my fist for her to bump it, and…she missed. Why do I even try to up her cool factor?

  Back with Lolli, I wasn’t sure how to go about getting her to agree to the plan. “First, how ya doin’? You feelin’ safer now?”

  “Yes. Thanks a bunch. All of you have been so nice, especially after the incident with Dexter. I probably should have warned you that he’s a bit talkative.”

  A bit? I let it go. “So, I came up with a way to give you back your life.”

  “Really? That’s amazing. How?”

  “Here’s the thing. I need you to drive your car.”

  As if struck by a live electrical wire, her whole body stiffened. “You want to use me as bait?”

  “Bait is such an ugly word. What I’m proposing is different. I’ll be with you the whole time.”

  “With me meaning, in the vehicle?”

  “Not exactly.”

  “Then how?”

  “What I mean is, I’ll have complete control of your cellular network. I promise he won’t be able to hack his way in. Worse case, Levaughn flips on the cell jammer and blocks access, but before he does, I need to triangulate the signal. The only reason I mention this is because you might need to keep driving while I do it.”

  “Let me see if I’ve got this straight. You want me to let a psychopath…excuse me, invite this psychopath back into my life in the off chance he’s stupid enough to let you triangulate his signal. Is that about right?”

  “Well, when you say it like that…”

  “How else could I say it? That is what you’re asking, is it not?”

  She’s not a stupid woman, I’ll give her that. “Look. You can either live your life, constantly checking over your shoulder, or you can help me stop him. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. Your choice.”

  “Levaughn will definitely have a cell jammer?”

  “Yup. HNT dropped it off this morning.”

  “HNT?”

  “Sorry. Hostage Negotiation Teams. They have a device the size of suitcase that puts what they call a ‘cone of silence’ in an area to kill cell signals inside a house in order to prevent a hostage taker’s cell from sending or receiving. If things get too hairy, I’ll signal him to flip the switch. Boom. Done. You’ll regain control of the car.”

  If only I’d thought of this plan sooner, Levaughn might not have suffered so long. Course, if I had, I wouldn’t’ve gotten the cell tower information. Which, even Tex agreed, became the only way to locate Reaper’s lair.

  Lolli slapped her knees and rose. “I’m in. Let’s catch this bastard.”

  “Hell yeah.”

  From the archway, Nadine’s jazz hand shot above her head. “Woot!”

  Levaughn came around the corner with his sexy-as-hell swagger, and my mouth watered in anticipation. “What are we celebrating?”

  “Huh?” I shook the fantasy from my mind. “Right. Lolli said she’d do it. We better get ready.”

  “Wait.” Confusion rolled over Nadine’s face. “What’re we doin’?”

  “Catchin’ the hacker. What’d you think we were all excited about?”

  “I dunno. Going out to eat, maybe. I’ve been reading the brochures. We’re surrounded by five-star restaurants.” Head drooped, her chest caved, shoulders rolled forward. “Joke’s on me, I guess.”

  “Nay, don’t be like that. The only reason I didn’t tell you about the plan is because I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

  Refusing to face me, Nadine stared at the carpet. “You’re not just sayin’ tha
t to make me feel better?”

  “Not at all. After all these years, you should know me better than that. Do I ever blow smoke up anyone’s ass?”

  A giggle. “I guess not.”

  “Wanna know what I think? Treat yourself to one of those fancy restaurants. I’ll even pay.”

  “What, by myself?”

  “Umm, well, yeah. The three of us need to bounce. We’ve got work to do. But Dexter will be here when you get back.”

  “Oh.” The head hung a second time.

  Isolating my best friend. Could I sink any lower? “Okay, fine. You can come.”

  Without warning, she threw her arms around my neck and squeezed like a boa killed its prey. Again with the hugging. I peeled her off me. “No drama, though. Promise me.”

  She raised two fingers to shoulder-level. “Scout’s honor.”

  I had no doubt this decision would either kill Lolli or get us thrown behind bars. Maybe both.

  Chapter 15

  8:00 p.m.

  Everything was in place. Lolli drove a loaner Prius, the exact model she’d crashed at the duck pond. Two car lengths behind her, Levaughn drove my jeep while I sat in the backseat with my MacBook, the cell jammer beside me. Nadine hung onto the J-strap in the passenger seat. We’d been driving around the city for thirty minutes with no sign of Reaper.

  And then, it happened. He connected to the cell tower.

  Fingers pounding the keyboard, I drew a radius around the first cell tower. But in order to locate his hideout I needed a second cell tower. While I waited for the information the Prius took off at breakneck speed, swerving all over the road.

  Right on cue, Nadine panicked. “Hurry. She must be terrified.”

  “I’m goin’ as fast as I can. Relax.”

  The second cell tower revealed itself, and I merged the radius of the two orbs.

  Where they intersected narrowed the search area, but no enough to pinpoint Reaper’s exact location.

  “Babe, Nadine’s right. Lolli’s going way too fast. Reaper might end the ride for her. There’s no way he’ll allow her to escape twice.”

  “I know this. Please, I gotta concentrate.”

  “Just bear in mind, you might not have as much time as you think.”

  “Okay, okay. Got it. Shit! He threw up a fake cell tower. That bastard’s tryin’ to hack me.” I mumbled, “I’ve got news for you, asshole. It’s gonna take a lot more than a Trojan horse to beat me. Game’s on now, pal.” In seconds I blocked his mediocre work, and did a little hacking of my own. “Gotcha.” When I added a third tower, the three intersecting orbs pointed to Reaper’s location, give or take ten feet. “Nay, grab the cell jammer. I need to stay on him.”

  “Me? But I have no idea how that thing works.”

  “Screw it. Use mine.” I tossed a handheld device into the front seat, and Levaughn lost his friggin’ cookies.

  “What the hell, Shawnee? Where’d you get a cell jammer? More importantly, why do you even own one?”

  Crap. “Seriously? You really think it’s the best time to get into this?”

  “It’s illegal, and I’m a sworn officer of the law.”

  “First off, it’s not illegal to own it, only to use it. Now, will someone please throw the damn switch before Lolli crashes?”

  As if aliens had dropped a foreign object from the sky, Nadine studied the device. “What are these tubular thingamajigs on the top?”

  Levaughn was still rambling about why I had the jammer in the first place. “Why’d I bother NRT if you had a jammer all along? Unless you were tryin’ to hide it from me.”

  “You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kiddin’ me. Snap out of it, people. Lolli’s life is on the line. Nay, those thingamajigs, as you call it, are antennas. Each one has a specific purpose. Plug the AC adapter into the cigarette lighter. Then, on the side of the unit, you’ll see the power button and four dip-switches. See how the antennas are different lengths? Look at the bars next to each dip-switch and make sure the length matches the antenna we want disabled. Not yet, though. We need to be within range first.”

  Before continuing, I took a cleansing breath. Which didn’t do shit to un-jitter my nerves. I craned my neck around the driver’s seat. “We need to get closer. The jammer only works within seventy feet. Okay?”

  “I’m on it.” Levaughn floored the gas, the jeep racing down the breakdown lane to catch the out-of-control Prius.

  “Awesome. Keep her steady. I’ve got one more thing to do.” In case Nadine disabled my WiFi hotspot by mistake I sent my iPhone a text with Reaper’s location. The musical trill confirmed receipt. “Nay, you ready?”

  She mumbled, “No,” but I ignored it.

  “Super. Okay, I want you to enable all the antennas except the longest.”

  One might think I’d asked her to buckle up in the electric chair by the way she hesitated. “They slide side to side. It’s not rocket science. When an antennae’s enabled you’ll see the corresponding green light on the top of the unit. Remember, don’t block the WiFi. Sorry. Don’t switch on the longest antennae. Got it?”

  “I…I…”

  Up ahead, the Prius careened on to the sidewalk, nearly mowing down a young couple and their dog. With a jerk of the wheel, the car sideswiped a maple tree, caving in the entire driver’s side. Was Lolli still steering, or had Reaper taken control of the wheel?”

  “Gimme the damn thing.”

  She handed over the jammer. Switching on the first three antennas, I killed the cell signal. The three of us gaped at the Prius as it sailed off the sidewalk, into the street, the headlights bouncing to the rhythm of its shocks. Good thing Levaughn reacted in time, or she would’ve collided with my jeep. It took a while for the car to reduce enough speed to coast to a stop. Levaughn pulled in behind Lolli and leaped from the driver’s seat, the door left wide-open, keys in the ignition.

  Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

  Cell jammer in hand, I chased after him. With all the damage to the side of the Prius getting inside might be tough.

  Behind the wheel, Lolli was hysterical, her words incoherent through the tears.

  Tugging the door handle, Levaughn called out, “Smell that? If we don’t get her out of there, the gas tank could explode.”

  I hustled around the bumper to the passenger side. First I tried the door handle. Locked. Hollering, I banged on the glass. “Unlock the damn door!”

  Inconsolable, Lolli kept her head down, her shoulder-length curls masking her face as her whole body trembled.

  “Unblock the signal,” said Levaughn. “We need to call the fire department.”

  “Fuck that. Hang on.” I charged back to the jeep and dragged out my trusty bat. When I returned, I gave Lolli a quick warning. “Cover your face.”

  Damn near catatonic, she didn’t move.

  Over the roof, Levaughn shouted at me to break the glass. To be safe I swung at the back passenger window. Glass shattered everywhere. With the bat I knocked out the remaining loose pieces, and crawled inside. Reaching between the seats, I flipped the door locks to open while Levaughn hustled to the other side.

  He swung open the passenger door. “Are her legs pinned?”

  “Don’t look it.”

  “Okay, cool.” By the arm he yanked her upper body closer to him. “Grab her legs.”

  Staying close to the crushed door, I hopped the headrest. “You gotta drag her a little more so I can reach them.”

  And so, he did.

  Once Lolli’s waist passed the middle console I slid my hands under her knees while Levaughn firmed his grasp under her armpits.

  “Not too fast,” I said. “I don’t have the best grip.”

  Slow but steady, we carried her out the car and over to the jeep, where we laid her across the backseat. Somewhere between dragging her out of the car and securing her inside my Montero, she passed out.

  “Oh my God,” shouted Nadine. “Is she dead?”

  Levaughn told her, “No. Sometimes the body shuts
down when it undergoes extreme trauma. She’s in shock. Don’t worry.” He dashed to the driver’s side and slipped behind the wheel. I stayed in back, with Lolli’s head resting on my lap.

  “Shawnee, kill the cell jammer so we can notify the PD. We’ll get to the hospital a lot quicker with an escort.”

  “But what about Reaper? If he catches on that I found his location, he’ll get the hell outta Dodge. This’ll all be for nothing.”

  “All right. New plan. Notify the PD. Tell them we’re en route and to send a bus to meet us on the way. You’ll have to keep the line open to update them on where we’re at. Nay, when the ambulance arrives, can you ride with Lolli to the hospital?”

  “Yup.”

  “Excellent. Okay, babe. Do your thing.”

  With a flip of the switch service was restored, and I called Pittsburgh PD. Levaughn’s plan worked. Halfway to the hospital, the EMTs met us for the hand-off. Nadine jumped in the ambulance with Lolli and we took off after Reaper.

  Now came the hard part, confronting a serial killer probably hell bent on destroying me for rescuing his victim.

  Chapter 16

  10:15 p.m.

  By the time we arrived in the residential neighborhood, Reaper’s house was in total darkness. Judging by the outside, you’d never imagine a serial killer lived here. Granted, he killed via the computer. For all I knew, we could be looking for a teenager.

  “You sure this is the right address, babe?”

  “Yeah. I mean, it’s not like the houses are on top of one another. This has to be the place.”

  “What’s your plan, exactly? I still think we should bring in the local LEOs. In Pittsburgh, we’re ordinary citizens. Without jurisdiction there can be no probable cause to enter the home legally.”

  I shot him a look. He should know better. “I’m really not worried about it. So what, if we enter illegally. I just wanna quick peek around before I call it in. No harm in that, right?”