Payback time ( SwaSan) Episode 5

Here’s the link to episode 4-

Episode 4

“Are you looking forward to starting? ”

Daya asked seriously this time
” Yes I am, now that I’ve got a second
chance I’m going to make something out of
this opportunity. My hacking days are
behind me. I want to stay out of trouble
now. ” I replied frankly

Both men looked at each other and Daya’s
smile became real at last.

Some of his optimism was apparently replaced by the cynical worldliness I had become more familiar with in police officers.

“You can drop the spiel, Sanskar”, he said. “We’re not with the parole board. You don’t have to convinced us of anything. We’re from Cyber Crime Division. We’ve come to offer you a job.”

“A job? ” I echoed.

It’s not everyday that the CBS recruits from the Prisons.

” Yes something in your line of work”

“Pizza? “, I acted surprised.

” Computers. “, Abhijeet replied irritatingly.

” For the CBS? “, I asked

” Yes. ”

” You want me to work as a….. Consultant? “, now things were getting intresting for me.

” Right now we could use your skills. ”

I stared at Daya and after a minute he asked ,” What do you think? ”

” Do you have a dental plan?,”, I asked.

Abhijeet frowned, clearly annoyed. But Daya just smiled at the smart mouth kid who was being a little rude to him.

“No. What we have is a chance for you to wipe some of those black marks off your record, by putting you computer skills and your…. “he paused searching for the correct phrase

” mine what?”

“….social engineering talents to good use “, he continued

” uh-huh”

“you see since your little stuff t at RAW six months ago, we’ve been troubled by a series of similar computer break-ins. Young kids, even younger than you, have been targeting sensitive installations ”

” You’re a blo*dy role model to terrorists”, said Abhijeet angrily
Daya gave him a look to restrain him.

“We haven’t had any major security breaches, ” continued Daya,” but its only a matter of time until someone gets in”

I sat up a little more and rubbed my forehead, like a guy coming out of a dream in which the most bizarre and unlikely events had unfolded. The CBS offering me a job certainly qualified as bizarre. Daya reached down to a black briefcase on the floor and pulled out three photographs.

“Our last three arrests have been boys under the age of sixteen “, Daya updated me and spread photographs of three harmless looking high school boys. Having been in jail I had read and heard nothing about this. In a magazine I read computer related crimes cost government more than fifty billion dollars a year, but I had no idea people my age were part of it.

High school hackers most often go after trial targets, just for laughs. I remember a story about how some middle school kid broke into a well known food company’s website and added jelly beans to the list of toppings 😛 One of the guy in my own crew claimed to have worked for money but he never showed any evidence of it. Also we had all heard how criminal gangs paying for college students to get educated in the same way military sponsored them. But again, that was people at college level, not high school. :O

“Although none of these kids had any major success “, continued Daya.

” You see unlike you and your group of merry Robin Hoods, looking to score some ego points, these kids are hacking for money – lots of money. “, added Abhijeet

” What do you think? Are you intrested in helping us? “, asked Daya

What you think Sanskar would do – Help them or do he have something else in his mind? Thanks to everyone who’s reading.