Vivian looked up and over her glasses. She didn’t look shocked. Barker remembered her poise. Her hands quit their typing and she reached out for her glass. “You may still go,” she told the purple rhino.
Vivian waited until the woman was out of earshot and then took a sip of her water for dramatic effect. Barker could see past the outward portrayal. He wouldn’t have been much of a detective if he couldn’t see the annoyance. Herms was tense in the shoulders. Her lips were drawn back and exposed the tips of her sharp teeth. Her eyes gave nothing away, but it was hard to control all facets at all times.
Herms sat the cup back on the table. Barker sat back, crossing his legs. “Beautiful, or so they tell me; I am not much for vacations myself,” Barker said.
“What are you doing here, Barker?” Herms was being direct. She was trying to impose some semblance of power. It was hard to do in a bikini.
“I have pondered your request. Even did some digging of my own. It would seem this Shock of yours is quite the ordeal. Millions in exchanged betting funds, toppling of a few minor corporations, and a thorn in the side of Vivian Herms,” Barker fiddled with his glasses. “All that is no matter to me I must confess. What really drew me in was the fact that a simple meeting with you drew me inward much further than I would have supposed.”
Vivian stopped her pretense of displeasure and leaned forward. “What do you mean?” she asked.
Barker thought to the headaches. It wasn’t about the horrible attempt at kidnapping him. It wasn’t the power of this group as it was. The headaches came from the vision of what could be, but Barker couldn’t quite tell Vivian Herms the truth.
“The Shock tried taking me hostage. Tried and succeeded. However, with some form of error, they let me go again. Now here I am sitting across from you, halfway across the world. Aiming to do exactly what they warned me not to do.” Barker drummed his fingers on his knees. He found it hard to sit still today. “I do need something from you, however, Vivian,” Barker looked back up into those oval eyes of Vivian Herms.
She had lost the annoyance in her posture. She now sat with a curved spine, reaching her body closer to the presence of Barker. “What is it Rescue can provide?” she asked him.
Barker didn’t need anything from Rescue. In fact, it was quite the opposite he needed. “I need to be the only detective on the case, Vivian,” Barker started, “I do not play well with others. I need to do things my way. So if I am going to do this for Rescue, then I do it on my own. When I am finished you can have the information you seek.”
Barker waited for the answer from Herms. She looked deep in thought. She was clearly turning over the options in her mind. She needed Barker that was clear from her request. However, how bad did she actually need him?
Vivian picked up her phone and made a few swipes with her paw. Then a few more; before putting it back on the table. “It is done, Barker,” she said.
Barker sat up in the chair and uncrossed his legs. He had nothing else to say to Vivian Herms. He would hopefully never have to see the woman again. This was a one-off case for Barker and Rescue.
“Anything you find,” Herms started, but Barker put up a paw.
“I already told you, the credit is all yours, Vivian.”
4.
Barker had done his research on The Shock over the last few weeks. Vivian Herms had felt she was the authority on such matters. It turned out Barker could easily link this notorious hacker group to many cases she hadn’t even begun to see.
Barker had connected the dots to two million dollar cases. One such case was that of the sports betting world. Urgway was popular for its soccer team. Barker wasn’t much for soccer himself, but it had some appeal to the dirty, criminals in the city. Mostly due to the betting aspect of it all. You see soccer has many different tiers to bet on. Most sports you can bet on the score or the winner. In soccer you can bet on score, winner, shootouts, saves, just about anything you could wrap your mind around there was a place for it. The other appealing aspect was that coaches all over the soccer world seemed to be willing to be bought and paid for.
Where The Shock came into this array of betting was the case of the million dollar soccer coach named Crowley. Who just so happened to lose a hand over the whole ordeal. It turns out that he didn’t win a dime either and owed quite a few pennies to none other than, The Shock. Who it would seem had hacked most major betting sites in the country and taken millions of dollars from accounts that were supposed to be untouchable.
Rescue had at least deemed this case as a case pertaining to the hacker group. However, they had failed to see that Crowley’s hand had been extracted as means to appease The Shock. A certain fox detective, Vulpecula, had either missed this as well or not bothered to check into it due to lack of interest.
Several other cases had to be attached to this group. Two minor business corporations had sprung from the ground and built towers higher than the Jalint Mountains. Their fame had literally bloomed overnight by hitting the highest rate of stock exchange in Urgway history. The telling part was that not a single stock was sold the day before to constitute the sudden rise. However, that didn’t matter as millions invested the next day. Then the companies vanished again overnight. Rescue hadn’t bothered to check the files, but Barker saw the same scheme as before. Get the money and disappear without a trace. All without a physical record.
Barker had scrounged hundreds of cases. He had found the smaller cases; which would have started it all. The cases where the group had been testing the waters, merely wetting their toes. Now their signature was all over the internet. They could easily track any man and their whereabouts. Explaining how it had been so easy for them to find Barker.
Their ultimate mission was simple. Become the greatest crime syndicate in the history of the world. The problem was the competition for that title was quite stiff. It would be a good guess that Vivian Herms had felt a special interest in that group as well.
5.
Once upon a time, long before The Shock, was a group favored by the name of the Canes Venatici. Canes was a group of like-minded criminals who populated the entire world. They were a network of like-minded hounds, who wanted one thing, domination.
Some called them strong-armed. Others called them the criminal bullies of the world. Most didn’t call them anything for fear of drawing attention. One man had been too stupid or headstrong to know better. The man’s name was engraved into everything that Rescue was because without him there would be no detective group.
The fox who had taken on the world largest group was erratic and simple-minded. Yet, he had done what no other detective could have imagined doing. He had taken the world’s largest crime syndicate and built a detective unit out of its fall.
It hadn’t been a simple process for the fox, not by any stretch of the imagination. It had taken him countless years. He had taken out his hammer and pic and chiseled for over a decade. In the end, he had sculpted his masterpiece and called it Rescue. Rescue was an idea that no one would ever fall prey to such a group of men again.
Around that time hounds had been shunned from most major businesses. They had been repressed to the dark ages. No one would hire a hound for any wage and many of them migrated to far corners of the world. Barker was a young pup then. He didn’t remember much of the struggle his family went through. He didn’t remember his father’s long nights. He didn’t remember his mother’s scrapes and bruises. He did remember the bottles of rum on the carpet. Even as a young pup he couldn’t enjoy the smell or taste.
Barker had crawled into his own world back then. He had made his own path and led himself along it without worry of others. He had other ideas. He knew there had been a time when hounds were revered. A time when they had ruled the entire world and that was Barker’s destiny. He wasn’t a servant. He would not beg a single man for his bread. Barker would earn all that he had and it came to him that it didn’t matter how he earned it.
In the end, it was eat or be eaten. Vivian Herms had grown up in the lov
ing arms of a fox, who discovered Rescue. Barker had grown up in the shadow of the largest crime group the world had ever known. Two different beginnings and it would surely be two different endings.
6.
Barker felt the wheels beating against the ground. The plane landed safely back in the city of Urgway. He had used most of the flight to catch up on his sleep and do absolutely nothing. He had eliminated a major thorn in his side by extracting Rescue and Vivian Herms. The residual headache he was feeling would hopefully be his last. Barker gathered his bags and exited into the crowd of people. Each was busy with something that made them feel important. Each was heading towards the direction that they felt would best make them happy. Barker knew happiness was a fickle mistress, however. So he didn’t head in the direction of joy. Instead, he headed in the direction of necessity. It had been a long time since the itch had compelled him.
He had been such a small pup the first time he read a book on the Canes. His father would have dissuaded him from such actions. Barker did it anyhow, just under the guise of reading something else entirely.
“Taxi,” Barker waved down one of the dull yellow boxcars. It would take him home. He had done the deed of eliminating Rescue, now he had the even bigger deed of finding The Shock. He supposed it wouldn’t be as easy as finding a purple rhino, however, he assumed it couldn’t be much more difficult.
Barker was, in fact, the greatest detective to ever grace the name.
Barker hadn’t really needed to give it too much thought to be fair. He was just going to steal the idea from a certain Fox founder. The way the Canes came to fall was not a very well executed, ingenious plan. Instead, it was a simple miscalculation on the part of Canes. Psychologically speaking every man has a lust for power. When that power is claimed they never fail to show it off to the world. Canes ended up being no different. Without a clear reason why they fell into a trap that could have easily been avoided without the lust of fame. The fox had simply laid out a heist that would draw acclaim to the group. The group opened their jaws and bit the hook. All that was left to do was reel them in and flay them for supper.
Barker would do much of the same. It was obvious that The Shock liked their funds. They had hit many major groups for millions of dollars. Something they didn’t have, though, was fame. While known in Urgway and clearly followed by Rescue, The Shock wasn’t a major player in the crime game, as of yet. What they needed was one big score to put their name on the map. Barker was planning to give that to them.
It would be simple. Barker opened his front door and walked into his front room. It was simple enough and he liked it that way. Nothing to draw attention to himself that was his own personal motto. Barker discarded his suitcase and bags. He checked the mail at the foot of the door. There was nothing there of import.
The plan would start with a heist. Much the same as the plan to take down Canes. It would be something that was too alluring to pass by. Something that no thief looking for renown could bypass. Barker moved to his own secret compartment. Just a simple safe behind a simple picture on the wall. He input the codes with practiced ease.
Inside, he only kept one item. As he opened he could already see the shine from the gem. Once the door was open it was easy to see that the jewel inside was priceless. It was an artifact older than most written history. Barker reached in and grabbed the Water Lily in his hands. He loathed having to sacrifice such a thing, but if all went well he would have it back soon enough.
7.
Barker had opened up his laptop. It would be easy enough to make The Shock bite. All he needed was an unprotected forum to post his thoughts upon. He would go through all the small details. He would block his IP with a proxy. He would change his location. It would all be futile. If The Shock was worth its weight he would be found out within the hour.
Barker opened the janky webpage. The layout was putrid, but he wasn’t there to rearrange the aesthetics. He was there to lay out a simple message.
Attn: It has come to my awareness that an artifact of great import has come to light. If anyone is interested in finding the Water Lily meet me in the Urgway lumber district at 8 pm tonight. We will become rich together.
The message didn’t have to be elaborate. It just had to catch the attention of anyone looking. Barker didn’t have to guess that The Shock had hacked his computer, he already knew they had. The small steps were to throw them off and make them believe he didn’t know. The rest was up to them.
Barker closed the computer. He had only a few more small steps to finish off the product of his plan. Barker had no intention of ever seeing the men The Shock would send. Nor did he believe the man who had kidnapped him would show up. The men who came to the yard would be hired thugs and nothing more. They wouldn’t have access to the inner workings of the group, but they would still have undying loyalty.
Barker waited for the yard to close for the night. The workers were never keen on sticking around after their shift and most were gone by six.
Barker made his move and walked into the small shack used for breaks in the middle of the shack sat a wooden table. Barker figured it would work as well as any other surface. He placed the jewel on the table and then left the shack. It was as simple as that.
The next step was waiting for the bait to be taken. Barker posted himself on a small stack of lumber south of the small shack. He had posted there to see the entrance. He would know exactly when The Shock had taken the jewel.
It took until about midnight for anyone else to come onto the grounds. By then it was much too dark for them to pick out Barker on the small stack of logs. Barker could see their outlines clearly, however, illuminated by the lights in the shack. Two canines, both beefy, tore into the shack with authority.
They must have been surprised to see the place empty as Barker heard shouts for someone to show themselves. Nerves can get to even the biggest of thugs in the dark. Barker waited for the shouts to quiet down and then listened for other movements. The two had by now clearly seen the Water Lily sitting on the table. They would have already made their move to claim the jewel.
Barker wouldn’t be surprised to hear them arguing over who was going to be the one to give it to the leader of the Shock. Thugs were always looking for favor with their employers. What they didn’t realize is that with the Water Lily they wouldn’t ever need an employer again. It was best to make sure your thugs weren’t both strong and smart. Clearly, these two fit the bill of good mobile thugs.
The two bickered for a few minutes and one of them must have made a valid enough argument because they both left the shack in quiet. Barker waited a few more minutes to move from his hiding spot. He made his way back to the shack and smiled seeing the Water Lily was defiantly gone from its previous location.
Barker too left the shack and closed the door. No one would ever be the wiser he had ever been there. Even The Shock would be confused as to how Barker had lost such a prize. They would be even more shocked once they realized why.
8.
One thing Barker realized, that most others did not, was that if something was too easy then it was a trap. Nothing ever came to you on a silver platter. You were never presented with gold, but rather gold wrapping on junk items.
It was good for him, however, that it seemed that no one else prescribed to this philosophy. The Shock seemingly had thought they stumbled onto a jackpot. They had eaten all the fixing and brought home the meal. Whoever the leader of The Shock was didn’t ask many questions. He had taken the Water Lily and placed it right where Barker had needed it to be; right where Barker could walk back in and take it back.
All Barker had to do was wait. Patience was a virtue. Barker was supplied with an ample amount of patience. He had waited for a very long time for his moment. He had waited since he was nothing but a young pup. Growing up in Urgway and hearing the chatter behind his families back. The whispers of how dogs were no good. How his family was probably thieves or looking for handouts.
Barker had never tak
en a handout. He would never take a handout. Barker would take what he wanted, but no one could say he didn’t work for it; even if his work wasn’t always quite so honest.
Barker waited in his apartment the rest of the night. He slept like a baby knowing its next meal was coming soon. He awoke with a new vigor. A vigor that said he had completed his goal. He stretched out, got dressed, and left the apartment in the cool morning air.
He followed the GPS signal on his cell phone. The Water Lily was real. There was no doubt that any of them could have sold the jewel and became rich beyond belief. But that wasn’t the way of large crime syndicates. They would flaunt that they had stolen the jewel. They would want the world to know. The man behind it all would probably even keep the jewel, never selling it for monetary value.
Well, if Barker had planned to let him keep it. Barker, however, planned to walk right back into the hideout and take the Water Lily and The Shock. It turned out the two thugs, from the night before, had taken the jewel back to a warehouse. Probably the same warehouse Barker had been kept in the night of his kidnapping.
Barker watched for any sign of movement from the premises. There seemed to be no guards standing at the door. This group wouldn’t think anyone would be coming. For all outward appearances, this was just an old warehouse. Barker knew better, or at least his GPS knew better.
Barker reached up and adjusted his collar. It is best to take these things slowly. Barker moved down into the gravel drive of the facility. He still heard no movement. There were no windows to peer into, so, Barker moved towards the door and pressed his ear tightly against it. He heard the low hum of electrical equipment but no movement. He pressed his paw to the door and gave it a slight slide on its track. He stuck his eye to the crack and saw hundreds and hundreds of computers, but not a sign of a moving soul anywhere. He pressed the door open a little more and slid into the warehouse, closing the door behind him.
Barker would never go as far to say he knew all there was to know about computers. He did know enough to know that this was a computer heaven. There were so many mainframes and networks that any nerd would have been in paradise. Whoever controlled these machines controlled a lot of power. The Shock may not have been known throughout the world, but if this was anything to go by they soon would. Well, would have at least.
The Canes Files Page 18
