Hunting the Wrecking Crew: An Eric Stone Novel

by Nick Albert

  “I…err…I…Look, about last night.”

  “I know what you are going to say,” Stone said. “We had both had a lot to drink, I understand if—”

  “Oh no, it’s not that,” she interrupted, “I wanted to — I really wanted to. It’s just that… I didn’t want you to think…well you know…we had only just met and…that’s not normally something…” She stopped talking and bit her bottom lip. Stone could see that there were tears forming in her eyes, he quickly stepped around the breakfast bar and hugged her fiercely.

  “I wanted to as well. I wanted to hold you and kiss you — and the other things — as soon as I first met you.” The words flooded out of him with sudden and surprising emotion. “I’m glad that we met. I want to see you again — I really want to see you. I want to see you tomorrow. I want to see you every day!”

  Linda smiled and kissed Stone, and he kissed her back eagerly. They hugged for a while longer, before she wiped her eyes and spoke in a mock business-like tone of voice.

  “Ok Stone, today I have to go home and change, but you can see me tomorrow. I’ll start stalking you first thing.”

  She held up a hand for a fist bump.

  “Deal?”

  Stone responded with his own clenched fist and they touched knuckles.

  “Deal! Now let’s hit the shower.”

  “Ok, if you’re a good boy, you can wash my back.”

  Inevitably, their shower took a long time. The delightful combination of firm wet bodies and slippery shower gel, made them both feel as horny as hormonal teenagers. Their passionate coupling would probably have continued all day, had the water not begun to run cold. They were in the bedroom getting dressed when a disturbing thought struck Stone.

  “What day is this?” he asked.

  “Err… It’s Saturday. Why?”

  “Saturday? Shit, it’s half ten already!” Stone said hopping on one leg whilst trying to pull up his jeans, “I have a meeting at midday and its miles away!”

  “You’d better hurry!” Linda laughed, “Was it important?”

  “Kind of. Oh, crap! I’d forgotten. There’s probably some stuff I’ll need to do. I may not be able to see you tomorrow.”

  “Ha! Dumping me already?” She stuck out her tongue. “Can’t it wait — or better yet, can I come with you? If you’re not too long, I could wait in the car and read a book, then we could go out afterwards.”

  “Ah…It’s not as simple as that, it may take all day — or even several days.”

  “I don’t mind waiting a while,” Linda said, her eyes pleading, “really.”

  Stone found himself torn. On the one hand, he wanted to see Linda again as soon as possible. On the other, he was feeling guilty that he had almost forgotten his commitment to Charles Rathbone. He suddenly felt the need to share his burden and found the words pouring out before he could stop.

  “The truth is it might be dangerous — very dangerous.”

  He sat back on the bed, one leg still stuck inside his jeans. He gave a long sigh and ran his hand across his head.

  “You remember my friend Charles Rathbone?”

  “Of course — the one who committed suicide,” Linda said, sitting on the bed next to Stone.

  “Well, the thing is…well actually, he didn’t kill himself…well he did, but really he was forced into doing it,” Stone stammered.

  “I’m not sure I understand.”

  “It’s complicated, but the detail doesn’t matter just now. I can tell you all about that later. The thing is…well there is this group of very bad, very dangerous people that made up a load of lies about Charles. They put my best friend in such a bad position that the only way out was for him to kill himself.”

  “My God, that’s awful!” she said, putting her hand on his arm.

  “Before he died, he sent me all of the information he had about these people, and he asked me to put things right.” Stone looked Linda in the eye and held her hand. “You see, the thing is, I made a commitment to try and stop them — so that the same thing can never happen again. That’s what my meeting’s about.”

  “Who are they, are they like a biker gang or something?” Linda asked.

  “I wish, but that would be too easy. No…this is actually a respectable business — or so they would have you believe. They actually make their money from bribing and stealing from other businesses and things like that. They’ve even killed people that were in the way of governments’ and businesses,” Stone said shaking his head sadly.

  “My God, that’s just bizarre. It sounds like some kind of Mafia group or something.”

  “That’s a good analogy, but as far as we can tell they aren’t connected to any other criminal gangs. Most of the work they do is for crooked businessmen and Politicians. They’ve done things like burning down competitors’ factories and discouraging environmental activists. They seem to be very good at what they do; sort of guaranteed results for hire.”

  “Shouldn’t you just call the police or something?” Linda asked. Stone shook his head firmly.

  “We would if we knew who we could trust. That’s what Charles was planning to do and look what happened to him. He was going public, but somehow they found out. I know this all seems like some loony conspiracy theory, but the evidence Charles compiled is rock solid. These people have contacts all the way to the top — the very top. The guy I’m meeting with, he is a friend and an ex-copper, but he agrees with me. He and I are the bottom line on this.”

  “So what are you going to do?” Linda looked serious, but sincere in her interest.

  “Find out who and where they are, and then stop them — once and for all,” Stone said.

  “When you say stop them…” Linda queried carefully.

  “Once and for all — for Charles,” Stone replied sternly.

  “Oh…” Linda said quietly.

  “So you see — I can’t see you tomorrow, and probably not the day after either. In fact, you should stay away from me until this is over.”

  “No,” Linda said crossing her arms firmly.

  “No, what?” Stone asked, puzzled.

  “I want to help.”

  “I can’t let you do that!”

  “I want to help — I mean it.”

  “Look Linda, I appreciate the offer, but these people are dangerous — really dangerous. I can’t let you expose yourself to that kind of risk. It would be crazy.”

  She shook her head firmly.

  “I’m a big girl Eric, I can look after myself, and if needed, I can walk away any time. Let me help you.”

  “Why…Why would you do this? We just met, Linda. Come on — I appreciate the sentiment but be serious!”

  Linda turned to face Stone and fixed him with a rock steady gaze.

  “Charles was your friend, and this thing you’re going to do matters to you — correct?”

  “Of course,” Stone nodded.

  “Well, if I’m involved with you, then it matters to me as well. So please — let me help.”

  Stone felt his resolve weakening. Even with Ed Carter involved, he felt very alone. He realised that he really did want to keep Linda around. If only, so that he could talk with her and share his feelings. With a shrug of defeat, he took her hand and made a commitment he would soon come to regret.

  “Ok. Let me talk with Ed today. He has more experience than I do in things like this. If he’s ok with it, then you can help.”

  Linda gave a girlish ‘whoop’ and pumped her fist. “Yes!”

  Stone jumped in quickly.

  “But I will not allow you to put yourself in any danger — agreed?”

  “Sure — of course,” she said with a nod. Then Linda leaned forward and kissed Stone firmly on the lips. “Now, you’d better get dressed or you’ll be late for your meeting!”

  They exchanged phone numbers and Stone agreed to call Linda as soon as he was available. Then after another passionate kiss, they climbed into their respective cars and left.

  Th
e meeting was arranged for mid-day at Megan’s office, which was really just a front bedroom in her Harlow flat. Although he was running late, Stone decided not to call ahead, preferring to limit communications by electronic means and reduce the risk of being intercepted. In any event he was confident that Carter would not mind if he was a few minutes late.

  It was a beautiful and sunny day and the traffic was mercifully light. Stone was deliriously happy as he drove, smiling broadly, as he sang along to the radio. He was still smiling broadly when he rang the doorbell at Megan’s flat. He was just thirty-five minutes late. Carter answered the door and immediately got down to business.

  “Come in, Eric. Megan has some interesting stuff for us.”

  Stone followed Carter down the narrow corridor and into the converted front bedroom, stepping over two tabby cats in the process. A familiar kitten ran out to greet him. It circled his legs twice before quickly darting out through the door. Eric smiled, happy to see that the little kitten was settling in to its new home.

  The small front room was a tight fit for three people. Inside there were two desks, three computers with large flat screen monitors, two laptops and a confusing mass of twisted cables. Carter made the introductions.

  “Eric Stone, meet Megan Smith, the best IT expert on the planet!”

  Megan Smith was somewhere in her early forties, she was a large woman, a very large woman. She probably weighed over twenty-two stones, but in some ways, it suited her. The phrase ‘larger than life’ came to mind as Stone saw her bright green dyed hair and lose fitting kaftan. The cotton shroud looked like a small tent, coloured white, with large blue and orange spots. With some difficulty, Megan turned her chair away from the computer monitor and studied Stone with a critical eye. He gave her a little wave to accompany his friendly smile and casual, ‘Hey’. She gave him a short nod and slowly turned away, before announcing to her computer.

  “Well, someone got some last night.”

  “Megan!” Carter exclaimed.

  “Well he did. Nobody can smile that wide unless they’ve just had their world rocked.”

  Carter turned to Stone apologetically.

  “I’m sorry Eric, Megan likes to shock people. I think she’s over-compensating for her unusually warm nature.”

  “Fuck off!” Megan said gruffly, “it’s ‘cos I’m jealous.”

  Stone smiled and held up his hand.

  “It’s ok, I understand. Anyway, as it happens, she’s right.”

  “She shoots — she scores!” Megan pumped a fist dramatically, and then she sang softly, “Eric’s got a girlfriend.”

  “Alright, that’s enough, Megan. Take no notice, Eric. It’s just her way of testing people, she likes to be outrageous,” Carter said.

  “No problem,” Stone said honestly, as he walked to Megan’s side and offered his hand. “I’m genuinely pleased to meet you, Megan. Ed speaks very highly of you and your skills. I very much appreciate you giving a home to that kitten. Now I hope that you can help me with my problem.”

  She considered his hand for a moment, then reached around and shook it firmly. Her hand was damp with sweat, and so fat that she couldn’t grip properly, but that didn’t concern Stone. He liked this woman — she had a fighting spirit. Megan looked at Carter and nodded.

  “Ok Ed, he’ll do, but only because the cats like him.”

  “Good!” Carter smiled in relief. “Now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, perhaps you can show Eric what you have found?”

  “Sure. Make yourself comfortable boy’s, Ms Smith is on the stage — and remember; it’s never over until the cat lady sings!”

  There wasn’t enough room in the office for any other chairs, so Stone and Carter sat on the other desk together, their legs dangling like two schoolboys.

  “Actually, what I didn’t find was more interesting than the things that I did,” Megan said, turning towards Stone. “Eric, how much do you know about how our browsing habits are tracked when we‘re online?”

  “Not much really. I suppose that I’m rather a Luddite when it comes to computers,” Stone admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. “I know we leave traces wherever we go on the internet, but other than that, it’s all a bit of a mystery.”

  “You and everyone else!” Megan said raising her eyebrows dramatically. “In fact, if the general public knew just how much data was produced by their online activities, most people would stop using the internet completely.”

  “That sounds disturbing,” Stone said pulling a face.

  “Indeed. Anyways — I’ve set up a little demonstration to make a point,” Megan said, indicating a laptop on the desk. She kept up a running commentary as she began typing.

  “Now boys; this is a bog-standard laptop. It’s connected to the internet using a local Wi-Fi connection — not mine I might add. It has some decent quality security software installed, which is up to date. Just now, I’m accessing the net with Firefox, but I could use any other browser; it wouldn’t make any real difference. I have left all of the browser settings to the manufacturers default for this first demonstration. Ok?” She looked at Stone and Carter to check that they were following. They both nodded enthusiastically.

  “Good. I’m going online now.”

  She began typing, carefully explaining what she was doing with each action.

  “First, I’m going to check a dummy email account…”

  “And now I am looking for a book on a well-known retail site…”

  “Now I’m searching for a hotel deal in Glasgow…”

  “And finally, I will visit this site to look at some porn — don’t get too excited lads; it’s just some vanilla nudity!”

  She turned and gave them a cheeky wink.

  “Now in the background I was running a browser add-on called ‘Lightbeam’. It will show us what information has been gathered about this computer.”

  Megan opened a second window on the computer and pointed to the search results.

  “There…so Lightbeam is telling me that I was browsing for five minutes and during that time I accessed seven web sites. It also says that my computer loaded cookies from those seven sites and one-hundred and fifty-two cookies from other third-party sites that I did not access.”

  She turned again.

  “You understand what cookies are?”

  “Err…well, I—” Stone stammered but Megan quickly interrupted.

  “Cookies are basically little bits of code that websites install onto your computer as you browse. At best, they ‘help to improve the quality of your browsing experience’, or so they claim. At worst, they steal and share your data with anyone who is prepared to pay for it.”

  Stone pulled a sour face at that revelation. He politely indicated for Megan to continue. She began making changes to the laptop’s settings. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she spoke. Stone was impressed by how easily she could type and converse at the same time. In his limited experience, even minor technological challenges required his full and undivided attention.

  “Now, I’m going to change the settings in Firefox. First I am telling it that I do not want to be tracked any more…”

  “Next I am changing the policy on cookies, so that we no longer accept any from a third-party website. That should do for the moment.”

  “Now I am going to revisit those same websites that I did earlier…there…and there…and there…good, that should do fine.”

  “Mr Stone, if we look at Lightbeam again, what do you think we should see?”

  Like a schoolteacher, Megan turned towards Stone and raised a heavily mascaraed eyebrow as she waited for his answer.

  “Well…” he said with little confidence, “I would expect that the results should be zero.”

  “A good guess — but wrong!” She pointed at the screen. “Now look here, Lightbeam shows that I was online for five minutes, and that I accessed the same seven websites. During that time, this computer still loaded seven cookies from those sites, and it al
so accepted another thirty-eight cookies from several other third-party sites; even though I told it not to.”

  “So much for those ‘privacy settings’,” Stone said.

  “Indeed! And even if I had gone for the most secure settings, I would still have been leaving great big fat footprints — only a few less than before.” Megan waved her arm expansively towards her computer systems. “In fact even I, with all of this kit, would leave some traces. It’s the same with banking, telecommunications, utility bills and pretty much anything else. You will always leave a trace.”

  “I think I understand what you’re getting at. What you’re saying is that whenever we go on the internet, go shopping, or just breathe in and out, we leave traces — is that correct?” Stone asked, politely hoping to get to the point a little quicker.

  “Yes, as such,” Megan agreed. “The thing is, even the best protected surfers will still leave some evidence. The most private and careful individuals cannot help but leave some digital footprints. If not a name, or an IP address, then there will be a bill, or an accidentally created profile. There’s always something. Even if it’s just a vague shadow, there’s always something that I can follow.”

  “Right, I understand,” Stone nodded, happy to reach the conclusion of the lecture. “So what did you find?”

  Megan slowly turned her massive bulk until she faced Stone and Carter, before answering dramatically.

  “Nothing.”

  “Nothing — you found nothing at all?” Stone asked.

  “Nothing, nada — not a damn thing.”

  “Is that unusual?” Stone was confused as to where the conversation was headed.

  “No, it isn’t unusual,” Megan said, leaning forward conspiratorially. “It’s impossible.”

  “Impossible?” Stone asked. “How do you mean impossible? Like NASA’s ‘the impossible just takes us a little longer’ kind of impossible?”