The Weakest Link

by Anthony Ivins

door, the magnetic lock clicking shut as the door closed. Jack had to move fast; this was his window of opportunity. He took the memory stick out of his pocket and took off the cap. He was ready. He ran up to the first rack and looked at the servers, checking the names that were written on each. From the backup list that he had dug out of the trash, he knew he was looking for any server whose name contained the word dev.

  Jack walked up and down the racks examining the names. One name suddenly caught his attention and he suddenly felt a small tingling in his gut; the name was TES-DEV-FRE. Their server naming convention was probably a little too good. From the name, Jack immediately saw it was for Tesla, it was a development server and FRE was the final giveaway. It was the shortened name for Freedom, the name Tesla had given to the new auto pilot software. Jack ‘s heart leapt. He had found the server.

  He tried to open the rack but it was locked. On the side of each server rack was a panel that had a small hole in each corner. Jack moved to the side of the rack and pulled a coin out of his pocket and inserted it into the first hole before turning it 90 degrees sideways. He moved from one to the other, turning them each 90 degrees. When he had completed the last one, he gripped the top of the panel and pulled it away from the rack. The panel came off smoothly in his hands. He lifted the full panel off and rested it against the rack.

  Moving to the front of the rack, Jack double checked that this was the correct server then moved to the back of the rack. In the back of each server was a USB port normally used by server technicians for maintenance. Jack shoved the memory stick into the port, almost breaking it. He kept looking back towards the door knowing Joe could be back at any moment. A small green light at the back of the memory stick started to flicker at a rapid rate. This was a good sign, it meant that data was copying across.

  Despite the cold conditions in the server room, the perspiration ran down Jack’s face. He kept looking at the door and watching the green flashing light on the memory stick, his head swivelling between the two. He was thinking of what excuse to use if Joe walked in and caught him. How would he get himself out of this one? The thought of one million dollars kept him going.

  Meanwhile, Joe was struggling with the keys to the racks. The last person to open a rack had just thrown the keys inside and Joe was trying to figure out which key was the right one. He was tempted to take the whole pile and try each one in the server room but he knew each key had to be signed out individually. If he was caught not signing out the keys, he would be fired on the spot, a chance he was not willing to take. He had to look at the serial number on each key and then match that number in a register to see what it opened.

  After going through a host of keys Joe found the one he was looking for. He threw his head back and his arms in the air. Holding the key in his hand like a trophy he walked to the door and punched in his code.

  As the green light stopped flashing on the memory stick Jack yanked it out of the server, put the lid on and thrust it into his pocket. He picked up the side panel and shoved it back on the server rack. In a split-second decision, Jack decided not to fasten the corners but instead to force the panel into position, hoping it would hold. He had just taken the last step when, out of the corner of his eye he saw Joe enter the server room.

  Joe stopped in his tracks and looked around. Something wasn’t right. Jack was standing next to the rack in the corner, looking at him. Joe scanned the room again, everything seemed in order. Jack took a few deep breaths, the perspiration pouring off his forehead. He stood dead still, looking at Joe.

  “Everything alright?” Jack shouted across the room.

  Joe shrugged off his unease and walked towards Jack, “Yes, sorry it took a while to find the key.”

  “No problem.” replied Jack with a small grin on his face.

  “How can you be hot in here?” Joe asked, noticing the perspiration running down Jack’s face.

  “I think I’m coming down with something. I haven’t been feeling well all day.”

  “Well you’d better fix the router quickly and get home to bed.” Joe reached across and unlocked the server rack. Jack opened his laptop and connected it to the router using one of the cables at the back of the server rack. He opened a black screen and started typing commands in.

  It all looked like Greek to Joe. He just watched as Jack’s hands flew over the keyboard, tapping the keys gently, almost rhythmically. After a few minutes Jack looked up at Joe. “Okay she looks good. I think it was a faulty temperature sensor. I have reset it and it seems to be giving the proper reading. I will make sure it is monitored for the next week and If it happens again we will come and replace the router.”

  “Great...”

  As Joe was talking there was a loud bang in the back of the server room. Jack and Joe both whirled around. The side panel of the server rack that Jack had put back was lying on the floor. Jack felt his heart sink into the depths of his stomach; he was caught. Jack and Joe stood there staring at the panel. Jack’s mind was racing, thinking of possible excuses. How was he going to worm his way out of this one?

  “Those damn development guys never put anything back properly!” Joe exclaimed.

  Jack’s jaw dropped and he stared at Joe, almost not believing the words that came out of his mouth.

  “Huh!” Jack managed to mumble.

  “Sorry. Our development guys were moving servers around last week. Looks like they didn’t put the side panel back properly.”

  “Oh yes. That happens often with development people. They’re always taking shortcuts.” Jack recovered quickly.

  “Tell me about it.” said Joe as he walked to the panel and picked it up.

  “Here let me help” said Jack, helping Joe to put the side panel back on the server rack. Jack was about to reach inside his pocket for the coin when he managed to stop himself as that would have been a sure give away. Just as well because Joe reached inside his own pocket and pulled out a coin and fastened the panel.

  “How hard was that?” Joe asked sarcastically.

  Jack was starting to feel the pressure, he had to get out of there. He walked to the server room door and let himself out, taking a few deep breaths as he stepped into the office.

  “Want some coffee?” Joe asked as he closed the server room door.

  “Thanks, but I’m on the clock. I need to get back to the office and do my paperwork.”

  “Okay no problem, I will walk you out.”

  Joe led Jack through the building and to the front entrance.

  “Thanks for your help.” said Joe, holding out his hand.

  Jack took his hand and shook it.

  “Pleasure. Let’s hope she behaves herself.”

  Jack turned around and started walking towards his car. He put his hand over his pocket, feeling the memory stick, making sure it was still there. He had to restrain himself from running to his car. Instead, he walked calmly, deliberately slowing down each step. When he reached his car, he opened the driver’s door and slid behind the wheel putting both hands on his face and letting out a huge sigh of relief. It was almost over.

  The guard was standing outside the guard house and motioned for Jack to come through. He had his phone in one hand and the boom gate lever in the other. As he opened the boom the phone rang and he lifted it to his ear. Jack edged the car forward towards the road. A loud bang on the back of his car made him slam on brakes. He looked in the mirror and saw the guard holding up his hand for him to stop, still talking on the phone.

  Dammit, who is on the phone? Have they discovered I’m not really from Equinix? The thoughts raced through Jack’s mind. The guard walked slowly up to Jack’s window, holding the phone away from his ear, his other hand moving towards his holstered gun. Should I try and make a break for it? But the thought of dodging bullets quickly squashed that idea.

  “Yes...” Jack had to clear his throat. “Yes, what’s wrong?” His heart was racing at a thousand beats per minute.

  The guard leant down next to his window,
his hand coming to rest on top of the gun. He looked at Jack and then back towards the building, before turning back to Jack again.

  “You planning on going to jail?” he asked.

  “No, why?” replied Jack, trying to sound surprised, his voice quivering slightly.

  “You don’t have a license plate at the back.”

  Jack let out a small sigh, “Jeez, it must have fallen off. I will get a new one made. Thanks for telling me.”

  “No problem.” the guard grinned at Jack and waved him off.

  Jack drove out of the gate and down the road, pulling up a few hundred yards away and opening the door. It was just in time as the bile spewed out of his mouth and onto the tarmac. The stress of the last few days had finally caught up with him. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and closed the door.

  Fortunately, no further emergency stops were required on the way home. Jack pulled up outside his apartment and removed the magnetic signs from his car’s doors. He walked up the stairs and let himself in. Scuzzy was waiting in his usual place, on top of the kitchen table and he gave Jack a small Meow as he entered. Jack rubbed his head and dished up a whole can of cat tuna for him.

  He went to his computer and, reaching into his pocket, removed the memory stick from its snug resting place. He plugged it into the computer, holding his breath. The program that Jack had installed on the memory stick was programmed to search for files