Rat-Catcher

by Chris Ryan

  ‘Now for the tricky bit,’ said Hex. ‘I just hope the gap’s big enough.’ Slowly he pulled the newspaper sheet back through into the garage. The key came with it, sliding under the bottom edge of the door with less than a millimetre to spare.

  ‘Yes!’ smiled Hex, snatching up the key. He slipped it into the keyhole, unlocked the door and pulled down the handle. The door opened silently outwards, into the garage. The blinds were down in the room beyond the door, but there was enough light to see that it was a kitchen. There was a cooker, a fridge and fitted cupboards with wooden, latticework doors. Hex looked over at the bench opposite the door and his eyes lit up as he spotted an expensive laptop plugged into the phone socket.

  ‘Bingo,’ he said.

  Li sprang for the step but Hex grabbed her round the waist and pulled her back. ‘What now?’ hissed Li impatiently.

  ‘The house is alarmed, remember?’ said Hex.

  ‘All right, Hex,’ said Alex. ‘You’re our security expert. What do we do?’

  Hex scanned the garage until he spotted what he wanted. Grabbing a large chisel from the workbench, he walked over to the exposed side of the 4x4. He rammed the chisel in behind the wing mirror and levered it until the whole thing came away from the side of the big car. Hex turned back to the other three with the wing mirror in his hand and raised an eyebrow at their shocked faces. ‘Hey. This is war, remember,’ he reminded them.

  He angled the wing mirror in the kitchen doorway until he could see the hidden, near corner of the room. ‘There it is,’ he muttered. ‘Motion-detector, above the bench.’

  ‘Is there a way to beat it?’ asked Alex.

  ‘In theory, yes.’ Hex went back to the workbench, picked up an aerosol can of car polish and shook it. ‘We use this.’

  ‘Oh, right,’ mocked Amber. ‘Give it a good polish. That’ll do it every time.’

  ‘It’s a foam polish,’ said Hex. ‘If you spray any sort of foam over a motion-detector it blocks the beam and puts it out of action.’

  ‘But how do we get near enough to spray it?’

  ‘That’s the dodgy bit,’ admitted Hex. ‘The trick is to move really, really smoothly and slowly. Less than a couple of centimetres a minute. If you move slowly enough, it’ll fool the detector.’

  ‘That’s not so hard,’ said Amber.

  ‘It’s a lot more difficult than it sounds,’ said Hex. ‘See how high on the wall the motion-detector is? There’s no way to reach it except by climbing up onto the bench. Think about it, Amber. Could you haul yourself up onto the bench, making sure you don’t move any part of your body more than two centimetres a minute? I couldn’t.’

  ‘I could, though,’ said Li.

  Alex, Hex and Amber watched in the angled wing mirror as Li glided towards the motion-detector, sliding her bare feet across the kitchen floor a millimetre at a time. She had pushed her long hair down the back of her T-shirt and the can of foam polish was tied securely to her belt. Li reached the bench and slowly, slowly tipped her head up, then down, judging the best way to climb up to the motion detector. She made her decision. Placing her hands on the bench, she lifted her left leg out to the side, slowly raising it higher and higher. The strain showed on her face, but her leg rose smoothly through the air without a single muscle tremor.

  ‘How does she do that?’ breathed Hex.

  ‘The muscle strength comes from years of free climbing,’ whispered Alex, watching Li in the mirror admiringly. ‘And the balance—’

  ‘That’ll be the martial arts,’ finished Amber.

  Li eased her left leg onto the bench top and slid her knee forward until it was in the position she wanted. She rested for a few seconds, then braced herself on her arms and lifted herself slowly upwards until she could slide her left hip onto the bench. Then she began the long task of easing her right leg up behind her. Her arms were quivering with muscle tremors and her face was screwed up in pain by the time she was finally able to lie belly-down on the bench and take the weight off her hands.

  Out in the garage, Amber, Hex and Alex breathed a collective sigh of relief. The most difficult part was over. Minutes later, Li was standing on the bench with her back against the kitchen wall. The motion-detector was just above her head.

  ‘Am I out of the beam, Hex?’ she asked softly.

  Hex studied her position in the mirror. ‘You should be.’

  Li took a deep breath and yanked the aerosol from her belt. In one smooth movement she reached above her head, pointed the nozzle at the little white box on the wall and pressed down on the top. A stream of creamy white foam smothered the motion-detector.

  For a few seconds they all held their breath, but the alarm system stayed quiet. Li reached out and waved her arm up and down in front of the foam-covered detector.

  ‘She did it!’ hissed Amber.

  Li jumped down from the bench and the other three ran into the kitchen. Alex switched the key to the kitchen side of the connecting door, then softly closed and locked it, just to make sure no-one could walk in on them unannounced. Hex went straight for the laptop while Alex and Amber began to search the drawers and cupboards.

  ‘Empty, empty, empty,’ said Amber, moving along the line of drawers.

  ‘Same here,’ frowned Alex, opening one cupboard door after another. ‘Look, there aren’t even any shelves in them. And the fridge isn’t plugged in. What’s going on?’

  There was a serving hatch in the wall. Li gripped the handle at the top of the hatch and slowly eased it open enough for her to peer through to the next room. ‘There’s nothing in there either,’ she whispered. ‘Not even a carpet. The place is completely bare.’

  Amber was bending down and peering through the keyhole of the door which led from the kitchen to the rest of the house. ‘Empty hallway,’ she reported. ‘Front door at the other end. Staircase . . .’ She straightened. ‘Perhaps we might find something upstairs.’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ murmured Alex, remembering something his father had said. ‘Not exactly the house of a general, is it?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Li.

  ‘This is not his house,’ said Alex.

  ‘We broke into the wrong house?’ hissed Amber, looking nervously about her.

  ‘No. This house belongs to him,’ said Alex. ‘But what I mean is, he doesn’t live here. It’s just a front. Part of the pretence. My guess is that the general has a much grander place somewhere else.’

  Li groaned as she rubbed her aching arms. ‘Then this has all been a waste of time.’

  ‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ said Hex, staring at the laptop screen. ‘Come and look.’

  They crowded around Hex, peering at the screen over his hunched shoulders. Hex had opened the favourites list on the general’s internet explorer utility.

  ‘What are we looking at?’ asked Alex.

  In answer, Hex moved the mouse pointer to one of the sites on the list. ‘It’s a Swiss bank,’ he said. ‘I think that’s where he’s storing all his funds.’

  ‘Can we get into it?’ asked Li.

  ‘First we have to get online, and it’s password protected,’ explained Hex.

  ‘Can you crack it?’ asked Amber.

  ‘Probably,’ said Hex. ‘He may be a general in the military sense, but in my world he’s only a civilian.’

  ‘If a hacker calls you a civilian, it’s like an insult,’ explained Amber. ‘Civilian is the hacker name for ordinary computer-users.’

  ‘You mean idiots,’ muttered Hex. ‘Most civilians are idiots - and they have stupid passwords. They’re usually only eight characters long, without a single number, only letters.’ Hex laughed. ‘The stupidest even have an actual word! Can you believe that?’

  Alex, Li and Amber laughed with Hex, but shared an embarrassed glance behind his back. They were thinking of their computer passwords - all three of them used real words.

  ‘Real words are easy to remember,’ continued Hex, ‘but they’re also easy to guess.’ He laced h
is fingers together and bent them until the joints cracked, then held his hands poised over the keys. ‘All his sites are in English, so I’m guessing his internet access password is in English too.’

  Alex nodded, thinking back to his dinner with the general. ‘That makes sense. He’s very Americanized - and proud of how well he speaks the language.’

  Hex typed in PASSWORD. The system rejected it. He grunted in disappointment. ‘You’d be surprised how many civilians use that one,’ he explained.

  Next, he tried GENERAL. The system rejected it. Hex frowned and tried QUITOLUIS. Again, it was rejected. ‘Trouble is, I don’t know much about the guy,’ sighed Hex. Then he sat up straighter as another idea came to him. He typed in RAT-CATCHER and clicked CONNECT. This time, the system whirred into life. Hex grinned. ‘Told you,’ he said. ‘Computer-users are stupid.’

  Less than a minute later the Swiss bank was inviting him to enter his password. ‘People tend to use the same password for everything,’ muttered Hex. ‘I’ll try RAT-CATCHER again.’ He typed in the word, then cursed as the bank rejected it.

  ‘Well, just keep trying different words,’ said Amber.

  ‘Can’t,’ muttered Hex. ‘The bank’s security system only allows for three tries, then it gets suspicious. I need to get a tool.’

  ‘From the garage?’ asked Amber.

  Hex smiled. ‘Not that sort of tool,’ he said as he began typing furiously. ‘I need one of my own software programs. I wrote it to crack passwords.’

  ‘How are you going to get hold of that?’ asked Alex.

  ‘I’m downloading it now. I’ve got stuff stored on other computers all over the place,’ explained Hex. ‘Most hackers do it. It’s safer than keeping everything on your own computer.’

  ‘But don’t the other people mind you using their computers?’

  Hex grinned. ‘They don’t know about it. I access big computers with lots of space and lots of users. University computers are the best because their security is so low.’

  ‘Sheesh!’ said Amber. ‘So you just hack in, dump your stuff and leave?’

  ‘Until I need it. Then I nip back and download it,’ said Hex. He pressed a final key and then leaned against the bench, watching the screen. ‘There. My program’s working on cracking the password now.’

  ‘How long will it take?’

  Hex shrugged. ‘If it’s another proper word, in English, then not long.’

  It took less than ten minutes for Hex’s program to crack the password.

  ‘Very impressive, Hex!’ said Alex.

  Hex smiled smugly. ‘I got lucky, that’s all. It could just as well have taken hours.’

  ‘POWDERKEG?’ said Amber, reading the screen. ‘What sort of a password is that?’

  ‘It’s a small barrel for storing gunpowder, isn’t it?’ asked Alex.

  ‘Yeah, but “powder” is also a street word for cocaine,’ said Hex, as he typed in the password. ‘And a keg could be used to store other things. Like money, for instance.’

  ‘So, this account must be where he stores all his drugs money. Pretty good, code-boy,’ said Amber grudgingly.

  ‘There it is,’ said Hex.

  Alex gave a low whistle as he stared at the figures coming up on the screen. General Manteca had millions of dollars stashed away in the bank.

  ‘What are you doing?’ asked Li, as Hex began typing again.

  ‘I’m arranging a transfer of funds,’ said Hex. ‘The general is about to make a very large donation to charity. Any ideas?’

  ‘Yes,’ grinned Alex. ‘What about Sister Catherine’s House? With all that money, she could set up schools and houses for street kids all over Quito.’

  Li nodded enthusiastically. ‘And university places or job training for the older ones.’

  ‘It’s perfect,’ agreed Amber. ‘The Rat-catcher’s funds going to help street kids.’

  Hex nodded and dived back into the net, collecting all the details he needed to make a donation to Sister Catherine’s House. ‘Here we go,’ he said, pressing the key that authorized the bank to go ahead with the transfer. ‘Now we just need to wait—’

  Hex stopped talking and they all froze in place.

  Someone had just slotted a key into the front door at the other end of the hallway.

  THIRTEEN

  ‘Quick! We have to hide!’ hissed Amber, her eyes wild with panic as the key turned and the front door creaked open.

  ‘Where?’ whispered Li. Someone stepped into the hallway and closed the front door. A key ring jingled loudly in the silence.

  ‘Cupboards,’ whispered Alex, suddenly remembering the empty spaces behind the doors. Li, Amber and Alex each dived for a cupboard and squeezed themselves into the coffin-like spaces beyond. Hex stayed where he was, watching the laptop screen.

  ‘Hex!’ breathed Alex, peering out through the latticework of the cupboard door. ‘Hide!’

  Hex shook his head. His face was pale with fear but also determined. He knew that if he broke the net connection before the transfer was complete, then all his work would be wasted. He turned back to the screen.

  Out in the hallway the burglar alarm beeped four times as the security code was punched in. Then footsteps clunked along the bare boards of the hallway, heading for the kitchen door.

  ‘Come on, come on . . .’ breathed Hex. His hand was gripping the top of the screen, ready to close the lid as soon as the transfer was complete. The footsteps stopped outside the kitchen door and Hex felt sweat break out on his forehead. He looked back at the screen and there it was, confirmation that the transfer of funds was complete.

  Hex slammed the lid down, which automatically severed the internet connection and shut down the laptop, then he dived for the nearest cupboard as the handle of the kitchen door began to turn. Frantically Hex forced himself into the cupboard and tried to shut the door, but it would not close. One of his feet was still poking out over the plinth at the bottom of the cupboard. Hex glanced up. The kitchen door was opening and he was still in full view. Biting his lip against the pain, he grabbed his foot and pulled it until the ankle joint was bent at an impossible angle. With a final twist, his boot slid over the plinth and down into the cupboard. His cupboard door swung shut an instant before General Manteca stepped into the little kitchen.

  The four of them froze, cowering in the darkness behind the latticework doors and trying to breathe as shallowly as possible. Hex was in a great deal of pain from his squashed ankle, but he dared not move. They watched through the latticework as the general disconnected the laptop from the wall and shoved it into its carrying case. Alex stared out at the general’s face and wondered how he could ever have liked him. Now all the smiles and pretence were gone, he could see a hardness in the man’s jawline and a cruel set to the mouth. The general picked up the case, then walked over to the door that connected to the garage. They all tensed. If the general went through into the garage, he would see the broken wing mirror.

  The general grabbed the door handle, tested the lock, then nodded and turned away again. Alex sagged with relief, thankful that he had locked the door earlier. The general headed towards the hallway with the laptop. He opened the kitchen door and was about to leave when, somewhere in the room, a cellphone began to ring. Alex jumped at the noise, then clenched his fists. He could not tell where the ringing was coming from. Was it the general’s phone, or had Amber’s uncle chosen this moment to call her about the satellite images?

  The general stopped and stepped back into the room. He put the case down and reached into his pocket. Would he pull out a cellphone or a gun? Alex got ready to burst from the cupboard. If a gun came out he was planning to knock the general to the floor. That way they might have a chance of escaping into the street before he could shoot them. The ringing tone grew louder as the general pulled a phone from his jacket. For the second time in less than a minute, Alex sagged with relief inside the cupboard.

  ‘Manteca,’ said the general, leaning back against the bench to
take the call. Something made Amber look up at the motion-detector directly above the general’s head. Her eyes widened. The blob of foam polish that had been covering the detector was slowly slipping down the front of the little box and forming into a trembling white teardrop hanging from the bottom edge. The drip looked ready to fall at any second. Amber nearly groaned out loud.

  ‘Ross!’ said the general. ‘Thanks for getting back. Listen, don’t go to meet the kids at the airport. They aren’t going to make it this time. They’re . . . unwell. But don’t worry, I have other ways of getting those parcels to you. Do you understand? Good. I’ll be in touch.’

  The general flicked the phone shut and remained leaning against the bench, deep in thought. Above his head the trembling teardrop grew bigger as more foam slipped over the edge of the detector box. The general flipped the phone open again, then changed his mind and straightened up, just as the foam blob finally began to fall. The general bent to pick up the laptop case and the foam hit the bench behind him with a soft splat. He straightened up and headed out into the hallway, closing the kitchen door behind him.

  A few seconds later the alarm system began sounding a muted warning tone, then the front door was pulled shut. The general was gone. Alex, Li and Amber burst out of their cupboards and headed for the door into the garage, with Hex limping along behind them. They tumbled into the garage and pulled the kitchen door shut just as the house alarm finished setting itself and the warning tone stopped.

  ‘When he was talking about the kids, he meant Paulo and Eliza, didn’t he?’ said Li a few minutes later, as they walked towards the city centre.

  ‘Yes,’ said Amber, ‘I think so.’

  ‘What did he mean “the kids are . . . unwell”?’ demanded Li. ‘What has he done to them?’

  ‘Li,’ said Hex, ‘I know you’re worried about Paulo. We all are. But will you stop asking questions we can’t answer?’

  ‘Sorry,’ muttered Li.

  They tramped on in silence for a while, then Li began to talk again, her voice high with anxiety. ‘But what if he’s hurt really badly? What if we don’t get to him in time? I’d never forgive myself if . . . Look, maybe we should tell the authorities - the police, or the army?’