by Sanjib Sinha
He continued, “I hope everything is clear now?”
Rahela liked his amiable tone of voice and the way he talked reasonably. She nodded like a school girl and said, “I’ll stay with you.”
PG smiled, “Good decision.” Now he made a gesture at Vicky and Rahela noticed that the hard stony face softened a little bit.
Vicky dialed a number and handed over it to PG.
PG started talking to someone and said, “I hope they pay well?”
Next he started talking to somebody else, “I’ll help you for a different reason Rakesh. You are my friend. But I usually avoid police and army job. They don’t pay well. Anyway, if you really want me to help your friend, then I’m ready to help. But we have a situation. I’ll tell you later. Tell your friend in Mumbai to book three return tickets and two hotel rooms. I’ll go to Mumbai by evening flight and want to come back next day.”
Rahela went through a mixed type of emotions. She didn’t dislike them any more but she had an uncanny feeling of obscurity. He had never met such mysterious people before.
Especially this man PG – he was so mysterious and attractive.
25. Sunday, 8.35 PM, Mumbai
It was dark outside and Udit was sitting alone in his office.
Mumbai police head-quarter was still in full swing and the corridor was abuzz. Policemen were coming in groups for the night shift; they lovingly called 'graveyard' shift. At night the commercial capital of India needed more protection from the criminals. And it made them standing tiptoe.
His personal mobile was ringing and Udit didn’t notice it first. He was busy in booking two hotel rooms for the guest hackers. At last Rakesh was able to communicate to the hacker in Calcutta and he agreed to come to here. He demanded three return journey air tickets. Was it a hacker-group working together? Rakesh was not sure. When Udit queried about it Rakesh told him that he knew only one – PG. he didn’t know about the others.
At the last moment Udit noticed his mobile was ringing.
He was in tizzy and picked it up somehow before it got disconnected.
A mechanical voice said, “Mr. Kashyap, you’ve made another wrong decision.”
Udit boomed, “Who are you?”
The anonymous caller said in cold voice, “I could have killed your wife and son in the afternoon but I didn’t for one reason. I just wanted to show you what it might have been.”
Udit took a gulp of the air and he remembered the afternoon anxiety. He managed to say somehow, “Who are you and what do you want?”
“You must withdraw from this case. Just withdraw slowly, you should not hurry in doing this or this will hurt many people. Now tell me, why did you hire a hacker to find me out? Just send them back. Nobody in this world would be able to trace me. Nobody could do that. But I could trace your family wherever you try to hide them. Do you really want me to do that?”
Udit said - his voice was desperate and feeble. But what he wanted to say was true, “The commissioner is involved. It’s not in my hand actually.”
The killer said, “I know your every step. The commissioner is watching through your eyes and hearing only what you say. Don’t try to misguide me, misguide him. Remember the Bandra case. That file was still missing because your in-law’s property was involved. I know you from top to the bottom. You have a foreign bank account in your wife’s name. She does some architect designing. Okay, that’s fine; she will be paid regularly from now on. Join us. Hush up the case. Seize the laptop of the girl and take it in your custody before the hacker gets it. Hand it over to me later. Nobody will ever come to know. It happens. Isn’t it?”
Udit took time and gave the proposition a serious thought. Why not? Today he had been working since the morning and it was over twelve hours now. He sensed it before. There was an insider. The killer had a wide range of connection. He had already made his entrance in the Mumbai police force.
It was a new trend in crime. He should adapt to it or his family would face the music. Mumbai underworld was vicious and ruthless. If Udit didn’t join, his world would turn upside down like it had almost done in the afternoon.
Udit sighed and said, “Okay.”
The man’s voice sounded friendly now, “Nobody could trace this call. It’s encrypted. So you’re safe. Now tell me the details. When they are coming and where you put them up – in which hotel.”
“The hacker’s name is PG. They probably work in a group – I don’t know about them in a great detail. I booked two hotel rooms near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus railway station.”
“Which hotel? There are many.”
“Hotel View.”
“I must say Mr. Kashyap, you’ve thought it perfectly. You work on Dadabhai Nouraji Road, opposite Crawford Market, and you decide to keep them close in CSMT. When they are about to land?”
“In thirty minutes.”
“You’re sending a car I hope?”
“Yes, he’d call me landing here.”
“Then do me a favour. Send your men to the girl’s house and seize her laptop and mobile before they reach. You have every right to do that. Give him another laptop tomorrow. You’re in charge of cyber sell so you must have many disposable laptops in your custody. I hope they’ll not start working before tomorrow.”
“Hope so.” Udit sighed and felt sad. He was, for the first time in his service, tasting defeat. But what he could do? The culprit was behind a curtain. A digital curtain. It was obscure. Impenetrable.
The anonymous voice concluded, “The hacker is a fat old man with white hair. He knows his job but burps more. Give him any other laptop and let him struggle with that. The old bastard.” He put a curse on him.
The line got disconnected and Udit was thunderstruck. How had this killer come to know every detail? Was Rakesh in his payroll also? Did Rakesh tell him everything from Calcutta?
Udit didn’t move for a few minutes. He was glued to his chair as a sad statue. For the first time in his life he was going to do things against his will.
26. Sunday, 10.35 PM, Mumbai
“Rakesh was tapped.” PG said.
Vicky made a grimace of disgust, “So the cracker-killer heard everything Rakesh had told you in the afternoon?”
“Everything.” PG nodded and he looked rather thoughtful.
They sat on a rooftop restaurant in a hotel on Crawford Market and on the opposite of the Joint Commissioner’s office. After landing in Mumbai airport PG called up Udit and told him about the change of his plan. They didn’t take the police car. They checked in another hotel. Udit was still in dark about that. Before leaving Calcutta PG had come to know about the phone tapping and decided to change his plan.
If he had not had any idea of phone tapping he would have done the same. “Change the plan at the last moment without taking any risk.” A favourite strategy he always followed in his life as a hacker. The anonymity was the key.
They took up a hotel on opposite sides of Crawford Market. He could see the office where Udit worked. On his laptop monitor the transcription of his call record was downloading very fast. It was a cool airy night and Rahela had already retired to her room after dinner. Two friends sat at opposite ends of the table to talk to each other in low voice.
PG was waiting patiently for the downloading to be completed.
Now he was reading it while Vicky checked his mobile.
He read through it quickly and started smiling. He said, “I guessed it much before.”
Vicky asked, “What?”
“Just go through it.” PG was still smiling contentedly.
Vicky didn’t take much time to have gone through the transcription and breathed heavily, “Son of a bitch!”
“I know that Vicky. This is the reason I don’t want to help police people. It takes a second to purchase most of them.” He sighed and stretched out. He felt tired.
Vicky said, “If he changes the laptop you’ll never be able to find the source.”
“Exactly. It happens in most of the ca
ses. They change the files. It shows files are missing. They take money from the criminals and sometimes arrange the killing of the witness. It’s pathetic, not only the Indian system but everywhere. There are plenty of reasons why I don’t rely on them. Few of them are always corrupt. ”
Vicky’s face softened, “But PG, Rakesh is an honest officer. I can’t believe Rakesh is on the syndicate’s pay roll.”
“I know that. But the cracker hacked his phone tapping it and listening to every dialog he had with you. And the same thing happened here. From the transcription it was evident that he had cracked Mr. Kashyap’s phone in the afternoon and sent messages just to create panic. Udit Kashyap was scared to hell. He had never faced such situation in his life. So the cracker used his anxiety for his family as bait and later he swallowed that.”
Vicky said, “Do you think there is a link with Calcutta blackmailing?”
“Yes, definitely. I had first felt it in Calcutta when I found that Rakesh’s phone had been tracked. The same man has been active behind two operations. He is a wizard social engineer and a phone-freak. And I believe he is a part of a huge network connected through the dark web. They mainly collect ransomware.”
“The problem is this guy is a killer. That’s really risky.”
“Yes, that’s why we should stop him as soon as possible. This case is different. We need to plan carefully for tomorrow.”
Vicky asked, “What is your plan?”
“You’ll collect the laptop.”
Vicky smiled – a rare smile, “It sounds interesting. I have to disguise myself before going there.”
PG smiled, "It doesn't matter. Every old man looks same."
Vicky exhaled, "Yes, they forget to dream."
He seemed interested what PG was saying. It was evident in his face. When he was in military service as a commando he would always love to go to difficult missions.
It seemed more dangerous as the enemy was hidden under a curtain – the invisible digital curtain.
27. Monday, 7.35 AM, Mumbai
Udit couldn’t get to sleep at all last night.
He was awake thinking about the consequences. The mobile woke him up. He was sleepy when he heard a coarse voice, “Good Morning Mr. Kashyap.”
Udit didn’t feel good to reply and return the good wishes forcefully. He said in sombre voice, “Morning.”
“It didn’t move according to the plan I suppose.”
“I was not responsible for that.” Udit shot back at once. He got irritated.
The killer-cracker said, “I know. You’re not responsible. It was that old bloody fool who thinks he knows too much. He has changed the plan and thought if he changes the hotel he will be saved. Anyway, when he comes to you and pick up the laptop?”
“At nine thirty sharp.”
Udit heard a faint sound of laughter. After a pause the man said, “Well, we’ll also change our plan little bit. Give him the original laptop. I mean the girl’s laptop. I forgot one important thing. I had installed a device tracker into it. So if your men fail to follow him, and I really don’t believe in your men’s efficiency – pardon me; I could track him to the end. Understand?”
Udit said, “Okay, as you wish.”
“Please ask your men to follow the guy till the end and know his exact location. I’ll call you around ten and take the feedback.” The cracker took a brief stop and then added, “As a token of appreciation, as you’re helping me, I have sent five hundred thousand to your offshore account. Please check your mobile for the last update.”
The line got disconnected leaving Udit in disarray. Remorse – caused by feeling responsible for what he had been doing – made him look pathetic.
In the breakfast table her wife Pakhi asked, “Are you feeling bad Udit?”
He didn’t look at her eyes as if he had spent whole night in a whore-house. He said laconically, “I am fine darling.”
Pakhi sipped her coffee and asked, “Have you got any trace of the killer?”
What she would have done if she came to know the last conversations he had with the killer? He had not only talked to him but he accepted his money – the blood stained underworld money. It pricked his conscience constantly. But what he could have done? He needed to save his family first.
“We’re trying our best.” He said in low voice and added, “Unless I call you don’t move anywhere.”
Pakhi showed her concern and said, “We have not faced such situation before. It’s so strange. You can’t trace any digital footprint? It's never happened before.”
“We’ve hired a good hacker from Calcutta. May be he’ll be able to trace him. Hope for the best.” Udit wasn’t feeling good; he was not in the mood of talking. He was all washed up and exhausted because he had been doing things against his will since last night.
At nine thirty sharp an old man with a mass of white hair and stubble came to his office. He limped a little when entered his room and shook his hand. Udit was amazed in the firmness. He was watching him intently. He was not at all looking impressive – not a man of smart appearance. But Rakesh assured him; this man was one of the best hackers.
“Many strange things happen in this world.” – He thought, “May be he is good at his job.” He tried to be as normal as possible and said, “My friend Rakesh told me about you. Many thanks for your support Mr. PG.”
The old hacker burped and said, “You are welcome Mr. Kashyap. Nothing special – this is my job. I had to change the plan last night for some security reasons. You know we need to maintain our anonymity.”
“I understand the risks involved.”
Vicky disguised as PG tried his best to remember few hacking-related-words that he had learnt by heart last night. He said, “You cannot track his IP address?”
While saying this he remembered what PG had said last night: IP address was a numeral fingerprint. When a device connected to a network through internet protocol it actually carried that number along with it. Later through that IP address a device could be tracked.
There were few other words jumbled up in his mind from last night – Doxing, Phishing, Zombies.
Udit said, “We cannot track his IP address. Moreover, we don’t know whether he had used key-stroke logging mechanism when he had the remote access.”
Vicky tried to understand whether this police officer had also tried last night to learn those hacking words by heart! May be he wanted to show some skill before him.
This time Vicky decided to use more heavy words like Brute Force Attack.
He said with authority, “I think the cracker used Brute Force Attack method to pass the firewall and may be he wanted to use this machine as Zombies.”
Udit, though not in good spirit, tried to counter this by saying, “You mean the Botnet?”
Vicky nodded, “It could be. Let me check it first.”
Udit thought, “Will you get that time old man? Before he’ll track you and kill.”
He felt sad for the old man and thought about the five hundred thousand buck he had received in his offshore account.
He took a deep breath and sighed and crossed himself moving his right hand down and across his chest.
He was worried about the old hacker.
28. Monday, 9.55 AM, Mumbai
PG and Rahela were waiting inside the Crawford market so that they could watch the entrance. It was crowded as usual. They saw Vicky coming out with a backpack.
PG smiled at Rahela, “He is a good actor, isn’t it. He looks like a perfect old man.”
Rahela smiled back and nodded. She was happy to be with PG. In the morning PG elaborated his plan to her. For the first time since last day she felt quite relieved forgetting the heavy clout of sorrow that had darkened her mind. The murky rain and clouds of Calcutta had made her more distressed. It was sunny here in Mumbai. The rays of Sun cleared her mind.
In the morning when PG had told her that they would be going to a mission she didn’t understand it first. PG clarified their plans and ask
ed her if she had any problem to come with him?
“No, I have no problem.” Rahela took no time to decide. She liked him for one reason. He always asked for her permission before deciding anything involving her. He always wanted to see things from her perspective. He had never talked down to her and tried to dominate.
Vicky came out form the joint commissioner’s office and approaching them towards the Crawford Market. In between there was flat wide road. It was a busy road so he stopped and took time to cross it. While crossing it he didn’t look back. He was walking as if he went out for a leisurely walk. He was also limping slightly as he had been directed by PG last night.
PG smiled to Rahela, “His acting is perfect. Vicky can work in Bollywood; he’s acting so well. Look, how well he is limping! I couldn't do that.”
While saying so he took out a strange-looking device from his backpack. He watched the monitor for seconds and called up Vicky’s number. Rahela saw Vicky picked up the phone while coming towards the Crawford market.
PG warned him; his voice changed; it was alert now, “Vicky, there is tracker software activated in the laptop you’re carrying. Cross the street and pass it on to me in the market. We need to deactivate it first.”
Vicky entered Crawford market and started following them. It was a very big market with plenty of people moving around. It was covered by a see-through fibre shade. The morning rays of sun broke through it and lit up the whole place in a soft soothing light. It was vibrant inside as usual.
PG said, “This way Vicky. Two men are following you – one of them is a policeman in plain cloth. It’s evident in his hair cut; another guy has probably deputed by the cracker. Can you see me? Come behind the flower shop.”
They met and PG took the backpack from PG and said, “Go to the toilet and change your dress. Take a taxi and go to the airport. Wait there in the terminal. We’ll meet you there.”
Vicky nodded and in a second disappeared. PG said to Rahela, “Please help me. Open my backpack and take out the red pen-drive. You'll find it in the third chain.”
