My breaking things off was best for everyone.
My screen was a mass of numbers and letters. I waited. I knew what file to look for.
Then I saw it.
I clicked on it and read the code. Went through the script one line at a time.
Wait a minute.
What was this?
I traced the code with my finger, going through it in my head.
This was tracker software.
A complex, downright ingenious IP tracker unlike anything I’d ever seen.
I minimized the window and started pulling up Douglas Howard’s other personal files. His emails.
I could see the date stamps on the application. This had been created within the Virtuant network over the last year and a half. A lot of work had gone into the application. Was Toxicwrath a Virtuant employee?
The more I looked, the more shocked I became.
This software was being developed through a government grant. It was a sophisticated application that would enable law enforcement and government authorities to trace source IPs with almost 99 percent accuracy. I could see the testing environments, and it worked.
I was filled with dread. A program like that would make anonymity impossible. It was a huge step forward in tracking hackers and crackers. In finding criminals through their Internet use.
20:51 This program is dangerous for us. We should destroy it.
20:51 You were supposed to send me the files. Send them now.
I didn’t respond. I stared at the screen. I didn’t feel comfortable giving Toxicwrath the program. I didn’t know what to do with it myself. But I knew that in the wrong hands this could do a lot of damage.
20:53 Do you work for Virtuant?
20:53 Send me the file.
My email started blowing up with messages from Toxicwrath demanding the program. He wasn’t even trying to be subtle.
20:56 What are you planning to do with it?
20:57 You need to think bigger. Think about the revenue stream this sort of application can generate. Sell source IP locations to the highest bidder. Everyone would be vulnerable. Except for us. We could rule them all.
This was about money. This was about power. There was a line that was being crossed that I was not okay with. What we did was criminal; what Toxicwrath was suggesting was downright evil. Selling people’s locations to those who would do them harm. The possibility of that type of information getting into the wrong hands, into dangerous hands, was terrifying.
20:59 Fuck the money. Fuck your pride. This shit is dangerous. I do not want a program of this magnitude exploited.
My doorbell rang and I jumped in my chair.
All the lights were off in the house; it would look like I wasn’t there. I quietly got up and sneaked toward the front door. I looked through the peephole.
What was Mason doing here?
He started pounding on the door.
“Your car’s out front, Hannah! I know you’re in there!”
I pressed myself against the wall. I couldn’t answer the door. Not with the exploit in full swing. Not with the incriminating files all over my hard drive.
