Chapter 2.
Josh and Max sat in a corner of the library in front of a small laptop they'd 'borrowed' from someone's locker at school. Max checked the jerry rigged connection to the libraries phone line, and opened the dialler program and a program he'd found on the net to dial into win socks, so he could route his signal around. Josh had had no idea what Max had been saying, but hadn't wanted to say. Kay, on lookout, coughed and they covered the laptop with newspapers as an old lady walked past them. Max lifted the papers.
"Ok we're in. I choose a school in New York, I figured that was far enough." Max began typing and clicking left right and centre as Josh tried to understand. Fairly soon Max asked for the numbers of the three accounts they'd set up the previous day over the net, all under assumed identities done with the laptop and a payphone. He hit a few more keys, then closed the programs. Kay came over and joined them.
"So is it done?"
"Yup. I've set it up so in three days when their payroll transactions go through, all the old accounts re-activate, twenty six in total and transfer the money evenly between the back accounts we set up. Then I put a virus in that's going to wipe their entire payroll system, so all the records will be gone including that months transactions. They'll think it's all a big computer glitch, and won't have any record of what cash they had or where it went."
"What about paper records."
"It's a chance we have to take. Now all we do is wait a couple of months and see what happens."
.
Josh sat watching the news, fingers crossed. Then the article he'd been waiting for came on.
"In a bizarre computer glitch, a New York school has found its entire record archive destroyed. Financial information, pupils grades and even staff lists have all been wiped out. It happened today shortly after twelve when the payroll system activated. Many staff are now anxious as to what will happen now, though most pupils are happy to enjoy a few days at home while the problem is sorted. There are two theories floating around at the moment, one that the computer crash is the result of hackers, and the other, the poor recent installation of a Microsoft networks upgrade. The investigation continues."
"Shit, I think it worked." Josh spoke under his breath, but his father looked at him.
"What did you say."
"I said, Shit, Microsoft never works."
"What do I care about computers. Get my cigarettes from the kitchen would you."
"Yes sir." Josh stood and almost skipped to the kitchen.
.
The next two months passed very slowly, with no more news of the school incident, other than to report that a sorting glitch in the upgrade had been to blame, and investigations had ceased, when pay checks had arrived on time. Max had occasionally shifted the money between accounts, and then finally transferred it to two new accounts named under Insulin Games Ltd. Then over the following two months, slowly siphoned into accounts in their own names, labelled as royalties pay for a non existent game.
In all it had taken four and a half months or preparation ad work, and now Josh looked over his new bank statement. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he looked at Max.
"There's eighty thousand pounds in here? How the fuck did we end up with this much."
"Um, well, I only came up with the idea of wiping the whole system at the last minute, and I figured, what the hell, if there would be no records, I would transfer all the money they weren't using to pay the actual teachers and other direct employees to our accounts. Since they used their paper backup when they replaced the system, the money simple returned to them, but it didn't if you see what I mean. Basically we created a total of two hundred and forty thousand to split three ways and do with as we choose out of thin air, and all that money appears to have come to us from a games company for a game we designed, that's only selling overseas. It's all perfectly legal if you don't look to hard. So I guess you can get that car you wanted now Josh." Max grinned.
"Shit man. We'd better not get caught." Kay said looking at his friends.
"Too late now if we do." Josh said, his fingers trembling slightly. "So, you guys wanna go look for cars or what?" They shared a moronic grin and walked out the school gates. They were stopped by a cheery feminine voice.
"Where are you guys going, school hasn't even started yet, and your leaving." The three turned to see Jessica. She'd only joined the school a month ago, when her father had moved into the area from Japan for business. She'd kind of fallen in with the group, since Kay had been appointed to show her round on her first day and she'd caught Josh's interest because of her love of cars, and stories of watching the late night illegal drifting competitions on the streets of Tokyo. Her English was surprisingly good, though her mother was English and she had been raised speaking both languages.
"Er, we decided we didn't feel like school today. We thought we'd do some shopping." Max felt a hard elbow to the ribs. Too late he realised he'd mentioned the S word.
"Shopping cool. Can I come. What you shopping for then?" She said, grabbing her bag and running to catch up. Josh smiled, where the other two felt Jessica's shopping habits were annoying, he thought them cute, even if he did have to carry all her bags.
"Cars."
"Eh. What kind, you mean toy ones?"
"No dummy, real cars. We decided we need some wheels. You don't need to worry, you've already got some." Jessica stuck her tongue out at Kay.
"Yes I do, and if you want a lift into town, you should be nice to me. It's a long walk you know."
"You'll give us a lift?" Max asked. Jessica nodded, and walked towards her Honda Accord parked across the road. The others followed.
"You could do some great things to this car you know Jes." Josh said as he climbed in.
"Yeah, but I don't know much about cars. My father bought it for me, cos I said I liked one I saw at a show, but I didn't know how to go from there."
"Well, if this goes like it should, you can have yours done with ours."
"Cool. So where to guys?" Max pulled a mag from his school bag.
"There's a Jap imports place up on 5th somewhere. Near the coast I think, we can go there first. Get a tan there to aye?"
"Ok." She started the car and pulled off.
.
Josh, Max, Kay and Jessica admired the rows of gleaming Japanese metal standing on the garage forecourt. A young man in a sharp suit came out to greet them, Josh recognised him as one of the guys he'd seen on his last trip to the races, in fact he'd won his race.
"Can I help you, or are you just looking." Josh smiled a friendly smile at the fellow.
"We're each looking for a car, that represents us, to mod and tune into the ultimate drag racers."
"Um, I'm not sure if this is the place your." Josh cut him off.
"Well done on your win the other night. Most deserved." He gave the man a knowing wink.
"Thank you, maybe you are in the right place after all. Have a look a round and see what you like, and let me knew if you have any questions. Kay and Max began looking along the rows of cars. "You sir, I have something special you might like to see." The man led Josh and Jessica into the show room towards a yellow car spinning slowly on a turntable. Josh drew in his breath.
"A Nissan 200SX. Wow. I want it."
"I thought you might. Of course many people have, but it's not cheap." Josh hungrily eyed the beautiful car.
Outside Kay had found the car he wanted. A deep blue 98 Subaru Impreza, and over the other side, Max had spotted a black Honda NSX.
.
The four cars left the garage in convoy and headed for Max's house, where they hoped to meet his brother James. He'd been promising to introduce them to someone, if they ever got their act together and turned up with a car. They arrived just as he was about to leave. The laughed as they saw him watch with open mouthed amazement as the convoy pulled up in front of him. Josh rolled down the window of the 200SX.
"Dude, you promised to introduce us to someone who could help us with fixing up our cars. Know seems as good a time as any." James mouthed a few incoherent words and sat down on the concrete step rather hard. Max leaned out of his car and waved at his brother.
"So, you gonna help us here, or just gawk all day?" James shook his head slowly, and stood up, numbly making his way towards the Nissan. He climbed in slowly and looked at Josh. He looked out the back window at the other cars. Something seemed to snap.
"Where the fuck did these come from?" He shouted. Josh covered his ears.
"Mike Jap Imports and don't shout. Now can we go or not."
"Fine, down the end of here and take a right. I think we need to have a talk later."
"Where are we going anyway."
"It's a garage called Torettos."
Josh and Max sat in a corner of the library in front of a small laptop they'd 'borrowed' from someone's locker at school. Max checked the jerry rigged connection to the libraries phone line, and opened the dialler program and a program he'd found on the net to dial into win socks, so he could route his signal around. Josh had had no idea what Max had been saying, but hadn't wanted to say. Kay, on lookout, coughed and they covered the laptop with newspapers as an old lady walked past them. Max lifted the papers.
"Ok we're in. I choose a school in New York, I figured that was far enough." Max began typing and clicking left right and centre as Josh tried to understand. Fairly soon Max asked for the numbers of the three accounts they'd set up the previous day over the net, all under assumed identities done with the laptop and a payphone. He hit a few more keys, then closed the programs. Kay came over and joined them.
"So is it done?"
"Yup. I've set it up so in three days when their payroll transactions go through, all the old accounts re-activate, twenty six in total and transfer the money evenly between the back accounts we set up. Then I put a virus in that's going to wipe their entire payroll system, so all the records will be gone including that months transactions. They'll think it's all a big computer glitch, and won't have any record of what cash they had or where it went."
"What about paper records."
"It's a chance we have to take. Now all we do is wait a couple of months and see what happens."
.
Josh sat watching the news, fingers crossed. Then the article he'd been waiting for came on.
"In a bizarre computer glitch, a New York school has found its entire record archive destroyed. Financial information, pupils grades and even staff lists have all been wiped out. It happened today shortly after twelve when the payroll system activated. Many staff are now anxious as to what will happen now, though most pupils are happy to enjoy a few days at home while the problem is sorted. There are two theories floating around at the moment, one that the computer crash is the result of hackers, and the other, the poor recent installation of a Microsoft networks upgrade. The investigation continues."
"Shit, I think it worked." Josh spoke under his breath, but his father looked at him.
"What did you say."
"I said, Shit, Microsoft never works."
"What do I care about computers. Get my cigarettes from the kitchen would you."
"Yes sir." Josh stood and almost skipped to the kitchen.
.
The next two months passed very slowly, with no more news of the school incident, other than to report that a sorting glitch in the upgrade had been to blame, and investigations had ceased, when pay checks had arrived on time. Max had occasionally shifted the money between accounts, and then finally transferred it to two new accounts named under Insulin Games Ltd. Then over the following two months, slowly siphoned into accounts in their own names, labelled as royalties pay for a non existent game.
In all it had taken four and a half months or preparation ad work, and now Josh looked over his new bank statement. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion and he looked at Max.
"There's eighty thousand pounds in here? How the fuck did we end up with this much."
"Um, well, I only came up with the idea of wiping the whole system at the last minute, and I figured, what the hell, if there would be no records, I would transfer all the money they weren't using to pay the actual teachers and other direct employees to our accounts. Since they used their paper backup when they replaced the system, the money simple returned to them, but it didn't if you see what I mean. Basically we created a total of two hundred and forty thousand to split three ways and do with as we choose out of thin air, and all that money appears to have come to us from a games company for a game we designed, that's only selling overseas. It's all perfectly legal if you don't look to hard. So I guess you can get that car you wanted now Josh." Max grinned.
"Shit man. We'd better not get caught." Kay said looking at his friends.
"Too late now if we do." Josh said, his fingers trembling slightly. "So, you guys wanna go look for cars or what?" They shared a moronic grin and walked out the school gates. They were stopped by a cheery feminine voice.
"Where are you guys going, school hasn't even started yet, and your leaving." The three turned to see Jessica. She'd only joined the school a month ago, when her father had moved into the area from Japan for business. She'd kind of fallen in with the group, since Kay had been appointed to show her round on her first day and she'd caught Josh's interest because of her love of cars, and stories of watching the late night illegal drifting competitions on the streets of Tokyo. Her English was surprisingly good, though her mother was English and she had been raised speaking both languages.
"Er, we decided we didn't feel like school today. We thought we'd do some shopping." Max felt a hard elbow to the ribs. Too late he realised he'd mentioned the S word.
"Shopping cool. Can I come. What you shopping for then?" She said, grabbing her bag and running to catch up. Josh smiled, where the other two felt Jessica's shopping habits were annoying, he thought them cute, even if he did have to carry all her bags.
"Cars."
"Eh. What kind, you mean toy ones?"
"No dummy, real cars. We decided we need some wheels. You don't need to worry, you've already got some." Jessica stuck her tongue out at Kay.
"Yes I do, and if you want a lift into town, you should be nice to me. It's a long walk you know."
"You'll give us a lift?" Max asked. Jessica nodded, and walked towards her Honda Accord parked across the road. The others followed.
"You could do some great things to this car you know Jes." Josh said as he climbed in.
"Yeah, but I don't know much about cars. My father bought it for me, cos I said I liked one I saw at a show, but I didn't know how to go from there."
"Well, if this goes like it should, you can have yours done with ours."
"Cool. So where to guys?" Max pulled a mag from his school bag.
"There's a Jap imports place up on 5th somewhere. Near the coast I think, we can go there first. Get a tan there to aye?"
"Ok." She started the car and pulled off.
.
Josh, Max, Kay and Jessica admired the rows of gleaming Japanese metal standing on the garage forecourt. A young man in a sharp suit came out to greet them, Josh recognised him as one of the guys he'd seen on his last trip to the races, in fact he'd won his race.
"Can I help you, or are you just looking." Josh smiled a friendly smile at the fellow.
"We're each looking for a car, that represents us, to mod and tune into the ultimate drag racers."
"Um, I'm not sure if this is the place your." Josh cut him off.
"Well done on your win the other night. Most deserved." He gave the man a knowing wink.
"Thank you, maybe you are in the right place after all. Have a look a round and see what you like, and let me knew if you have any questions. Kay and Max began looking along the rows of cars. "You sir, I have something special you might like to see." The man led Josh and Jessica into the show room towards a yellow car spinning slowly on a turntable. Josh drew in his breath.
"A Nissan 200SX. Wow. I want it."
"I thought you might. Of course many people have, but it's not cheap." Josh hungrily eyed the beautiful car.
Outside Kay had found the car he wanted. A deep blue 98 Subaru Impreza, and over the other side, Max had spotted a black Honda NSX.
.
The four cars left the garage in convoy and headed for Max's house, where they hoped to meet his brother James. He'd been promising to introduce them to someone, if they ever got their act together and turned up with a car. They arrived just as he was about to leave. The laughed as they saw him watch with open mouthed amazement as the convoy pulled up in front of him. Josh rolled down the window of the 200SX.
"Dude, you promised to introduce us to someone who could help us with fixing up our cars. Know seems as good a time as any." James mouthed a few incoherent words and sat down on the concrete step rather hard. Max leaned out of his car and waved at his brother.
"So, you gonna help us here, or just gawk all day?" James shook his head slowly, and stood up, numbly making his way towards the Nissan. He climbed in slowly and looked at Josh. He looked out the back window at the other cars. Something seemed to snap.
"Where the fuck did these come from?" He shouted. Josh covered his ears.
"Mike Jap Imports and don't shout. Now can we go or not."
"Fine, down the end of here and take a right. I think we need to have a talk later."
"Where are we going anyway."
"It's a garage called Torettos."
