Page 4 of Zen's Crash

“I also have four extra monitors running down the right side that take turns flashing images of the security cameras outside my club brothers’ private residences. They’re all motion-sensor, so I get an alert along with the security firm when one is activated at odd hours.”

“You watch the brothers’ homes?”

“Low-level monitoring. Obviously if a brother is seen as being a target, then we add extra monitoring. I don’t have to keep an eye on all the businesses while I’m here, as Tex organizes that through our security company. It’s more like a personal interest of mine. I figure that since I installed most of it, being that second set of eyes is no problem.”

Giving me a suspicious look, Evan points out, “You started with the things you do on a volunteer basis. I was more interested about your function in the club.”

“Well,” I tell him. “I’m responsible for setting up and running the club’s servers and I created specialized software for theclub officers to track everything from financials to demographic information on all of us. I also created the software used by all our businesses and affiliates. If it’s computer or internet-related, I install and maintain it. I also deal with the hardware and wiring aspect, because in my mind if shit goes wrong you need to know how to fix it from top to bottom.”

“That’s really impressive,” he says enthusiastically. Hesitating for just a moment, he adds, “My old man said you helped him and my mom track me and other missing kids down. Are you some kind of hacker?”

I suck in a deep breath and hold it for a second before speaking, “That’s a loaded question. A lot of people see hacking as a dirty word. It implies breaking into secured systems for malicious reasons. In my humble opinion, if you’re being discreet, careful, and doing it for the right reasons, hacking can be a good thing. It has to serve a higher purpose.”

“Like when you found me, right?”

I nod, “Yep. I hacked into county records looking for properties under your abductor’s family name. That’s how we finally found you.”

“He was holding me in a cabin. I’d been there for days. Mattie had gotten too close, and he took her too. Then the Savage Legion brothers rescued both of us.”

“Tracking missing persons who might be at risk for being abused, killed, or trafficked is an important part of my job, but a lot of what I do is looking through public databases that anyone is allowed to access.”

“That sounds a bit boring,” he responds.

“It can be. That’s why I often design bots to crawl over public records to collect the information I need to track down a missing person. I’m only one man but I have connections with other trusted hackers in the field, a talent for organizing them into working units during an emergency, and I have the knowhow to create bots to target much-needed information in a crisis. All those things are force multipliers for a man in my position.”

“My dad always told me to keep my mouth shut and not involve anyone else is club business. You organizing a bunch of hackers seems to fly in the face of his advice.” The poor kid looked pretty damn worried, so I set his mind at ease.

“The hackers I call into service have all been fully vetted by our security firm and approved by our club officers. Plus I supervise them really closely and only give each individual enough information to complete his task. Critical information is on a need-to-know basis.”

“It sounds like you have all your bases covered.”

“I’m thirty-one years old and have been doing this since I was a teen.”

He quickly asks, “If I wanted to get into IT what would be the best avenue to explore?”

“I would start with taking some computer classes, getting a good mentor, and when you graduate, consider looking into taking computer science. Study hard and don’t be afraid to pull in information you find about the subject in books, online, and through social networking. Are you interested in learning about computers and networking?”

“I’m not sure. I’m still trying to figure myself out, but I have a good friend who’s obsessed with becoming a hacker.”

“We wouldn’t be talking about Tex’s son, would we?”

Evan nods, unable to keep the smile off his face. “Yeah, Levi loves computers and knows all kinds of ways to get information. I think he’d be a good hacker.”

I run one hand through my hair trying to get a handle on my growing exasperation. I know all about Levi. He’s a boy genius, with a touch of high-functioning autism who has serial obsessions. His last one was chess. He went from knowing nothing, to winning the statewide championship for his school inside of a year. There are about twelve thousand things that could go wrong with a kid like that deciding he wants to be a hacker. He needs guidance, but the last thing I need is trying to wrangle a hot mess like him to the ground. So I say, “He’s still a junior prospect. Maybe I could talk to him when he’s your age?”

“I’m sure he’d love that,” Evan says with happiness shining in his eyes. Even though there’s a couple of years between them, it’s nice to see that Evan’s looking out for his friend. That’s what brotherhood is all about.

“Any more questions?” I ask, hoping and praying there weren’t any so I could scoot on home for the night.

Evan’s expression becomes shifty. “Just one. Do girls find hackers hot?”

Scratching my beard, I think over his question. I consider playing into the glamorous image he has of hackers, but decide to tell the truth, “To be honest, most women don’tgive computer nerds a second glance. We’re pretty invisible to everyone, unless they want their computers fixed.”

“Roger that, Zen. I’m hearing what you’re laying down,” he says as he gets to his feet. I’ll keep all your good advice in mind.”

I reach out to shake his hand and say, “Let me know if you want to talk about IT some more.”

He gives me a boyish grin. “I’m sure I will. Thanks for your time.”

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