Page 4 of Deadly Hacker

“How do you know?”

“Where will he go?”

Rad turned to show them his laptop screen. “Let’s find out.”

The officers watched in bewildered awe as Rad began to zoom in on the GPS screen. Then, he interrupted the cruise control setting, docking it by five miles per hour. The speedometer ticked backward by five.

“Won’t he know what’s going on and stop it?” demanded Finley.

“With Mr. Rudavin helpless in the backseat!” added Welch.

“This guy didn’t program the vehicle. He didn’t even set the preferences for it. He has no idea I exist, and he mightnevermeet me, if he’s lucky. He’s not in control here. I am,” Rad said. “Get your guys out there before he has a chance to make this a foot race.”

He pulled out his cell phone with his free hand and began typing the coordinates to Mikhail. When the police officers hesitated, he fixed them both with a fiery stare.

“Now!” he commanded. “Go!”

Officer Welch careened out of the room and down the hallway.

“What do I do?” asked Officer Finley.

“Go to the hospital. Report everything to Luka. And then I want you to stay with Mrs. Rudavin and her family until we have absolute proof that they’re safe,” Rad ordered.

“Will do,” said the officer. He hurried out of the room, leaving Rad alone with two computer screens, a scene he found himself in rather often.

Rad locked the door and paced back and forth, watching the black dot move on the GPS. In another window, he watched a second GPS. Several black dots were converging from elsewhere, forming the split caravan of black and silver vehicles belonging to Rad’s fellow Bratva members.

“My guys get there first,” Rad muttered. “Always.”

He docked the cruise control by another five.

He saw the speedometer flicker down as the hooded driver hit the gas. But it was futile.

Rad docked the speed by fifteen miles per hour and the car began slowing down just abruptly enough for the driver to assume something was seriously malfunctioning. He hit the brakes of his own accord and began the process of pulling over on the side of the interstate.

Rad knew his target’s heart was pounding with fear as his thoughts clouded with confusion. How could he lose control of the car? Was the engine shutting down? Was the fuel gauge incorrect? His mind would come up with so many theories before ever believing that someone else was controlling his fate from miles away.

As soon as the car was coasting to a stop, Rad saw the converging black dots on the secondary GPS approach and slow down along the interstate shoulder, surrounding him. He saw the car door lock activate on his screen. As a final move before Rad’s team members could close in on him, the criminal was trying to close himself in with Mr. Rudavin as a hostage.

So Rad unlocked the car and turned it off. The window went dark on his screen. He sat for a minute in the dim silence, a world away from the scene he’d just orchestrated, wondering if it had played out the way he’d written it.

Finally, his cell phone rang. That familiar ringtone again.

Rad got to his feet and answered the phone.

“You did it again, sneaky bastard,” Mikhail Sokolov snickered.

A smile lit up Rad’s handsome features. He pumped the air in silent triumph.

“You there?”

“Yes. I’m here,” Rad answered. “So, what’s next?”

“Well, if I remember correctly, you have a deal to close.”

Rad laughed. “On it, boss.”

“Good work today, Rad. Finish it out strong,” said Mikhail. He hung up.

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