บท 1012: Ch 1012 - The Encrypted Message
After the crew had reconvened at Yvonne's house, Alex received a mysterious email from none other than Riley Naysmith. Although SCOT could not decipher Riley's message, Alex felt confident he could crack the code.
Yvonne, Christopher, Debbie, Louis, and Ken rushed to Alex's side, huddling around him to catch a glimpse of what SCOT sent to his watch.
Alex groaned. "Cool your jets. There isn't much to see. It's another encrypted message."
Because of his experience with encrypted messages in the past, Christopher nervously stepped away. "Oh, no way. The last time I tried to crack one of those, I almost blew up your house."
Alex peered up at his friend. "There was no 'almost.' You did blow up my house." He clicked a few buttons on his watch. "This seems like a less complex algorithm. I'm shocked that SCOT couldn't find it out. It feels like Riley wants us to crack it."
Debbie brought a shaky hand to her forehead. "That can't be a good sign."
Doubt crept into Alex's mind. Everyone had put a lot of trust in Riley, and look where it landed them. He lowered his wrist. "Maybe we shouldn't crack it. Maybe we should let it go."
Before he could say another word, everyone in the living room responded in unison. "NO!"
Debbie rested her hand on her ex-boyfriend's shoulder. "You need to open it. Even if it's bad, we must know what he said."
Alex held up his hands as if he were surrendering. "Okay, fine. Someone needs to lend me a computer. I'll have SCOT forward the message and hack into it from there."
Still apprehensive, Christopher shook his head. "No way. I just replaced my old laptop. Remember the one that melted into your coffee table?"
Alex held up his hand. The last thing he needed was a reminder of the super soldier debacle and everything that led him to this dismal moment.
Yvonne tapped her chin. "You can use my Macbook, but it's five years old."
To Alex, a computer was a computer. So he would make an Apple One work if he had to. "That'll be fine. Go grab it, Yvonne."
Heeding his request, Yvonne ran down the hall and returned with a laptop that had seen better days in hand.
Alex took the computer from her and plopped down on her couch. Everyone gathered around him, eager to see what Riley had in store.
Alex raised his smartwatch to his face. "Hey, SCOT, can you transmit Riley's message to Yvonne's computer? Can you also send me a copy of Hackercap? I need to download that on the computer."
The AI replied instantaneously. "Of course, sir. Sending over the software and the message now."
Riley's message and hacking application appeared on Yvonne's computer within seconds.
Yvonne cringed as she watched Alex open and download software on her computer. "Hackercap? That sounds like a cyber security threat."
Alex's eyes remained glued to the screen. "Don't worry about it. I created a program with SCOT to hack codes and encryptions just like this."
Yvonne nervously took a deep breath. "So the FBI won't show up at my door for using Hackercap?"
One corner of Alex's mouth curled upward slightly. "No promises."
With a few clicks of the keyboard, Alex ran the program to decode Riley's message. The computer hummed loudly.
Yvonne's spine stiffened at the sound of the noise. "Is that normal?"
The computer's monitor flickered on and off. Then, the screen went black.
As she watched her computer crash, Yvonne blinked a few times. "Did it shut down?"
Alex's expression morphed from focused to concerned. "I don't think so."
Christopher stepped over the couch and reached out to snatch the computer from Alex. "IT'S GONNA BLOW!"
Alex clutched the laptop. "No, it isn't. Calm down."
After the crew patiently waited, a question appeared in bright green letters on the screen.
Debbie scratched her head. "What's the password? What does that mean? What password?"
Five small green boxes flickered underneath the question.
Alex drummed his fingers on the keyboard. "This guy is infuriating."
Yvonne squinted at the screen, lost in thought. "Okay, he wants a password. We know how Riley operates. What's important to Riley that is only five letters long?"
Christopher gently tapped Alex's shoulder. "Riley is only five letters, and he's the type of idiot who would use his own name as a password. Try Riley."
Alex typed out the name, but nothing happened. Then, after a second, a message appeared below the boxes that read: "Not me, you."
Everyone scratched their heads, but Alex had an inkling he knew the password. "Dippy. It was my childhood nickname my mom gave to me. If he had asked Mom for a password, she would have said Dippy."
Alex typed out Dippy, and bingo. It unlocked Riley's message. Everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief.
Disgusted, Louis shook his head. "He used your childhood nickname? What a sicko."
Alex mumbled under his breath. "Yeah, a sicko you trusted."
Riley's message popped up on the screen. Alex glanced over it. "Okay, it's a list of places in Baltimore."
Yvonne interrupted. "Places where he could be hiding Flora. Just like SCOT said, they are clues to her whereabouts."
Alex clenched his jaw as he scanned the message. This is great, he thought. He's sending us on another scavenger hunt to find him.
He read the list out loud. "Little Italy, Fort McHenry, Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, Lexington Market, Pirate Ship, and three locations of Naysmith pharmacies that closed years ago."
Before Alex could read anything else, a video of Riley surfaced, consuming the entire screen.
Riley held Flora, who was gagged and blindfolded, up by her hair. Alex grimaced at the sight of his mother in danger.
The two sat in the center of the frame. A filter blurred the background behind them. Alex couldn't make out where they were.
Riley grinned like a banshee. "Hello, Dippy. Your mother's little nickname is so sweet and creative, don't you think?" He turned toward Flora.
She squirmed. Her voice was hoarse and wavering. "Stop, please."
The evil man yanked on her hair. "Shut up. Why don't you wave to your son?"
Riley chuckled as the woman refused to move a muscle. "Fine, have it your way, Mommy Dearest. Now, Alex, I have her all to myself, here. And where is here? Only you could find out. So why don't you come and pay your mother a visit? We'll be waiting."
The video and message disappeared. Yvonne's computer went back to normal.
Alex slammed the Macbook closed and threw it to the side. He slammed his fist. "Damn him!" He frantically looked around at his friends. "Wait, does anyone remember those locations?"
Ken, ever the smart reporter, took notes the whole time. He held up a long notepad. "Little Italy, Fort McHenry, Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, Lexington Market, Pirate Ship, and three Naysmith pharmacy locations."
Yvonne shot up and stepped toward the door. "We have to split up and go look for Flora. Without his super soldiers, Riley's defenseless."
Louis folded his arms across his chest. "He isn't totally defenseless. Ken and I witnessed firsthand that he recovered a lot of tech from his lab. He's a lousy fighter, but he is still very dangerous."
Alex cut everyone off. "We're not entertaining this. I'm not falling into his trap again. The list is obviously a lie. Riley didn't lock my mom in any of those places. He's trying to throw us off his trail. We'll go running around Baltimore while he ships my mother out of the country."
Debbie shook her head. "No. You know Riley, he always wants to lure you toward him and rub it in your face. It's his biggest downfall. He's definitely at one of these locations. In his mind, he probably thinks he technically has the upper hand. He'll know we're coming, and we don't know where he is."
While Yvonne agreed with Debbie, she tried to validate Alex's concerns. "Alex, I know you're worried about your mom, but we have to search these locations. We'll regret it if we don't."
Debbie held her hand out toward Ken. "Can I see your notes, Ken?" After he handed her the notepad, she read through the locations. "Okay, we should split up and take two or three locations each. Yvonne, would you mind going with me to Little Italy and Lexington Market?"
Yvonne offered Debbie a curt nod. "Of course. We make a good team."
Ken put his arm around Louis. "Speaking of a good team, Louis and I will go to the Pirate Ship and the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse. I've been to the Pirate Ship many times. I know that place like the back of my hand."
Debbie turned toward Christopher and Alex. "Alright, that leaves the two of you to go to the pharmacies and Fort McHenry. Fortunately, though, I doubt Riley has access to Fort McHenry. That's a government building."
Everyone waited with bated breath for Alex's reply. His lips pressed together in a slight grimace. "Fine, we'll search the locations."
Yvonne opened the front door. "Okay, guys. Let's get going. We have no time to waste. Everyone, especially you, Alex, keep your phones on. We need to keep in contact."
Debbie held up her hand. "Wait! Should we have a code word if we find Flora? Like something to say if we find her."
Everyone stopped in their tracks. "Great idea," Ken said.
Yvonne scratched her head. "Why don't we say, 'The pineapple has left the building?'"
Louis raised an eyebrow at her eccentric suggestion. "What? What does that mean?"
Yvonne scoffed. "If we find Flora, we'll say, 'The pineapple has left the building.' That's what it means. Now, come on, people! We don't have any time to waste."
After everyone said their goodbyes and raced out the door, Yvonne strolled to her car, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle. Debbie had already sat down in the passenger seat, ready to go.
Yvonne buckled her seatbelt and adjusted her mirrors. "So, where to first?"
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