Abandoned Treasure

Jade Robert’s POV

Friday, January 4th, 2008

Palo Alto, California

I leaned back in my computer chair, closing my eyes as the frustration mounted. The Bitterroot Pack website resisted every trick I knew, and I’d picked up a few hanging around with other amateur hackers at school. “I’m at an end,” I finally said. “I can’t get in without leaving a trail.”

“We could use my old login,” Nathan said.

“We’ve talked about that. The administrator might have set traps on that login while you were a rogue. If they are still active?It could make them wonder if you are still alive. The warriors never saw your body, Nathan. It’s better for you if you don’t raise suspicions.”

He paced behind me and thought about it. “Is there any other way to get in?”

I shrugged. “I’m a decent hacker and computer geek, but this is beyond my abilities,” I replied. “You need someone who has serious skills AND a white hat.”

“White hat?”

“Hackers are white or black hat. The black hat ones operate on the dark web. They work for cash, either to take the job or as ransom. They are good, but they also will exploit whatever they find. Letting a human into a werewolf website would be a big mistake. Everything could end up for sale to anyone with money.”

“And the white hat ones?”

“They do it for the thrill, the challenge, or to further a good cause. They won’t hurt people unless they deserve it.”

He moved up behind me, massaging my shoulders. “Could we take that risk, even with a white hat?”

“Maybe. I’ve got a friend of a friend who could do it, but she is a straight shooter. She won’t do it if she thinks we are planning to rip someone off.”

“Which we are,” he replied.

“We don’t have to tell her that.”

“My daughter,” he said. “The Pack is like a secretive cult, and my former girlfriend was pregnant when she joined and broke it off with me. She told me the baby died last year, but I don’t believe her. She’s trying to keep my child from me since I’m not enlightened like they are.”

“And you need access to their membership list and death records to see if you are right,” I finished. “That’s good. We can verify what the Council told Stanley about her death. Once we get in and out, I’ll know how to do it again.”

“It’s worth the risk,” he agreed. “Can you give this woman a call?”

“Nope,” I said. “Spider Monkey works for Google, so she knows all too well the surveillance set up from a cellphone these days. They track everywhere you go and everything you do. She’s one of the few people in this area who doesn’t own one. She doesn’t have a home phone, either.”

“How does she communicate?”

“Encrypted message boards on the Dark Web, I think. Let me call my friend and see if she will meet us. Hopefully, Spider Monkey is in town.”

Debbie told me where she would be hanging out on a Friday night. “We’re going to have to track her down at the bar before she leaves on the back of someone’s bike,” I told my mate as I headed for the closet. “Biker Bob’s Bar, near the docks. Get dressed.”

He held up his hands. “Wait a minute, that’s taking a big risk. San Francisco Bay is Sons of Tezcatlipoca territory.”

I nodded. “I know, but their clubhouse is in Oakland, not San Jose. We can check the parking lot and ensure there isn’t a cat problem before we go in.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if I stayed here?”

“I’ve heard of this place. It’s in Hells Angels territory, so you’ll see them and some of their allied clubs. Lots of club riders and hang-arounds, too.”

“That’s still a risk. The Sons aren’t at war with the Hells Angels.”

“True, but I’m not walking into a biker bar ALONE. I’ll do the talking, and you keep them off my ass.”

“It is a nice ass,” he agreed. “Boots, jeans, and a long-sleeved Harley shirt?”

“Can’t go wrong with that. ”I wore a black leather skirt, jacket, white T-shirt, and combat boots. “It would be better if we had a bike.”

“I’d love to get one of those Yamaha YZF-R1’s and take it through the mountains,” Nathan said as he pulled on his boots. “Those Harleys are for fat old men who like fixing bikes more than riding them.”

“Don’t say stupid shit like that tonight! I don’t want to break up any fights.”

He laughed. “I’ll behave.” I drove while he looked around. I’d backed out of my part of the lease over Christmas. We quickly rented a furnished apartment near campus and moved right in. Nathan had seen little of the South Bay since we arrived.

The neighborhoods got rougher as we approached the docks, and Bob’s wasn’t a place I’d go to alone. A line of Harleys was out front with a few Indians and Victory bikes mixed in. I spotted a few sport bikes parked together on the side near the group of Honda Goldwings. “They don’t like to mix,” Nathan observed as we walked to the door. We didn’t smell any cats or dogs in the lot.

I looked around and saw the hard-core bikers around the bar and pool tables while the enthusiasts had tables and booths closer to the door. “Yeah. Since you’re tall, see if you can find our girl.”

“That’s her,” Nathan said a few seconds later. “Five-foot-tall Japanese woman with blue hair in that tall guy’s lap, over by the dart board.”

I grabbed his arm and followed him as we walked through the bar to get there. Having a tall, well-built man next to me didn’t stop the staring. Most of the men stopped what they were doing to check out my ass as I walked by, and I had to move away from a few hands along the way. The men and women around the tables were from the Steel Brotherhood Motorcycle Club. The girl wore a Steel Ladies vest with “Spider-Monkey” on the chest. Under it was a T-shirt that said, ‘Born to Party, Forced to Work.’ I chuckled as I read it. Leather riding pants completed the ensemble.

There was a spare seat next to Spider Monkey and her friend, probably the one she’d been sitting on before moving to Pinion’s lap. The other guys and their old ladies were looking at us. “Mind if we join you?”

“Go right ahead, pretty lady,” Skidmark grinned. He was a young guy with long blonde hair in a ponytail. “Are you single?”

“You’re too late. I’m engaged and pregnant,” I said as I flashed my ring. Isra had given me her mother’s ring, an oval-cut opal surrounded by small diamonds. “Get us a couple pitchers of beer,” I told Nathan.“Let’s make some friends.”

Nathan returned a few minutes later, and I got up and sat in his lap. The waitress set out four pitchers of Anchor Steam and a glass of orange juice for me. “I’m thinking about getting a bike after graduation,” I told Spider Monkey. “We’re about the same size. You ride?”

She nodded. “I’ve got a Harley 883 Sportster Super Low,” she replied. “Even with that, I can barely get my heels down.” We lost ourselves in conversation while the guys drank beer and ate wings. I tagged along when Spider Monkey got up to go to the bathroom.

“Prussian Blue sent me to find you,” I said as we washed up. That was Debbie’s screen name. “I need help getting into a server. I’m not good enough to get in on my own.”

“I don’t do criminal shit,” Spider Monkey said. “And I don’t work with people I don’t know.”

“I’m Murder Mittens,” I said. “We haven’t talked directly, but you can check me out. I’m a senior at Stanford in the computer science department.”

“And you’re a hacker?”

“I’m looking for information that isn’t available through the normal channels.” I talked about my fiancé, his ex-girlfriend, the cult, and his doubts about his daughter’s death. "I just need help breaking in. Once I’m there, I’ll do the rest myself.”

“Why do it this way? Why not get a private investigator or involve the police?”

“These cult people aren’t stable. Any questioning could put his daughter in danger if she is still alive. As for a private investigator, have you priced them? It’s beyond the means of a ranch hand from Wyoming.”

She nodded. “No money involved, just information.”

“Yes.”

She wiped her hands and tossed the paper towels away. “Give me your contact info.” I’d written it down before, so I took the card out of my purse and handed it to her. “If you check out, I’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you.”

We returned to the table to find the guys trying to recruit Nathan into prospecting with the Steel Brotherhood. Pinion was telling him what made the Brotherhood different from other motorcycle clubs.

“I’m tired, and so is the baby,” I said as I stood by his side and put my arm around his shoulder. “Take me home and make love to me.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Nathan said as he stood up.

Spider Monkey grabbed the back of the chair, spun around with her leg high, and ended up straddling Pinion’s lap, facing him. “Take me home and make love to me,” she said as she wiggled her hips.

“Hell, yeah.” Spider Monkey clung to his neck as he stood up and stayed that way as we walked out. The other guys were hollering advice to him as we walked away. She was still grinding on his crotch as on top of his Harley as we drove off.

“How did it go,” Nathan asked.

“I’ll find out soon.” It took a week before she called me. I gave her our address, and she showed up on Saturday after lunch. She wouldn’t break into the website for me, but she helped me learn a few new tricks that got me in. “I’m out of here,” she said as soon as I was through the firewalls.

“Thank you,” I said as I walked her to the door. “I owe you big-time.”

“Get a bike, or have Nathan get one, and I’ll show you some great places to ride,” she replied. I walked out to admire her Sportster as she put her gear on. “There’s nothing like wrapping your hands around a big, strong man while that huge engine throbs on your sex.”

“Is it better than riding a big, strong man with a huge engine throbbing in your sex?”

“Both get me off.” She hugged me and sped off on her Harley.

Nathan was waiting for me as I came back in the door. “Ready to fuck stuff up?”

“Let’s do it.” I took his hand and walked back to my desk to get started.