Reborn in 1994: Internet Empire

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       3D sat the boys down for a few hours, making sure that he gave all of the information that he could on the location, the backstory, and the history of both Jasper Locke and his affiliation with the Wolfpack.

       “So here are the most important bits that we know about Jasper. Number one, he is a high up in the Wolfpack and was directly responsible for the attack on Lina,” 3D said as he had the boys flip through the pages in the file. “This information was given to us by one of the thugs that we captured from the Wolfpack.”

       Max raised an eyebrow in suspicion.

       “Wait… Why would they give up such sensitive information if they had just come from that organization? Surely there’s some sort of code of honor or something,” said as Trae nodded in agreement.

       3D shook his head.

       “If anything, they spilled the beans because they know that their group has no such thing,” he said as he put another paper onto the table, and slid it toward the two boys.

       “This is what one of the former Wolfpack members said.”

       Detective Dean Donovan: Ok, so we’re here to interrogate you ok? No funny business, we just want answers.

       Richard King: Ok...

       Detective Dean Donovan: Good, state your name and age for the recording.

       Richard King: My name is Richard King. I’m 28 years old.

       Detective Dean Donovan: And how did you find yourself affiliated with the Wolfpack.

       Richard King: My father was a member of the Wolfpack when it was still a private militia. And so I got into it to follow in the old man’s footsteps, so to speak. He didn’t last long after I joined in, so it was kind of for nothing.

       Detective Dean Donovan: Well… I’m sorry to hear that. But moving on. Who is the person that is in charge of the Wolfpack?

       Richard King: Some man named Jasper… Locke I think was his last name.

       Detective Dean Donovan: What can you tell me about this man.

       Richard King: Not much. All I know is that he has a wild temper. The second someone f***s anything up, they get shot in the head with a handgun. I can remember a time when he shot one of my buddies just because he forgot to get him his cigars. And that’s another thing, he ain’t ever seen without one.

       Detective Dean Donovan: Cigars?

       Richard King: Yes.

       Detective Dean Donovan: I see. Do you know where he is now?

       Richard King: I honestly don’t know. If he were to show his face after this fiasco back to his higher ups, they would surely make mincemeat out of him. That being said, if he were able to win his higher ups over, then I would have no clue where he went.

       Detective Dean Donovan: Higher ups?

       Richard King: Yes… Well. Yes and no.

       Detective Dean Donovan: What the hell is that supposed to mean?

       Richard King: Please be patient. I’m trying to explain. It’s more like he is part of a crime family. And from how well he lived prior to this mission, they are pretty wealthy.

       Detective Dean Donovan: Do you know where these higher ups are?

       Richard King: I’m just restricted to the off-site office. I’m not high up enough to get to the mansion where they have their internal affairs. But I heard it's somewhere near the border of New York, just past the Bronx. Now that I think about it, it’s probably in Connecticut.

       Detective Dean Donovan: Alright. What about Jasper? How can we be sure that he hasn’t been disposed of by these so-called “higher-ups?”

       Richard King: Remember how I told you that they are family? Well, he is apparently a blood-related family member.

       Detective Dean Donovan: You mean…

       Richard King: Precisely. The family can’t kill family. And so catching a fish like him could spell the numbered days of the Locke family.

       Detective Dean Donovan: You seem awfully willing to give me precise information. What reason do I have to trust you?

       Richard King: What reason do you have to trust anyone nowadays?

       Detective Dean Donovan: Be serious.

       Richard King: Right. I got it. The reason why is because a f**k up like this spells death for any one of us. Especially those of us directly involved with the Wolfpack fiasco. So I gave you this information hoping to get some assurance that one day, I don’t get picked up off the street and disappear for good. Do you know?

       Detective Dean Donovan: Well, you’ll be behind bars for quite a while if that was what you were expecting.

       Richard King: *sighs and laughs* It’s better than getting killed by the Lockes.

---End of Recording---

       The boys read the transcript many times over to gather as much information as they could from the conversation between both 3D and this Richard King.

       “So we know who this guy is now,” Max said with a sigh. “How are we even going to get a hold of him?”

       3D shook his head and placed his hands on the table to lean on it.

       “The question is, even if we did find him and did capture him, what would we do with him?”

Max looked at the officer confused. Immediately, 3D continued to explain his thought process.

“What I meant to say is, where would we go from there? Oh, we capture him and then we have a few beers. That’s not the case anymore. Because what we know for certain is he is a high up in the Wolfpack. And not only that, but he has the support of said Wolfpack. Which means he has the support of?” 3D said gesturing to both the boys.

Max and Trae looked at each other in confusion, before Trae finally pieced it together.

“He’s got the help of Banner&Bunny!” he said, almost a little too enthusiastically contrary to the tone of the conversation.

3D chuckled and pointed at Trae, confirming his answer.

“Precisely! Not only does he have the help of the company. But he also has the help of Emily Banner herself. After all, it is her security organization that provides for all of her security needs. Men, protection, weapons, you name it. If she needs any of that kind of service, she has the Wolfpack to lean back on. So that is what makes our plans moving forward a lot more difficult. Do you know why?”

Max nodded his head.

“If he gets jailed, he gets bailed out like it was nothing. If he commits a crime, a high-level VIP would easily be able to settle something under the table. If he makes an enemy, the whole Wolfpack becomes an enemy. And therefore, we would all be targets of the biggest security company in the US.”

3D nodded his head.

“Exactly. So that being said, I have a plan. But you have to give me your thoughts on it.”

Trae and Max nodded, understanding the implications of what they had to do.

“Alright. So here is what I was thinking you should do,” 3D said before he turned on one of the computers that sat right behind him. “Our precinct has several computers which are safe, relatively, to breaches caused by outside hackers. We would like you to use said devices to use the dark web and track down the location of Emily Banner.”

“Banner? Not Locke?” Max asked in surprise.

3D shook his head.

“No. We have to remember that it is she who holds all of the power. Not him. He is a high up. But she is the owner of Wolfpack. If we can get her schedule or a routine that she follows that is remotely repetitive, we need it. We will be sending undercover agents to spy on Jasper. So once we can figure out when and where those two will meet, we can probably be able to capture them both at once.”

“Don’t we need a warrant?”

“You let us handle that, we can easily find the evidence to prove our need for a warrant for Jasper Locke. As for Emily, we have reason to believe that she was on-site as well. Testimonies from the other members of the Wolfpack show that there was also a woman present other than Lina on the scene. That being said, I’m sure we can figure out a way to get a warrant for her arrest as well, especially with how linked she is to the Wolfpack,” 3D said. “But the proof might come out from your hacking with the use of the dark web. Do you think you guys can do it?” 3D asked.

Both of them nodded in unison.

“Leave it to us, we are sure we will be able to gather a lot of information for you guys to use,” Trae said with pride.

“Oh but I don’t think we will need to work here,” Max added.

3D raised an eyebrow.

“Is that so? Why?” he asked.

       “Well… Let’s say we upgraded our personal computers. If I put it subtly, they are… ahead of their time,” Max said, giving 3D a little wink.

3D returned a smile and nodded his head approvingly.

“Say no more. You can work from home,” 3D said with a sigh.

“And what about our pay?” Max asked jokingly.

“Right, of course, your pay,” 3D said. “Your pay is your asses not being brought in on the charges of piracy and theft. How’s that?” he added with a wicked grin.

Max and Trae laughed at the joke returned to them by the wily officer.

“Alright we will get to work then,” Max said as they headed off.

3D nodded as the two walked away, before turning his attention back to the papers on his desk. He couldn’t help but recall something that Richrd King said.

“It’s better than getting killed by the Lockes...”

3D racked his brain even more.

“The Lockes? Where have I heard that name before?”

----------

       “Daniil! Wake up! Please wake up!”

       “Huh? Daniil? Who the hell is that?”

       “Oh God, there’s so much blood. Please stay awake!”

       “Blood?”

       Jasper raised his head slightly to see his torso completely covered in blood. It seemed that he was shot by multiple bullets. For some reason, this woman was frantically trying to stop the bleeding. He tried to get a look at her face, but he eventually started to blackout.

       In a cold sweat, Jasper shot up out of his bed. He realized that it was just a dream, as he looked around the darkroom that he slept in. Before long, he went back to sleep.