Read Online Hostage by Chris Ryan - Free Book Online
Authors: Chris Ryan
Tags: General, Juvenile Nonfiction, Action & Adventure, Juvenile Fiction, Environmental Conservation & Protection, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Science & Nature
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stared confidently from the screen.
'Does that help?' he asked, turning the screen so that Amber could see it.
Amber gasped. 'That slimeball!' she cried. 'Sure I remember him! He's one of the richest guys in America. He has his fingers in all sorts of pies. He used to show up at some of my parents' parties, before they sold the business and got out of that whole scene.'
'He was a family friend?' asked Paulo.
'Nah! My parents thought he was a slimeball too.'
'Why did they ask him to their parties, if they didn't like him?' asked Alex.
'They weren't the sort of parties you asked your friends to,' said Amber with a sigh, remembering the long, boring hours spent in her parents' New York penthouse, talking to people she didn't know and smiling at people she didn't like.
'What other sort of parties are there?' asked Alex, his face a picture of puzzlement in the firelight.
'Aw, hell, you know. Schmoozing, politics, wheeler-dealing . . .' Amber faltered to a halt, at a loss as to how to explain the sort of corporate entertainment her parents had dutifully provided before they decided to turn their backs on all that. Parties where someone else wrote the guest list, prepared the food and served the drinks.
'You know. Business parties . . .' finished Amber lamely. She and Alex stared at one another across the fire. They were less than a metre apart but there was suddenly a wide gulf between the rich American girl and the boy from a village in Northumberland.
The silence stretched out until finally Alex shook his head.
'What!' demanded Amber.
'Rich people,' said Alex. 'All that money and they still can't throw a good knees-up.'
He grinned and Amber grinned back. 'Yeah, but I can throw a good snowball,' she said, grabbing a double handful of snow and preparing to lob it at Alex. He pounced on her, knocking the snowball from her hands. Amber fell off the back of the log and, as Alex reached out a hand to help her up, she pulled him down into the snow after her.
Paulo laughed and turned to Li, expecting her to be up on her feet and ready to join in. Li did not even raise her head and Paulo's smile disappeared like a light going out. Amber and Alex shared a look, then got to their feet and brushed the snow from their clothes.
'When you two have finished rolling about,' drawled Hex, without looking up from the screen of his palmtop, 'you might want to hear what I've found out so far. On the surface, Daniel Usher is squeaky-clean. Your basic all-American guy. As well as Usher Mining, he owns a chain of retail stores and one of the biggest television companies in the US. He's even planning to run for governor in his home state. He'll be launching his electoral campaign in a few days' time with a live broadcast on his own television channel. Of course, he's keen to stress that he's paying for the airtime just like any other murderer— I mean, just like any other candidate.'
'Yeah, right,' sneered Amber. 'OK. So that's the public face. Now, go on. Do what you do best, Hex.'
Hex interlaced his fingers and flexed them so that the knuckle joints popped. Then, hunching over the little keyboard, he began to explore behind the public face of Daniel Usher. First he entered a university computer system and used a password to get into an obscure corner where he had stored his lock-picking tools. These were programs he had written which would gain him access to sites on the Net that were forbidden to most users. His lock-picking programs were not strictly legal and so, like most hackers, Hex stored them on a large, multi-user system rather than on his own personal hard drive.
Once he had downloaded the programs, he got to work uncovering Daniel Usher's less public connections. He worked with intense concentration, ignoring the others as they moved around him, serving up the food or tending to the fire. Finally, he sat back with a satisfied smile. 'Oh, yes. I've got him. He's involved in a number of really sleazy money-making schemes
'Does that help?' he asked, turning the screen so that Amber could see it.
Amber gasped. 'That slimeball!' she cried. 'Sure I remember him! He's one of the richest guys in America. He has his fingers in all sorts of pies. He used to show up at some of my parents' parties, before they sold the business and got out of that whole scene.'
'He was a family friend?' asked Paulo.
'Nah! My parents thought he was a slimeball too.'
'Why did they ask him to their parties, if they didn't like him?' asked Alex.
'They weren't the sort of parties you asked your friends to,' said Amber with a sigh, remembering the long, boring hours spent in her parents' New York penthouse, talking to people she didn't know and smiling at people she didn't like.
'What other sort of parties are there?' asked Alex, his face a picture of puzzlement in the firelight.
'Aw, hell, you know. Schmoozing, politics, wheeler-dealing . . .' Amber faltered to a halt, at a loss as to how to explain the sort of corporate entertainment her parents had dutifully provided before they decided to turn their backs on all that. Parties where someone else wrote the guest list, prepared the food and served the drinks.
'You know. Business parties . . .' finished Amber lamely. She and Alex stared at one another across the fire. They were less than a metre apart but there was suddenly a wide gulf between the rich American girl and the boy from a village in Northumberland.
The silence stretched out until finally Alex shook his head.
'What!' demanded Amber.
'Rich people,' said Alex. 'All that money and they still can't throw a good knees-up.'
He grinned and Amber grinned back. 'Yeah, but I can throw a good snowball,' she said, grabbing a double handful of snow and preparing to lob it at Alex. He pounced on her, knocking the snowball from her hands. Amber fell off the back of the log and, as Alex reached out a hand to help her up, she pulled him down into the snow after her.
Paulo laughed and turned to Li, expecting her to be up on her feet and ready to join in. Li did not even raise her head and Paulo's smile disappeared like a light going out. Amber and Alex shared a look, then got to their feet and brushed the snow from their clothes.
'When you two have finished rolling about,' drawled Hex, without looking up from the screen of his palmtop, 'you might want to hear what I've found out so far. On the surface, Daniel Usher is squeaky-clean. Your basic all-American guy. As well as Usher Mining, he owns a chain of retail stores and one of the biggest television companies in the US. He's even planning to run for governor in his home state. He'll be launching his electoral campaign in a few days' time with a live broadcast on his own television channel. Of course, he's keen to stress that he's paying for the airtime just like any other murderer— I mean, just like any other candidate.'
'Yeah, right,' sneered Amber. 'OK. So that's the public face. Now, go on. Do what you do best, Hex.'
Hex interlaced his fingers and flexed them so that the knuckle joints popped. Then, hunching over the little keyboard, he began to explore behind the public face of Daniel Usher. First he entered a university computer system and used a password to get into an obscure corner where he had stored his lock-picking tools. These were programs he had written which would gain him access to sites on the Net that were forbidden to most users. His lock-picking programs were not strictly legal and so, like most hackers, Hex stored them on a large, multi-user system rather than on his own personal hard drive.
Once he had downloaded the programs, he got to work uncovering Daniel Usher's less public connections. He worked with intense concentration, ignoring the others as they moved around him, serving up the food or tending to the fire. Finally, he sat back with a satisfied smile. 'Oh, yes. I've got him. He's involved in a number of really sleazy money-making schemes
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