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Audio version of Jacklyn Taylor Stories
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Night had fallen over Rochford with its dark cloak, but in Jack’s room, the monitor glowed, illuminating his focused face. The threat from Mickey was real. Jack knew that if he didn’t erase his tracks, not only would his mission be at risk, but also the lives of everyone connected to his operation.
Carl sat nearby, watching Jack’s every move with tension.
“Are you sure we can bypass their systems?” Carl asked.
“I’m sure I’ll try,” Jack replied shortly, his attention fixed on the screen.
Before him was a complex network of data. Log files, encrypted communication channels, data transmission routes — all linked to his investigation of the northern syndicate. His task was to erase any records that might point to him or his team.
“We have at most two hours before their system starts to update,” Carl reminded him, checking his watch.
“Then don’t distract me,” Jack snapped, entering another complicated command.
Every action was meticulously planned. Jack knew that even the smallest mistake could give the syndicate a chance to track him. He started by deleting the server login logs, then switched to encrypting data related to message transmission. Each deleted or altered value erased his presence, as if he had never been there.
But the situation was getting more complicated. Jack noticed that someone else was already working in the system.
“This can’t be,” he muttered, frowning.
“What’s happening?” Carl asked, leaning closer.
“They’re looking for something too. It looks like someone on their team suspects a data leak,” Jack said, entering additional commands. “This is going to be a problem.”
The system began to resist. Jack realized someone was trying to block his access. It was a race against time: either he finished his task, or he’d be found.
“Can you bypass this?” Carl asked.
“I can, but it will take time,” Jack replied, speeding up the process.
Suddenly, a message appeared on the screen.
“We see you. Leave before it’s too late.”
It wasn’t just a threat. Jack understood that the syndicate was closing in on his exposure.
“We don’t have time, Carl. I’m finishing with the key files and then I’m out,” Jack said, ignoring the message.
Meanwhile, at the restaurant on the other side of the city, Mickey was gathering his forces. He already knew someone was trying to destroy the data, but he didn’t understand who it could be. One of his men brought a printout with suspicious network activity.
“It’s clearly someone from the inside,” the man said, handing Mickey the document.
“Then we’ll find him. And when we do, he’ll regret ever being born,” Mickey said, staring at the screen.
Jack, having finished with the key files, began the final stage—sending fake logs. This was meant to confuse anyone who would later search for traces. He injected data pointing to a false location, then disconnected his access.
“Done,” he sighed, leaning back in his chair. “They won’t find us.”
“Hope you’re right,” Carl said, grabbing the USB stick with the backup data. “But this isn’t over. Mickey won’t stop until he finds the culprit.”
“Let him try,” Jack replied, gathering his things. “We have the advantage.”
Later that night, Jack returned to Derek. He knew there were many tough decisions ahead, but for now, he needed to recharge. Derek met him at the door with a cup of tea and a smile.
“How did it go?” Derek asked.
“Don’t ask,” Jack replied as he stepped inside. “But I erased everything. They won’t find me.”
“You’re a genius,” Derek said, embracing him. “But you need to take care of yourself.”
Jack smiled.
“I try. For you.”
In the heart of one of Rochford’s most luxurious mansions, Mickey sat in a spacious living room. Before him, on a glass table, lay a printout of logs provided by his top analysts. Around him stood his men—armed, alert, ready to act on his first command.
— They didn’t just break into the system, — Mickey said slowly, raising his gaze to his chief technician. — They erased the traces. That takes time and skill. Someone knew what they were doing.
The technician nodded nervously, adjusting his glasses.
— This doesn’t look like the work of an amateur. They probably have an experienced hacker or an agent specialized in network operations. We’re trying to recover some of the deleted data, but…
— But what? — Mickey raised an eyebrow, his voice turning cold.
— Their traces lead nowhere. They’ve planted fake logs. We can’t determine who it was.
Mickey leaned back in his chair, his face remained calm, but there was a fire of fury in his eyes.
— If they were able to get into the system and stay undetected, then someone in my circle let them in. Start by checking everyone who had access to the servers. And find them for me, — he ordered, looking at the technician as if he himself was responsible for the leak.
— Yes, sir, — the man replied quickly, rushing out of the room.
Later that evening, Mickey called his closest ally, Samuel. Samuel was the kind of man who always found a way to solve a problem. His methods were harsh, but effective.
— We have a rat, — Mickey said, pouring whiskey into a glass. — Someone is tearing down my empire from the inside.
— Are you sure it’s not one of your people? — Samuel asked, sitting down across from him.
— I don’t trust anyone, — Mickey replied. — Not even you.
Samuel smirked, but his face remained serious.
— Then give me a couple of days. I’ll drag them out of the shadows.
— You have until the end of the week, — Mickey said, his voice turning steely. — If you fail, there will be consequences for everyone.
Mickey continued reviewing his operation list. His business spanned not only drugs and weapons but also the smuggling of rare technologies. All of it was built on trust and secrecy. If someone managed to infiltrate his network, it meant he was losing control.
— If anyone thinks they can outsmart me, they don’t understand who they’re dealing with, — he muttered, staring at the screen with his operation plans.
The next day, Sam began his own investigation. He summoned several people who worked at the server warehouse. One of them, a young man named Lucas, looked particularly nervous.
— Do you want to tell me something, Lucas? — Sam asked, leaning on the table and staring at him intently.
— I… I don’t know anything, — mumbled Lucas, avoiding eye contact.
— Really? Then why do the records show you were in the server room the week the hack happened?
Lucas turned pale, his hands started to shake.
— It wasn’t me. I mean… I was there, but just to check the equipment…
Sam leaned closer.
— If you’re lying to me, Lucas, this will be your last mistake.
Lucas couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out confessing.
— They forced me! — he shouted. — I didn’t know who they were, but they paid me to give them access. I thought it was just a one-time job.
— And who were they? — Sam grabbed Lucas by the shirt, pulling him closer.
— I don’t know their names. There were two… one tall, with dark hair, the other was Asian. They said they just wanted to get their data.
Sam relayed the information to Mickey. Mickey listened silently, his face betraying no emotion, but inside, he was seething. The description matched the people he had seen in the surveillance footage. He didn’t know their names, but they were clearly professionals.
— Find them, — Mickey ordered. — I want to know who they are and who they work for.
While Mickey was making his plans, Jack and his team were also not wasting time. Having erased all traces, Jack continued to search for weak points in Mickey’s network. But he knew this wouldn’t last long. Soon, Mickey would start making his move.
Late in the evening, Jack found himself back at Derek’s. They were sitting in the kitchen, discussing the events of the day.
— He’ll start hunting you soon, — Derek said, pouring coffee for both of them.
— Let him hunt, — Jack replied. — It means he’ll make mistakes. And I’ll use them.
Derek shook his head, his gaze filled with concern.
— Take care of yourself, Jack. I don’t want to lose you because of these games.
Jack smiled, but his eyes betrayed an understanding of just how dangerous the situation was.
— I promise I’ll return, — he said quietly.
Mickey, who was used to trusting only the most reliable people, decided to turn to someone he knew only by recommendation—Dexer, a lone hacker with a reputation as an unrivaled master. Dexer lived on the outskirts of Rochford, in a small bunker cluttered with screens, servers, and cables.
Mickey decided to visit personally. He rarely did this, but he knew it was the only way to convince Dexer to take the job. Upon entering, he saw a gaunt man with deep circles under his eyes, sitting at a massive table piled with equipment.
— Are you Dexer? — Mickey asked, closing the door behind him.
Dexer looked up. His face was weary, but his gaze was sharp.
— You didn’t come here to admire my monitors, did you, Mickey? — he replied, crossing his arms. — What do you need?
— I have a problem, — Mickey said directly. — Someone hacked my systems and erased their traces. I want to know who did it.
Dexer smirked, but his eyes lit up with interest.
— You need me because your guys couldn’t handle it, right? — He got up and walked toward his desk. — I can hack any system. But it’s going to cost you.
Mickey didn’t object. He knew he would have to pay. Taking a stack of cash from his pocket, he threw it onto the table.
— This is the deposit. If you do the job, you’ll get this much more.
Dexer took the stack, quickly flicked through the money, and nodded.
— Fine. Give me the details.
The next day, Dexer was already at work. He connected to the hacked system and began analyzing the residual traces. His experience allowed him to see what others had missed.
— Clever move with the fake logs, — he muttered to himself. — But not clever enough.
A couple of hours later, he found a lead: code snippets that could point to the location where the hackers had been working. Dexer gathered the data and went to Mickey.
— I’ve got something, — Dexer said as he entered Mickey’s office. — They used a dynamic network. It’s hard to track, but I found one place where they might have been operating from. It’s a restaurant. The same one you’re so interested in.
Mickey frowned. The information matched his suspicions.
— So they were operating from my restaurant, — he said. — What else?
— That’s not all, — Dexer added, smiling. — During my analysis, I came across something interesting. Have you heard of the Daila program?
Mickey raised an eyebrow.
— Go on.
— It’s a spy program designed to process vast amounts of data. It can hack anything, from banking systems to military satellites. And it looks like part of its code was used in the attack on your network.
Mickey fell silent, processing what he had heard.
— Can you find this program? — he asked after a pause.
— It will be difficult, but possible, — Dexer replied. — If someone used it, that means they already have access to something bigger. If I find it, you’ll control not just your network, but theirs too.
Mickey was pleased. He knew Dexer could become his trump card in the game against Jack and his team. He provided the hacker with everything he needed to continue the search but warned him:
— If you fail, the consequences will be the same for you as for those who decided to stand in my way.
Dexer merely smirked.
— I never fail.
Meanwhile, Jack, staying at Derek’s house, sensed that something was wrong. His intuition, honed over years of work, told him that the enemy had made their next move. He didn’t know that Mickey now knew about his restaurant, but he felt that staying in this place was becoming increasingly dangerous.
— You’re planning something, — Derek said, watching Jack.
— I have to be ready for them to find us, — Jack replied, gathering his laptop and equipment. — We’ve gotten too close to Lee for them not to notice.
Derek moved closer, placing a hand on his shoulder.
— Remember, you always have a choice. You can walk away from all of this.
— But I can’t, — Jack said quietly, looking at him. — Not until I’m done.
Dexer sat down at his huge monitor, launching programs that seemed chaotic at first glance. In reality, every line of code, every algorithm was part of a complex plan to hack into the hidden network, which, as he suspected, might contain Daila. He knew that Mickey demanded quick results, but such a large-scale job took time.
Meanwhile, Jack, at the restaurant, decided to check the internal system for traces of potential surveillance. His undercover job in the restaurant had become even riskier; he realized that Mickey would start digging into this area. He had one choice—take the risk and stay, or leave to save himself.
— Everything clean? — Carl asked, entering the restaurant office where Jack sat at the computer.
— For now, but not for long, — Jack replied, not looking away from the screen. — They’ll find us if we’re not careful.
Carl crossed his arms, frowning.
— You think they know already?
— If Dexer’s on it, — Jack said, rubbing his temples, — he already knows we’re connected to this place. The question is when they’ll make a move.
Across town, Mickey met with Dexer again. The hacker seemed completely immersed in his work, his fingers flying over the keyboard while the screens blinked with dozens of open windows.
— Got something? — Mickey asked, sitting down in the leather chair across from him.
— I found traces of activity that lead to an interesting person, — Dexer said, raising his hand to show one of the monitors. — This guy, Jack Carter. Looks like he’s connected to that restaurant you mentioned.
Mickey smiled, but his eyes were cold.
— Now this is getting interesting. What else did you find?
— One more thing. Looks like Carter isn’t working alone. He’s got a team. Their traces are weak, but noticeable. If I dig deeper, I can find out where they are right now.
Mickey frowned, his mind already making plans.
— Find them. I want to know who they are and who they’re working for.
Jack, back at Derek’s house after his shift, told him about his worries. Derek, as always, tried to support him, but the tension between them was becoming more palpable.
— You can’t stay here if they know where you’re working, — Derek said, placing a cup of tea on the table. — It’s only a matter of time.
— I know, — Jack replied quietly, looking out the window. — But if I leave now, it’ll look suspicious. I need time to finish what I started.
— This is a dangerous game, Jack, — Derek said, his voice trembling. — But you don’t have to play it alone.
Jack looked at him and smiled.
— Thanks for being here, Derek. Without you, I would have broken long ago.
At the same time, Dexer decided to dig into Jack’s personal data. He knew that working undercover left traces, even if they were carefully hidden. After hacking into one of the databases, he found something unexpected — a file marked “Restricted Access.”
Opening the file, he stumbled upon classified information about Daila. His eyes widened as he began reading.
— What the… — he muttered.
It wasn’t just a spy program. It was a whole system capable of controlling global networks, intercepting even the largest intelligence agencies. And now he knew it was somehow connected to Jack.
Late that night, Dexer called Mickey.
— I’ve got something that’ll interest you, — he said.
— Talk, — Mickey replied, his voice tense.
— This Jack Carter is connected to the Daila program. And if he has it, he’s your most valuable key to controlling not just your empire, but anything you want, — Dexer said.
Mickey fell silent, his face growing even more serious.
— Make sure it’s true. If it is, we won’t just find him. We’ll make him work for us.
Jack, unaware that his secret was on the verge of being exposed, continued searching for ways to protect his team. He knew that the fight with Mickey was getting more complicated, and the threat was getting closer. But he knew one thing: he wouldn’t give up until he found a way to end it once and for all.
The night cloaked Rochford in a thick fog as Jack sat at the monitor in Derek’s house, checking the latest data from the network. He knew Mickey would never back down, and every move had to be carefully thought out. His team stayed in contact, but tonight he felt strangely alone.
Meanwhile, in Dexer’s hideout, the screens flashed with warnings. He found another lead: a file protected by multi-layer encryption. The hack took almost two hours, but the result was worth it. The screen displayed a record:
“Daila. Activity limited. Localization: server node.”
“So, it exists,” Dexer whispered, noting the coordinates. “But what is it doing with Carter?”
He immediately called Mickey.
“The program is active. I found traces, but they’re weak. It’s hidden somewhere near Carter or his network. We need to act fast, or they’ll move it.”
“If this is true,” Mickey said, his voice low and dangerous, “we’ll eliminate him, and we’ll take the program for ourselves.”
Meanwhile, in Derek’s house, Jack received a strange notification on his laptop. Someone was trying to breach his network. His heart raced as he realized the security system had activated against an external attack.
“They’re getting close,” he whispered.
Derek entered the room, his expression worried.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s Mickey. They’re trying to find me,” Jack replied, quickly closing vulnerable ports on the network. “I need time to figure out how far they’ve gone.”
“Are you sure we’re safe?” Derek asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“For now, yes. But we have to be ready to leave if they find us.”
The next day, Dexer presented his report to Mickey. He described the weak points in Jack’s network but also noted that the Daila program was almost perfectly secured. To access it, physical access would be required.
“Then we’ll lure him out,” Mickey said, looking at the map. “I want you to prepare the operation. We’ll send people to his restaurant. If he’s there, they’ll capture him. If not, we’ll find a way to make him come to us.”
“It’s risky,” Dexer said. “If he senses danger, he’ll destroy the program.”
“Then we’ll make sure he doesn’t have time to act,” Mickey replied. “This Jack Carter is more than just an agent. He’s the key to everything.”
Late that night, Jack gathered his team for an urgent meeting. He informed them about the attempted hack and Mickey’s possible actions.
“They know more about us than we thought,” Jack said. “We need to change our plans. If Daila falls into their hands, it’ll be a disaster.”
Carl nodded.
“We have a ‘Plan B.’ We can move the data to another server. It’ll take a few hours, but it’s our only chance.”
“Then we start now,” Jack said. “We need to act faster than they do.”
As the team worked on moving the data, Mickey sent his group to the restaurant. But the place was empty. Jack had already anticipated their move and evacuated all critical equipment.
“He’s playing with us,” one of Mickey’s men said, surveying the restaurant. “There’s nothing here.”
When Mickey heard this, he didn’t hide his anger. But instead of reacting rashly, he decided to act more calculatedly.
“Fine,” he said with a smirk. “Let him think he’s outsmarted us. We’ll wait. But when he slips up, I’ll be ready.”
At Derek’s house, Jack finally finished moving the data. He sighed, knowing that for at least a little while, they were safe.
“You’ve done all you can,” Derek said. “Now rest.”
Jack hugged him, feeling the tension ease a little. He knew there would be much more fighting ahead, but this moment was his respite.
