The Genius Wars Read online

  But nothing on this map rang a bell with anyone.

  Cadel didn’t recognise a single ID signature. Neither did Hamish. ‘Nup,’ Hamish finally declared, after an exhaustive review of the captured input. He was huddled in Thi’s computer room, still wearing his disguise – which consisted of padded leg warmers, a motorbike helmet, and a down-filled ski jacket about three sizes too big for him. ‘I can’t see a thing. Not a sniff. If our guy’s in here, he could be any of this lot.’ Having admitted defeat, he appealed to Cadel. ‘Unless you can think of something?’

  Cadel shook his head, miserably.

  ‘I knew it was a waste of time,’ Egon remarked, from one corner. He had declined Snezana’s offer of afternoon tea, and had lapsed into a sulk of epic proportions. ‘What were the chances? Zero. It was a dumb idea.’

  ‘It was fun, though,’ said Boyd, who was peering over Hamish’s shoulder. ‘It would be great to have a map of the whole city, don’t you reckon?’

  ‘No,’ snapped Egon. ‘Why?’

  ‘Because it would tell you things.’

  ‘Like what? Exactly?’

  ‘Like where’s the b-best place to do your wardriving, Egon – sheez.’ Hamish rolled his eyes. ‘You’re such a grouch.’

  As Richard cleared his throat, Cadel suspected that they were in for a lecture about ignoble pursuits, and how wardriving was one of them – except in very limited, fully supervised circumstances. Before Richard could speak, however, Thi suddenly appeared on the threshold, with a tray of steaming coffee mugs.

  ‘So,’ Thi asked, grinning cheerfully, ‘who won, then? Have we got a score? Who grabbed the most points?’

  ‘Cadel, by the look of it,’ Hamish replied. ‘Mind you, I would have done a whole lot better if Vijay’s dad hadn’t been so bloody slow.’

  ‘Shh.’ Saul, who was standing directly behind Cadel, reached over to give Hamish a poke in the ribs. ‘I told you to behave yourself.’

  ‘He’s not even here,’ Hamish retorted. It was true: like Duke and Gazo, Mr Naidoo had wandered out to the kitchen, where he was helping Snezana. But Vijay had remained in the computer room; he stood propped against a rack of hard drives, looking vaguely embarrassed.

  He gave an awkward smile as he accepted a cup of coffee from Thi.

  ‘Better to be slow than fast,’ Richard kindly observed. ‘If you’d been speeding, Hamish, you might have missed something.’

  ‘Not that it would have mattered,’ growled Egon, ‘since there was nothing to find anyhow.’ He sniffed, then glared at Saul. ‘So can I use my phone yet?’ he demanded. ‘Or is it still off limits?’

  ‘You can use your phone,’ the detective replied evenly. At which point, all of a sudden, Cadel had an idea.

  The phones. Of course. The phones.

  He gasped.

  ‘Wait,’ he said. ‘Hang on.’

  No one heard him except Thi – who threw him a puzzled, slightly apprehensive glance, as if expecting to be told that the coffee was poisoned.

  ‘Wait,’ Cadel repeated, more loudly. Then he swung around to address Saul. ‘Your phone. What if it has been bugged? We could use it to flush him out.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Your phone!’ exclaimed Cadel. Excitement propelled him to his feet; as he jumped up, he became the centre of attention. ‘If this hacker is monitoring anyone’s phone, it’ll be yours, right?’ he said. ‘That’s what we decided.’

  Saul frowned. ‘Yes, but –’

  ‘That’s why we agreed: no phones. Because there’s a chance that they might have been compromised. Yours, especially. And his, too.’ Cadel jerked his thumb at Hamish, who glowered back.

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Hamish sounded defensive. ‘I d-didn’t use my phone. You told me not to, and I didn’t.’

  ‘But if you do, he might hear you. The hacker, I mean.’ Cadel spread his hands, appealing to the room at large. ‘Suppose we all go out there again, and he’s online? Suppose Saul rings Hamish, and says something about a wardrive, and the hacker picks it up? What do you think will happen then?’

  There was a brief pause. It was Boyd who finally took the plunge.

  ‘If I was him, and I was listening in?’ he said at last. ‘I guess I’d log off.’

  ‘Exactly.’ This was the response that Cadel had been waiting for. ‘And one of us might spot him doing it!’

  Peering around, he was disappointed to see nothing but wry looks and creased foreheads. Even Richard didn’t try to ease the tension with an encouraging remark. It was as if he’d decided not to interfere.

  Thi cleared his throat.

  ‘That’s a lot of “ifs”, Cadel,’ he said gently. ‘If this guy’s online, and using a wireless network. If he’s listening to the call. If we spot him shutting down –’

  ‘If a dozen other people don’t log off at the same time,’ Hamish interrupted.

  ‘I know,’ Cadel had to concede. ‘It’s a long shot.’

  ‘It’s not even that,’ scoffed Egon. ‘It’s pie-in-the-sky. I mean, come on. What are the chances?’

  Cadel narrowed his eyes. ‘Give me a minute, and I’ll calculate them for you,’ he rejoined, through clenched teeth. What was wrong with these people? Didn’t they understand how desperate the situation was?

  But of course they didn’t. He reminded himself that Egon was just a volunteer, who wasn’t acquainted with Sonja, and who had never had any dealings with Prosper English. A long shot wouldn’t appeal to Egon. He wouldn’t recognise the need to explore every option. He was only concerned with his course credits.

  I’ve got to calm down, thought Cadel, as Saul grasped his shoulder. Though the pressure of that grip was comforting, it also conveyed a hint of reproof. Cadel knew that Saul was telling him, wordlessly, to ease off. There was no point alienating someone who might still be persuaded to help.

  ‘I reckon it’s worth a try,’ Boyd suddenly piped up. When everyone turned to stare at him, he squirmed and scratched the edge of his cast. ‘You never know – we might get lucky,’ he continued in his high-pitched voice. ‘And it’s one way of winnowing out the non-contenders.’

  ‘I guess so,’ said Hamish, though not as if he were fully convinced. Thi pulled a face, and Vijay checked his watch. Saul exchanged glances with Richard over the top of Cadel’s head.

  ‘Please can we give it another go?’ Cadel pleaded. ‘Just one more sweep? We’ll be finished before dinner.’

  Richard’s answering smile showed a hint of strain. ‘I’m happy to keep going,’ he murmured, ‘but I can’t speak for anyone else here. It’s not my decision.’

  ‘I’m in,’ Boyd said promptly.

  ‘Me too,’ offered Hamish, adding, ‘As long as I get Snezana, this time.’ He waggled his eyebrows at Thi, who gave a snort.

  ‘Okay.’ Despite his obvious lack of enthusiasm, Thi seemed resigned to his fate. ‘I’ll do it.’

  ‘So will I,’ Vijay softly assented, ‘if my father agrees.’

  Saul directed a level gaze at Egon, who scowled ferociously. Sensing an imminent fight, Cadel decided to excuse Egon from any further involvement. The loss of one wardriver, though regrettable, would be better than a tedious, time-wasting argument. But just as Cadel opened his mouth, Snezana appeared – and all at once the whole atmosphere changed.

  ‘Are we ready for this now?’ she queried, holding up a tray of crackers and dip. ‘Where shall I put it? On the filing cabinet?’

  ‘Uh …’ Thi hesitated, glancing at Saul. The detective took a deep breath. Instead of responding, however, he just stared at Egon.

  One by one, everyone else followed suit.

  ‘Oh, all right!’ Egon finally burst out. ‘I’ll do it! I might as well, since I can’t get home unless someone gives me a lift!’ Seeing Snezana’s wide-eyed astonishment, he flapped an enormous hand at her dip. ‘You can take that away, too!’ he barked. ‘We won’t be able to eat it, thanks to the boy genius, over here!’

  Snezana blinked. She fell back a step
, almost treading on Gazo – who was following close behind her with a bowl of chips. As he dodged her stiletto heel, she looked around the room, seeking enlightenment.

  It was Saul who came to her rescue.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he gravely announced, ‘but Egon’s right. We’ll have to cancel afternoon tea. There won’t be enough time, I’m afraid.’ Once again, he squeezed Cadel’s shoulder. ‘Not with all the wireless mapping we still have to do …’

  FOURTEEN

  ‘For God’s sake, back off,’ Gazo muttered.

  It was the first time he’d spoken since leaving Thi’s place, and he sounded peevish. Looking up, Cadel saw that they were heading down Canonbury Grove, right on schedule. Houses studded with gables and gingerbread fretwork cast long shadows across the peaceful little backstreet, which was almost empty of life. A woman was pushing a pram along a bumpy stretch of footpath. An old man was walking a very small dog.

  ‘What is it?’ asked Cadel, who hadn’t said a word for the past twenty minutes. ‘What did I do?’

  ‘Nuffink.’ Gazo was glowering into the rear-view mirror. ‘Some bloody fool is tailgading me.’

  Cadel glanced at his watch. It was 4:48 p.m. – eight minutes exactly since Saul was supposed to have rung Hamish. Yet so far, there wasn’t the slightest hint that someone out there had reacted to a carefully scripted message about wardriving. Most of the wireless users that Cadel had logged during his first sweep were still online. And those who weren’t had vanished off the grid long before his foster father’s call had been made.

  Was the detective’s phone not bugged after all? Had something prevented him from ringing Hamish? Or was the hacker well and truly out of Cadel’s zone?

  It was a long shot, Cadel glumly reminded himself. There’s no guarantee that our target’s even in Dulwich Hill.

  ‘Id’s a fifdy-kay speed limid, you moron!’ Gazo growled, just as the tailgater accelerated, swerving to overtake them. Cadel glanced around in time to see a yellow Toyota Camry roar past; he saw its broken antenna, its dented door, and the ‘Baby on Board’ sticker plastered to its rear windscreen.

  He also caught a glimpse of a familiar face: heavy glasses, fat cheeks, pug nose, pudding-bowl haircut …

  ‘Jesus!’ he yelped, leaning forward to clutch at Gazo’s headrest. ‘That’s Com!’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘Don’t lose him! It’s Com! In that car!’

  The Camry was now well ahead of them, and moving away at a rapid clip. Nevertheless, its number plate was still visible to Cadel, who struggled to memorise it as he fumbled for the mobile phone that Saul had given him.

  ‘Who’s Com?’ Gazo demanded. ‘Ain’d we looking for someone called Bev?’

  ‘Hurry up! He’s getting away!’

  ‘Thad’s because he’s doing aboud a hundred,’ Gazo rejoined calmly. ‘I’m nod a copper, Cadel. If I stard knocking people down, I’ll ged booked.’ Up ahead, the Camry squealed around a corner. ‘This car ain’d mine,’ he added. ‘I woulden wanna leave ids muffler on a speed bump. You should call your dad.’

  ‘I’m trying!’ Cadel exclaimed. He was desperately stuffing the battery back into his phone. ‘Can you see him? Is he gone?’

  ‘I see ’im,’ said Gazo, who was turning left at a sedate pace, having braked at the stop sign that Com had completely ignored. ‘D’you fink he reckanised you?’

  Cadel didn’t reply. He was too busy punching out a number on his mobile keypad.

  Please don’t let Saul’s phone be switched off, he thought.

  ‘Whoever he is, he’ll ged picked up for sure, driving like thad,’ Gazo went on. ‘Hang aboud – he’s hid a red. Look. We god ’im now.’

  Lifting his gaze, Cadel saw that Gazo was right. A red traffic light was impeding Com’s progress. The yellow Camry had stopped behind three other vehicles to let a clutch of pedestrians cross the road in front of them.

  Gazo began to speed up a little.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ Cadel murmured, dazed by his own good fortune. He pressed the phone to his ear. ‘We’ve flushed him out. We must have. Com must be the hacker!’

  ‘Oh, gawd,’ said Gazo, as the red light ahead changed to green. Cadel, meanwhile, was listening to a recorded message: You have reached the voicemail of …

  ‘Damn!’ he spluttered. But he wasn’t really surprised. Of course Saul had switched off his phone. It was what he’d agreed to do: make his call, then switch off his phone. For safety’s sake. ‘I can’t get hold of Saul,’ Cadel announced. ‘I’ll have to try Reggie, and he can use his police radio …’

  Off in the distance, Com was on the move again, almost nudging the rear bumper of a slowly accelerating tow-truck. He was turning left across an intersection that was busy with signage and painted lines; from a quiet suburban avenue he had plunged headlong into a street full of shopfronts, parked cars and loading zones.

  ‘Step on it, Gazo!’ Cadel could hardly contain himself. ‘We’re losing him!’

  ‘I’m going as fasd as I can.’

  The words were barely out of Gazo’s mouth when the traffic light that he was approaching changed yet again, from green to orange to red. Bang-bang. Without a second’s pause.

  ‘Whad the –?’

  Gazo screeched to a halt. He braked so abruptly that Cadel hit his nose on the driver’s seat.

  ‘Ow!’

  ‘Whad’s goin’ on?’ Gazo was flabbergasted. ‘Did you see thad?’

  ‘Quick! Gazo!’

  ‘It’s a red lide, Cadel!’

  Trembling with frustration, Cadel dialled Reggie’s number. He craned his neck as he waited for a response – but the Camry was already out of sight. Then a harsh voice cut across the ringtone.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Reggie? It’s Cadel. I can’t reach Saul. You have to call him on your radio. You have to tell him that I’ve just seen Com.’

  ‘You’ve what?’

  Cadel took a deep breath.

  ‘It’s the hacker,’ he said, trying to speak very slowly and clearly. ‘Tell Saul that the hacker is Compton Daniels, and he’s in a yellow Toyota Camry, heading north on Marrickville Road.’ Cadel reeled off the registration number, hoping he’d remembered it correctly. ‘Have you got that?’

  ‘I think so.’ Reggie’s tone was utterly incurious. ‘You’ve got a fix on some target, and you want him intercepted. Is that right?’

  ‘Not just any target. Tell him it’s Com Daniels. In a yellow Camry –’

  ‘Yeah, yeah. I heard. Heading north on Marrickville Road.’ Reggie repeated the car’s registration number. ‘Anything else?’

  ‘It’s urgent. You have to be quick –’

  ‘Roger that.’

  There was a click, followed by the hum of the dial tone. Reggie had hung up.

  Cadel felt slightly winded.

  ‘He won’d ged far on Marrickville Road,’ Gazo remarked. ‘Id’s always jammed up.’

  Cadel said nothing.

  ‘Your dad’s probably coming this way. He mide even see the guy himself –’

  ‘Gazo.’ Cadel couldn’t stand it any longer. ‘Why don’t you take off that ridiculous nose, and those stupid teeth?’

  ‘Huh?’

  ‘They’re driving me crazy.’

  Gazo flashed him a reproachful look. ‘I’m in disguise, Cadel. You said I was under surveillance.’

  ‘Maybe. I don’t know.’ Cadel was so distracted, he could hardly keep still. ‘Oh, why doesn’t this light change?’

  ‘Id’s a long one,’ Gazo agreed, checking the rear-view mirror. Two vehicles were already lined up behind Thi’s car, and a third was rapidly approaching. Cadel glanced at his watch. Why didn’t Saul ring him? Was the detective worried about the security risk involved? Or hadn’t Reggie transmitted Cadel’s message?

  ‘So who’s this guy we’re chasing?’ Gazo queried, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. ‘Do I know ’im?’

  ‘I’m not sure. You might recognise him. He was at the A
xis Institute.’ Cadel saw Gazo wince. ‘He was in my Infiltration class, but he disappeared when the institute folded. His sister turned up at Clearview House last year. She claimed that she was looking for him, but she was really working for Prosper English. They probably both are, now.’ After a moment’s reflection, Cadel added gravely, ‘They’re really smart, those two.’

  Gazo gave a grunt. ‘You fink he lives round ’ere, then?’

  ‘I guess so. I mean – it makes sense.’ Cadel tried to imagine Com’s hideout. Was it being shared with someone? Had Com left much behind, in his mad dash to escape any wardrivers who might have locked onto his position? ‘He could even be living with his sister. She could have been in the back of the car, keeping her head down.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because she’s a fugitive.’ Cadel shrugged. ‘Anything’s possible.’

  ‘D’you fink he’ll come back?’

  ‘I doubt it. He’d be a fool if he did.’ Staring blankly into space, Cadel considered the implications of what he’d just discovered. ‘I knew it had to be someone like that,’ he mumbled, thinking aloud. ‘I knew it had to be Com or Dot or Vee. And now I know who I’m up against, I can work out what to look for. Especially if we find out where Com’s been living.’ He narrowed his eyes. ‘Especially if he’s had to leave any of his stuff …’

  ‘Cadel.’ Gazo swung around. ‘We’ve god a problem, here. I don’d fink this lide is gunna change.’

  Cadel blinked. Emerging from his reverie, he realised they were still idling at the same intersection, waiting for the same red light to turn green. Eight cars were now sitting behind theirs.

  ‘If you ask me, id’s blown a fuse,’ Gazo observed. ‘Maybe we should go some uvver way.’

  Cadel squinted up at the glowing red dot. After an extended pause, Gazo tried again.

  ‘Cadel? Did you hear me? I said, should we go some uvver –’

  ‘It’s been hacked,’ Cadel blurted out. His gaze travelled back to Gazo’s puzzled face. ‘Someone’s got into the controller box. I should have known.’

  ‘Eh?’

  ‘Which doesn’t necessarily mean we’re being watched.’ Hastily Cadel scanned his surroundings for a camera, a microwave detector, or any other form of monitoring device. But no spyware was visible on any of the poles or walls that loomed overhead. ‘It might be part of an evacuation plan,’ he hazarded, in a shaky voice. ‘Someone’s probably making sure that if Com’s being followed, he’ll be protected by an endless stream of red lights.’