Probing

The three of them shuddered at the name, finding the whole thing deeply eerie, since each knew in their hearts they hadn't spoken a word of it.

"Ghost? Then Mr. Ghost, how exactly do you know we're going to rob a bank? Don't tell me you're really a ghost!" Jack tensed up and asked again. He couldn't bring himself to trust someone like this—if things went wrong, it could cost them their lives. He had three kids to take care of; how could he just believe a stranger?

"Heh, I really am a ghost, but I exist in the virtual world of the internet. I'm omnipotent! Your name is Jack, you called Jerry this afternoon, and you mentioned robbing a bank, right?" Mo Fei laid the facts before them. Jack turned to look at Jerry, who was pale with fear.

"Just because of that call?" Jack asked again.

"Then I observed you all gathering at Jerry's place at seven in the evening, driving off half an hour later to case the Bear Stearns Wall Street Branch, and finally coming back here to check the traffic. You gave your daughter a few dozen dollars to see a movie and said you'd pick her up later, right?" Mo Fei laid it all out. Cold sweat dripped down the three men's foreheads—they'd been watched the whole time without knowing it.

"Who the hell are you?" Jack was getting angry. The guy had been silently monitoring them without them noticing a thing, and worst of all, he even knew everything that happened in their homes.

"No need to worry. All my methods come from the virtual world of the internet. To show sincerity, I've even revealed my trump card to you!" Mo Fei sent the text with a laugh. He didn't care if they knew—what could they do about it? Come crawling through the fiber optic cable to punch him?

"A hacker?" Jack probed.

"Heh, hackers are too low-level. I'm omnipotent on the internet, and they're not. I'm a real ghost. Alright, the probing ends here. Now let's discuss the robbery. Are you cooperating with me or not?" Mo Fei stopped explaining and cut straight to the point.

"Why should we trust you?" Jack didn't want any complications, but under these circumstances, he had no choice. Still, there were things he had to ask.

Mo Fei didn't want to say too much—explaining too much would make him seem weak, and that was fatal.

"You don't need to trust me. You just need to obey me. Otherwise, get ready for bankruptcy. The robbery has to happen, because once you act, I'll sabotage it—say, by calling the cops early. What do you think?"

"You..." Jack's bravado deflated instantly. He really had no way to stop this. If they didn't rob the bank, how would they get the money? Jennifer had to report to college in a little over ten days, going by the US university start dates. No money meant no going. No way, absolutely no way!

"What's wrong? Mad? No need for that. Following your plan, your chances of success are practically zero. The only way you'd succeed is if the NYPD collectively lost their minds. But if you listen to me, you'll have almost a hundred percent success. What's there to hesitate about?"

"Just you saying that—how do we trust you?"

"Simple. I take a quarter of whatever you steal. Not much, right? Then I'll prove my ability to you. Easy, isn't it?"

"How do you prove it?"

"You go to the bank and open a bearer account, withdrawable only by password. I'll remotely control the password input—I can directly hack the bank's system. How's that for a trick? Oh, and by the way, the video file of your casing tonight has been deleted by me. Not completely—just erased the image of that pickup truck from the footage. What does that tell you?"

"Really?" Jack froze, then quickly typed back.

"Of course. If you're safe, I get my money. But if you don't deposit the cash into that bearer account in the end, you'll face the consequences!"

"Fine. I'll open an account tomorrow, and you'll input the password. If it works, I'll believe you! How do we contact?"

"Give me your phone number. Wear this Bluetooth earpiece tomorrow, and I'll call you!"

"Aren't you supposed to know everything?"

"Heh, too much trouble. I could find your number by entering your name into the telecom provider's server, but the more I do, the more traces I leave. You get that?"

"My number is..." Jack typed in his phone number. "I'll be at the bank at ten tomorrow morning. But which bank—you find that yourself!"

"Fine. That'll prove my skill!"

Then the computer returned to normal. Jack quickly shut it down. "Let's go!" He turned and left Jennifer's room, leading the two straight out of the house. They didn't get in the car but went to a deserted alley, checking left and right for any electronic devices.

"What do you think?" Jack asked.

Roy looked clueless—he was the least decisive of the three. Jerry, however, was thinking it over, then said, "We can give it a try. If his skills are really that good, I think we can work with him. Especially since he can control electronic devices—that's our weak point. With him, we'd have a better chance."

"That's what I'm thinking too. But I'm worried he'll sell us out in the end. Whether he really deleted that footage of your pickup—we don't know. We'll have to gamble. Otherwise, we're all bankrupt. You two wait at home tomorrow for my news. I'll go alone!"

"Alright!"

The next morning at nine-thirty, Jack left his house and headed toward a bank. It was a Morgan Bank branch two blocks from his home. When he reached the entrance, his phone still hadn't rung.

Jack hesitated, but finally gritted his teeth and walked in. "Hello, sir. How can I help you?" Jack stood at a service counter facing a young white male, who asked politely.

But Jack harbored a deep grudge against banks, his face dark and sullen. "I want to open a bearer account!"

"Very well, sir. What withdrawal method would you like?"

"Password!"

"Please wait a moment!"

A bearer account required no ID—anyone could open one, and it was very insecure. But many people liked such accounts, and the bank didn't care what they were used for. These accounts were sometimes quite popular.

"Please enter your password!"

"Buzz..." Jack's phone vibrated. He quickly tapped the Bluetooth earpiece in his ear, and the call connected. "Type anything on the keyboard in three seconds!"