A Boy Without Hope: Part 2 of 3. Casey Watson

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СКАЧАТЬ whole exchange was wrong – in fact, on every level – that I hardly knew where to begin. With the pen that had narrowly missed me? With the cheek and disrespect? Or with the fact that he’d just told me our home computer network had been hacked? Probably that one, for starters, though there was one important point. I didn’t really have the first clue what he was talking about. ‘Hacked’ was one of those terms that just pushed all the buttons. Like ‘scammer’, or ‘identity theft’, or ‘virus’.

      ‘So you just said,’ I went on. ‘But what I don’t understand is why a hacker would suddenly want to interrupt our internet service.’ I paused. ‘But something tells me you do, Miller.’

      Miller threw the pad down as well now, and I could see what he’d been writing. Or, rather, couldn’t. It just looked like rows of weird hieroglyphics. Then he sighed and scratched his head, then rolled his eyes, as if despairing. Of the situation, or of my ability to understand anything he might say?

      ‘Look, I just chucked the wrong guys out of a game and stole their money. And because the moderator of the game knew my IP address, he hacked into our system and got us chucked off to pay me back. But he’s putting us back on again. It’s no biggie.’

      I still didn’t have a proper grasp of what he was saying, but one thing I did know was that he didn’t have access to my laptop – anyone’s laptop for that matter – so how did he know that? ‘How the heck did this guy know our IP address?’ I demanded. ‘Even I don’t know that, Miller. How do you?’

      ‘Because I gave it to him!’ I turned to see Tyler standing in the doorway. ‘God, Miller, you little shit!’

      He turned to me then. ‘Sorry, Mum, but he really is! You told me you needed it to reset the PlayStation!’ he said, jabbing a finger in Miller’s direction. ‘God, why didn’t I think of that? Listen, you’ve got to stop whatever it is you’re doing, get out of that game and change your player ID, and pronto. Because this won’t stop, Mum.’ He turned back to me. ‘Trust me, it won’t. Not unless he stops messing around with other players. And he knows it.’ Another jab of the finger.

      I had even less idea what was going on now, and absolutely no idea what Tyler was talking about, but Miller clearly did. He looked suddenly nervous. Even slightly afraid. Tyler wasn’t a particularly big lad for sixteen, but a few years make a world of difference at that age. So, for all that he’d take us on over every tiny thing, sheer physicality still held sway over Miller, clearly. I put a hand on Tyler’s arm. Felt the anger in him. ‘So at least you know what’s going on round here, then. Good. So, Miller,’ I went on. ‘You need to sort this out, now. And if we have any more of it, I will disconnect the internet, full stop. No more online gaming, period. Are we clear?’

      In answer, Miller picked up his control pad, flicked a switch, and his TV sputtered back into life again. ‘It’s all back on now anyway,’ he said, pointing to the PlayStation. ‘Drama over.’

      ‘No, mate, it’s not,’ Tyler said, ‘and I mean it. You need to stop hacking and just play like everyone else does. It’s not fair and it’s causing big problems for everyone. I mean it. You knock it off. You hear me? I’m sick of your nonsense!’

      ‘Fine!’ Miller huffed at him. ‘Whatever!’

      ***

      ‘You really need to get some schooling sorted out for him, Mum,’ Tyler said as I followed him back across the landing to his own room. ‘He’s a menace, he really is. And too clever by half. And he doesn’t know the half of what he’s dealing with, trust me. And why the hell is he still hanging around here all the time anyway? Why isn’t he in school? It’s not like he’s special needs or anything, is it? Or did he just get excluded from everywhere?’

      ‘Something like that,’ I told him.

      ‘But they shouldn’t put all this on us. It’s not fair.’

      ‘I know, love,’ I said. ‘And I’ll be on to Libby pronto.’ Much good that would do, I thought but didn’t say. ‘Look, you get back to your revision, eh? I’ll have Dad have some stern words with him later.’ I grinned. ‘No point me doing it when I don’t know what half of them mean, is it?’

      His shoulders lowered slightly. ‘True dat,’ he said. ‘But Dad really needs to give him hell.’

      ‘And he will,’ I said. ‘Promise.’

      So, crisis over. At least I hoped so.

      Except perhaps not. Or, at least, another one brewing. ‘Tyler,’ I said, ‘did you see the stuff he was writing? You know, on that pad? What’s that when it’s at home?’

      ‘Oh, that’ll be code. Code from the dark web, most probably. He’s in some sort of hacker group from when he had his own laptop. I think he’s trying to get back in but he can’t till he gets it back from his previous foster family. Seriously, Mum, he’s up to all sorts. Or would be, I’ll bet, given half a chance.’

      I still only understood about one word in six, but if Tyler thought Miller was up to ‘all sorts’ then he probably was. And though I didn’t know exactly what made that mad, bad or dangerous, I had heard of the dark web, and didn’t like the sound of it – and I definitely didn’t want it entering our house. Wasn’t the dark web what terrorists used to plan attacks, and paedophiles to organise their evil gangs?

      I went downstairs and called Jenny, Miller’s previous foster carer, to find out about the laptop I hadn’t heard about.

      ‘Ah, yes,’ she said immediately. ‘And I’m loath to give it back. Though I suppose I must. I’ll drop it round to Libby for you, shall I?’

      ‘But why do you still have it? I’d have thought it would be welded to his side, day and night.’

      ‘Because we confiscated it,’ she told me. ‘When he smashed the screen on ours.’

      ‘Ah,’ I said. ‘Why?’

      ‘Bit of a long story,’ Jenny said. ‘From back at the start, when he would actually leave the house with us. But the short version is that he’d been watching a movie on his own laptop and the power went. We were camping at the time and didn’t have access to anywhere to plug it in, so we allowed him to continue watching it on ours. We were outside the tents with some friends who had met up with us, at the time – Miller, of course, had stayed inside. And when I went to check on him, I saw that he was actually looking at bloody porn! Can you believe it? Anyway, when I tried to drag it away from him, he got angry and threw it across the tent, smashing it into a gas bottle.’

      I was happy she’d only told me the short version as I don’t think I could have taken all the gory details just at that moment, but I did make a mental note to check the search history on my own and Tyler’s computers.

      And to redouble my efforts to get a commitment to provide us with more support. With all the budget cuts, I knew I’d have a fight on my hands, but I was in the mood to fire off a few stern emails. And sterner than usual, given what I’d just found out. People needed reminding just how much I was out on a limb, and, given how Miller preferred to spend his time – and with whom – on the internet, how pressing was the need to get him back into education. And if they couldn’t offer any education in its normal setting, then I needed, badly needed, an alternative. Something that would get Miller out of the house for a couple of hours every day. Something to inspire him СКАЧАТЬ