"Lois Gresh - Termination Node" - читать интересную книгу автора (Gresh Lois)

transmission, then decrypted at the bank. Crypto chips and digital cash. When Jose had first installed the
system back in '02, Laguna Savings had quickly become one of the top Internet banks in the country.

Jose rolled his chair across the room to the other computer server. The clanking of rollers on tile cut into
the disk drive whine and made Judy's body jerk. If only her nerves would settle, if only she could stay
awake, if only she could find a method other than coffee, which she'd given up five years ago, or
Methamorph, which she'd given up in high school.

But there'd be no drugs for Judy; not like Jose, twitching in his chair over there, nerves atwanging like
snapped guitar strings, body gaunt, hollow eyes a million miles deepтАФtubular twin tunnels to nowhere.

No. She'd finish this job, then sack out for a few hours before facing another long day tomorrowтАФno,
today.

She checked the first Internet transaction in the log, a withdrawal made by a small investment firm down
by Laguna Beach. Jose checked the firm's account on the other server and confirmed that the withdrawal
had been correctly subtracted.

They moved to the second transaction, and on down the list, until finally Jose said, "Two more
transactions and we're done."

Her eyes shifted from the screen to the shelves over Jose's head. Micro Utility CorpтАФnow a subsidiary
of SonyтАФdouble-reinforced units, part number 3B12G14, the screws holding them together, part
numbers 3B75I28 and 3C72I25. The shelves were crammed with Ethernet boxes and punchdown
blocks.

Just two more transactionsтАФ crank 'em and get out.

One more.

"What the hell is this?" Jose's shoulders quivered more than usual.

The Methamorph freak. Jumping at ghosts. "Gut it out, Jose. It's late, and I want to go home."

"Penetration." One word, tight and low.

"Cut it out, Jose."

"I said, penetration. Big one. A half-million-dollar withdrawal from each of ten accounts, all made by
Hirama Electronics."

What? Was he, like ... serious?

She pushed herself from the desk, cringed as the chair rollers ground across tile, then stood and peered
past Jose's shoulder. "That's a lot of money, but doesn't necessarily imply penetration," she said.

"Hirama transactions never come across the Net. They're always made in person by some top
management guy in an Italian pinstriped suit."

He redisplayed the Hirama bank accounts. All ten had zero balances.