Phishing

I had not seen Hal in a long time. Too long. It took me forever to find him on Facebook and even longer for him to respond to my messages. But, last week, he finally did.

I wanted to meet within the next few days. He told me he was out of sick and vacation days and working an extra weekend shift. He must have been struggling, which gave me an idea of what he had been up to lately. He worked at a software company, and he excelled at it. But that wasn’t his only job….

The coffee shop came into view as I rounded the corner. A car drove past. I whipped my head around to watch it stop at the closest intersection. My stomach churned. I felt guilty just coming here. I knew what I was about to ask him and knew I shouldn’t. What other choice did I have?

I stepped inside the coffee shop. Looking around, I couldn’t find him. Then the bearded man in the corner with the button-down shirt and tie working on his laptop looked up and waved me over. Gosh, it had been too long. I didn’t recognize him. It was like he was a different man. But I knew that couldn’t be true.

Hal stood as I strode closer. “Hey, buddy! Good to see you!”

He reached out his hand. I grabbed it to shake, but he hugged me instead.

“It’s good to see you, too,” I said.

We separated. Hal gestured to the table. “Go ahead and sit down!”

I accepted his invitation and sat in the chair. He sat across from me and closed his laptop.

“You look very civilized,” I said.

Hal looked down at what he was wearing. “Oh, this? This is only because I’m on lunch break. I hate wearing these stupid shirts. They’re itchy.”

“Still rocking your sweatshirts, then?”

“Oh, yeah,” said Hal. “But you haven’t changed at all, have you, Pete? You’re still working as a temp?”

I shook my head. “Not anymore. I’m an accountant now.”

Hal smiled. “Ah. An accountant. How thrilling.”

I smiled back, but mine was devoid of any humor. “Let’s cut to the chase, alright?”

“Oh, Pete,” said Hal. “Always focused and serious.”

“Will you just listen? I… was scammed. I need your help to get my money back.”

Hal laughed for a minute but noticed that I wasn’t smiling. He stopped. “You’re serious?”

I nodded. He groaned and rolled his eyes. “What happened?”

“Someone on the street handed me a business card for a foundation that donated to orphanages. I went to their website and donated some cash. This morning, I found that my bank account was empty.”

Hal raised an eyebrow. “Empty?”

“Yes. I’m broke.”

Hal laughed and shook his head. “See, this is why you have to stop trusting everyone you meet, man.”

My face grew hot, and I tensed my teeth. “Will you help me or not?!”

“Ok, ok,” said Hal. “Relax. I’ll help you. What do you need?”

“I need to find out where my money went.”

“See, that’s the tricky part. Did you give them your credit card number?”

“Yes.”

Hal shrugged. “Then it’s gone.”

“What?!”

“But,” said Hal before I threw myself into a rage, “I think I know how we might be able to get it back.”

***

Hal’s apartment was a disaster. I didn’t expect much better, but it was still a complete wreck. There was stuff piled on the sofa. The only available space in the sitting room was a single armchair. The dining table was entirely inaccessible. Most of the junk was computer parts or gadgets of some kind or another. It was alien to me. But Hal always was the tech wiz, which was why I knew he could help me with my problem.

I followed behind as Hal navigated through the clusters. “How did you afford all this stuff?”

He didn’t turn around when he answered. “Afford? Shoot, I sell this stuff. I turn this scrap into gadgets and useable tech and ship it to the people who buy from my website.”

I nodded. “Wow. That’s….”

“What? An honest job? Well, don’t get your hopes up. It’s more of a solution to the incredible debt I’ve accumulated from gambling and whatnot over the years. I’ve been banned from five different online poker websites. That’s not even mentioning the poker houses. I love cards. But you know that.”

“I do,” I said. “So, old habits are back?”

He turned and shrugged. “I’m not sure they ever left. Just suppressed, is all. But, since Natalia left, I can do whatever I want.”

Hal continued to the back of the apartment, where a small office space was. This was the cleanest area in the whole apartment. The desk was clear except for a computer monitor, keyboard, mouse, and an empty beer can on a coaster. The monitor was blank, but that changed when Hal hit the spacebar. He sat down and logged in.

The office was dark. I felt the wall behind me for a light switch, found it, and flipped it on.

Hal recoiled from the light, trying to block it with his hand. “Gah! Are you trying to blind me? Turn it off!”

I did what he asked.

Hal huffed. “Next time, ask before you touch anything, got it?”

I thought it best not to respond.

Hal adjusted himself in his seat and opened some programs I had never seen before. Then he opened a web browser. I knew what that was.

“Ok,” he said. “Could you give me the website you went to?”

I gave him the address, and he typed it in. An all too familiar website appeared, filling up the screen with its deceptive graphics.

Hal pointed at the monitor. “Is this it?”

I nodded. “Yeah. That’s it.”

Hal opened a window in the browser filled with code. He chuckled. “This is going to be too easy.”

I felt a knot in my stomach. The same three words repeated themselves over and over in the back of my mind: this is wrong, this is wrong, this is wrong…. But I didn’t see any other options. I had been robbed. I needed to get my money back, or I would lose my house, car, and everything else I had worked so hard to acquire. This life I had built would disappear. I made a stupid decision, and those were the consequences.

Consequences.

“Ok,” said Hal. “I found it.”

He turned back and smiled at me.

“Found what?” I asked.

“The address for this guy. He’s actually in America, which is fortunate. Portland, to be exact. I’ve got some connections. Someone owes me a favor. I could cash that in and send him to bust this guy up for you and get your money back.”

My jaw dropped. I stared at Hal, still processing what he had just said. “What?”

“You know,” said Hal. “Steal back the money.”

I shook my head. “I thought you were going to do that through the computer.”

“Are you serious? This person has your credit card number. He didn’t hack you and steal from you digitally. He withdrew with your name and card number, and I can’t fix that unless we physically take the money back. You see what I’m saying?”

I thought for a moment. If losing money resulted from what I did, maybe I shouldn’t try to fight it. I had good intentions, sure. But was I any better than the thieves who attacked me first if I counterattacked? Fighting evil with evil was not the answer. It would only lead to more consequences.

I came to a decision and shook my head. “Shut it off.”

Hal looked at me. His face was contorted with confusion. “What did you say?”

“This is wrong,” I said.

“Well, I know it’s wrong, Pete,” said Hal. “But do you want your money back or not?”

I shook my head. “No.”

He hesitated. “You serious?”

“Yes, I am. Shut it down.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to sell my house and figure it out from there.”

Hal shot up from his chair. He reached his hands toward me. Fear spread across his face, but it was only for a brief moment. That was all I needed to know how much trouble I had really put us in.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Hal. He shot me an unconvincing smile. “I can’t let you do that, man.”

I shook my head. “Why not?.”

“You’re an honest guy,” he said, “and honest guy’s talk. If the cops come poking around and asking questions, they will find a connection between us. They’re going to ask you about me. What are you going to say?”

“Hal, I won’t say anything.”

“Maybe you’re planning on going straight to them from here, huh?”

“Hal—”

“Well, are you?”

“Of course not!” I shouted.

“How do I know that?! What kind of reassurance can you give me?”

“I can’t give you anything but my word.”

“Then we do have a problem, don’t we?”

“I’m not going to tell anyone.”

Hal chuckled. “I don’t believe that for a minute. You’ve always followed the rules closely. Maybe this whole thing was a ruse. I don’t know. All I know is that you’re not going anywhere until we find some way to sort this out.”

“Oh. So, you’re kidnapping me now?”

“WILL YOU SHUT UP, MAN?”

Hal’s wild, ferocious expression turned to a smile with false humor in his eyes, which darted around the room, looking for something. I didn’t know what. Then he quickly turned his head. He grabbed something from the desk behind him. The motion startled me. I gasped.

In Hal’s hand was a switch knife. Its point was gleaming malevolently at my stomach as Hal held it shakingly. I took an involuntary step backward.

“NO!” Hal shouted. “You’re not going to the cops. I’ll lose everything!”

“You’re right. I’m not. But I can’t do this. This is wrong.”

“I know that, and you knew that when you called me! Keep your head straight, Pete.”

“Keep my head straight? Whose waving around the knife?”

Hal’s chest rose and fell quickly as sweat dripped from his forehead. I probably didn’t look much better. I had no idea what would happen, and I wasn’t about to start imagining now. I had to think. Out. I needed a way out.

My eyes darted around the room as they looked for anything to get me out of the mess I was in. But I couldn’t see anything. There was no way out, and Hal was stuck here with me. Or I with him. I couldn’t tell anymore. What could I do? He would stab me, and he was smart enough to get away with it. I wouldn’t be getting my money back anytime soon.

As my thoughts raced through my head, Hal must have come to a decision. He lunged forward, crying out! I stepped to the right. Hal’s blade went through my shirt and grazed my side. I spun away. The cut on my side began to bleed. Hal thrust his arm forward again. I grabbed his arm and the back of his head without thinking about what I was doing. I used his momentum to slam him into the wall behind me. He dropped to the ground, unmoving.

Blood began to seep through his hair. I cupped my hands over my mouth, assuming the worst. I bent down. I placed two fingers on the side of his neck and felt his pulse. He was ok. I sighed.

Standing up, I looked at Hal one last time. I felt terrible. I thought about calling an ambulance, but that would only lead to Hal getting arrested for something I asked him to do. But I was the one who was too scared to go through with it. Maybe I should be arrested. But I had to face the consequences for my actions, even if they were out of good intent. It was time to stand firm.

I stepped out of the apartment, strode down the stairs, and found my car waiting. I stepped inside. Taking a deep breath, I turned the key in the ignition. I had no idea what tomorrow would look like, but I knew I would be busy.