Previously, Zack, pushed to his limit, orders the SecurBag and makes a decision he can’t take back.
It was a Tuesday when Zack came home from work to find a missed delivery slip from Canada Post stuck to his door. Zack trudged down to the Post Office and picked it up in the morning, trudging for a kilometre carrying the cumbersome box.
At home, he dropped the box onto the floor and stared at it. Holy shit. It was really happening. Zack had watched and rewatched Ocean’s Eleven to hype himself up and get ready for this moment, but since it had come, he just felt…nothing. Resignation. Angry.
He turned the box around a few times, then tore at the packing tape that held it together. Zack yanked open the flaps and pulled the plastic bag out of the box. He ripped the plastic and freed the SecurBag. It was identical to the one in the rare foreign currency room. Zack chuckled to himself.
The next day, Zack stuffed the SecurBag into his backpack and walked the now familiar route to work, snaking through abandoned lots and cutting through shortcuts he had found. He bushwhacked through the growing weeds and crossed the parking lot to the entrance of True North Canadian Bank.
Zack took a deep breath and wiped sweating palms on his black slacks. He entered the branch and went through the foyer, dumping his backpack and the new SecurBag concealed inside into the break room. He made his way back to the front counter and started checking over each station, preparing for the day.
“Hey, hey. If it isn’t the new big shot, Manager Zack.” Sydney said, elbowing him in the side.
Zack laughed. “Fuck off. It’s a little bit like being the captain of the Titanic. I just know it’s going down beforehand.”
Sydney laughed, her shoulders bouncing in a way that Zack found cute. “God, don’t remind me. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
“You’ll be alright. Smart and hard working girl like yourself. Maybe I’ll even write you a reference.”
Sydney laughed again and pushed him. “Funny guy. I’ve got to go handle the computers and tidy up some network issues. Can’t have the Titanic’s network going down too.”
Nine o’clock came, and the morning rush entered the bank. Zack busied himself with the little list of tasks that Cory had left him. When he noticed that the queue wasn’t really moving, he stuck his head out of Cory’s office. There was only one teller, Jamie, at her station. Where was everyone else?
Jamie gave Zack a helpless stare as he marched past her. He shoved the door to the break room open and found Roger and another casual teller sitting and having a coffee.
“What are you guys doing?” Zack demanded.
Roger turned and held up his cup. “Having a coffee. Would you like one?”
“No!” Zack growled. “You need to get back to your stations. Now!”
Roger scrunched up his face. “Why? True North has kicked us to the curb. To hell with them, I say.”
Zack unclenched his fists and took a deep breath. “Get your asses back out there. Poor Jamie is dealing with everyone all at once. I don’t care if you don’t care about the company, but don’t leave her hanging.”
They grumbled, but they got up and went back to it. Zack dumped the coffees and went back to the office. As he passed the front counter, he caught Jamie on her phone while she was at her station. What was wrong with these people? “Jamie. No phones, okay?”
Jamie turned it off and slipped it into her pocket. “Sorry. Just my friend is having a hard time.”
Zack shook his head. “Not your problem right now.”
Her phone buzzed obnoxiously and she dug back in her pocket and took it out. She typed furiously for a moment. “Just a sec. I’m sorry, but she really needs me.”
Zack looked at the long line of people. He stepped close to Jamie and whispered, “are you serious right now? Put it away.”
Jamie looked at him then, eyes brimming with tears. “You don’t understand. She’s trying to leave her abusive boyfriend.”
Zack coloured. He wasn’t sure if, as acting Manager, he was supposed to be clamping down and making sure his employees were getting the work done, or if he should have a heart and not berate Jamie for what sounded like an intense situation.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” Jamie snapped. She stormed off.
Zack reeled. He stepped up to Jamie’s station. “Uh. Hi. Mrs. Arvidson. Great to see you again. What do you need?”
The little old lady scowled at him. “How about kind service for me and some respect for your employees?”
Zack sighed. He kept his mouth shut and helped her out, and then closed the station. He went over to the bathroom and knocked softly on the door. “Jamie, I’m sorry. Take the time you need, okay?”
Zack glanced at the clock as he made his way back to Cory’s office. It was only ten thirty. He sank into Cory’s chair and checked Cory’s list. The interaction with Jamie made him feel flustered, but he was already looking around at the bank. When had True North hit the iceberg? Their branch was taking on water and he didn’t have anything left to bail with. His mind drifted back to the SecurBag stuffed into his backpack. Dealing with all of this bullshit made him more excited and less anxious about his plan.
Zack tossed aside Cory’s juvenile list and pulled up the bank’s policies and procedures on Cory’s computer. He scrolled through different policies and processes until he found the one that he was looking for.
Policy 6.1.4 - Security camera maintenance and replacement
Bi-annually, security cameras at True North should turn off the security cameras inside of the bank for cleaning, maintenance, or replacement. Check all connections, wipe the lens with a cloth, and blow in the hardware to ensure all components are working properly.
The maximum length of time that security cameras can remain offline is 5 minutes. Any length of time exceeding 5 minutes will engage the bank’s security system and will result in lockout.
Zack closed the window and let out a relieved breath. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes to walk from the computer networking room to the foreign currency room, fill the bag, and then return to turn the cameras back on.
The rest of the day progressed with only minor inconveniences. He had to harass the tellers to get back to work after an extended lunch, and Roger left for a walk to grab a snack without telling Zack, but all in all the day went smoothly. Sydney stayed locked up in the tech office, and Zack didn’t want to bother her or accidentally let his intentions out of the bag.
The end of the day came and Zack said his goodbyes to the rest of the employees. He was shaking with nervous excitement and rushed them out to their cars. Once they had all left, Zack hurried over to the security computer and network systems room. He unlocked the beige door with his new Manager key and tapped on the computer’s keyboard to wake it up.
He input his bank username and password.
Invalid credentials.
Puzzled, Zack tried again, with the same result. Damn. Maybe Cory had forgotten to give him this level of access? He tried Cory’s username and guessed at a password, but also received the Invalid credentials error. Another red line popped up on the computer login screen. Three login attempts remaining.
Zack felt his heart beat harder and his stomach flip. Shit. If he accidentally locked it out, they would suspect him of something nefarious, for sure.
With trembling fingers, Zack guessed at Cory’s password again.
Two attempts remaining.
Zack rubbed his face and groaned. “Nooooo.”
Just beside the computer screen was a yellow sticky note. It was stuck to the desk and looked like it had been there for quite some time.
Sydney.Trebuchi Password: sTiNkYcheese99!?
Zack goggled at the sticky note. The password and access was just sitting there. But, it belonged to Sydney. Zack knew that by logging into this computer and turning off the cameras, he would implicate whoever he used to gain access. He planned on using his own credentials, but he’d learned that sometimes things were out of his control.
He tapped the username and password into the machine. He hesitated then, the feeling of deja vu prickling at the backs of his arms and his neck.
Years ago, Zack had huddled against the building of Royal Canadian University, in Calgary, trying to keep out of the cool summer wind and away from prying eyes and security cameras. He held the crumpled rejection letter that he had received from them weeks ago, with his application reference number highlighted. He had to physically be at the University for this to work, the hacker that he hired said. The hacker accessed his laptop computer remotely and Zack watched as code flew like movie credits sped up across his screen. A screen featuring the Royal Canadian University logo popped up, and the hacker’s rapid attempts furiously spun through the login screen.
Suddenly, the screen changed and Zack was looking at the main user interface for registration and enrolment.
“Ur in,” the hacker messaged.
Zack tapped in his phone, sending the agreed amount of money to the hacker’s account number. “Thanks. Money’s sent.”
The hacker disappeared from the computer, and Zack was alone. He typed in his reference number in a search bar and found his demographic information. There was one field called, ‘enrolment status.’ Zack’s said REJ. He deleted it and put ACC. Then he scrolled down and made sure everything else was looking good.
Then he clicked ‘save.’ Almost immediately, he received an email and he clicked on that.
“Congratulations on your Acceptance to Royal Canadian University! We look forward to welcoming you to our Engineering Program.”
Zack came back to himself. He stared at Sydney’s info, filled into the bank’s system. He gulped, his heart heavy with guilt. He would do things cleaner and better this time. Someone had to stop True North. Zack had just decided that it would be him.
Zack clicked on the ‘login’ button. Immediately, the screen changed and Zack was staring at the internal security system. He moved the cursor over to the security system settings and found the entire bank’s security cameras listed in a column. The computer program featured a sliding toggle switch for turning the recording on and off.
Zack turned all of the cameras to off.
He had five minutes.