American History 1988
Chapter 78 - 73: Joyfully Obtaining a Silver Bracelet

Chapter 78: Chapter 73: Joyfully Obtaining a Silver Bracelet

The courts in Ohio support the correct exercise of the public’s right to information access; they have the right to know what has happened in the state so as to assess whether these events will have an impact on their lives.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that the Youngstown Court made the DCAP inquiry portal publicly available, as well as legally authorizing multiple rental companies to access relevant information. All of this is within the bounds of the law, at least procedurally speaking, there are no issues.

The information provided by services such as Good Rent and Overcharge Rent is fundamentally the same, their data even comes from the same source.

But Good Rent was illegal because it did not obtain data from public channels, nor did it have the authorization of the Youngstown Court. Without permission, it hacked into the servers of confidential government units and downloaded a large quantity of classified documents.

Even though these data were permitted to be public, even though what it did was no different from Dean’s Overcharge Rent, this is procedural justice!

The outcome can be the same, it can even be unjust, but the process must be just!

Both Wedner and Judge Witt understood the essence of this. So when Dean threw out his conditions, Good Rent was already nailed to the defendant’s bench.

Of course, to turn the case into solid evidence in the shortest time possible, conclusive evidence and efficient cooperation from the government level were needed.

After coming out from Judge Witt’s office, Dean immediately made a call back to Cleveland. He needed to ask for a few more days off from school, as it became clear that a weekend was not enough to handle things in Youngstown.

Luckily, Dean’s transfer paperwork was almost ready, and his GPA had been maintained around 3.8. Whether or not he attended the remaining month of courses didn’t make much of a difference.

After sorting things out in Cleveland, Dean dove headfirst into the server room of the Youngstown Court. He needed another session of lying in wait, knowing the other party would certainly show up again.

Because as long as Good Rent’s operations were ongoing, they would surely return. After all, only the 5-6G capacity hard drive of the Youngstown Court was able to hold all the information, it was too expensive to buy, and civilian hard drives didn’t have such large capacities. Whether it was Dean’s Overcharge Rent or the suddenly emerged Good Rent, their operations had to connect to the servers of the Youngstown Court to export the complete data.

This time the vigil wasn’t just set by Dean but also involved FBI personnel on-site. To catch people in the act, of course, it’s best to expose the situation once and for all under the watchful eye of the police.

And this was the support from the government level that Judge Witt provided to Dean. Look, as long as the process is "just" enough, the efficiency of America’s law enforcement can also be astoundingly high.

...

"Kent, I’ve been feeling something isn’t quite right lately," Rubin said, making a restless call to Kent in the middle of the night since he couldn’t sleep.

"Rubin, don’t you ever look at the time before you call? You’d better have a good reason for this," replied Kent as he pressed the switch by his bed where the clock hands had not yet reached six.

"I’ve been feeling like someone is monitoring me every time I access the server of the Youngstown Court. It’s a very bad premonition, Kent. You have to trust a geek’s intuition," Rubin had this feeling the day before, and then wisely he lay low.

But he was undecided with the work not yet finished. So Rubin decided to call Kent to see if there was any news his way.

"Rubin," Kent flashed a reassuring look at his startled wife before continuing, "I’ve told you, there is no risk. Overcharge Rent has been in this business for several months now. If there were any problems, it’s they who should be worried. So now lie back down and rest well, then finish up the business before end of today. That’s what we should concern ourselves with."

"But Kent, could it be that Dean from Overcharge Rent is up to something?" Rubin felt the only ones who could unsettle him were the masters from his same hacker circle.

"Dean?" Kent paused, but then he chuckled, "Come On, he’s still in Cleveland, probably sleeping in some girl’s bed. He hasn’t returned since he left in January."

"I’m just a bit worried..." Rubin now wasn’t sure if he was being overly anxious.

"Alright, Rubin, I promise you. Today I’m going to preside over the property alliance meeting. I’ll inquire from that bitch Susie to see if Dean’s in Youngstown. If that kid’s back, he’d definitely visit her bedroom, trust me," Kent assured him.

Relieved, Rubin said, "Okay, Kent, I got it."

"Remember, complete all orders today. I don’t want to be surrounded by those stingy guys at the meeting and then have them buzzing in my ear with questions," Kent pressed.

"OK, you’ll get what you want before your meeting this afternoon," Rubin promised.

"Good! Now cherish the quiet before dawn," Kent finished, hanging up and turning over to continue his pleasant dreams.

Rubin didn’t sleep; as a geek, he was accustomed to a nocturnal lifestyle. And even though Kent had reassured him, Rubin still couldn’t shake off all his worries.

He glanced outside at the sky, nearing dawn; the streets were empty except for cars parked along the curb.

Never mind, better to finish searching the targets on the list early and then grant himself a few days’ rest. He needed a few days off, and perhaps Nevada’s Las Vegas would be a good choice; he wanted to try his luck there.

While fantasizing about showing his skills in Las Vegas, Rubin returned to the computer to continue the work he hadn’t finished earlier.

...

Drip, drip, drip, an irritating buzzer suddenly broke the silence in the quiet server room of the Youngstown Court.

"Shit! You’re finally here!" Dean, who had been dozing off on the table, jumped to his feet the instant the server’s indicator light flickered on.

"Hey~ Jack, we’ve got work to do!" Dean, already pounding away at the keyboard, didn’t forget to nudge Jack, who was also snoozing, an FBI agent.

He was young too, probably fresh out of the police academy. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be assigned to such a dull night shift.

"Dean, is the fish on the hook?" Jack tried to gather his energy, dragging his tired feet over to where Dean was.

"I think so," Dean’s fingers flew across the keyboard, this time he was not just monitoring, he was closing the net as well.

"Go get that bastard who’s disrupting my sleep! I can’t wait to give him a warm welcome." Jack placed all the blame of his late-night ordeals in the server room on this unsuspecting intruder.

"I’m on it!" The tapping of the keyboard was the only melody in the server room, as Dean didn’t miss a single bit of information on the screen.

"Aha, I’ve got you!" Finally, he pinpointed the target’s location, "Based on the IP address provided by Americanet, that guy is at 338 Ford Street in the west of the city. Jack, you guys can move out now!"

"Eagle! Eagle! This is Telescope, the target is at 338 Ford Street, less than 500 meters from you! Repeat! Eagle! Eagle!..." Jack didn’t waste a second, he grabbed the walkie-talkie and started relaying the message from here.

"Eagle received!" The walkie-talkie crackled with a response, accompanied by the shrill sound of sirens wailing.

...

On Ford Street, the moment Rubin’s computer screen went black, he knew something was seriously wrong.

"Shit!" With no time to pack up, Rubin rushed back to his bed, snatched his wallet, and prepared to run out of the house. All his worldly possessions were here; he needed to lay low for a while.

He knew his location was likely blown, so the sooner he got out, the better.

As for the business and Kent? To hell with them! Rubin didn’t know which law he might have violated specifically, but his gut told him he wouldn’t want to experience any of it.

So Rubin made a decisive choice, to leave right away was the best option.

However, before he could leave the room, the piercing sound of police sirens filled the street outside.

"Oh~F*ck!" Through the window, the flashing red and blue lights of the police cars were already flickering incessantly on Rubin’s face.

"Bang~!" With a loud noise, Rubin’s door was violently kicked open.

"Hands up! Get down!" The fully armed officers, with their guns aimed, instructed Rubin on what to do.

Rubin didn’t resist; he knew he was done for. If he dared to make any rash moves, his body would be riddled with bullets in less than ten seconds.

So he obediently raised his hands and got down. Only after confirming there were no weapons, did the officers swarm in, pinning Rubin to the floor.

Click, the shiny steel handcuffs were in place.

Seeing the situation was under control, the officers put down their guns and then issued the deafening Miranda warning.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney during your trial.

If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?"

"F*ck you!" Rubin scoffed at the insincere Miranda rights.

The officer smiled, tilted his head, and Rubin was then escorted into the police car. "Telescope, the suspect has been apprehended. We’re in his room now, collecting evidence."

"Telescope received!" Jack put down the walkie-talkie and, with a smile, spread his hands towards Dean, "All smooth~"

"Good job, Officer." Dean smiled and high-fived him.

Well then, Dean still needed to plug the security breach in DCAP and do another check for any other potential vulnerabilities.

Of course, the matter wasn’t finished yet, as they had only contained a small target. The real hand Dean wanted to chop off hadn’t been brought down yet.

Also, regarding overcharging rent, it was time some issues were resolved once and for all.

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