Meet the Phisherman
I’d like to introduce you to the Phisherman. However, very few people know who he is. Known in many invitation-only chats as “Z,” he’s one of the world’s greatest black hat hackers.
Warning: Like a movie preview, this character introduction includes sections from the story that contain minor spoilers
After enduring a difficult and lonely childhood, Z now lives a carefree life, thanks to the large number of Bitcoin he’s made finding backdoors in the world’s most commonly used apps and then auctioning his easy-to-use web-kits in darknet auctions.As far as Z is concerned, he’s the Pied Piper of cyberspace.
The Internet is his instrument.
And just about anyone who ventures into his kingdom must be willing to pay the piper.
Only three people intimidate Z when they play in the cyber universe: his first mentor; the ghost known as koshmar; and the greatest black hat of all – Abaddon. Thankfully for Z, they’re all too astute to fall for his phishing ploys. Even if they might, two of them disappeared from Z’s world many years ago. And he’s never had contact with koshmar – not that he wants to, if the dark rumours are true.
Z’s loves are few – anything to do with tech, loud heavy metal music, breaking the rules, giving n00bs what they deserve, and anything to do with techZ jumped up and ran around the house, whooping with delight when he saw what the nefarious software did. He revelled in the moment’s perfection as Motörhead’s "Ace of Spades" blasted through the house.
After several crazed circuits of the living area, he settled back into the lounge. It was almost time to implement the final plan.
First, I need to savour this moment.
Slowly, he rolled an exceedingly generous cigarette. He knew he wasn’t supposed to smoke inside – it was one of the rules.
But everyone knows rules are meant to be broken.
By the time he struck the match and lit his celebratory cigar, his breathing had returned to normal. Inhaling the smoky aroma, Z closed his eyes, allowing his mind to dwell on the cruel cyclone he was about to unleash on his unknowing victim.
His thin lips curved in an evil smile as he released a gentle sigh of satisfaction.
Thankfully, no one could see the depraved movie playing in his mind.
As the final credits rolled, his dark eyes opened wide. After rubbing his hands with glee, he picked his laptop off the side table and opened it. Logging in, he slapped the keys with dramatic flair to a rhythm only he could hear.
It was from the song for the last act in his greatest masterpiece – “The Rise of Z.”
Growing up under a fault-finding father, Z found the only people who can understand him are the ones who gave him wings to fly into the realms of cyberspace – his cyber-brothers.Z first learned of the Internet’s power when he was fourteen after convincing his parents to send him to a high school with a specialist focus on technology. It was where he discovered his intuitive ability to work with what his pathetic father called “those bloody computer things that are trying to steal everyone’s jobs.”
More significantly, it was where he found a small group of people like him, although they were alike for differing reasons. He wouldn’t allow himself to get close to them – he didn’t want to let something slip about his home life that he would pay for later. Thus, Z never called them "friends" per se. However, he could communicate with them like no one else. That was because they spoke the same language: technology. And, best of all, they introduced him to the Internet.
The impressionable teenager was amazed at the things his new acquaintances told him, the programs they used, and the worlds they introduced him to. They opened his eyes to more than what he thought possible. The Internet gave him wings that enabled him to fly beyond his father’s reach and touch a universe he had not known existed until then.
And what a universe it was. Exploring the online world, Z discovered many services and places beyond the pathetic world of flesh and blood.
However, what amazed him most was the people he encountered. It didn’t take him long to realise he was not alone. There were others like him worldwide who could not or did not want to relate with physical people in the real world. He’d finally found some friends. Granted, he’d never meet them in the flesh or have a non-cyber conversation with them. However, he didn’t have to tiptoe around them either, fearful he might let something slip that would evoke his father’s wrath.
Z didn’t know their real names, nor did they know his, which made it all the better. Being unknown online was a great thing. Each of them could escape the natural confines of their real worlds and be whoever they wanted to be.
As for everyone else, they can all burn in hell, as far as Z’s concerned. And he’s happy to help them get there.Z climbed into the back seat of one of the many black and white cabs queued out the front and slammed the door shut. Delighted at escaping the airport’s maddening press of humanity, he emitted a grateful sigh as he settled his tired body into the worn yet comfortable cushioning.
“G’day, mate. And where are we off to today?” a raspy Australian accent asked as the burly cab driver sporting a casual short-sleeved shirt turned to face him. Z struggled not to cough at the pungent smell of cheap commercial nicotine blasting from the fifty-something’s thick lips.
“The city,” Z commanded with closed eyes. Besides the heavily video-monitored airport, the CBD was the only place Z could complete the few tasks he needed to achieve that late at night.
After driving for less than a minute, Z was perturbed to see the cabbie half-turn in his seat as he casually asked, “So, where ya from, mate? From ya accent, I’m guessing you’re a pommie come over to enjoy our bewdiful weather.”
Z wanted to make it clear that he was not interested in chatting. And it wasn’t because he hadn’t slept well on the long flights he’d undertaken – he was never up for chit-chat with nobodies. All he wanted to do was complete a few essential tasks in the city centre, then find his way to the hotel he’d booked for the night under a different name and get a few hours of solid sleep.
Accordingly, he replied as caustically as he could.
“That’s not really any of your business, is it … mate?”
He couldn’t believe it when the cabbie ignored him.
“Now I know you’re a pommie, with that sour-puss attitude. But, you’re in Sydney, mate, the best bloody city in the world. It’s a place of golden sunshine and sparkling blue water. You gotta enjoy it while you’re here. So, what brings you to bewdiful Sydney, mate? You ‘ere for business or pleasure?”
Z had heard enough. Leaning forward in his seat so his mouth was less than a foot from his annoying chauffeur, he hissed, “Listen, you stupid prat. You can either shut up or let me out here so I can find someone who will be grateful I’m paying them to drive me in silence.”
That time, he got the response he wanted, as the cabbie faced the front and said, “It’s alright, mate. There’s no need to get nasty.”
Z sat back, emitting a deep sigh of relief as his body relaxed into the seat. The glorious silence that invaded the cabin was so thick, it was tangible.
Z doesn’t trust anyone – that’s why he moves every year, vanishing in the witching hour. Although he’s invincible online, he’s an easy beat in the world of flesh-and-blood … unless you don’t see him waiting in the shadows.Z sensed that the phish was not far from discovering who the phisherman was in flesh and blood, though he didn’t know how that could happen. Only two had gotten close in the past. Thankfully, he’d seen both of them coming.
Z had used a modified swatting routine to deal with the first. When his nemesis came calling, the fool unwittingly stumbled into an old hideout Z had filled with incriminating evidence. The Met’s specialist firearms unit arrived two minutes later and was ecstatic to make such an easy arrest.
And Z had ensured the second would never bother him or anyone else again.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to set anything up for his latest phish who had proven to be a shark. He suspected the phish’s cyber ally had found Z’s secret exploit on the CIA agent’s computer. If so, it wouldn’t be long before Z’s greatest fear on two legs came for him.
And if the phish caught the phisherman, Z knew who would lose. He was concerned he would lie decomposing in an unmarked grave well before his intended time and date.
… though it’s what my phish does to me before ending my life that worries me.
Z rushed around the room, packing the few essentials he needed to start anew as Starset blasted "It Has Begun" in the background. He had no intention of informing his two housemates he was going. It was part of why he never let people get close to him; he always moved on.
Although Z hasn’t let anyone close since that unforgettable night with Nimrod, many have felt his personal wrath; that includes Americans, bullies, Anne Anyone, and n00bs who step into his universe – which is most people who dare go online. Mind you, there’s one group of people he hates with a passion beyond words.Z would never forget how Anne laughed and scorned him in a loud voice, ensuring everyone heard. It took only a few seconds for a crowd to gather as she clarified why no girls in the school would willingly go out with fourteen-year-old ‘Watson the whacker.’
He was glad he’d convinced his parents to send him to a new high school the following year. It had taken a lot of begging and pleading, but they’d sensed his desperation to escape that school. He couldn’t even remember its name, though that didn’t matter.
All that counted was that Anne Johnson paid for what she did.
It took Z several years to get the job done. However, after reading how his hacking mentor exacted revenge on his own father, Z made sure Anne reaped her just reward.
And it’s not only Anne who deserves it. They all do.
A sinister smirk cracked Z’s pursed lips as he relaxed back into his seat. If he could get the stolen software working, it would provide a means to deliver justice using more than mere online trolling and social media hacks. He could hurt the precious princesses in their physical world. What his mentor did to his plumber dad would seem trivial.
And I won’t have to settle with those who have personally affronted me.
Z could deliver justice to whoever deserved it. And he knew there were many such women who needed to feel his vengeance.
I know what they’re like inside. They’re all the same. I can tell from the stupid look on their plastic faces.
However, once he had the app working, those pretty, little faces would never be the same.
Guess who’s gonna be laughing then, bitches!
And there’s one woman in particular he can’t wait to destroy. Z calls her the Cyber Bitch – the British government’s top hacker hunter, Alison Simpson.It didn’t take long for Z’s custom app to notify him of the CIA agent’s whereabouts.
And when he saw his phish’s location, he fell out of his chair in shock.
What the hell is he doing in London?
Worse, the American was in Virginia, around thirty minutes away. And like every professional hacker in Britain, Z knew Virginia was the location of Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre.
And, worst of all, it’s where that cyber bitch works. Alison Simpson.
Over the last decade, Simpson had created a fearsome reputation in the cyber-universe. Z hated that she was a Brit, though he’d read rumours that she was from elsewhere. However, no one could find anything about her online besides harmless media releases. Her digital footprint was non-existent. It was like someone followed behind her and wiped every trace of her digital existence.
Z knew several black hats who’d tried to take her down. Unfortunately, all the ones he knew of were doing time at Her Majesty’s pleasure. His original black hat mentor didn’t even try – he simply disappeared when Simpson started rounding up too many infamous black hats in 2011. Even Abaddon had steered clear of her.
Neither Z nor his remaining cyber-lads knew how Simpson achieved the breaks she did, though they had their suspicions. When the Security Service received official clearance in 2018 to engage in illegal activities when pursuing criminals, several of Z’s cyber-circles were sure it was because of what she was already doing. She could not have busted the legends she had without having one foot in the dark side.
The problem is no one has any idea of the bitch’s identity in our underground world.
However, once Z gets the stolen software working, that won’t matter anymore.
No one in the digital universe will be safe.As you read the phisherman’s story, you’ll discover that he loves his heavy metal music. Many chapters in ‘The Phisherman’ include links to songs that you can play as you read to get you in the particular character’s mood, though not all songs reflect that character’s taste in music.
As an example, when the phisherman performs a daring hack while eating dinner in a fancy restaurant, the link will take you to the song the pianist is playing in the background as the hacker chews off more than he realizes. And, you’ll find that (as with most songs in ‘The Phisherman’) the song reflects what is happening in that moment of the story.
If you’d like to see Z’s songs, click on the playlist below …