Game Changer by Douglas E. Richards Read Free Book Online Page A

as possible. Not that
it would matter. Before too long they would find themselves at the center of a
scene straight out of a war movie, no matter where they took it.
    But regardless of any shell
games Quinn might play, any feints he might orchestrate, it wouldn’t be too
long before the trio of punks he had just left would be discovered and
interrogated. They wouldn’t be inclined to help authorities, no matter what,
but given the right threats or inducements they would describe what had
happened. Tell those hunting for Quinn that he had been after clothing and a train
ticket to Grand Central, from where countless numbers of trains departed hourly
for countless destinations.
    And those hunting for him would buy
it, at least for a while, being forced to run down blind alleys and broaden
their search parameters extensively.
    Quinn carefully made his way
three blocks to the other side of the train station, to a six story parking garage
called Trenton Park and Ride , as
though he had parked there and was making his way purposely toward his car. It
was getting late, but trains would still be departing for several hours to
come, so there were occasional cars both entering and leaving the structure.
    Quinn passed an SUV parked in an
area of the garage that offered a good view of most of two entire levels, and
crouched beside it so he couldn’t be readily seen. Five minutes later, after he
watched two cars park and their owners exit the facility, a third new entrant proved
to be the charm. A blue 2023 Ford Fusion. A young man in his late twenties had emerged,
yanking a heavy black suitcase from the trunk.
    Bingo . This man was what he wanted. Someone who would undoubtedly
be staying at his destination for an extended period of time, while his car
remained safely in the parking structure.
    Quinn reached into his pocket
and removed the device he had habitually carried while on duty but had never
used, a silver disk about the size and shape of an Oreo cookie. The device was
able to remotely intercept and clone signals from key fobs, now used in
virtually all cars to unlock doors and start engines.
    Quinn had activated his cloning device
while the Ford was being parked, and a quick glance at an indicator light revealed
that it had intercepted the data it needed.
    The Fusion’s owner began to
wheel his suitcase toward the elevator and was soon out of sight. Once he was
gone, Quinn quickly made his way to the Ford. Sure enough, his device worked
like a charm, unlocking the Ford and signaling the car to start when he pressed
on the ignition button.
    Perfect. He now had transportation.
With any luck, no one would know the car had been stolen for at least a few
days.
    He eyed the Ford’s eight-inch interactive
panel display and almost drooled. While he still didn’t have a phone, at least
he now had a way to surf the Web. He wouldn’t have guessed he would miss this
capability so profoundly, so quickly, but given he was on the run and in
constant need of good information, the Internet was a more critical resource
than ever before.
    With the help of the Web, he mapped
out a strategy in minutes. First, he would drive to Allentown, Pennsylvania,
seventy-five miles distant, stopping in King of Prussia along the way to rob a
television repair store he had identified there. Since the shop held mostly
used and broken televisions, he guessed it had minimal security, which he could
easily defeat. He would then take what he needed—four television remotes, a
nine-volt battery, some wire, a roll of duct tape, and a small knife—and be on
his way.
    Once on the outskirts of
Allentown he would search for a deserted but strategically located piece of
land on which to park, and then sleep in his car. The longer he remained at
large the more territory those after him would be forced to cover, resulting in
larger gaps in their net.
    He had been caught unprepared, with
no contingency plan—an unforgivable sin—but he was reasonably satisfied with