Zox Biel was being held by the U.S. Marshals Service for the federal Witness Security Program, which planned provide him with a new home. Previously, he entered into deals with evil people. He had been in a lot of places at the wrong time as a glorified limo driver. As he waited in his big black Escalade, Zox didn’t know what exactly was going on behind the door, but common sense screamed run for the hills.
But nooooo, instead, when Brute Forester, his boss, would enter the back seat of the car, he’d always ask, “You okay?” And like a ditz, Zox would rattle off the famous line of Bridget Fonda in the movie Point of No Return: “I never did mind the little things.”
“Come on, Zoxxy,” he thinks. “There are questionable blood splatters on his shirt. Delusional party of one,” he asked himself? Interrupting his own thoughts again. So, who are the cops going to go for? THE DRI………VER!, he thought!
Sure enough, they got him. Seems some really terrible things were going on behind those doors. What Zox had on his side was that he was commanded by Brute to leave his cell phone at home when he worked and to buy a burner every day to engage the family. Obliviously, Zox asked why.
“Ain’t you got a daughter, or something mixed up in pirouettes? I like to keep my men soapy clean,” Brute said, rubbing his hands together.
“You mean ballet?” Zox answered back.
“Look, I keep my men clean.”
“Ok. Clean of what?” Zox replied.
Brute looked in his eyes. “Oh man. You really don’t know.” Then Brute puffed up his chest. “I’m in finance. That’s all you need to know. Let’s go.”
And so, ignorance is bliss, or is it?
As Zox sat on top of a rooftop garden of some Manhattan loft, he went over how he came to be 700 miles from his hometown, Louisville, Kentucky. Zox’s death had been faked, his funeral had been held, but Zox was having second thoughts now about never seeing his father again, going underground, and emerging as someone else for the rest of his natural-born life. Nothing was going to change that, but he was going to try. Thank God he didn’t have a daughter mixed up in pirouettes.
But when Zox was sitting in the conference area at headquarters when he noticed through a small office on the other side of the glass doors a Deputy U.S. Marshal playing the video footage from his funeral, and seeing his dad inconsolable was unbearable. He wanted out.
Zox saw a brand new tablet — from a boxed shipment that came in from eMazzanti Technologies — sitting open at the end of the table; in a pile that was obviously destined for the squad cars. He grabbed it and stuck it under his shirt.
His plan? To plug it in, then use Microsoft Cortana to give copilot verbal commands to message his dad. He knew from past experience that he might be able to sneak it in and use voice commands to schedule emails. When he realized how strict this private government facility was, and that it was next to impossible to set the tablet up without anyone noticing, he planned his escape.
Zox had been on the roof enough times to know that the building was built during the 1920s and 30s, the era of modernism, so the iron pipes running down the side of the building once were either an iconic feature of that era or were used as structural reinforcement. Whichever, it was his escape. He casually went up to the rooftop, dared to look over, ensuring that the pipes met the ground, and disappeared into the night. The U.S. Marshals lost touch and were not able to trace Zox’s whereabouts.
Let’s talk about the tablet that he took. eMazzanti Technologies puts agents on desktops, laptops, tablets, and other hardware for the following reasons:
- To automate routine tasks like software updates, backups, or security scans, eliminating the need for manual interference.
- To monitor system performance, network traffic, and application health, providing real-time data to help manage and troubleshoot issues before they escalate.
- To protect systems from threats like malware, unauthorized access, and data breaches by always scanning for vulnerabilities and enforcing security policies.
- These agents collect data on user behavior, system usage, and performance metrics. This information is valuable for making informed decisions, optimizing processes, and enhancing the user’s experience.
- They also allow eMazzanti to remotely access and control devices, providing support and maintenance without needing to be physically present.
- In addition, they ensure that systems comply with industry regulations and internal policies by enforcing rules and generating reports for audits.
So now that you understand why agents were added to these devices, you may already have guessed how Zox will be brought back into the custody of the U.S. Marshals. And let me make one thing clear: his safety was the bottom line.
Zox managed to lay low for 6 hours without a trace, before eMazzanti was called. The Marshals were sure that any devices shut down without power dependency, network connectivity, GPS and location services, or cached data. When they called eMazzanti and asked for an engineer, Sean answered, and luckily, he was the one who installed the agents. TSean said, “Well, I tried something new on your tablets since the head of your department said ‘get crazy.’ Get crazy is all I needed to hear. So, I attached a flat Samsara Non-powered asset tracker to the device. It’s noticeable but most thieves just think that it’s a hot spot.”
Sean hums off, “ahhhhhh…” before saying, “Nope, he knows that it was a tracker. He chucked it.” Sean sighed. Then with excitement, he shouts, “Wait, he’s powering up. I’m tracking him with the agent now. The address is 4333 Kipling. Let’s get going,” the Marshal squeals over his shoulder. “Thank you, Sean,” he shouts before he hangs up.
4333 Kipling
The U.S. Marshal walks up on Zox praying. “Zox. Zox,” he softly spoke, putting his hand on Zox’s shoulder. Zox turned.
“If you can find me, I’m dead. You guys are not better than Brute.”
“Oh, but we are. You could have stayed hidden had you not plugged in the tablet,” the Marshal said.
“I was testing cords. It was only for a minute,” Zox replied.
“Well, cached data, agents, whatever it was worked in our favor,” the Marshal said, sarcastically.
“My Dad,” Zox said, humiliated.
The Marshal felt sorry for him. Is that what this was about? “Your willingness to risk your life for him is noble, but it’s our job to determine if you, being a runner once, will be an issue in the future,” the Marshal explained.”
“Zox,” the Marshal pleads, “your father has been in on this from the beginning. Your psych evaluation proved that you would not be able to manage without him. Let’s go. Things are going to get better from here.”
As they were pulling into headquarters, Zox glanced out of the window and saw Brute standing on the corner, stamping out his cigarette with his foot and yelling on his phone. Zox tried to lay his head back as far as he could on the headrest.
“He can’t see you,” the Marshal smirked.
