Authors: George McCartney
After being discharged from hospital, Jamie Boyd was recovering at home and faithfully checking
iCloud
several times a day, in the hope of tracking down his stolen iPhone. His persistence was rewarded two days later, when he checked at lunch-time and saw for the first time that his iPhone was actually switched on, with the location clearly indicated approximately four miles east of the city centre. He telephoned Annie immediately. 'It's me, Annie. I've just been checking on
iCloud
and I’ve got a hit for my iPhone. It’s actually switched on right now … in somewhere called Bogside Park, which appears to be next to the big Gargummock housing scheme. What should I do? Do I phone the police?'
'Where are you right now?'
'I'm still at home.'
'Honestly, I think it's a waste of time contacting the cops. But don't even think about going out there on your own, okay? Listen to me, Jamie, you're not long out of hospital, so I don't want you trying any heroics. Give me a minute, while I check exactly where this place is on Google maps. Right, I can pick you up in about fifteen minutes and it's probably another ten minutes from your house to get to the park, depending on the traffic.'
'That's way too long, Annie. How about if I phone for a taxi and meet you at the main entrance to the park?'
'Okay, that'll save time, although whoever has the phone might have turned it off and disappeared by the time we get there. But it's worth a try and it might be the only chance you’ll ever get.'
As Annie was parking her car near the entrance to Bogside Park, she saw Jamie arrive in a taxi. She waved and opened the passenger door for him to get in. 'Look, before we go rushing into something we can't handle, let's work out a plan. I've got my MacBook with me, so log on to
iCloud
again and check if your phone is still switched on.'
Annie fired up her laptop and Jamie announced excitedly, 'It's still on, there
look
… it's showing up right in the middle of the park, Annie. Okay, quick let's go.'
As they cautiously entered the park and looked around to get their bearings, they saw a lone figure a hundred yards away, kneeling down in the centre of a deserted football pitch. They headed towards a vandalised park bench, which had enough wooden slats left to allow them to sit down. Annie took a small pair of binoculars out of her bag and handed them to Jamie. 'Okay, check this guy out while he's looking the other way. Is that
him
?'
'There's a good chance it could be, Annie, since there's no one else around. I'll need to see him up close and hear his voice to be absolutely sure, but I think that's the same guy who mugged me.'
'What do you think he's doing over there?'
'It looks like he's working on some kind of model plane. No wait, I think it’s a little quadcopter drone. He either doesn't know what he's doing, or perhaps there's some kind of problem with it.'
'Is that horrible looking pit bull with him?'
'Could be, but it looks like it's wandered off in the direction of the children’s play area. Probably going for a shit,' said Jamie.
'Okay, I've got an idea. How about if you go over and start chatting to him. Obviously, if he recognises you, run like hell straight back towards me. But since he was completely pissed on the night he attacked you, I think there's a good chance he won't remember your face. But here … take this pepper spray with you and wear my Beanie hat pulled down, just in case. Oh, and slouch with your hands in your pockets, just like the locals.'
'But what do I say to him? I mean he's not going to apologise for beating me up and then just hand over my iPhone, is he?'
'We don't want any more violence. Just say hello and tell him you know a bit about drones, which is true, and ask if he needs a hand. I know it’s a long shot, but if you can somehow get the thing flying, send it over here and land it near me. I'll pick it up, quickly shoot back to the car and then drive off. He's absolutely guaranteed to come running after me, while you head off in the opposite direction with the controller. I'll drive round the block and pick you up at the West entrance to the park, which is just beyond those trees over there on the far side. It's got to be worth a try, okay?'
'Yeah, but then what, Annie? Even if it all works out just like you say, I still won't have my iPhone back.'
'Yes, but then we can set up
another
exchange,' said Annie with a sly smile. 'Only this time it'll be much more fun than the last one at the bus station. Because we'll be playing by
my
rules this time.'
Jamie took a deep breath and with a muttered, 'okay then, wish me luck.' He touched knuckles with Annie, got out of the car and wandered casually across the football pitch, where his nemesis, Fazzo, was bent over the drone, muttering and cursing to himself.
'Hi there, having problems?' said Jamie, casually.
Fazzo looked up and replied sullenly, 'yeah, I thought I had my drone set up ready to go and then the little fucker went and died on me.'
'That is so weird. I had exactly the same problem with mine when I first got it,' said Jamie. 'I could take a look at it for you, if you like. I always carry a little tool kit around with me for these kind of emergencies.'
'Sure, go ahead.'
Jamie's heart then skipped a beat when Fazzo quickly stood up and grabbed his arm. Peering suspiciously into Jamie’s face he growled, 'wait a minute, do I know you from somewhere, pal? Your coupon looks really familiar.'
'Don't think so,' said Jamie as casually as he could muster. Wiping the sweat from his palms, he knelt down on the grass and quickly removed a plastic cover from the underside of the drone. 'Okay, it looks like the problem is a loose lead just here, at the battery pack. I'm pretty sure that's why you lost power. I've got some Gorilla tape that should let me do a temporary fix.'
Jamie tore off a short length of adhesive tape, secured the loose lead at the battery terminal and replaced the plastic cover to the battery compartment. 'Okay, if you give me the controller, I'll check if it's working properly.'
Fazzo willingly handed over the drone controller, with attached iPhone, and Jamie pressed the power button on the controller. 'We've got a green light here, so it's looking good.'
'Okay, great,' said Fazzo impatiently. 'Now give me it back.'
'No wait … it's safer if I make sure the drone is properly paired with your controller and the iPhone. Then I'll get it flying and try a couple of fast turns, because that's the best way to test if everything's working properly. If we can do that and don't lose power again, then you’re good to go.'
Jamie completed the pre-flight checks, silently prayed that his repair had been successful and watched with delight as the little drone lifted from the ground, then banked and soared effortlessly up into the clear blue sky above the park.
'Ya fuckin' beauty,' yelled Fazzo, whooping with delight. 'Would ye look at that thing go. But keep it away from the pond for fuck's sake, will ye, or I'm a dead man.'
'Oh no,' said Jamie, fiddling with both of the thumb operated joysticks on the controller.
'What is it
now?
' said Fazzo, anxiously peering over Jamie’s shoulder.
'I don't believe it. I'm really sorry mate, it's gone and cut out again,' said Jamie, as he carefully landed the drone ten metres from Annie's bench. 'It could be one of the electric motors that's faulty and causing an emergency power shut down, or maybe the GPS isn't communicating properly with the controller.'
'Bastard!
I don't believe it,' wailed Fazzo, reasoning, rightly, that whatever the problem was, his father would blame him for it and the consequences would be dire. As he was making a revised calculation on his life expectancy prospects, his jaw dropped when he saw Annie get up from the bench and casually walk over to the drone. She lifted it, made a thumbs up gesture towards him and started walking briskly towards the park gate.
'Hey
you
… aye
you
, ya bastard.
Wait
, that's ma fuckin' drone you’ve picked up,' screamed Fazzo as he started running full pelt after Annie, shouting and swearing fit to burst. However, when he hurtled through the park gate and skidded to a halt on the pavement, desperately looking around for the female drone thief, he found the street was deserted.
As his brain struggled to compute what had just happened, his confusion was compounded further when he staggered back into the park, just in time to see Jamie disappearing from sight behind a clump of trees, carrying the drone controller and attached iPhone.
A broken man, Fazzo lurched towards the bench and sat down with his head between his knees, muttering, 'no drone, no controller, no phone … I don't believe it. I've been fuckin' stitched up good and proper. I might as well jump in front of a bus, because ma da will fuckin' kill me when I tell him what's just happened. Please God, let it be quick.'
Annie was waiting for Jamie at the West gate to Bogside Park. He jogged towards the car wearing a huge grin and jumped inside, where they celebrated together with a triumphant high five.
'Look what I've got,' said Annie, reaching into the back seat to retrieve the drone.
'And look what
I've
got,' said an even more delighted Jamie, holding up the drone controller with iPhone still attached.
'Oh come on, please. Don't tell me
that's
your phone?' said Annie in astonishment. 'But let me get out of here first, before you tell me all about it.'
As they drove off, Jamie said, 'I need to double check the home screen again … yes, this is definitely my phone. What a result, this is incredible.'
'I don't believe it,' squealed Annie. 'I was sure we'd have to try and arrange a swap for the drone to have any chance of getting it back.'
'I know, it's totally crazy. But on this type of drone, you can connect a smartphone to a clamp on the controller and actually see live point of view pictures, transmitted directly from the drone's camera. So you see exactly what the camera is recording in real time. For some unknown reason Fazzo was using my phone today for the first time. It was so lucky I checked
iCloud
.'
'Occasionally the good guys get to win one,' said Annie. 'So do you want to keep it? I mean the drone, as compensation for your injuries? Honestly, I think that would be fair.'
'I'm not sure about that, Annie. The drone is very cool, but honestly I'm just delighted to have my iPhone back, because I was starting to think I would never see it again. I suppose we could go round to Fazzo's house after dark and leave the drone lying outside his front door.'
'No way,' said Annie firmly. 'I'm not finished with that sneaky little shit yet. I didn't tell you about it before, but he phoned me while you were still in hospital, claiming he'd found your iPhone and offering to sell it back for a reward. Of course, it was a complete pack of lies. Anyway, we set up a meeting at Buchanan Street Bus Station to do the exchange.'
'So what happened?'
'Well I met up with him, as arranged, and I thought I had everything under control. I mean nothing can happen in broad daylight, in the middle of Glasgow, when you're surrounded by hundreds of other people, right? Wrong, big time. He took my last three hundred pounds, shoved me on my butt and ran off with your phone. It was all so easy for him, he probably pissed his pants laughing. The sneaky bastard, I still can't believe I let it happen.'
'But why on earth did you risk getting involved like that?'
‘I was really worried about you, when you were out of touch for three days. Your phone was switched off, so I knew you must be in some kind of trouble. Then when this creepy guy phoned me up out of the blue, I thought if I could just pay some money and get your phone back quickly, that would be a first step to finding out what was going on. You're my friend, Jamie, that's what friends do for each other.'
Jamie welled up at that point and tried to swallow a lump in his throat before replying. 'I don't know what to say, Annie. That was so kind of you to do that for me. But you should have told me all of this sooner. Look, I insist on paying back the three hundred you're out of pocket. Just find me a cash machine.'
'I might have a better idea,' said Annie with a thin smile. 'The boot's on the other foot now. We already know that Fazzo's pretty good at dishing out punishment, so now's our chance to find out how good he is at sucking it up. I managed to get hold of his mobile number yesterday, but he’s not answered it yet whenever I’ve tried phoning him. But now things have changed. Let's see if he’s ready to pick up and talk about a deal to get his precious drone back. But the difference is we'll be playing by
my
rules this time around.'