Cyber-Thief Showdown (Geronimo Stilton #68) Read online

  office floor.

  I’m not sure how long I was out. I just

  knew that I did not want to wake up. I

  was dreaming about a green-eyed

  mouselet who was scolding me.

  “Bad, really bad, Stilton,” she was saying.

  Uh-oh . . .

  BANG!

  “Did you already forget the

  Golden

  Rules?”

  “I am sorry, miss, do I know you?” I asked.

  Before she could answer, a bucketful of

  cold water splashed on my snout and I

  woke up, sputtering.

  I opened my eyes and saw my sister, Thea,

  standing above me, holding a bucket in

  her paws. Next to her stood my

  dear little nephew Benjamin,

  who looked worried . . . very

  worried!

  SPLASH!

  “Uncle Ger, are you okay?” he

  asked.

  I slowly stood up and rubbed my eyes.

  “I must have fainted,” I replied. “I was

  dreaming about a mysterious mouselet

  with green eyes and red fur. I couldn’t

  explain it, but I had the feeling she was the

  only one who could help me!”

  Thea and Benjamin looked at each other

  in surprise. They squeaked at the same time:

  “But of course, we know exactly who you

  mean!”

  “You do?” I asked.

  Thea and Benjamin didn’t answer me.

  They just grabbed me by my sleeves and

  dragged me out of my office . . .

  “Where are we going?” I squeaked as they

  pulled me.

  Argh!

  Come on, Gerrykins!

  SHE’S MY ONLY

  HOPE!

  We hopped in Thea’s car and she took

  off toward the harbor.

  “Hey, slow down!” I squeaked. “Where

  are we rushing to?”

  Thea grinned.

  “We are driving to see

  someone! The only one who can help you!”

  “Can you please tell me who she

  is?” I pleaded.

  “You’re talking about the

  mysterious rodent in my dream, right?”

  “Come on, Uncle G, don’t you remember

  who she is?” Benjamin asked.

  “Cheese and crackers, just please tell

  me!” I begged.

  “She is Professor Margo Bitmouse, also

  known as Doc,” my nephew replied.

  Name: Margo Bitmouse

  Nickname: Doc

  Job: computer scientist

  How Geronimo Knows Her:

  She taught a class in Internet

  Safety at the Institute for

  Marine M.O.U.S.E.O.L.O.G.Y. and

  Geronimo took the class. She

  is also friends with his sister,

  Thea.

  Her specialty: virtual reality

  video games

  Her hobby: writing code

  Her dream: to defeat all

  hackers and cyber criminals

  “Bitmouse?” I repeated.

  Benjamin shook his head. “You totally

  forgot everything, Uncle G. That’s why you

  are in such big trouble!”

  By then we had arrived at New Mouse

  City Harbor. We stopped in front of a

  building that I recognized. A wooden

  sign hung over the door:

  Institute for Marine M.O.U.S.E.O.L.O.G.Y.

  Finally, I remembered! A few years before,

  I had attended a class on Internet safety

  there. It was taught by Margo Bitmouse,

  the foremost expert on Internet safety in

  all of Mouse Island. She was the GREEN-

  EYED mouse in my dream.

  Doc

  (as everyone calls her) teaches

  a popular Internet safety class geared

  toward technologically challenged, hopeless

  rodents . . . like me! But why were Thea and

  Benjamin bringing me to her? I couldn’t

  remember anything I learned in that

  class — maybe that was the problem!

  Thea pulled up in front of a ship, the

  Scrolling Surfer. “Doc has set up a new

  onboard school,” my sister explained.

  Thea spotted Doc on the deck and called

  out to her. “Hello, Doc! We need your help.

  It’s an emergency!”

  “Come on board!” she called back with a

  smile. “We’re about to ship out!”

  We climbed onto the ship, Doc raised the

  anchor, and the Scrolling Surfer took off

  from the harbor, as fast and smooth as a

  seagull . . .

  I was surprised to see my uncle Grayfur

  at the ship’s wheel. I waved and then Doc

  asked us to follow her to the meeting room,

  where we sat around an oval glass table.

  “Doc, I’m

  pleased to see you again,” I

  said, shaking her paw.

  “I am, too, Stilton,” she firmly replied. “But

  something tells me you probably forgot

  everything that I taught you, especially the

  ten Golden Rules! Right? Otherwise

  you would not be in trouble.”

  I blushed to the tips of my ears. She

  was right! But I didn’t want to admit it.

  “Hmm . . . well . . .” I mumbled. “It’s not

  that I completely forgot. I mean, I guess

  I forgot a little bit . . .”

  She arched her eyebrows and stared at me

  with her GREEN eyes. I couldn’t lie.

  “All right, I admit it,” I said.

  “I forgot

  everything, especially the ten Golden

  Rules! But, Doc, what do the rules have

  to do with what happened to me?”

  “That’s what we’re about to find out,

  Ha, ha!

  Look!

  1

  7

  8

  6

  KEY

  1. MEETING ROOM

  2. RESEARCH LAB

  3. COMPUTER CLASSROOM

  4. COMMUNICATION HUB

  5. GALLEY

  6. BEDROOMS

  7. BATHROOMS

  8. GYM

  10

  9. MAIN DECK

  10. COMMAND CENTER

  2

  11. SECRET ROOM!

  9

  4

  3

  5

  11

  Stilton,” she replied. Then she pointed to

  a picture with a golden frame hanging on

  the wall. It was a list of the ten Golden

  Rules of Internet safety.

  “Study them, Stilton,” she ordered,

  “and then I will quiz you!”

  THE RULES

  I got closer to the picture and read the

  ten Golden Rules, while my ears

  became redder and redder with

  embarrassment.

  It was true. I had totally forgotten

  everything. How could I not remember all

  of this important stuff!

  “Doc, I reviewed the rules,” I said, walking

  back to the table. “Can you help me figure

  out what’s happening?”

  “I told you I would quiz you, Stilton,”

  she said. “If you can recite all ten rules, I

  will help you.”

  I took a deep breath. I was so

  anxious that my whiskers were trembling.

  Then I perfectly recited the ten Golden

  Rules . . .

  10

  The Ten Golden Rules

  1. A
lways surf the web with the help of an adult!

  2. Make sure your laptop has a strong password!

  3. Never click on suspicious links!

  4. Do not mail photos and personal information

  to people you do not know!

  5. Tell your parents if you receive personal

  pictures from people you do not know!

  6. If someone sends you a message that makes

  you feel uncomfortable, tell an adult.

  7. If a stranger asks to meet with you, tell your

  parents!

  8. Some websites might ask for money — stay

  away from them!

  9. Use common sense when surfing the web!

  10. Do not post anything online that is hurtful to

  other people.

  “Very

  good, Stilton,” Doc said with a

  nod. “Now what can I do for you? What is

  the emergency your sister, Thea, was

  talking about?”

  Thea answered for me.

  “Doc, I think

  someone HACKED into all of my brother’s

  online accounts. He’s really gotten himself

  into trouble!” she said.

  I sighed.

  “Thea is right. Someone

  accessed my computer while I was online,

  copied my PHOTOS, edited them to make

  me look like I was behaving in rude ways,

  and mailed them to all the newspapers. And

  now no one will speak to me!”

  “Is that everything?” Doc asked.

  “No. Someone sent

  emails

  to my

  colleagues and friends, making fun of them

  and insulting them,” I told her.

  “I see,” Doc said.

  “And there’s more!” I went on.

  “Someone even inserted spelling

  and grammatical mistakes into the

  manuscript of my new book. And worst

  of all, someone used my credit card to

  purchase an enormouse amount of useless

  and expensive items. Now I am broke, and

  my banker tells me that I will have to sell

  The Rodent’s Gazette!”

  Waah!

  Don’t cry!

  I burst into tears.

  “I am ruined!” I wailed, and then I

  began sobbing uncontrollably.

  “Get ahold of yourself, Stilton,” Doc

  said firmly. “You’ll sink this ship with your

  tears!”

  Then she took out a box labeled

  “Extremely Desperate Cases” and handed

  me a soft tissue.

  “I know things look grim,

  Stilton, but keep your snout

  up,” she said. “This is a bad

  case, but I’ve seen worse. We’ll

  figure this out.”

  Doc’s words gave me confidence. I

  stopped crying. “Thanks, Doc. Just let me

  know what I need to do.”

  She smiled. “Much better Stilton,” she

  exclaimed. “Now hand me your laptop . . .”

  Hmm . . .

  I obeyed.

  “Follow me!” she

  said, and we all

  went to a small

  research lab next

  to the meeting

  room.

  Doc put my

  laptop on a table

  that looked like an

  operating table, with

  a bright light overhead. She pulled a mask

  over her snout, put on a pair of latex

  gloves, and then opened the laptop and

  began to EXAMINE it.

  She started typing on the keyboard. The

  screen lit up, and weird codes, numbers,

  and letters began to scroll really fast.

  Doc didn’t say anything. She kept on

  typing and mumbling to herself.

  “Hmm . . .”

  “What? What is going on?” I asked.

  “Hmm . . . hmm . . .”

  “What?”

  “Hmm . . . hmm . . . hmm . . .”

  “What what what?”

  “Hmmmmmmm . . .”

  After an hour of “hmm . . . hmm . . .

  hmm . . .” I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Please, Doc, have MERCY on me and tell

  me something. How bad is it?” I asked.

  “Hmm . . . hmm . . . hmm . . . It’s

  bad. I mean, it’s really bad. Actually, it’s

  extremely bad!”

  “Extremely bad?” I wailed. “What

  happened? Please tell me!” My whiskers

  began to tremble from anxiety.

  “What happened is that you did not

  The password!

  create a

  PASSWORD

  for your computer, Stilton! I

  knew you had forgotten the

  ten Golden Rules!” she replied.

  “So, someone accessed your

  laptop, stole your photos,

  edited them, and mailed them

  to the newspapers. Then they hacked

  into your email account and used your

  credit card. Basically, someone wants

  to destroy you, but you certainly made it

  easier for them, Stilton!”

  Benjamin’s eyes were wide open with

  worry. “Who could have done that?” he

  asked.

  Thea tenderly patted his head. “That’s

  exactly what we need to find out,

  Benjamin,” she said.

  “I think I know which rotten rodent is

  behind this,” Doc said. “It’s got to be Nick

  Nobody, the most notorious hacker on

  Mouse Island! There isn’t a single mainframe

  he hasn’t hacked into.”

  Benjamin jumped up. “I know him!” he

  squeaked. “I play a live online video game

  called Pirates of the Squeaky Seas! Nick

  Nobody is the best player of that game. He’s

  undefeated!”

  “Well done, Benjamin!” Doc exclaimed.

  “That is a GOOD CLUE that may lead us to

  him!”

  “Come,” she said, waving her paw. “We

  must go to my lab.”

  Name: nobody knows his real

  name!

  Who he is: nobody has ever

  seen him, but he is the most

  well-known hacker on Mouse

  Island.

  Nickname: he likes to be

  called Nick Nobody.

  Job: he is known to be the most terrifying

  cyber criminal.

  When he met Geronimo: to be honest,

  nobody knows if they even met at all.

  His passion: he is fascinated with all

  aspects of computers.

  His specialty: he is a master of online

  virtual reality video games.

  His longtime dream: he wants to finally

  break into the VSSMS (Very Secret

  Supersecret Mousely Service) computer

  system. Geronimo is a member of the Very

  Secret Supersecret Mousely Service and his

  code name is 00G.

  What he looks like: nobody has ever

  seen him.

  WHO’S AFRAID OF

  NICK NOBODY?

  The lab was full of quietly humming

  computers, and large screens as thin as

  slices of Swiss cheese hanging on walls like

  posters.

  “This is my secret research lab!” Doc

  proudly declared. “And these are the most

  powerful computers on Mouse Island! Here

  I store all the newest software and latest

  technology.”

  She lowered her voice. “Everything you
see

  here is CONFIDENTIAL. You must promise

  me that you will not tell anyone.”

  “We cross our whiskers!” the three of us

  promised.

  “Good!” Doc said. “Let’s get started.”

  I

  jumped up, ready to go. “Sure, let’s

  get busy! Let’s do this!” I cried. “So . . .

  what are we doing, exactly?”

  “Well, I have a plan in mind,” Doc said.

  “And a lot of it hinges on you, Stilton,

  although I’m not sure if that’s the best

  idea. You seem to be totally hopeless with

  computers.”

  “That is true,” I admitted.

  “But I’m afraid it’s the only way,” she said.

  “So here it is: you, Geronimo Stilton, will

  challenge Nick Nobody to his favorite

  game, Pirates of the Squeaky Seas!”

  “M-m-me?” I stammered. “Challenge Nick

  Nobody?”

  “That’s right,” Doc replied.

  I turned as pale as mozzarella. “B-b-

  but . . .”

  “While you keep him busy, I’ll try to

  figure out where on Mouse

  Island he connects to the

  Internet,” Doc said. “And then

  we will go and find him!”

  Ohhhh!

  Ouch!

  Huh?

  Sigh!

  “That could work!” Thea

  exclaimed.

  “It’s a good plan, except for

  one thing,” I said. “I am not

  good at video games! My paws

  can’t work the controller fast

  enough! I get a headache! I

  always forget the rules! I am

  totally hopeless!”

  Doc opened a cabinet and

  pulled out GOGGLES and

  some strange-looking gloves.

  “Don’t you worry, Stilton,”

  Doc said.

  “This high-tech

  equipment will give you the

  edge you need. This gear would make even

  the worst player look like an EXPERT!”

  Thea’s eyes were wide. “This stuff looks

  cool. What does it do?”

  Doc grinned. “This gear is designed to give

  the player the ultimate virtual reality

  experience!” she replied.

  “I’m not really sure what virtual reality

  is,” I admitted.