But the fact that this person knows they have to connect the mainframe to the servers... that’s a tell, and it means that I can’t know just how good they are.
Sure, there’s a possibility they’re so good that they found this out after only getting a good look at our code for the few seconds before Carla stepped in, but I don’t think even I’m that good.
There aren’t many people better than me, maybe no one significantly better, but it means this person is someone—or works for someone—who knows a lot more than your run of the mill hacker.
Or any civilian . . .
Another thing to think about later.
“Take over,” I tell Carla, so she’ll keep putting up roadblocks for them when my tablet pings. My little bug has been working in the background, and when I look, I feel my mean smile growing on my face. “Gotcha,” I whisper.
“You got them?” Carla demands.
“No, but I know who they are, kinda.”
I grab my tablet and get to work on shutting him down for good. My bug is in, and it’s working through their pinging signal to find the originating IP, but in the meantime I put in a quick code to have a message pop onto their screen.
You’ll never get through me, and I’ll always be here.
I don’t sign it, there’s no need to give them any idea of who’s speaking to them. They could conclude it’s me, Eli, but I’ll never again tell anyone new that I’m Angelwings66.
They must’ve shut down their whole system because everything stops.
The triumph and vindication of the win dies down around twenty minutes later. While I talk it all through with Carla, have her get everything back up and make sure Gotcha didn’t make it into the servers—I already know they didn’t but it’s better to be safe than sorry—I let my bug do its thing and have to sigh in disappointment when it comes up with the final result.
They shut it down before I could get their location.
For fuck’s sake.
I’m thinking of ways to tighten up the firewall when I climb into the car and greet an exhausted-looking Austin.
“Thank you,” I tell him with meaning.
“That’s what I’m here for,” he says simply, and that’s when the drop comes.
Lex.
I look up and see it’s already freaking noon. God, that took so freaking long.
“Home?” Austin checks.
“Home,” I confirm, though I don’t know what’s waiting for me, and that, more than anything, is what finally has a permanent scar marking my heart.
I findLex eating alone at the kitchen counter. Sam is there, wiping down the burner range, but Lex isn’t talking to him. He’s just eating slowly with his face downturned and his shoulders low.
I want to go to him, hug him, but I can’t make my feet move.
Would he accept a hug from me?
God, this is pathetic.
“Lex.” I force his name up my throat.
He whirls around and for one blissful second there’s nothing but love in his eyes.
But then it’s gone.
Maybe notgonegone, but definitely overshadowed by . .. annoyance?
