22:24 <T0x1cwrath> I know enough. Trust me, Agent Kohler is the one you want.

Mason Kohler was definitely the more difficult target. But that made it exciting. Cracking him would be the greater victory. I knew it. Toxicwrath knew it.

Though I was more than a little concerned about how much information my shadow partner had about the agents involved.

00:45 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> Are you an agent? Is this some form of entrapment?

I had to ask it. I was beginning to wonder if I was being set up. I was careful. I had to be.

00:45 <T0x1cwrath> No.

Did I believe Toxicwrath?

Yes.

Deep down I did.

And my instincts had never proven wrong. My survival had depended on it.

But…

00:45 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> Prove it.

There was nothing.

Then…

00:49 <T0x1cwrath> Check your email.

I opened a five-gigabyte file full of information that could be obtained only by illegal means. Toxicwrath had put himself on the line by sending this to me. He had just incriminated himself. I could easily use this against him. Tear him down with one click of the mouse.

He was putting his freedom in my hands. That was a lot of power to give someone you didn’t know.

I didn’t ask him again if he was an agent.

—

It didn’t matter anyway. Because my focus was on Mason. On getting to know him.

Getting close.

And I had been there, in his apartment. I had seen the case file. I was making headway.

Toxicwrath was right. Hands on was the best way to save myself.

But it was slow going and I was starting to worry that I wouldn’t get close enough soon enough.

This attempted hack into my email and desktop made me paranoid. And I didn’t like feeling that way.

I started to look into the network breach, searching for the source. Whoever it was had a decent knowledge of what they were doing. They were randomizing their IP address.

They played around in our system but their target was obvious.

Me.

After a few minutes I became frustrated.

This was a careful and systematic prod. Searching for cracks in my security. If I had been anyone else, I wouldn’t have noticed it. But I had, and now I knew that I was being targeted.

But by whom?

—

“There’s a major vibe going on today. What’s up?” Kyle asked, joining me on a bench outside in the small enclosed courtyard. I had my typical lunch of a chicken salad sandwich and salad out on the table in front of me, but I hadn’t touched it. I had lost my appetite.

I glanced up as Kyle sat down beside me. He unloaded a bag of potato chips, chocolate pudding, and a bottle of Yoo-hoo. The man ate like he was ten.

“What do you mean there’s a vibe?” I picked up my sandwich and took a bite. It tasted like cardboard in my mouth. I forced myself to swallow.

Kyle snorted. “Don’t play stupid, Hannah. Todd and his goons are running around with giant sticks up their asses. And Chuck is standing in his office with an I’m-gonna-fuck-someone-up look on his face.” His expression became sort of panicked. “Is this because of the poop blast?”

I patted my friend’s back reassuringly. “No, this has nothing to do with that.”

Kyle let out a breath and opened his bag of chips, offering me some. I shook my head, indicating my uneaten sandwich.

“So what is it, then? Come on, spill the beans,” Kyle goaded. He wiped his greasy hands on his pants, leaving stains on his thighs.

I poked at the wilted greens in my Tupperware container. “There was a compromise to our security systems early this morning.”

Kyle’s eyes widened. “Really? What kind of compromise?”

“The hacking kind,” I responded vaguely.

Kyle whistled through his teeth. “Do you know who it was? What did they do? What kind of hack was it? A DDoS? A smurf? Maybe a little salting?” He fired the questions rapidly and too loudly.

“Shh, will ya?” I snapped, glancing around the crowded courtyard. “Stop throwing around buzzwords that you don’t even understand.”

Kyle didn’t become deflated by my jab like he normally would have. He was too excited by the prospect of Holt IT being hacked.

“So what was it exactly? Come on, tell me!”

I sighed. “It wasn’t an attack really,” I found myself saying.

“What then? Don’t leave me in suspense.” Kyle stuffed a handful of chips in his mouth, crumbs flying everywhere.

“Whoever it is isn’t stealing data. They aren’t trying to crash our system. They’re just…there.”

Kyle frowned. “They’re just there? What do you mean?”

“Like I said, the hacker didn’t really do anything except read a few emails.”

I wouldn’t tell him exactly whose emails were being read. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do about it.

“Like a stalker,” Kyle said with a chuckle. I tried to smile, having a hard time finding the humor in the situation.

“Yeah, like a stalker.”

“They must be looking for something. Come on, Super IT Girl, you can figure out what they want.” Kyle nudged me affectionately with his bony shoulder.

“Well, I’m looking into it.”

“Chuck must be ready to have a coronary. It won’t look good to the board if an IT security company gets breached.” Kyle cackled in delight. “I bet he’s going to get in so much trouble.”

“None of us are too happy about it.”

“Keep me posted. I’ll want to know all the dirt.” Kyle nudged me again and I tried to smile, but it was stiff and didn’t quite come off.

“Is that what’s bothering you? Because I thought anything that makes Chuck look bad would put a giant grin on that pretty face of yours.” Kyle poked my cheek with his finger and I swatted his hand away.

“It just means extra work. Not my favorite thing in the world.”

Kyle looked a little crestfallen. “But if Chuck looks bad—”

“Then it’s pretty awesome,” I admitted.

“So maybe our little hacker is really a caped crusader come to take Chuck down!” Kyle fist-pumped the air.

“Keep your voice down,” I scolded. “And yeah, if that’s all he’s after, then more power to him.”

As if on cue, Chuck walked through the courtyard, Todd and a few other IT minions on his heels. He looked pissed off, with a tinge of worry. Todd appeared flustered, his fleshy cheeks bright red as he tried to keep up with our boss. I had to admit the whole thing had a certain ring of delayed justice. Maybe, finally, Chuck would get the bitter taste of karma.