I had stared at the email wondering why Key West.

What did it mean to him?

It could mean so many different things.

I had found the chat room and relayed what I had discovered at Mason’s.

Toxicwrath was pleased with my results.

I wanted to feel proud of my success, but I couldn’t summon the emotion.

Toxicwrath and I concocted a plan that was a lot like playing tag. Only we planned to never get caught.

We’d feed Mason the information he thought he wanted.

Only it was wrong. So very, very wrong.

Now we were laying the groundwork for the biggest exploit I had ever attempted.

Toxicwrath gave me some background on Virtuant. He knew detailed information about the CEO, Douglas Howard. According to the media, he was one of the youngest CEOs in history, having risen within the organization very quickly, before finally being appointed to the top position at the age of twenty-nine.

From the hundreds of pictures on the Internet, I could tell that Douglas Howard was an attractive man with classic all-American good looks. He seemed more at home on a sailboat than in a boardroom. From all accounts he was well liked and extremely smart. He had made his name creating the groundbreaking app ParentSmartz, which gave paranoid helicopter parents the tools to track their child’s movements in real time with interactive monitoring. It opened the door for dozens of GPS-based applications that were meant to keep kids safe.

22:01 <T0x1cwrath> He’s bad news. It’s all an act.

Toxicwrath was very clear about this. I wanted details before I made the leap. I had laid the groundwork for the hashing attack. We were lucky that Virtuant used such an easy system to crack. Stealing the passwords wouldn’t be difficult. I had already engineered a dictionary attack and the salting would be ready to go any day.

I was testing the process in a sandbox Toxicwrath had set up. There would be no mistakes.

But I still had major issues with not knowing the particulars.

22:02 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> I can’t find anything that indicates he’s on the same level as our other targets.

Then Toxicwrath had sent me links to stories about hacking groups that stole technology and sold it on the black market. Another link gave me an article about a young techie whose app, which had just found several major corporate funders, was destroyed by an anonymous cracker.

Link after link detailed shady and nefarious behavior of hackers stealing and destroying people’s hard work. Hackers pilfering technology for personal gain.

22:11 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> I don’t understand. What does this have to do with Virtuant?

22:12 <T0x1cwrath> They’re all Douglas Howard.

I had been dumbfounded.

22:12 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> Douglas Howard is responsible for these attacks? Each one?

22:13 <T0x1cwrath> Yes.

22:14 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> How do you know this?

Then the hammer dropped. The truth I had been waiting for. What I needed to trust him.

22:15 <T0x1cwrath> I helped him.

I had been in total shock. This was very personal for Toxicwrath.

I needed just a little more.

22:15 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> You helped him? Then why do you want to take him down? Won’t that expose you too?

I had some hesitation. I wouldn’t attach myself to a project that would hang me out to dry. If Toxicwrath was on a possibly self-destructive vendetta, he’d have to do this one alone.

I couldn’t risk it.

I had Charlotte to think about.

22:16 <T0x1vwrath> There’s no way to tie us together. I’ve ensured that. Douglas needs to be stopped. We’re the ones to stop him. I can’t do this without you. You’re the best there is. You’re the only one who can do this.

Toxicwrath was using my ego to gain compliance. I knew exactly what game he was playing.

22:18 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> I’m taking steps to shield myself from this. I won’t be taken down if this goes badly.

22:20 <T0x1cwrath> I would expect no less. This is why you’re the queen.

The queen.

I liked that.

Knowing the truth about the Virtuant CEO made going forward with the hashing attack that much easier. I had my plans for vengeance; Toxicwrath had his. I could respect that.

And he needed me.

He couldn’t do it alone.

We both knew who did the heavy lifting in these attacks. I had made a name for myself by being meticulous. By planning things perfectly.

I was the queen….

Toxicwrath set up an untraceable bank account in the Cayman Islands. We’d use the hashing to get the passwords, but that wasn’t all. The hashing attack was just the tip of the iceberg. My partner was after more than a few million user passwords. He wanted top secret information Douglas Howard kept on a private server on the Virtuant mainframe.

We’d sell the passwords to contacts Toxicwrath had on the deep Web as an added bonus.

He said it was a new project Douglas had invested millions in creating.

It was apparently very important to my secretive partner.

23:03 <T0x1cwrath> It’s a nanny state project. Think the worst of Big Brother and times it by a thousand. It’s a program meant to keep eyes on everyone.

23:04 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> We should destroy it. A program like that is bad news. Especially for us.

23:05 <T0x1cwrath> I’ll take care of it. Douglas Howard won’t be watching anyone.

23:06 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> Was this your program? Is that how you know about it?

23:06 <T0x1cwrath> We need to get that program. It’s important.

I thought about the money. I had a brief moment where I thought about keeping it for myself.

It would solve so many problems.

Charlotte’s bills were mounting. My mother had taken a second job and I was supplementing as best I could.

It would be so easy to go down that path. Hacking for money. A little information here. Selling some passwords there.

I wouldn’t have to worry about Charlotte. About Mom. About paying my bills.

I could quit Holt IT. I wouldn’t have to look at Chuck Bennett’s smug face a day longer.

I could wear the black hat proudly.

But I couldn’t. That’s not why Freedom Overdrive existed. I wasn’t in it for the money. It was important to remember that.

Instead I gave Toxicwrath the name of the cancer research foundation that Mason donated to every month in honor of his dead brother.

00:15 <Freed0m0v3rdr1v3> Everything is ready on my end.