I thought of the contractor that had poured shitty tarmac on the roads. Tarmac that should never have been used. Careless greed had taken lives.
It wasn’t right.
People needed to pay.
I stopped chewing on my thumbnail, feeling a resolve settle in my chest. “There’s some destroying I’d like to do.”
Hannah let out a whoop and turned back to her computer. “Okay, Hannah. Welcome to Hacking 101.”
Because I was ready to watch them all burn…
—
“I was messing around with a few scripts last night. Simple coding. I thought it would be fun to use it—”
“Notnow,Kyle,” I barked.
My coworker looked crestfallen and I felt momentarily guilty. It wasn’t an emotion I liked to indulge in often. It irritated me.
“Sorry, I’ve just got a lot of stuff on my mind,” I said, trying for a smile.
Kyle brightened a little. “Yeah, that’s cool. But maybe at lunch?”
I nodded, blowing out a puff of air. “Yeah, lunch. I’ll help you program some stuff.”
I didn’t mind sharing knowledge. I just had to be careful what wisdom I imparted. He couldn’t know how deep down the rabbit hole I had fallen.
“Awesome. Thanks, Hannah!” he enthused, all but bouncing back to his cubicle.
I glanced around me; everyone was already into their day. Carl was reading the latest email from his ex-wife over and over again. She really was a bitch. I almost felt bad for the guy.
Almost.
I opened up a browser and went to the local paper’s website and read the latest article about the Ryan Law hack.
I felt an incredible elation when I saw my name.
Well, not my real name.
The other name.
Freedom Overdrive.
Authorities knew it was me. Which was good. I liked the attention I could get only from these questionable deeds. It felt good to see my alter ego plastered all over the news.
It was one hell of a power trip.
I spent the next thirty minutes scrolling through newsfeeds. Reading endless articles that stated the same facts over and over again.
Because of my bot attack last night, Ryan Law was now being investigated for myriad crimes dating back at least a decade. Those assholes were going down.
They wouldn’t be able to screw anyone else over.
And the revelations also opened the door for some serious compensation for their victims.
Including Charlotte.
I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face.
