Fool Me Twice

The Truth

November 2018 

"I have been here for only the past seven months and I think I have done a good job." Dan said looking at their old loft that had been left abandoned for over three years ever since Rufus moved to Colorado to spend his 'retirement' among the mountains. 

Eric Van der Woodsen scoffed and didn't take his eyes off the laptop. He was sitting at the dining table with a frown, furiously typing away. Dan had cleaned up only his bedroom, the rest of the house was in shambles. 

"I saw a couple of cobwebs when I came in." Eric muttered. 

Dan swirled around to check the ceiling. He hated spiders. He vowed he would clean the house the next weekend, since this one had been reserved for detective chores. 

He really liked being back in New York. LA was a different city with a radically shocking culture. He had never felt at home there. It had always felt like he had left something behind in New York and his time was running out to recollect it. 

When his marriage had ended, he hadn't thought twice about moving back. It had felt like an obvious solution. 

"Any luck?" he asked Eric. 

Eric looked up with a disbelieving arch to his eyebrows. 

"Any luck hacking into The Spectator server? Oh I don't know since I started only half an hour ago and it's a sophisticated firewall with top-notch data security measures, NO!" 

Dan chuckled. "Hey! I have no idea what half of that meant, but have I told you how much I appreciate that you've taken Cyber Security as your major?" 

Eric rolled his eyes and went back to his work. 

The only help Dan could do was check periodically and keep Eric fed. It wasn't so difficult. He wished he could help more, but until they knew more their hands were tied. Things would have been different if Nate had agreed to cooperate, but despite multiple mails and phone calls and an ill-fated visit, the man had proven relentless.

"What's our plan after this?" Eric asked offhandedly. 

"What do you mean?" 

"What do you plan to do after we get the details we want?" 

To be frank, Dan had no clue. He just knew this information would help them but help them how specifically? he found that difficult to answer. 

"Listen, I know you have taken this on like a mission and all, but you need to know no one blames you." Eric said

"Nate does." 

"No one except Nate." 

"Nate is enough. I need to make this right for him." 

"Even Nate knows why you did what you did five years ago man. He may be angry, but he isn't blind to it." 

"He's never going to forgive me and my only hope is he will once I make it all right for him."  

"How about what you did to yourself! Half your friends are scared of you because they think you'll just anonymously blog about them if they piss you off." 

"Which I did do." Dan said abashedly 

"Inside Out?" Eric laughed 

"It's not funny. I honestly don't know what I was thinking." 

"You were scorned and heart broken. It's been reason for far worse." 

"I don't know why you're so forgiving." Dan said confused.