Honeypot (WAYHAUGHT)

Chapter 2 - Virgin

"Who ordered anchovies on my vegan pizza?"

Waverly knew who would have. She simply wanted to make a point, out loud, to the rest of the gang. Chrissy. Her supposed friend. The only other girl. Hence friend. More a rival. Chrissy wanted to be the best in their group. She couldn't. Waverly was. Her coding ability was better than anyone she knew. It riled her. Usually looks, or clothes, or boyfriend make other girls jealous. In this case, it was ability. Pure talent. Fucking typical.

She grabbed a slice of Robin's vegan margherita pizza, sitting back at her screen. The next mission afoot. By day Waverly worked for a major charity. Greenpeace. A movement defending the natural world from destruction. Their vision: a greener, healthier, more peaceful planet. She loved her job. She had been passionate about the environment since a young child. She knew exactly what she wanted to do when she finished her computer science course at university. Others headed for the bright lights of London, eager to make as much money as they possibly could before burning out. She wanted to do good.

Air pollution. Bees dying. Climate change. Dairy farming. Energy pollution. Fucking fracking. A whole alphabet of abuse. Perpetrated by the Big people, Big corporations, while the little people get trampled underfoot.

The youngest daughter, she was the 'good' one. The 'bad' one her older sister Wynonna. She wasn't bad as such, simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people. Rarely her fault. If she took responsibility for a fraction of the things she did, she would save herself and her family a lot of anguish. It may have been the reason Waverly chose her career path. To give her family something, someone to be proud of. Little did her family know, Waverly was in more trouble than Wynonna could ever possibly hope to achieve in one lifetime.

They met through Greenpeace. Waverly liked Champ. He was as passionate as her about computers, even more so about saving the planet from greedy men and women. He wanted to do more. Disrupt the status quo. Stick it to the man, or woman. He was part of a small underground network of hackers. Computer geeks who deliberately sabotaged the digital operations of big corporations. So called Robin Hoods of the Internet.

Activism by hacking. Hacktivism.

Waverly initially was sceptical. She knew she could use her coding skills for something more than maintaining the charity's databases. Becoming a hacktivist, going down this route went against who she wanted to be. The good girl. Make her family proud. Not like Wynonna. She struggled for weeks, knowing what Champ did was wrong, yet right. Doing good by doing bad. Could she stomach the duplicity? When Champ explained his last mission had successfully brought down a major child pornography ring, she finally accepted this was something she needed to sign on to. Saving the planet was important. Saving children grabbed her heart and wouldn't let go.

Waverly was at her desk in the office. Champ sat immediately opposite. She looked up.

"It's not bad, bad, right? I mean, we're doing this for the good of society."

"Absolutely. I wouldn't be doing it if it was only to cause chaos. We can use our skills to make this world a better place. I knew you would understand. Wait till you meet the gang."

"The gang. I thought we did this together. Like, you and me, in a bedroom. Or, am I thinking of something else?"

Champ grinned. "That's something else. Seriously, you'll like them. And, Chrissy needs another girl in the gang. She's getting too cocky for her own good."

"When do I meet this gang of yours?"

"Tomorrow night. At Robin's house. He has a basement. There's seven of us. You joining makes eight."

Waverly laughed. "I love it when you do math."

Champ rolled his eyes. He was looking forward to showing her what he had been doing with his fellow band of merry men and one woman. He hadn't mentioned them for fear of sounding too geeky. A gang of computer hackers in someone's basement, eating pizza, drinking beer.

So not cool.

Hactivism is invariably portrayed as shadowy due to its anonymity. Performed by fringe groups, outlying members of society. A lack of responsible parties held accountable for attacks. To look at Waverly you would never put her in the category of an outlier. She was beautiful, brunette, a body built for sport. It didn't seem to bother her men taking an interest. It did bother her if they were only after her body, not her mind. That's what set Champ apart. That's what attracted her to him. He talked to her as if she had brains, not just breasts. She loved the intellectual discussions they had. She liked clever. Clever was good in her books. It got you a second date.

Robin's house really did have a basement. Huge. Kitted out with enough computer equipment to do some serious damage. Robin's mum didn't mind his regular gatherings. She had no idea what they did. She was glad he had friends. She left them alone. She occasionally popped down to ask if anyone wanted a beer from the fridge. A show of hands meant her carrying a handful down on her next visit.

Waverly was impressed. She secretly knew she was a geek. She liked the company of other geeks. Usually male. Very few women. She was looking forward to meeting Chrissy. Chrissy wasn't looking forward to meeting Waverly. She had heard Champ singing her praises often enough to sense this new girl could be serious competition.

Champ introduced Waverly to the group. "Everyone, this is Waverly. My girlfriend. Waverly, that's Robin in the far corner, Pete with glasses, Joe baseball cap, Radin black hair and Ajay, sorry also black hair. Where's Chrissy?"

"Behind you."

Chrissy had arrived late. On purpose. Determined to make an entrance. Waverly turned. She smiled, sensing the tension between them. Chrissy scanned her, a look to say she was attracted, but also annoyed by her presence.

"I hear you're quite good at coding. Done any hacking?"

"Nope. Never. First time."

Chrissy rolled her eyes. "Great. We've got a virgin on our hands."