Be Brave on Broadway

Chapter 5

"My calculations are never wrong", he said, stepping into the manhole and disappearing.

I laughed, not knowing if what he said was extremely smooth or just cringe-worthy.

I pulled out my phone, opening up our chat and sending him my number. Pulling my headphone from my purse I turned them on just as Donnie called me.

"There is something you need to know about me, Donnie. I don't respond to such challenges", I said, slipping my hands in my coat pockets.

"It wasn't a challenge but rather a statement", he said, barely sounding like he was out of breath as the sounds of air blowing past his microphone could be heard.

"I can belive that. You barely even tried to figure my system out and yet you've already sorted through the mess I made out of your computer", I said, walking back to the hotel via East Drive.

"You're way of going about getting information is interesting, rather inconvenient, but interesting nonetheless. Shutting off the fan and overloading the system simultaneously kills the hardware so they're incapacitated for while as well".

"I figured messing with the hardware would have a lasting effect on them", I said, approaching the Doric C. Freedman Plaza.

"Smart choice. Putting them out of commission long enough for you to install stronger security on their targeted victims system", he said, and I could hear the sound of gears whirring in the background.

"That is always the intention. Normally, I can almost immediately see what the other hacker is after, whether that be information, money or whatever. I can always tell where your going and what your looking for", I said, pressing the button at the crossing and waiting for the light to change at corner of 5th Avenue and the Grand Army Plaza.

The street was quite busy that Saturday evening as people were either bar or club hopping or just going out after pre-drinking at home, either way 5th Avenue was busy.

The light changed and myself and several others begun to cross the street quickly as the sounds of impatient taxi drivers and private owned cars could be heard sounding off their horns as they "needed" to be somewhere. As soon as my feet touched the pavement on the other side of the street the cars were moving again.

"A gut feeling or is it just your intuition?", Donnie said, a resounding beeping noise could be heard for a second before the sounds of a door shutting itself could be heard.

"Call it a gut feeling but I must say that it is in poor fashion to enter a lady's room without her there, Donatello. I could have all sorts of feminine paraphernalia laying around and you've just walked right into", I said, entering the hotel and walking across lobby to the front desk.

"I realized that now", he said and I tried not to laugh as I waited behind a couple of tourists checking in.

"Would you like anything for a late night snack? I'm going to order a couple of things at reception", I said as the clerk handed the couple their card keys.

"Pizza with chicken, mushrooms and green peppers with a side of fries, please".

"Of course, he wants pizza", I thought, stepping up to the desk.

The clerk gave the best smile she could muster for working the late shift. "Good evening, ma'am. How can I help you?"

"Hi. Is the kitchen still open?"

"Yes, ma'am. What would you like to order?", she asked as she placed a menu in front of me.

I hummed as I scanned it over. "OK, let's get an extra large chicken a la king pizza with a side of fries, the crumbed mushrooms starter, 2 slices of the chocolate cake and to drink..."