Beneath the Surface (On Hold)

Chapter 24

"When did you learn how to hack?" Tyler asked me as I typed furiously on the laptop, trying to get past the next firewall.

"I was ten, it was summer, I was bored. You try things." I said with a shrug, not even looking up from the screen.

I was sitting cross-legged on my bed, the computer resting in my lap as Tyler sat down next to me.

"So, you taught yourself how to hack, and you just kept doing it?" He asked, trying to put the pieces together.

"Yup. Something wrong with that?" I asked, just about to break down the firewall I had been previously working on. They were definitely ready to protect anything and everything within these firewalls. That meant there was something good there.

"No. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. You just don't rub off as the nerdy hacker type to me." He said and I smirked.

"You sound just like Jacob." I said shaking my head.

After I said that, I felt like I had been punched in the gut. Jacob. Where was he? Was he alright? Nobody was telling me anything.

Tyler sensed my uneasiness and seemed to understand, "Don't worry, they're taking care of him. They explained things to him and I heard that he was taking it pretty well." He said quietly.

I nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you," I said quietly, "I just miss him."

"I know. Once we get this done, you can go back and you two can continue your blossoming romance." He said, his voice sounding extremely tense despite that fact that he was trying so hard to keep it normal. I couldn't leave this alone now that he started it.

"Hold on, what gives you that idea?" I asked as Tyler got off the bed, knowing that this was not the time to start having issues.

"It's just the way you talk about him, the way he looks at you, it's obvious. Anyone can see it. And there isn't anything wrong with that. It's not like we're really dating." He said with a shake of his head.

"I don't think of Jacob like that. At least, I thought that I did. But I don't. He's always going to be my best friend, but I don't think he'll ever be anything more than that." I said with a shake of my head.

Tyler looked at me with wide eyes, "Anyways, I'm going to finish, um, taking down the firewalls." I said, taking a deep breath and turning away.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring anything up." He said, attempting to make up for it.

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just get this done." I said, focusing on my computer screen.

He just sighed, running his hand through his hair as he let me continue hacking. After 20 minutes of going through firewall after firewall I finally got past the last one. The information that I found was pure gold.

"Tyler, you're gonna want to see this." I called out.

He made is way over to the bed, "Don't tell me you actually hacked into the program." He said, sitting down next to me to look at the screen.

"Even better," I said with a smiled as I pulled up what I had found onto the screen, "I hacked into a worker's email." I said

"No way." He said as I opened the latest one.

I read it out loud for him to hear, "'The virus works. It's been tested on someone who crossed me. The launch is in two weeks. Give the public a week to get them, then turn it on. The whole Facility has an order for them. My guess is to make something out of it. This will wipe them out and the girl will be mine. We must find out where they're hiding her. Report back in 24 hours. -Dmitri"'