Unhackable (Elliot Alderson/Mr. Robot)

Chap.14.V0!CES.dat

"Heartless" by The Fray
This chapter is dedicated to all the people reading this story -
Happy Reading!!
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I am officially the worlds worst person. What kind of bitch not only makes out with a guy who has a girlfriend, but also someone who's whacked out on drugs?
Me.


I didn't get far leaving the room. I was halfway to the parking lot before I stupidly realized I couldn't exactly leave. I came here with people.
Still, guilt was registering. Shayla maybe a dumbass who got herself wrapped up in Vera brother drama, but I could tell from our brief encounter she cares about Elliot. Now, I'm a bitch who made out with someone's boyfriend. I was already a bitch for enough reasons without adding that to the list!


"Tinker? What happened?"

Whipping around, I had no idea Romero and Mobley were back. They were armed with white plastic bags that looked to be filled with different varieties of chips, soda, and beer.
The last one stumped me. You're looking to pull off an illegal operation of breaking into a strong fortress like Steel Mountain, and yet you want to have drinks the night before?  I may have seriously underestimated the intelligence of these people.
The two men watch me curiously, and I realize my facial expression is a tad rattled after my encounter with Elliot.


"I just had to take a break," I mutter after realizing I hadn't answered for a near thirty seconds.


"Guess you learned junkies ain't that fun to deal with after all," Romero snorted in response, leading the way back to the room. Mobley spared me a small smile, holding up the bags of chips. "I've got four different kinds of Doritos," he says cheerily, as if that suddenly should make me see life differently from my current sad point of view.


It was the heavyset man's cheesy smile that actually got me to grin. "How could I say no to that..."



"That's the spirit!" Mobley says cheerily, motioning for me to follow along. Swiping my hair behind my ear, I suddenly feel butterflies over seeing Elliot again. Will he even remember the kisses?
He's quite strung out at the moment, but he seemed pretty adamant that he was talking to me specifically.


I slowly follow into the room behind Mobley, biting onto my inner cheek as I try to keep calm. What's worse; making out with a junkie who has a girlfriend, or enjoying making out with the junkie who's got a girlfriend?
What was frightening me as I watched Elliot silently shift in a heap on the bed, was realizing I was actually starting to like him...

"Tinker! Quit zoning out or Mobley's gonna take all the good flavors," Romero says crossly, throwing a bag of random chips at me.
He then settles himself in front of the TV, switching on some random station before flipping through channels with the remote.


I slowly open the bag of chips, settling myself cross legged on the floor. I couldn't remove my eyes from watching Elliot. I couldn't stop thinking about Romero's comment that Elliot didn't have family to call. Maybe that's why he's so antisocial. It solely stems from his own terrible loneliness.


"Mobe, you snore next to me I'm kicking your ass out to sleep in the car," Romero grunts. "She feels so bad for the junk head, she's sleepin' with him."

It was hearing Romero and Mobley talk about sleeping situations that I nearly gave myself whiplash swiveling my head so fast. I'm the only she they can be referring to.
 "Whoa whoa whoa, back it up - why do I have to share a bed with Elliot??"


Romero gave me a halfhearted shrug. "You're the one who feels sympathy for him."




I alternate glances from the spaced out Elliot and then back to Romero. "You've got to be kidding me-"

"Nope." Romero said, popping the p on the end of his response. He opens a beer, sipping as he sits back to watch TV. He's completely indifferent to my dismay.
Two text messages suddenly attack my phone.


UNKNOWN NUMBER
911-Where the hell are you, Nattie?!??!?!?!?!


Chloe's the only person who occasionally refers to me as Nattie. Sighing, I stand to walk out of the room. "I'll be right back."
There wasn't really a point in saying this. Mobley and Romero were too transfixed by whatever's currently on TV to pay attention to my words, while Elliot was still a space case.



I dial the last number I can remember Chloe had as I close the motel door behind me, making sure to walk down the hall so I'm not overheard.
"Tinker-Hell, where the fuck are you and why aren't you home celebrating that good news??" Chloe nearly yelps over the other line.
The only way she'd know I wasn't home if she was already at my apartment. "I'm busy on a project..." I offer, knowing this was the only real thing I could say about my working with Fsociety.



"Busy?! Too busy to celebrate with Nolan and I on phase one of fucking with Tyrell's life?!"

I smack my fist against my forehead, practically forgetting my little scheme against him that got him removed as the temporary CEO of Ecorp. I should be celebrating right now - instead, I'm in some God forsaken flee bag motel with two Dorito lovers and a junkie on withdrawal.
"Dammit," I reply quietly. "Something came up-"



"-Thalia," Chloe interrupts. "-You would tell me if something bad was going on, right? Nolan told me about the whole thing of someone hacking your grid and your fake accounts....What's going on?"



"Everything's fine." I lie smoothly, not really wanting to get into details about my blackmail right now. "I just lost track of time with a project I'm working on-"


"-Nolan also said you were worried that Raven hasn't given you any new assignments." Chloe fished, obviously somehow sensing I was being dishonest.


This peeved me. "So while you and Nolan were busy braiding each others hair and divulging my life, did he ever find any information about my hacker?" I bite back.
Closest friend or not, Chloe can be a pain in the ass when she tries.


"You're on speaker, Nat," Nolan's voice laughed loudly. "-And I'll  have you know I cut my locks a while ago...There's no more shoulder length hair to braid."



I snickered at his sarcasm.

"Ohh....by the way...." Chloe says, clearing her throat. "Any chance you know a pasty faced white guy in his late twenties who may want to kill you?"

I glance down at my phone half wondering if I heard right. How does she go from calling me asking why I'm not home to celebrate to that kind of question?
"You're going to have to give me more to go on." I reply in confusion.

"Scrawny git around 5'10. Ash blond hair, pimpled skin, gold chains, and a tattoo saying VT on his right shoulder?" Nolan offers over the line. "I hate to say it, but I feel pretty certain VT is not standing for Vermont." He jokes.


"-Anyway." Chloe says with a sigh. "Besides you not being home to celebrate, I was calling to ask if you knew about the asshole that was hiding in your apartment." She yawns, as if this is some type of natural discussion. "I'm going to guess that since he was trying to ambush me, he was thinking I was you."

"Um....You didn't think telling me someone was in my apartment was something you should've started off with at the beginning of this conversation?" I hiss, carefully making sure no one can overhear my response. Luckily, there's no on outside to hear me whisper.

"Well I was gonna.....But then I realized I was more curious as to why you weren't home to begin with, and I kinda forgot about the now-dead guy." Chloe replies coolly.



"Yes, because her not being home is far more curious than some guy waiting to ambush her." Nolan snorted, his sentence pungent with sarcasm.


My eyes widen as I realize I know who would want to kill me. There's only one person I've pissed off lately that's been having me followed. "Oh, fuck..."
Now I can remember that I know that tattoo. I've seen guys with it before. VT= Vera's Thugs.
"That bastard put a hit out on me." I near growl in a whisper.



"Ooooh,...You pissed someone off enough to want to put a hit out on you? Naughty girl," Chloe laughed in approval. "Well, could you start giving names? I don't have anything going on right now and I'm open to any extracurricular activities....Namely, taking out people who wanna take out my people."


".....You weren't fond of the chap, right?" Nolan asked. "Because he just a little bit dead, now..."

I couldn't say I was disappointed the guy was dead. Vera put a hate-rape on Shayla just because she pissed him off. What the hell was he going to do to me - the stranger - who pissed him off? If it's ever discovered I'm the woman who stabbed his brother to the balls I'm a truly a dead girl walking.
As Nolan continued talking about how the guy was taken out, I silently realized that was probably Chloe's handy work. Given his extreme wealth, Nolan wouldn't risk killing someone himself anymore. Nowadays, he just pays people to pull off his dirty work. Chloe enjoys being a part-time assassin a little too much. It wasn't the thrill of stealing that got her excited anymore, it was killing. I'd be concerned, but luckily her killing expertise solely revolves around pedophiles and rapists for the most part.
"I really wasn't," I yawn. "But watch out, that white douchebag had a Mexican guy helping him." I recall, remembering the two men who've been camped outside my building.



"Noted," Chloe replies, almost gleefully. "So.....what kind of shit have you been getting into, girl?"



"Pissing off Fernando Vera." I reply dryly. "He's a lower level organizer of the Vera organization."



"Ahh, the cartel who runs the lower and upper east side," Chloe sighs in understanding. "What the fuck, did you kick his puppy or something?"

No, I pissed him off using sarcasm apparently. That probably wouldn't be the best answer to give. "Something like that." I reply dryly.