Hacking The Heart [Immortal Hearts #1] (#Wattys2016)

[3] - Landon's Promise

CNN; 4:30 PM:

"Today, the police have apprehended the Foxlain Prison escapee who had escaped from the prison two weeks ago. Joseph Morrin, a pedophile and serial killer, was originally sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the rape and murder of twelve children. He is believed to be the only one who successfully escaped, several men have been interrogated and confessed to aiding in Morrin's plan to escape." The woman spoke on scene from in front of the prison. "Com--"

"Sorry, Lacey, it appears we are h-h-hav-"

The screen went black for viewers of the CNN station nationwide. What entity was causing the channel to go off air so suddenly - rather, who was causing it? The black screen suddenly lit up, and what it showed appeared to be an empty kitchen, with cheap, laminate countertops and dull lighting. Then someone stepped in front of the screen.

Long, black bangs were swept across his forehead, thin-rimmed black glasses sat over his eyes. This man was average in height, and young, obviously still in his teens. Who was this teenager that had hacked into CNN? Well, it was none other than Landon - actually, M3Li55A may be more appropriate in this case.

"Hey, everyone?" Landon spoke awkwardly as he rubbed his neck. "My name is Landon Luxford, though you may know me better under the name Melissa. So, why am I here? Why am I aimless and complicated like hijacking a television feed? It's simple, actually. This girl I know, just last night she was arrested. The both of us have committed some very, very illegal crimes, and granted, maybe we should be in prison. However, she was wrongly arrested and wrongfully accused of stealing government files."

Landon stepped up to the laptop and pulled up a picture of Kaylee for everyone watching to see. The picture Landon used was from the day after their makeshift wedding, where they drove off to a beach. It was the first time going to a beach for Kaylee, and her smile in the picture spoke a thousand words in that regard.

"The girl in the picture is my wife, Kaylee." Landon used the mouse to move the picture to the right side of the screen. "Along with being my wife, she is also a hacker who goes by BlackRose, a name I'm sure a lot of you know as well. Last night, she was arrested for supposedly stealing important government files. Files that the government claimed to be a trap to reel her in, or so they said. What the government doesn't know is that I'm the one with the files now, and I'm really thinking about letting them out into the open, to let you people know about what kind scum the people in the government are. It's an even trade, right? Give me Kaylee back, and I won't release any information on The Sundown Project. That's all I want. Hell, we'll gladly leave the country if you'd like."

Landon bent over, picked up a box, and held it up in front of the screen before ripping it open. "However, if you people don't want to comply. I'll hunt every single one of you down and put a fucking bullet in your head until I find her." Landon then pulled a pistol out from the box, making sure that it was entirely visible to the viewers. "I think I'm being pretty clear here, aren't I? All I want is Kaylee, and a if I don't get her, I'll leave no traces of you corrupt scum. To the people who have her, you have an hour, otherwise I'll start our little game with the Governor's head, I promise you that...That's all."

Landon backed out and immediately shut down his laptop. This caused the actual CNN feed to come back up, however, the anchors themselves were speechless. What they had just witnessed was an outright threat to the American government. This, in turn, essentially made Landon a terrorist, an enemy of the United States.

Unknown Location; Around The Same Time:

"Is this guy insane?" one of the Caucasian men asked in between laughter.