Saving Matthew Patrick

What the Hell's a White Hat?

Jason POV

"Mmmph. Wusgoinon?" Why did I sound like I was talking with my tongue turned back and shoved down my throat? I cleared my throat. "Guys? Wus hapnen?" Damn it. I cleared my throat again and took a swig of water from my glass. "Guys. I heard screams. What's happening?"

"Matthew's been kidnapped by some dude named Wraith and he plans to kill him. The bastard even told us to try finding them so that he can kill us, too."

"So what do we do?"

"Guys," Steph spoke. "You can go home. I'll try finding him, but you've been through enough. You don't need to die with me." She looked so fragile in her seat, but her voice had such resolve. Like she was ready to face whatever it was waiting for her at the end of all this.

"Stephanie, no. Can you just...just let Chris and I talk over this for a bit. We'll come up with a plan. One where none of us have to die." Where I'd get a plan like that, I didn't know, but I couldn't just let her go into something like this without some chance of not facing certain death. I'd think of something, I was sure of it.

"None of us except Matthew, you mean. We have a 16 hour period before he starts torturing my husband." She stared glaringly at the computer. "Make that fourteen hours, fifty minutes, and twenty seconds." The asshole even put a timer on this?

"No one's gonna die! I promise you!" Chris and I walked out of the room and started talking.

"Nice speech. Hope you've got a plan to back it up."

"I was hoping you'd have one." He chuckled, a sarcastic chuckle.

"Actually, as it happens, I might have someone. Let's just hope she doesn't have to actually physically be here to help us."

"She?"

"A white hat from the Dark Web. Rumors have it that she's one of the rare few that have seen the Marianas Web, but she's never confirmed it."

"White hat? Marianas Web? What nonsense are you saying right now?" I was legitimately confused with this. What did this person owning a white hat have to do with anything? 

"Also, how come you have to hope she doesn't need to physically be here? Where does she live, the North Pole?"

He laughed. "If she lived in the North Pole, she could get here and save Matthew before the deadline even got close to three hours. She lives on the other side of the world. If my math is correct, a plane from her location to here would take her at least 20 hours. Not even Evangeline could bend space and time."

"You said she's worth a shot, right? And from what you tell me, she's good?"

"Best of the best."

"How'd you meet her?"

"A friend of mine got caught up in some really shady business and got sucked into a red room, a lot like the one that Matthew's in right now. She got him out. Purely by chance, she was there, taking down that particular red room. I gave her a significant amount of BitCoin as a thank you and instead of using it for herself, she converted it to cash and paid for my friend's entire hospital bill. She said if I ever needed help again, I shouldn't hesitate to ask."

"Then contact her. I believe we require the best of the best if we want to beat this son of a bitch." 

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A/N: We're about to meet our OC! Are you excited? Fair warning though, this story will start containing some darker elements, namely the Dark Web and red rooms, and some mildly profane language. I'll try to cut back on the sweary words, though, I promise.

Question of the chapter: Do you prefer writing on the go (like when you're out and about or in a coffee shop or somewhere), or do you have a little nook in your house that you NEED to be in in order to write? My answer, same as yesterday, a little bit of both. Outside's where I draft nearly ALL my story ideas, but my little home nook is where I proofread and edit these ideas.

Next update's in 24-26 hours; until then I'll chat with you all in the comments and on Twitter (muddy_orbs). Bye!