Brooklyn, New York City, 2021
The group of teenagers reached the top of the staircase at the apartment building Jay had led them to. They had gotten out of the cabs and walked to this old-ish 6 story brick building. The hallway had 5 doors on each side, and was very narrow. Everyone had to walk in single-file to fit.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Amber asked.
"Absolutely," Jay said with authority. "I was just here a few days ago."
He stopped in front of the 3rd door on the right, in the center of the hallway. On the door was the number 404, and inside the 0 something small was carved in the wood: a pattern of four diamonds.
Jay reached into his shirt and pulled out an object on a string that was hung on his neck. It was a key, except it was made out of clear plastic. Vanessa could see wires running through it, and it had a square end that had circuits running underneath it. He inserted the key into the door handle, but he didn't turn the key. A blue light ran along the end of the key, like a scanner on a printer.
They heard a click, and Jay pulled the key out of the door.
"Is that..." Vanessa asked.
"A thumbprint scanner built into a key? Yes." Jay said as he opened the door.
"That's rather high tech," Gabby said as everyone began to file into the room.
"Well we don't want anyone breaking into here."
"Who's we? And where exactly are we?" Tyler asked.
Jay flicked a light switch and the room was illuminated. Server banks ran all along the brick wall on their left, and monitors across the right, all showing different news networks. Lights hung down from the tall ceiling, illuminating the room but also leaving it feeling rather dark at the same time. There was an opening on each side of the room leading into the other adjoining apartments, but otherwise the room was empty.
"This," Jay said as he turned around, arms stretched out, "is my hacker group. Or rather, the New York branch of it. This is how I always manage to have equipment and resources wherever I go. If we're gonna break into NyuTech, we're gonna need a lot of gear." He went into another room of the apartment, and they followed.
This room had a long closet along the one wall, and metal lockers along the other. A floor-to-ceiling mirror made up the wall facing where the door would be, and floor-to-ceiling windows on the side of the building. The windows and mirrors combined with the light colored wood floorboards made the room look like a dance studio.
Jay opened the first locker and pulled out a long leather jacket and dark green pants. "There's some clothes in here if anyone needs them."
Nobody took notice of this comment. They were all looking around the room, staring in amazement.
"How...how do you have money for all of this?" Gabby asked in amazement.
Jay opened his mouth to speak, then thought for a moment. "Probably best if you don't know. Plausible deniability."
Vanessa and Ty exchanged a look of concern and curiosity.
---
"Alright people."
Lance had called a meeting of the captains of most of New York's police precincts at One Police Plaza. Next to him was Kara, with a tablet connected to the screen behind them.
"We have an update on the fugitive known as HTH. He's back in New York. For those of you who don't know, he is currently wanted for the murder of Ronald Wrenworth, as well as other crimes across the country." Images Wrenworth and grainy images of HTH appeared onscreen, along with a rough sketch of HTH. "We believe that he has associates who are also in the city, 3 girls and a boy, all teenagers." 4 silhouettes appeared onscreen.
"Sergeant Lance? Do we know why...this HTH is back in New York?"
The question came from one of the captains in the audience.
Lance took a second to respond. "No, no we don't. We last sighted him at the Australian Consulate last night, and wadd'ya know, their computers appear to have been hacked last night."
Lance turned to the screen and pointed at one of the images of HTH. "What we do know is this: he's killed before, and he's not afraid to do it again. We need to bring him in, whatever it takes, to keep this city safe."
YOU ARE READING
HTH
Ação2 years ago, a tragic accident led a hacker known as HTH to leave his life behind. Now, he uses his extraordinary abilities for good as a vigilante hitman, targeting corruption and injustice. But when the ugly part of his past catches up to him, HTH...
