Levi's Secret

CHAPTER 25

Levi didn't quite know what was happening. One moment he was inside the coveted servers and then bam! the damn server just crashes and takes him down with it. Within the few seconds it took him to recover from the shock, his cheap secondhand laptop became messed up beyond repair. An unknown code started running on the screen and Levi lost the ability to control anything, let alone switch it off.

He tried to make some sense of the code that was multiplying on the black screen, but couldn't. He was only a passable hacker; he never claimed to be a great hacker. And the kind of code that had just taken over his only laptop could only be described as the work of an expert.

If Levi had to bet on it he would place his money on Walt Game's cyber security team.  Ah well, it was about time the old geezers picked up their socks anyway. After all it shouldn't be that easy to bust into a company's files.

Upon close inspection Levi found that any movement he made could easily be tracked by the unknown virus in his computer. Levi was in no way equipped to stop this. He had to wonder who wrote that lethal code, there was no way anyone ordinary could come up with something that complex. This was advanced hacking, a form that was in itself an art.

He had a pretty good idea who might have done it, and he had no desire to be found out.

***

"Zeroing in on the location." said Axky as he latched on to the signals from the affected device.

The red light beeped feverishly on a dumpster by Brookfield Park. To their astonishment, the red light started to move very fast.

"The attackers are locals." said Gavin in disbelief as he peered over Axky's shoulder to look at his  computer screen. The geographical location was less than an hour away from where they were.

"Yes, and they managed to get rid of the device too. The dump just got picked up by a truck and is headed for crushing in exactly fifteen minutes." said Axky furrowing his eyebrows. "Hold on, I need to make some calls."

He dialed a very long unsymmetrical number one at a time and waited for a couple of minutes.

Gavin licked his lips and paced around the tower. He chewed on a bland vegetable sandwich as he pieced together the facts in his head.

Walt Games seemed to be under attack all the time, and now for once, they were on the offensive. He found he liked the thrill.

Whoever it was, if it was indeed his ex wife, he would see to it that he made her life as miserable as possible. As far as he knew, she considered him a ruthless and horrible human being which he didn't deny that he was. She used to be afraid of him. That cowardly woman.

Yes he tended to be a little violent when he drunk, but he was a millionaire. None of the marks ever showed on her skin after she wore her ugly sweater anyway. She deserved what she got.

He eventually left her because he was bored of her. Sex was no longer fun when she simply cried all the time. He was already having affairs and frankly she was turning into a burden. The divorce was quick and he scared her enough to not ask for a penny. He left immediately after she signed the papers. It was only now that he wondered if she gave their child up for adoption. There was really no way she could have earned enough for the both of them.

As human nature permits, one always lives for themselves. It was highly possible that their child, a son, he recalled was rotting away in a juvenile prison somewhere. It only took so long before the foster care system caused a rebellion among the ill treated youth.

Axky got up just then, eyes glinting with determination. He looked at Gavin smiling creepily and cursed under his breath. Gavin had shared with him the information he demanded. But even though he had told him about his ex wife and deal forfeiting custody of his child fifteen years ago, something didn't feel quite right. He spoke of how gentle and supportive he always was of his family and how they never bothered to side with him. His ex wife was a vile woman who manipulated everyone around them and she would make a terrible mother. But Gavin had decided to let bygones be bygones and moved on with his life. He seemed honest enough when he described how people in this town didn't understand him, how his ambition was for the greater good and how the path was bound to create jealous enemies. Despite all of this Axky still couldn't bring himself to completely sympathize with the guy. He wished his own wife Paula was here, she could read people like a book!

"Shall we go after the truck?" asked Gavin silkily. Axky was surprised the high and mighty Walters even wanted to come with him. He liked to believe in the goodness of people and decided to give them the benefit of doubt. Maybe this Gavin guy wasn't so bad after all. Maybe Axky would have to apologize for raking mud over his carpet.

"Yes, my friend is stopping the truck on 3rd Street, we'll quickly find the electronic device and bring it back for investigation." said Axky.

"You want to search a dumpster?" asked Gavin in fascination. "How vomit inducing."

"If anything is vomit inducing it's your lettuce sandwich."  muttered Axky hurrying out the door before he said something else he would regret.

***

Vicky felt sick to the stomach as she pulled up Levi's records again. Should she search for information? Was it worth it?

No. She decided. She trusted Levi. If something was bothering him and he didn't have things under control he could ask for help. He was smart that way.

She wouldn't snoop on him. Not again, not when things were going so well.

Beep.

Levi : Hey Vicky, are your parents home tonight?

Vicky frowned. That was a weird question. It was past eleven p.m. at night, her mom was home, but her dad maybe not. He did say he had a meeting with the Walt Games owner.

Vicky : Mom is. Why?

There was a short pause after which she received a response.

Levi : Okay. Vicky can I call you now?

Vicky : Of course,

Vicky picked up on the first ring.

"Levi, I haven't heard from you in two days. Is everything alright?" she asked.

"Not really Vicky. Things are looking bad." he said sadly.  "There's something I have to tell you."

"W-what's wrong?" asked Vicky her stutter returning as uncertainty crept up.

"I care about you Vicky, but you and I, it's never going to work out." he said slowly.

Vicky was confused. What had she done wrong?

"Why why can't we work things out?" she asked trying to keep her voice form faltering. "Did I-I do something wrong?"

Levi sighed. "No Vicky," he said quietly. "You are lovely. perfect, the most wonderful girl I know. That is why you deserve someone nice, someone with integrity and someone who you won't be embarrassed to be with."

"What what are you saying Levi," said Vicky with difficulty. Her sobs were threatening to spill out. "I care about you so much, I want to be with you..."

"I'm sorry Vicky." he said firmly. "It's just the way it is. Goodbye Vicky. Take care."

He hung up leaving Vicky sitting paralyzed on the edge of her bed. Her heart hurt and she knew that there was nothing in the world, except perhaps time, that would help her get over the emptiness in her soul.

A/N: Sorry to end the chapter like this. I hate break ups, but this just had to be done.

Thanks for reading. Do let me know your thoughts. Why do you think Levi did what he did?

Lots of love,

Andy