Syndicates //

i

I'm a hacker in a city full of crime. My only way of being successful was to be tough around the edges and take care of myself first. So, of course, I'm not going to sit around and be held hostage. I need to get out of here.

Law enforcement is a no. I really considered a witness protection program, but the syndicates are wealthy enough to make something like that vanish. It's a corrupt city. The other option would be to turn myself in and spend a decent set of years in prison.

In a sense, having this "Harry" is witness protection. If I can swear my allegiance to whoever he works for, maybe I can have freedom and work solely for them. I guess getting caught lost me the luxury of working for whoever I want and going dark at any time.

I wasted another day away, reclining on the sofa in the glow of the TV screen. He was gone all day, leaving me trapped in my apartment because he flipped the lock. I watched a couple movies, binged a few shows, took two naps. This absolutely sucks.

I woke up from the third nap, really at this point I just went to bed early, to the sound of my door unlocking. Still in a state of denial and fear, I jump up to see who emerges. I peer out into the hallway. It's just Harry.

I remain silent, sat on the couch with my only support being my blanket. He brings a bag of take-out over to the couch and eats over the coffee table, as far on the other end of the couch as he possibly could be.

"Can you not eat on the couch?" I ask him.

He keeps eating, but he picks up his box of food and drops it on the kitchen island, pulling out the barstool and silently returning to his meal.

I roll my eyes and decide to move to my room, shutting the door and especially locking it. Not long after, I hear a knock in the door. I ignore it, and it turns into a pounding.

I open the door, just a crack so he could only see me and not my whole room, although he already had this morning when he swept my room of technology. I raise my eyebrows, impatiently waiting for him to speak.

"Computer password," he shortly asks.

"I'm good," I sarcastically smile and try to shut the door. Instantly, his palm slams on the wooden door, bracing it open.

"I wasn't asking."

"I wasn't telling." I smirk.

A smile grows on his face and it makes me sick to my stomach. It almost turns into a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" I ask, my voice still raised.

"You're fiery," his green eyes light up. "I like it."

"Excuse me?"

He almost effortlessly pushes the door open, defeating the barrier between us. His stature over me is intimidating, and I'm sure he's in this close of a proximity to try to subconsciously convince me of some power he has over me. I think he forgets whose house he's in. "Let's talk for a bit."

"There's my hard drive," I point to my desk, "Take it and leave. Easy." I avoid having to deal with him anymore than I had to. Only a sliver of information is on that hard drive, but it should be enough to keep him content.

"Not that easy," he says as he creeps over to my desk and picks up the block. "I still have a lot of questions for you."

"Fine. Ask away then."

"Goodnight, Cipher," he always, taking the hard drive with him as he gently shuts the door.

"No," I scoff, chasing after him. "I will give you whatever information you want that isn't on that hard drive. I just want you out of my house."

"This is good," Harry says, flatly. He's lounged on the couch, setting up the drive to his computer. "I'll speak with you in the morning."