HACK3D H34RT

0111

Everything was how it should be in the Hacker Space the next day. Sitara was watching the social media side of things. Josh was looking for information. Ray was doing his own thing. Wrench was breaking appliances and Marcus was running around in the sun.

However there was one important thing missing. There was a distinct absence of the curly haired hacker. There was also radio silence from her. Everytime they tried to call her it went straight to voicemail.

A frustrated sound came from Sitara's side of the room. She was glaring at her phone. Her head snapped to Josh.

"Josh, track Cassidy's phone and see where the last place it pinged off from." She told him. He noddrd and set to work.

"Got it." He said. "Want me to send it to Marcus?"

"Yes." She called Marcus up on the DedSec line. "Marcus. We're sending you the last location Cassidy's phone pinged off. See if you can find her."

She hung up and began to pace. Wrench looked up from the coffee maker he was currently taking apart.

An hour later Marcus came back to the Hacker Space. With both good and bad news.

"So I found her phone..." He said. Pulling the black device out. If you could still call it that. The screen was cracked in several different places, a huge chunk of it missing from the center. The device it's self looked like it had been run over with a moterbike.

"What happened?" Wrench asked carefully taking the smashed device from his best friends hand.

"Dunno..." Marcus responded taking his snapback off.

"And where's Cassidy?" Josh input walking over.

"Dunno that either."

Suddenly Marcus's phone began to ring, he pulled it out and read the text. He sat at the conference table and pulled out his computer.

He typed an IP address in and a black screen appeared before it was replaced with a laughing crying emoji.

It faded away to reveal Brent in a dark room, a play button over his face.

Everyone gathered around Marcus as he hit play.

"Hey FuckSec." He drawled. "That was pretty clever sending you're little newbie on a date with me to get Intel on me and my group. I saw your video and I wasn't impressed." He made a face. "So I sat and thought about ways I could get back at you.... until it hit me... why don't I kill one of your own?!"

He stepped away and lights flashed on. The room was dirty and the light seemed to shine on a blue tarp in the middle of the room.  The DedSec crew shared looks as the tarp came down.

On the floor was Cassidy, each of her wrists were tied and being suspended from the ceiling. Her right leg were bent at an awkward the other was stretched out to the side.

Her leggings were ripped at the knees and there was dried blood on the exposed skin, she grey jacket she'd been wearing was gone and her yellow ACDC shirt was covered in dirt and blood.

Brent proudly strode over the the young hacker and pulled her head up my her hair, roughly. She was barely conscious, her one eye was swollen shut and the other had a dead far away look in them. It look like they had punched her nose, there was dried blood on her face. Her hair was a tangled mess, more so than usual, her blood was mixed with dirt.
 
He had a sick grin on his face, like he was proud of what he was doing.

"And you're gonna watch as I slowly torture her to death... And dont even think about clicking that close button cause I'll know.... and if you do..." He paused and pulled out a silver pistol. "Her brains will be blown out."

Everyone but Josh watched in horror as he placed the gun aside and instead pulled out a pack of matches.

He lit one and extigued it. He then placed the still hot end on Cassidy's bare skin.

The girl came to life she screamed as loud as her hoarse voice would allow. She tried to pull away from the pain but Brent held her there.

"J-Josh....can you get a location?" Sitara asked in horror.

"Already got it. I sent it to Marcus's phone." He said still not Watching.

"I'm going too." Piped up the robotic voiced anarchist. Everyone turned to him and his mask was expressionless. In his hands was a sawed off shotgun. Marcus nodded and the two left the hackerspace. It was time to get their friend back.

~Time Skip~

Everything hurt... The pain was worse than my father could ever do. Not only had Brent put the matches on my arms but also on my collar bone.

He had beaten me while I was unconscious. My left eye was swollen shut there was dried blood on my face and my knees were cut open.

The pain from the matches filled after a while so he switched to something else...a shock collar.

He placed it around my neck and turned it to the highest setting and let loose.

After a minute he stopped my body collapsed. I thought my body had gone numb... until he did it again. Luckily it wasn't for very long.

The door burst open. One of his cronies. I was to tired to remember his name. All I wanted was sleep.

"Dude we got trouble." He said in a panicked voice that seemed far away.

"What kind of trouble?" Brent snapped.

"There was an explosion and two guys came in and started whaling on everyone. I just got away!"

"What did they look like?" Brent was distracted from me. My body was pulling me back into the world of consciousness.

"They both got masks. The ones got spikes and a LED display! It's awesom-"

"Wait what? Did you say an LED display?" Brent exclaimed. The cronie must have nodded because Brent began swearing vigorously.

Spikes and an LED mask... that sound familiar.

"Watch her. I'll go deal with this." He grumbled.

Brent stormed away and out of the room and the door slammed shut again.

Seconds passed. Seconds turned into minutes. And nothing had happened. Until the door banged open and a strange but familiar voice called.

"Alright you fucking coward. You messed with one of m- ours. Now you die." It said.

The cronie screamed but the scream was cut short by a thud and sickening crack.

My eyes slipped closed and I was too tired to be bothered to re open them.

"Cassidy.  Wake up. Come on stay with me. Say something." Wrench pleaded.

"...'m okay.... Wr...en.. Wrench... juss.... really ti.... ried...." I slurred still not opening my eyes.

"It's alright. We'll get you out of here. My arms were freed and my beaten and bruised form was gathered into his arms he must have taken off his sharp vest, that or my body had lost all feeling.

Wrench carried me out to a waiting black car. He got in the back seat and sat me on his lap.

"Hey....Wrench?" I mumbled as Marcus took off.

"Yeah?"

"Can I borrow your phone?"

"Yeah. Here." He passed it to me and I typed in the number I knew from heart.

"Hello?" Cata's confused British voice asked.

"'Ey Cata. It's Cassidy. Sorry for the lack of communication....I was kidnapped and held hostage.

Her end was silent. Until she finally processed what I had just said.

"LET ME AT HIM I'LL SHRED HIS FUCKING GUTS OPEN!" She screeches.  I pull the phone away and feel fatigue once again.

"Cata dear. I'm gonna hand you off to Wrench and he can explain more... I'm tired and in pain."

"Alright dearie get rest."  She purred.

I handed the device to Wrench and stretched carefully and fell asleep listening to the distant ranting of Cata.