Hacked: The Dark Web

▪Chapter II▪

I texted my mum, informing her once again that I would be heading off to Hailee's house to study. I cannot tell her about what I do after school. I'm actually not allowed to, for her own safety.

I parked the car in an abandoned alley and pulled open the door to the abandoned building next to it. Inside, in the eyes of an ordinary person, was an empty old room with broken tables and broken chairs. But in the eyes of a member of the organisation, it was just a facade, hiding what really happens on these premises.

In the middle of the abandoned room was an elevator. I pressed the button and entered. The thing about this particular elevator is that it always went down. It never goes up as long as you are on the ground floor, no matter how many floors the building has. I stood in the middle, rigid and a stern expression on my face. Upon reaching my desired floor, deep underground, the elevator doors opened with a 'ding' and another world was revealed to me.

It has been no more than 6 months now since I have been seeing this place but every time the doors open it's like I'm seeing it for the first time.

Hexagon.

My safe haven. The place I can be me without being judged. The place I can feel at ease without feeling unwanted, which is the only emotion I've been feeling for the past 6 years of my life.

"Hey Basic," called out Lexi in her thick rimmed glasses and pink checkered skirt as I walked towards my desk.

"Hey yourself. So who are we hacking today?" I asked in pure enthusiasm.

"You don't waste any time do you?"

"I cannot waste something that I don't have. Still an undergraduate remember, I have assignments."

She laughed and returned to her desk which was opposite mine.

6 months ago, I was sitting in Starbucks, minding my own business and hacking into my old Instagram account, when a tall muscular man with broad shoulders and a stern look on his face came up to me with the most ridiculous proposal. He sat across from me and I gave him a puzzled look.

"You have talent kid, why waste it?" His voice was coarse and unrefined, his expression so blank that I could not even read him.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I questioned.

"No, but if you play your cards right, you and I might even work together."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm in charge of a secret organisation of hackers, Hexagon. We help people all over the city find justice in the event that the official police can't help them and we're looking for new recruits."

"What makes you think I'm interested?"

"Kid, you're sitting all alone in a coffee shop on a Friday evening. By the looks of it, you're a loner. You don't let people into your life easily because you don't want to get hurt. Hacking is your escape. Whenever you hack a computer you feel like you have all the power, you're in control and nobody can take it away from you. You can use that talent for a greater cause."

And that was all the persuasion I needed to accept Logan's offer. He was right, I never let myself get attached to a lot of people, not after my dad.

Now, I'm part of a group of hackers who help make the city a better place. I work closely with Ethan and Lexi, also two newbie hackers who joined around the same time I did.

"Alright guys, brief summary about our last mission. Big thanks to Jade for getting us that last minute information, saved us from having to deal with another bomb attack. The culprit was apprehended last night. Good job."

Even after solving a case, the stern look on Logan's face never faltered.

"New case," he called out waving around a brown folder. "This job requires a few of you to go undercover. Ricardo Céspedes and his group of drug dealers are moving in a new shipment tomorrow night at the Violet Pyramid Casino. Lexi and Ethan you will be posing as gamblers. Confirm if the sale is really happening and report back to us. Jade, you'll be staying here as over watch, they need someone who is quick with codes to hack into the security cameras and guide them through the casino. The rest of you will be posing as random people, making sure that Lexi and Ethan are not being followed. Clear?"

Our answers came in unison, all being that Logan's summary was crystal clear. New mission means large stack of paper work, which I could already see on Logan's desk through his glass enclosed office.

"Are you excited for tomorrow night?" Lexi was standing next to my desk with her folder clasped in her hands.

"You're the one that will be going into the field. I'll be sitting behind my computer doing what I do best."

She smiled at me and returned back to her seat. Since I had a few minutes left before I needed to head home I decided to hack into the school's electronic registry system and check the list of new transfer students. Fingers crossed, I might just find out the name of a certain teenage boy with deep green eyes who is so utterly mysterious that it makes my curiosity climb to its peak.