Chapter 09
“You want to what?!” Oliver blurts out.
“Shh!”
Looking around at the bar’s patrons, I make sure no one’s paying attention. Out of precaution, we left our phones in our respective cars. The place is loud enough to mask whatever we’re saying, but one can never be too cautious.
“I want to do a huge hit. A massive fucking hit in Nammota’s name.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Think about it. If I manage, they’ll have to let Lex go. And if they don’t, his defense has an inarguable proof that they have the wrong guy, since Nammota was active while Lex was in jail.”
He doesn’t answer, dumbfounded. “But you don’t know how to hack. At all.”
“I mean, I worked in cybersecurity before Kelex. I know some things, theoretically.”
“It’s not the same.”
“I know that, and I never said it would be easy. But I have access to Lex’s Nammota computer,” I confess.
“You do?”
“Yeah, I didn’t have the heart to destroy it. There’s a whole protocol in place in case the feds get near it. So I have it all. I won’t start from nothing. I have all his past works, scripts, programs … I’ll learn from the best of the best.”
Oli considers this new information for a moment, his brows twitching as he does. It’s crazy. I know it. But it’s the only sure thing, my only guarantee he’ll get out. I owe it to him. I have to get him out of the mess I put him in.
“I have four months. But I want to do it quicker. As quickly as possible, really.”
“Four months isn’t enough as it is, Andy. Not if you have to learn new skills. Not if you have to come to work and not raise suspicions.”
I grimace. I’ve thought about this during the ride between Sheridan and here.
I can’t do it all, no. Like he said, even four months is stretching it.
I’d need to work on it eighteen hours a day.
Not just to pull off the heist but also to reach Lex’s flawless execution.
Nothing can tie the hit back to me, or him, or anyone.
“That’s why I need your help,” I tell Oli. “I need you to teach me a few things, so I don’t waste too much time figuring it out by myself. I’ll do the rest, but I can’t do it all so fast.”
“What about work?”
“I’m close to a burnout as it is, so I don’t think it’d be too hard to get a mental health leave. Plus, we work for Lex’s best friend, so I’m sure Kev would support it.”
Oli takes a sip of his beer and sets it down, pensive.
“I know I’m asking you a lot, Oli, so I’ll understand if you turn me down. I don’t expect you to blindly follow me into this insane enterprise. All I need is a few lessons, hacking 101, you know?”
“Would you be open to more than that?” he asks.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’ll teach you the basics, yes, that’s a given. But are you okay if I help beyond that?”
“Oh … I—It could be dangerous. I don’t want to risk anyone’s freedom but my own. I know you admire and respect Lex, but you don’t owe him that much.”
“Are you kidding me? Becoming Nammota has been my literal dream for years. And you’re offering me the perfect opportunity to do it.”
I can tell he’s overselling it, making it sound like I’d do him a favor so it’s easier to accept. “How about you teach me the basics, I’ll get things started, and if I need help, I’ll let you know?” I negotiate.
“I can work with that,” he agrees, picking up his glass again. “When do we start?”
“Are you free tomorrow?”
“I was supposed to see someone, but I can cancel.”
“Your girlfriend?” I ask, nosy.
“Yes. But she’ll understand. Where are we meeting?”
“Lex’s place. I think I’ll move there so I can have constant access to his computer.”
“What about Tamika?”
“We rarely see one another, anyway. She’s seeing some guy and is barely home. I’m sure she won’t miss me.”
“Oh, okay … So, tomorrow, Lex’s place, and I’ll get to go over Nammota’s work.”
He sounds almost bewildered, so I ask, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, you—you have no idea how honored I am for this opportunity.”
“Fangirling, much?”
“Of course. I started hacking because of Nammota, so it feels like destiny. I’ve wanted to repay him for years, and now I just might.”
Offering him a kind smile, I say, “Starting tomorrow, you’ll get your chance to.”
He takes another sip of beer, shaking his head incredulously.
I didn’t expect Oli to help that much, but I’ll take whatever I can get. This is a race against time, and the clock is ticking.
“This place is neat,” Oli says after an appreciative whistle.
I close the door behind us and turn the lock.
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice.” I let go of my duffel bag, dropping it on the floor.
As I suspected, Tammy didn’t mind my living here for a while.
I told her I needed this to feel closer to Lex, and she understood.
So, after a tight hug, I left our apartment, jumped into my car, and picked up Oli to come here.
“Good morning, Andrea,” Iris greets.
“Who is that?” Oli wonders, looking around.
“Lex’s home AI. Hey, Iris! This is Oliver, a friend of mine.”
“Welcome, Oliver. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise,” he responds before looking at me. “This is sick,” he whispers.
“Iris is pretty neat, yes. Iris, can you open the secret room?”
“I’m not allowed to do so with newcomers in the apartment.”
“Right. Give me a sec,” I tell Oli.
There’s a manual input screen in Lex’s office, and I should be able to override Iris’s security protocol. It takes me a few minutes to add Oli to the list of trusted visitors, and when I ask again upon coming back, the hidden door opens.
“Okay, now my mind is fully blown,” Oliver says as the secret room reveals itself.
“Wait until you see the setup.”
I step in first, which triggers the automatic lights, and when Oli joins me, I say, “Welcome to the Lex cave.”
“This is insane … Lex doesn’t do things halfway, does he?”
“Never, no. Should we get into it?”
“Yeah, sure,” he agrees, still gawking at the private server and the desktop arrangement.
Once we’ve rolled the desk chair from Lex’s office to the secret room, we start, both seated side by side.
We go through hundreds of scripts, data, software, and entries, figuring out what we’re working with.
Since I’m completely oblivious to the world of hacking and what most of it means, Oli gives me some guidance, explaining to me the workings, what some of the code does, how firewalls and heavy security can be broken through …
Every time he discovers one of Lex’s clever hacks, he explains its purpose to me, and the deep respect and admiration in his voice are impossible to miss.
By the end of our exploration, I already know infinitely more than I did before, a lot of it somewhat making sense now.
After nearly three hours of this, we both need a break.
This amount of information is overwhelming to take in, but exhilarating.
With everything on Lex’s computer and Oli’s help, I’m pretty sure we can do it in the four months we have until the trial.
The question is: how much faster than that can we manage? The sooner Lex is out, the better.
“So?” I ask Oli as I take out a few things from the fridge for us to make ourselves sandwiches.
“It’s—Wow … I knew Lex was a genius, but some of it is just … beyond.”
“Do you think we have enough to pass as Nammota?”
“I’d say yes if it were five, eight years ago.
But Lex hasn’t been active as Nammota for so long that most of his work is slightly, if not completely, obsolete.
Banks, the government, companies … Cybersecurity is constantly evolving, getting better, harder to break through.
What we have is a good start, but it’ll still require a massive amount of work to make it all happen in the end. ”
“I’m a quick learner, and you know how good I am at programming. Do you think we can pull it off?”
“We won’t know if we don’t try, will we?”
That’s the spirit … “What do we do first?”
“First, we create your alias. You’ll need a hacking identity if you want to navigate the dark web and find whatever you might need there.”
“What’s yours?”
“The Red Knight.”
“That suits you very well,” I tease. “Can I be … Frexx? With two ‘Xs?’”
“That was fast. What’s it for?”
“Freckles. Lex calls me that, but no one really knows, so it shouldn’t be a problem?”
“No, it’s perfect. And it’s androgynous. Frexx could be literally anyone.”
I nod, happy he approves of my choice. “Okay, what now?”
“Well, for now, we eat. And then, my young Padawan, your teachings begin.”
“Let’s fucking go, then,” I enthusiastically let out.
My eyes are firmly planted on the prize at the finish line. This is a race I intend to win. No matter the cost.
On Monday, after a busy weekend and a night in Lex-scented sheets, I find a psychiatrist who can see me during lunch break. I considered calling Shelly, but I refuse to involve anyone else in this enterprise. Dragging Oli into it was already too much.
Getting time off work turns out to be alarmingly easy.
With everything happening to me, the weight loss, the lingering effects of the pregnancy scare, the added workload …
and the fact that I uncontrollably cry nearly the whole session, the psychiatrist urges me to take a month off work.
I also have a prescription for Xanax, which I already know won’t be used.
I need my mind sharp, not dulled and slowed.
I can’t get out of the weekly therapy sessions, though, which are meant to help me get better.
Those are not only mandatory, but they’re also valuable for my cover.
So, after returning from my lunch break session, I immediately go up to see Kevin and explain the situation.
Because I don’t want to involve him in my plan, I only tell him what he needs to know as my boss, not my friend.
Before I can even apologize for letting him down like this, he tells me how sorry he is for adding an extra load on me.
“Take all the time you need, Andy,” he insists.
“Mace will cover for you in the meantime.”