The Heist

Chapter 1 (@geocait)

As I am leaving the office, exhausted from a day of utterly pointless meetings, I wave to the security guard. Occasionally, I pretend like everything is normal and stop by her desk for some office gossip. Today is not that day.

Following my Wednesday ritual, I grab some street food and stroll towards a closeby park, where I flop down on my favorite bench. Though, instead of reading I look around aimlessly, watching people as they go about their lives, business as usual. Children are playing, moms are chatting nearby. A few teenagers hanging out, blasting music. A couple walks by arm-in-arm.

My mind wanders to the events of the last couple of months. I've stayed in contact with the group but the texts and calls became less and less as they are settling into their new normal. Jessy and I are planning for her to visit soon. Dan might tag along.

I glance at my phone. No new messages. Still no signs from him. The radio silence is deafening. I take a deep breath, fighting back the tears. Did he make it out of the mine okay? Did he go into hiding again? Was he arrested? "No news is good news. No news ... is ... good news." I whisper my new mantra.

Suddenly I feel watched. I look around but can not pinpoint the cause of the uneasy feeling, but it is growing. So I grab my bag, throw away the food container and get going. Noone seems to be paying attention to me but I still can't shake the feeling of being followed. As I am about to leave the park and turn towards the bustlig main street, a dark SUV comes to a halt right in front of me, tyres screeching. Where the fuck did this come from?, I think, taking a step back to get away from the car. But I am not getting far. The last thing I notice is me colliding with someone standing right behind me.

Then the world goes dark.

——————————————————-

I regain conciousness in a small room sitting on an uncomfortable chair at a metal desk. What the hell? While I am still scoping out my surroundings, a door opens and two men in suits walk in. The first one drops a stack of papers on the table and sits down opposite of me, while the other one takes position behind me.

"MC Davis, I am agent Michaels. This is my colleague Agent Wilson. I assume you know why we brought you here?"
"Brought?", I reply. "More like kidnapped!" I recognize the man sitting in front of me as part of the couple I saw in the park earlier.
"Yes, I admit our methods might appear unconventional. But this was to ensure your saftety. We will explain this a little later."
"Story of my life", I mumble. A little louder: "Why am I here?"
"You, Miss Davis, are being charged for obstruction of justice and hacking into private cloud documents of a Miss Hannah Donfort."

Shit!, is the only thing I can think. I did not see that one coming. I should have, but I didn't. I open my mouth but fail to form a response. But nothing comes to mind.

Agent Michaels continues: "Now, today is your lucky day. We are prepared to offer you a deal." He picks up a stack of papers and shifts them towards me. "All charges will be dropped and you walk out of here a free woman in exchange for your support in the ongoing investigation of..."

"Let me stop you right there!", I interrupt him furiously. "There is no way in hell I'd help you catch Jake. Forget it! Also, I want a lawyer."

Now the other one, Agent Wilson, chimes in from behind me: "You don't have to worry your pretty head about that one." He grabs my arm and drags me off the chair and towards the wall he had just been leaning against. There is a window I hadn't noticed before. I can now see into the adjoining room, which is a mirror image of the one I am being held in. A man sits at the table in the other room, hunched over a stack of papers very similar to the one I was just presented with. "We've already got him.", Wilson chuckles. I didn't need any further explanation to realize that this is indeed Jake, despite never having seen him in person. I notice that his hands are not only cuffed but also bandaged. He looks exhausted. It breaks my heart seeing him like this.

Refusing to tear up infront of them, I shoot a hateful look back at the two agents. "I don't understand. What do you want from me?"

Agent Michaels is taking over again: "In short, the two of you will be tasked to infiltrate the private residence of a known Cyber Terrorist to locate and obtain evidence that will be instrumental in his arrest. Once this is accomplished, both of you will have to disappear, courtesy of our witness protection programme, until the target is prosecuted and put away for good. All charges against the both of you will be waived and you will be free to go, assuming, of course, that you will refrain from any further criminal activities in the future."

"You must be joking...", I reply. Agent Michaels leans back in his chair, takes out a pen from his pocket and holds it towards me. "Whenever you are ready."