Submerged

Chapter 3: Seth's Hacking Powers

Cole flashed her mother an annoyed look.

"Mom, this is my job." she insisted for the umpteenth time.

"Besides, I couldn't care less about finding some womanizer."

"Oh come on," her mother groaned.

"Someday in life, you need to find a man in your life."

"But I do have a man in my life," Cole argued. She slings her hand around Ben's shoulder and smile at her mother.

"I have Benjamin to protect me from the lonely nights."

Ben shot his best friend a strange look.

"You consider me as your Hercules?" he mused.

"Gross," Cole gagged. "Don't go there."

Ben chuckled as he jokingly kisses  Cole's forehead and races up to her bedroom.

As The Expedition splits up, Cole decides to visit Seth in Ben's old home.

Like Cole's house, its outside surface is painted in a grayish brown color. It had two windows, a single white door, a porch, and a small patch of lawn.

Two years ago, Cole met Ben's negligent foster parents: Bill and Jill. Other than drinking Coke,  they seem to have a great time annoying Ben.

Cole walks over to the white garage door and knocked on it twice.

"Seth!" she called. There was no response, only the sound of hip-hop music occurring inside.

Another thing about Seth: he loves hip-hop music more than anyone else in the universe. Cole hears it whenever he's tinkering engines in the garage or targeting criminals on his computer.

She bangs the door once more until it automatically opens.

Cole then peers into the darkness and sees Seth under his black Buick, checking the gas tank.

His pale lips murmured the lyrics of Black and Yellow, while wiping the grease from his hands with a small blue cloth.

Her eyes adjust to the packed boxes piling on the corners of the dingy room.

A boombox sat on the black bench, pounding music throughout the white concrete walls.

Cole watched as Seth tossed the dirty fabric in the box and looked at her.

" 'Sup, Beautiful." he flirted.

Cole rolled her eyes.

"Seth, I'm a year older than you." she reminded.

The twenty year old boy only smiled and winked at her.

He had red hair, brown eyes, and freckles across his nose. He also wore a red baseball cap, a white shirt with red short sleeves, blue jeans, and gray sneakers.

Facial red hair grew around his lips as tattoos appeared on his arms. On his right ear, Seth had a golden earring.

"Don't worry, I am a fan of older women." Seth chuckled.

She sighs and asks him for a favor.

"Could you hack into Colonel's files?" Cole ask.

"Also, could you look in Mr. Randall's autopsy report?"

"Aw, I love it when you treat me like I'm the Tooth Fairy." Seth crooned sarcastically.

"Please?" she begged.

"Of course," he answered. "I love helping a friend in need."

Seth quickly turns off the radio and closes the garage door.

He smiles as he flicks the lightswitch on and booted his gray computer. Monitors attached to each side of the screen, allowing Seth to see almost everything.

Cole watches in amazement as the boy types words in less than five seconds.

Within a minute, Seth pulled up Colonel's records and Mr. Randall's autopsy report.

"According to this, it seems that Mr. Randall has been poisoned by some type of hydroflouric acid."

Cole stares at the blue screen and back at the red haired kid.

"Hydroflouric acid?" she repeated. Seth nodded  and gazed Colonel's records.

"Fresh out of the academy since he was eighteen," he read.

"Plus, he became the top rank in his class when he was twenty-two, and here's the best part: Colonel has been discharged for abusing his power to rookies, especially Mr. Randall."