"You want to what?!" Oliver exclaimed.
"Shh!"
Looking around us, I made sure no one's attention was on us.
He'd agreed to meet me at a bar, the very evening following my epiphany. It was crowded, like any Saturday evening, and the noise surrounding us offered a good cover for our discussion. We'd left both our phones back in our cars, to make absolutely certain no one could be listening on us.
"I want to do something huge while impersonating Nammota, so they'll have to let Alexander go. Even if they still believe it might be him, Lex's defense will have the mother of all proofs against them, and they'll win the case for sure."
He didn't answer for a while, completely dumbfounded. His gaze was lost somewhere between us as he tried to make sense of my crazy plan. "But you don't know how to hack into anything," was his first response.
"I know that, and I realize how it's going to be nearly impossible. But I have access to his work," I confessed. "I won't start from nothing. I'll have his legendary skills to help me out. I'll learn from the best of the best."
He considered this new information for a few seconds, his brow twitching as he did. It was a crazy plan. I knew that. But it was my absolute last resort to get Lex freed. I owed it to him to get him out of the mess I'd put him into.
"Thirty-seven days isn't enough," he concluded, giving me an apologetic look.
"I can make it work. Or at least I can try."
"How are you going to juggle this with work?"
A grimace stretched my lips, as we were now reaching a part I knew I would dread. "I clearly can't do both," I admitted. "So I don't really have a choice but to quit."
Oliver didn't like this idea one bit, and I couldn't blame him for it. I hated it myself, but if I wanted to have a fair chance at getting Lex out, I needed to give this project my full, undivided attention. For the next month and some, I would become a learning machine, devoted to setting up the perfect, most flawless plan Nammota had ever come up with.
"It'll look suspicious," he noted. "You quit, and shortly after, there's a big hit? Aren't you worried they'll figure out it was you?"
"You've said it yourself, thirty-seven days isn't enough. So they can't really believe I'd have enough time to do it, right?"
"I still think it's not a good idea to just quit, it might raise questions, and you want to look as innocent as possible."
"Then what can I do? I need to have my days free so I can dedicate them to this, Oli."
"You have other ways to get off work without quitting. Maybe get a sick leave?"
"Over what?"
"Mental health. You can totally get that, Andy."
"I don't like the idea of lying, though."
"But you wouldn't be lying? You've been depressed for weeks now. Everyone can see it. If you went to see a doctor, I'm actually confident they'd give you some time off work, before you get into a burnout or ruin your health."
Before I answered, I gave myself some time to think about his insight. He wasn't entirely wrong. My gynecologist had urged me to prioritize my mental health too, arguing I needed to take better care of my mind and body. I'd clung onto work because it gave me a distraction; because I wanted to display a semblance of normalness. But I didn't care about appearing normal to the feds anymore. I had failed anyway, and I was entitled to be a wreck, regardless of me knowing about Lex's guilt or not.
Getting a sick leave offered a much better cover than simply quitting. And being diagnosed with depression would explain why I'd lock myself in the entire time and barely ever get out. Since Lex was the center of my despair, I even had the perfect excuse to move into his place during that time and use his computer there, like a morose girlfriend trying to be closer to the man she was losing.
And Oli was right; I would be entitled to a sick leave, regardless. I was actually depressed, and any health professional would see that. The way I'd spontaneously combust into tears, the weight loss, the disinterest in everything, the overwhelming guilt that constantly lingered in my mind... I had been in a severe state of distress. Although, now I had this new prospect giving me hope. But whoever I'd be consulting didn't have to know that.
"Oli, you're a genius," I told him, reaching the conclusion that he was right. I wasn't entirely okay with the implications, but I'd take care of my conscience later. This offered a narrative way too good to pass.
"I have my moments," he replied with humor.
Taking a deep breath, I prepared myself for the second part of the plan. The part that required him to help me out, to teach me the basics.
"I don't want you to feel obliged to agree to anything," I started. "This is asking a lot, and I need you to know I'll be totally okay if you turn me down, Oli. I can't possibly expect you to blindly follow me into this insane enterprise. But as you've said, I'm total shit at this gig. I don't even know where to start, I have no idea what to do."
I paused, nervously biting on the inside of my cheek. Mustering my courage, I met his eyes and dared asked the million-dollar question. "I was wondering if you'd help me out in the beginning. Tutoring me so I have at least the slightest clue what I have to do."
He was taken aback slightly, his eyebrows pushed together, his eyes inquisitive. At first, I thought he'd refuse, finding my request ridiculous. I was proven wrong when he spoke, though. "I thought it was given. Of course I'll give you a hand, Dora."
My shoulder fell as they relaxed with a reassured sigh. Shit, this plan was off to a great start.
"Are you free tomorrow?" I asked him, hoping we could get the ball rolling as soon as possible.
"Just a Call of Duty session with a few friends, but that can be canceled."
"Really? Would you be okay if I came to get you in the morning, then?"
"Sure. Where are we going?"
"To Lex's place. I need you to assess if what I have to work with will be enough."
"You mean... I'll get to go through Nammota's work?" he uttered, completely stunned.
"Yeah, I thought it was obvious you would?"
"I know, but it's... making its way through my brain just now. Hot damn, Andy, you have no idea how honored I am for this opportunity."
"Oh, stop it, you fanboy. I'm the one who's eternally grateful. Like seriously, thanks for agreeing to this, Oli."
"Of course. I'd probably have agreed to help you regardless of my history with Nammota, but this feels like I was born for this. Like I started hacking so I'd be ready for that point in time."
"I guess Lady Destiny isn't such a bitch after all," I joked.
He chuckled, grabbing his beer to bring the bottle to his mouth. With an incredulous smile, he shook his head before taking a sip.
"I can't fucking believe it," he let out. "My whole life, I've been wanting to repay Nammota for what he did, and now I just might."
Offering him a kind smile, it was my turn to shake my head. I truly couldn't have found a better partner in crime than him, could I? Oli was a key component for the success of this plan, and he was one hundred percent on board with it.
We were really off to an excellent start.
• • •
A agreed, I picked him up on Sunday morning by a Starbucks near his place. He was holding two large cups, and when he got in my old Ford, the smell of hot coffee filled the room.
"Don't worry, one's hot cocoa," he said, hoping to reassure me.
"I'll have you know I've actually learned to enjoy coffee lately. But I still prefer chocolate, so thanks."
"Damn, was it Lex who managed this impressive feat?"
"Nah, not even he could do that. It's because I have a hard time sleeping, so I need it for brain fuel."
"Ah, I take it you're not feeling better?"
"No, not really. I called Michelle before leaving this morning, Kevin's wife. I asked her to give me a few names of people I could see about my problems. She's emailing me a list later today."
Although our conversation with Oli seemed genuine and authentic, it was all relatively scripted. Apart from Lex's apartment – where I knew there were no listening devices thanks to Mary's numerous sensors – I didn't trust anywhere to be bug-free. My phone wasn't tapped, I'd made sure of it by checking every possible sign of tapping and resetting it to factory reset, which meant there was no spying software on it. Still, they could listen in on my calls if they used a Stingray device, so I was extremely careful with what I said when on phone calls. Nevertheless, in the event that they had my car bugged, we were having a mundane conversation, casually talking about things that couldn't incriminate anyone.
"But you'll see," I continued. "Lex has the best home cinema in town, and nothing could cure me better than a complete Star Wars marathon." And there was our cover. Oli and I were just heading to Lex's to use the amazing setup which, although insensitive of me, could make sense.
Although I hadn't taken the Benz, I still had the clicker to open the underground car park. My pile of rust definitely didn't belong in the middle of all these luxurious cars, but I didn't really care about that. I wasn't entirely certain about the policy on guests inviting guests into the building, so this allowed us to get to Lex's place without encountering the concierge.
The day before, while waiting for my meeting with Oli at the bar, I'd stopped by to finish cleaning up the place, so it would be acceptable for a visitor.
As I turned the key into the lock, I wondered what would Lex think of me Letting Oli in. He probably wouldn't be too thrilled about it, as he was very regardant about who got to come in, but I wasn't giving him a choice. If this meant I could manage to get him out of life in prison, I was pretty sure he'd be entirely okay with it. It was, after all, such a small price to pay.
When the heavy panel opened, I could see the curiosity in Oli's eyes. He'd never been here before, and it made sense he was interested to know what Lex's place looked like. Especially since he'd known the man for the best part of seven years.
"Hi, Mary. I'm home," I greeted the AI, wondering what would be Oli's reaction to the cool feature. "This is Oliver, he's a friend of mine."
"Welcome home, Andrea. Oliver, it's a pleasure to meet you."
With huge eyes, he turned to me, his utter surprise almost comical. "What the— Does Lex really have an AI here?"
"Yes, he built her himself. I haven't had time yet to go through the manual he gave me for her, but I skimmed over it, and she's some J.A.R.V.I.S level type of AI."
"That is so cool," he approved.
After we'd dropped our things by the entrance, I led him to the secret door and instructed Mary to open it. Once more, Oli was completely stunned by the set-up, and I could entirely understand why. When Lex had taken that superhero quiz with me, I hadn't thought the link with the Batman was so strong, but Lex was, in a way, a realistic Bruce Wayne. He'd used his money to equip himself, and then had perfected his skills to help people out. Although it was in a much less violent manner than the Gotham protector, one might argue it was more efficient.
Once Oli was done gawking at the private server and the desktop arrangement, we got on with our quest. I'd rolled the chair from the home office all the way to the secret one, and we both sat in front of the six screens neatly arranged above the desk.
Since Lex didn't joke about security, only I could get the computer to start, through voice recognition and a password only I knew. Once I gave him control, Oli was positively shaking with excitement and reverence as he familiarized himself with the machine.
For over two hours, we went through hundreds of scripts, data, software, and entries, trying to gauge how much exactly did we have to work with. Since I was completely oblivious to the world of hacking and what all of this meant, Oli gave me some preliminary lessons, explaining to me the workings, what some of the code did, how firewalls and heavy security could be broken through. Every time he would discover one of Lex's clever hacks, he'd explain its purpose to me, and the deep respect and admiration in his voice were impossible to miss. By the end of our exploration, I already knew so much more than I had before, some notions much clearer, the workings of it all somewhat making sense now.
"So?" I asked him as he laid back in his chair with a long sigh. His eyes were mindlessly staring at the screen before him, admirative of everything we'd discovered.
"I— Wow... I knew the man was a genius, but some of this is just... beyond."
"Do you think we have enough for me to pass as Nammota?"
"It's a little more complicated than that. I would have said yes if we were five, eight years ago. But Lex hasn't been active as Nammota for so long, some of his work is slightly obsolete. Banks, the government, companies... they regularly upgrade their security systems as the technologies evolve. What we have is a good start, but it'll still require a massive amount of work to make it all work in the end."
"I'm a quick learner, and you know how good I am at programming. Do you think I can pull it off?"
"I'm sorry, but no. I'd say yes if you had six, even three months, but the timeline is too tight. You can't do it on your own," he explained, a clear apology plastered on his face.
"I still need to try, Oli. He's in there because of me, I can't let him rot in prison for the rest of his life."
"You can't make it alone. You'd need help, more hands, more brain matter, someone with more experience. Then, maybe your plan can work."
There was something he wasn't saying, given his tone, and after a quick inspection of his cryptic expression, I understood what it was. Shaking my head, I refused what he was offering. "No, I can't drag you further into this, Oli. It's going to be dangerous, I can't be certain of the outcome, so I'm not taking you along."
"You're right, it will be dangerous. But even more so if you're alone. Andy, if you get caught, you not only risk time in jail, but you will give Lex's opponents all the proof they need. If they know you tried to pass for Nammota, they will have their confirmation that Lex is him."
Fuck... He was right.
Staring at my empty Starbucks cup, I let the gear in my head run free. It was one thing to do it while knowing what I risked; it was another to incriminate Lex even further. If I tried and failed, if I didn't learn enough in the month and some I had before me, it was game over for us all. If I'd had a little more experience in this, maybe I could have gone into this more confidently, but I had so much yet to grasp, it was probably impossible to achieve my goals, as Oli had pointed out. I couldn't go through the trial and errors on this one. It needed to be perfect, flawless, and incontestably Nammota.
"I can't ask this of you," I argued, refusing to endanger yet another person I cared about.
"You're not asking me anything; I'm the one asking you to let me in. Of course, I want to help you, but I've also been wanting to thank Nammota for over a decade. I've been dreaming to do something as huge as he did for even longer. This is my one chance to do all this, and I want to take it."
After a moment of reflection, I gave him a hesitant frown. "Are you sure about this?"
"Yes, one hundred percent."
Closing my eyes, I gave myself some time to really think this through. Aside from a helpful nudge in the right direction, I'd never expected Oli to get involved in this enterprise. I refused to put him in danger, but I was also aware that I needed him to successfully achieve this. Having his own experience and brilliant mind by my side would most certainly play in my favor. Hugely so. If I insisted he backed off, I'd fail, regardless of how hard I tried.
It dawned on me that it wasn't a problem that required debating. In reality, this wasn't even questionable. I needed him with me. I needed him to help me get Lex out.
"If things end badly, I'll be the one taking all the heat," I declared, knowing I'd accept his generous offer.
"Things won't go badly, Andy. The two of us can pull it off."
"Still, I need you to agree on this, Oli. If we get caught, you'll let me get the blame for everything. As much as you want to be involved, this isn't your fight. But I need you."
He hesitated, clearly reluctant to concede to my terms. The knight in shining armor in him wanted to refuse. He wanted to know I would be protected in case things didn't turn out as we intended. But I wouldn't accept his help unless he agreed to my sole request. I would not lengthen my list of people sitting in prison because of me.
He must have sensed that it was non-negotiable, because he eventually let out a long, resigned sigh. "Okay," he reluctantly agreed.
Thankful, I offered him a friendly smile, squeezing his arm gently. Had I had any other choice, I would have kept him out of it. But it was either with him by my side, or not at all.
"So, how are we going to organize?" he asked. "Will this be your base of operations?"
"Yeah, I think I'll move in until we pull it off. Lex's set-up is state-of-the-art, secure, and untraceable. I'd be a fool not to use it to my advantage."
"I agree. I guess I can do some of it from my own computer, and then we meet up here on weekends? I can come by during other times of the week, but I think we need to be subtle if we don't want to raise any suspicion."
For a while, we spoke about how we should proceed, trying to come up with the best possible organization. There was so much at stake, we needed to really think everything through. Once we'd agreed on a proper plan, Oli turned to the screens again.
"So, when do we start?"
Looking at the time in the bottom corner of the main screen, I noticed we still had some time before us until he should leave. "Can you show me some of the basics now?" I wondered, hoping he'd agree.
"Yeah, sure. I'll give you a quick introduction to the dark side of the web. Lex was always active online before a hit, so we'll have to follow that pattern and appear as Nammota as we go. But in the meantime, you need your own alias. Any ideas?"
After giving it a brief thought, I found the perfect alias. "I want to be Frex."
"That was quick. What's it from?"
"Freckles. Lex calls me that. It slowly evolved into frecks overtime."
"Okay, that's kind of cute. And it's androgynous, so that's perfect. Frex could be literally anyone."
I nodded, happy he approved of my choice of alias.
For the hours that followed, Oli taught me about the basics of this new world I was diving into. He was comfortable around it, and it became clear it represented a big part of his life. He had been in it since he was sixteen, so it made sense.
The more I learned, the more I grew confident. Not only was Oli a pro, but I knew I'd become one fast too. Between Lex's works and Oli's tutoring, I'd be like a fish in the water in no time.
Thirty-six days.
I had thirty-six days to pull it off, and an accomplished ally by my side.
The race against time had begun, and I had my eyes firmly planted on the prize.