His fingers flew across the keyboard, easily bypassing the first level of security. The code raced across the screen as he pounded in the keys. This level of security is what he wanted, this would get him noticed. He smiled as he bypassed the second level of security, he was now looking at the pure code to the site. Two levels and he was in, it was almost a let down. Letting the moment pass he began to alter the code adding in his tag and finally adding hi signature: mskdmn. It wasn't much but he did not want the information that the site protected he just wanted to let them know he could get it.

Alex Bishop pushed the chair away from the desk and logged off. The library was a perfect place for his activities, being the lax security and sign in system. All he had to do was sign a fake name to the paper and sit down at any random computer. He walked up the stairs to the ground level with a smile on his face. As he reached the doors his smile faltered, there were two uniform police officers heading in holding a data pad. He knew about those pads, they worked great with silent alarms and online security. This was bad but he knew that running would make things worse. One of the officers saw him and bumped the other, running was starting to sound really good right now.

The officers walked through the doors and stopped in front of him, both men towered above him.

"Where are you guys headed?" He asked looking from one to the other.

"We are headed down to the old computers to check out a security risk." The one on the right said. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about it would you?"

"Me," he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just here working on a project."

"It is summer vacation," the one of the left grumbled.

"It isn't for school." Alex shook his head.

"Do we really have to do this?" The one on the right asked.

"No," Alex sighed. "Thanks for not bringing my dad."

They led him out to the squad car, as the approached Alex recognized a familiar figure waiting for him. His shoulders slumped and he began to wish that he had slipped through the small window in the bathroom or at least given them a bit of a chase.

"Thank you officers, I'll take it from here." Detective Bishop motioned for Alex to follow.

"They are doing a fine job on their own." Alex didn't move.

"We need to talk." His father pointed to his unmarked car. "Now."

Alex looked at the officer to his right. "I'll miss you the most scarecrow."

The officer chuckled, drawing a dark look from Detective Bishop as Alex walked over to the car.

The detective unlocked the doors and the Bishop men drove away. The two were almost unrecognizable as father and son, Alex had deep black hair, his father was blonde. The detective was a large athletic man who looked like he would be just as comfortable in with a badge and gun as he would with a suit of armor. Alex on the other had was barely five foot five and had yet to break a hundred pounds. As they drove in silence Alex was able to dwell on this thought and wonder if maybe he was adopted; which, he thought would explain a lot.

"You are a lot smarter than me," his father said as they headed toward home. "I know I look like a Neanderthal next to you Alex, but there are some things that I know and you don't. What you can do with computers is amazing and you know that." He looked at Alex knowing he wasn't paying attention. "I'm going to tell you something that your mom doesn't need to know. Alright?"

Alex looked at him, his interest peaked, and nodded.

"I wasn't always a cop you know, I didn't want to be a cop when I was your age." He looked out the window, not wanting to see his son now. "When I was sixteen I was a big kid, I've always been and it got me in trouble. I would get into fights and cause all sorts of trouble, I didn't think that I had to answer to anyone. When I got older I got bigger, by the time I was eighteen I was the size I am now and things were at their worst. I actually got thrown in jail once." He smiled. "Then your grandfather comes and bails me out the next day, and I won't listen to anything. From where I stood things were fine, I was tough and big and even in a night in lockup didn't faze me. Now my dad drives me out to this old gym in the city and tells me to put on some gloves, you know boxing gloves. I was excited, I was finally going to get to knock the old man on his ass and he was asking for it. I blamed him for something then, I don't know what now, probably everything. So we get in the ring and I start swinging, but I can't hit the guy," he chuckled. "I'm doing everything I can and the old guy is just looking at me. Finally, my arms feel like their going to fall off and I'm sweating. He just walks out of the ring and leaves me there. I get out of the ring and I'm still mad at him. He turns to me and says 'watch' and punches this metal wall bare-fisted and leaves this massive indention. He looks at me and says 'just because you can doesn't mean you should' and walks away." He paused, finally looking at his son. "Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

Alex nodded.

--

TWO WEEKS LATER

--

Alex sat next to his mother and listened to her cry. He knew he should cry to, he wanted to, but it wouldn't come. He put his arm around his mom and squeezed her. A funeral wasn't the way to remember a wedding anniversary. Two days before his mother and father went out to celebrate their eighteenth year together and his father had planned the entire night out. They started with dinner at their favorite restaurant and afterwards they went on a stroll through the park where he had proposed. A man had followed them into the park, a man that his father had put in jail but had been released on a technicality. The man shot his father three times in the chest and then walked away, leaving him bleeding to death and his mother alone.

The man had been caught and was now in prison with no chance of getting out, little good it did now. Alex watched as the coffin lowered into the ground and the tears finally began to flow. He wished that he would have listened more.