Here we go again. Another night trapped in the office, and there were no more employees left in the building. Working for Blume was a nightmare. Despite the huge revenues the company makes, its employees are highly underpaid, including me. I guess being the translator of the company isn't remarkable enough to get me the paycheck I deserve. Blume was partnering up with various multinational companies, so having a translator was more than mandatory. There's the pressure of the reliability, having to translate all foreign documents in order to persist Blume's international affairs, but if there was ever a chance to get out of this fatiguing job, I'd take it.
My mind couldn't concentrate on the work I had at hand. Half of my time was spent either contemplating the dark empty space, the other half staring outside the windows of the vast office. I felt relaxed for a moment. Suddenly, however, I heard the sound of a swift movement dashing by the office, almost like a breeze. This seemed strange; the guards are on a night shift. Is it someone breaking in? My curiosity got the best of me. So I reached for my drawer, opened it and took out my Revolver. Sheathing it close to my side, I got up and walked out of my office. I noticed that there was no sign of any movement; it was silent and dark, many suspicions were brewing. The security here was obviously weakening, I won't let my guard down just like that.
As I was still gripping my weapon, I walked up the stairs and found a trail of bodyguards, passed out in the hallway, in a vertical pattern, that led to the back offices. Despite my reluctance, I went. So I started walking cautiously again - almost sneaking - until I arrived and stopped right at the entrance of one of the back offices, and more specifically the one that was already unlocked. It couldn't be just one of the employees coming to do some extra work, there are no hard-workers here in Blume; this was definitely a break-in. My hesitance was growing, I couldn't find it in myself to move forward and yet something was indirectly pushing me to do so.
Fuck it. C'mon Teagan, you're stronger than that.
I inhaled and stepped into the office. It was completely dark, which made the light coming from the main operating machine the only source that lit up the room. As I marched closer, the sound of rapid typing became more audible. There was someone behind the monitor, an unfamiliar person who still hasn't detected me yet. I held my gun up high and motioned towards them. At the sound of the gun clicking, they quickly turned around and, with one splitting movement, drew out their own weapon. We were now both aiming at each other.
The light was able to clarify their appearance: it was a man, still in his youth, who wore skinny jeans, a dark T-shirt, and a varsity jacket. His facial elements were unrecognizable, however; he wore a mask over his mouth and glasses to cover up his eyes, along with a snapback on his head. The thing is, I don't really associate that attire with the persona of a thief.
"Don't even think about it," I growled. His hand tightened around the weapon, as the other kept operating on the keyboard, without turning his glare elsewhere, as if he could literally do it in his sleep. He was finally done. He removed his hand slowly off the keyboard, and narrowed his eyes, "You seem like a strong woman, I like that," I can hear the smirk that's underneath his mask.
"Judging by where you stand - as in the other end of this gun - I don't think you're in a position to be cocky," I hissed. He chuckled, "Cocky? C'mon, you're insulting me." I kept holding my gun up, whereas he surprisingly lowered his. I went to examine him so that I can get the most detailed physical description of him.
He turned back to the monitor, now using both hands to operate. I saw a chance to corner him, so I stepped forward until my gun was a few inches from his head. He turned back around, "Ah, ah, ah," he cockily waved his index finger as his voice turned into a sing-song tune. His smugness was sort of confusing me in this instant, but it mostly worried me.
"How about you cut the crap, and tell me who you really are and what the fuck you're doing here?" I said.
He slowly crossed his arms and attempted a suave pose, "How about you do the honors?"
"I'm not the stranger here, so start talking."
He took a glance behind my shoulder and grimaced, "You probably won't remember anything anyway." I was confused. As soon as I turned around, a strange figure faced me and suddenly everything went dark after I felt a heavy blow on my head.
This black hole lasted what seemed to be an eternity. Suddenly, I felt like I'm being poked to my ribs. I opened my eyes briskly and there I was in an unfamiliar place, and a couple of people eyeing me very strangely. One of them was in very close proximity, in fact; they were kneeling right next to the couch I was laying on. They looked a bit familiar-oddly familiar. "She's alive," they husked, it was a man's voice, transposed into a robotic tone. They got up and got closer to me, which forced me to back away further into the couch. An electronic mask was gawking at me with two dots, could it get any creepier?
"Can. you. speak?" He asked slowly, almost in a matter that triggered me.
"How about you back the hell off me, person?" I replied. He seemed taken aback, the dots on his mask altered into flashing exclamation points. I heard a chuckle behind me, "Now you know," the voice said. It almost sounded cocky, familiarly cocky. I turned my head and saw the same guy I encountered back in Blume. I glared at him, and he just smiled. "Really?" I asked,"kidnapping me? That was smart."
"Look," he said,"we just want to know who you are and what you do."
"More or less, what your good use is for Blume." A feminine voice continued. The woman approached. She seemed about my age, and wore a baggy sweater and shorts, along with a purple scarf around her neck, some knee-high socks with skulls on them and boots that almost extended to the knees. Her hair was held in a side ponytail, which made the purple highlights stick out as much as the green eyeshadow did. I wasn't sure if she was trying to make a statement, or it was a fashion trend nowadays. Or wasn't it a trend? I don't know.
I rolled my eyes, "it's none of your business."
The woman dead-eyed me and smirked. "Is that an attitude problem I spot?" She put her hands on her hips.
"What are you anyway, some sort of post-hipster cult?"
She snorted,"close, we're hackers."
"The name Dedsec ring a bell?" The masked guy asked, leaning in closer which made me shift in discomfort.
"Back off, Bit Rate. It's not my field of work and I usually avoid getting involved in such business, but yeah, Blume is scattered with information about Dedsec."
The woman seemed satisfied,"I see our fanbase is enlarging."
I snorted mockingly, "with Blume being your biggest fan club."
"So you do have an important affiliation with Blume."
"I might."
"C'mon, don't be like that. We're just having a friendly conversion here, trying to get to know each other better."
"Well, I call this being too friendly."
The woman walked to the back and held up a purse, specifically, my purse. She reached out for the wallet and got my ID.
"Teagan Foster, huh?" She waved the ID back and forth.
"Blackmailing me, are we?" I smirked.
"So, you are smart. How about you use your wits for something actually useful?"
"Do you even know what I do?", the woman kept smirking at me, silently, "Didn't think so."
Everyone stayed silent.
"I've searched for her profile in their database, but there was nothing." A new voice emerged from the other side of the room, another guy's voice.
"I like to keep my information private, thank you. It wasn't easy, but I eventually got what I wanted."
"Persistence," as if the woman had a breakthrough, her grin widened. She paced towards me,"that's why you would make a great asset for Dedsec."
"Okay, one: I don't work with computers and whatnot. Two: what makes you think I want to work with you, against the company who provides my paycheck?"
"We can teach you all you need to know."
I furrowed my eyebrows,"not interested."
"Whatever you do, I'm sure you can come in handy. We could use all the help we can get."
"I don't suppose you really need the help of a translator."
"So you're a translator?" commented the masked guy, "was that so hard to say?"
I glared at him, which made him put his hands up in defense and stand back.
"Look, working for Blume isn't exactly what I call a promising career, but I can't quit my job, especially after so much time."
I was slowly succumbing to their offer, maybe this was my chance for an out. But as tempting as it sounded, what could make me think that they actually want my help?
"And how long are we talking about?" Asked the woman.
"Long enough." I frowned.
She sighed,"look, from what I hear, you're only working there for the money," I didn't reply. She folded her arms and exhaled, "we'll pay you if that's what it takes."
I stared into oblivion for a moment, ideas now filling my head. Different images popped up of what would happen if I accepted this partnership, or if I didn't… maybe this here was my chance to bail on Blume, what if I never get another one?
"Well?" The woman asked, which made me snap out of it.
"I can't help you much, I'm sorry."
"But you can," she uncrossed her arms and threw them in the air, "and it's for a good cause."
I sighed,"I'll have to think about it. Just give me some time so I decide on what to do with the company."
They all nodded. "All right, but try not to take long," the woman said,"it'd be great if you can give us your final answer within the next two days."
"By all means…" I chuckled.
"We haven't officially met, by the way. I'm Sitara. This sweetheart is Josh," she pointed to the guy with the green hoodie, "this nerd here is Marcus," she was referring to the guy I encountered in Blume.
"I guess we got off to a bad start," he pulled out his hand, which I shook cautiously, but I had a semi-reassuring smirk drawn on my lips.
"And this weirdo here is Wrench."
"Weirdo is an understatement," I chuckled.
"Pleased to meet you, my lady," he took my hand and bowed his head.
"… definitely an understatement. "
"By the way, there's still your purse if you want it," Sitara said. I looked up at her, silently asking her to hand it to me.
"I noticed you carry pretty heavy stuff," commented Wrench,"I mean, a Revolver, really?"
"You get used to carrying a gun if you're where I'm from."
Sitara tossed me my bag. I looked inside and found everything in the same spot, untouched.
"Thanks. Now, if memory serves right, I lastly remember a creepy figure before I got knocked out," I raised a semi-accusing eyebrow.
All the others looked at Wrench, who just stared down in embarrassment.
"I thought so," I chuckled,"how ironic it would have been if you had not hit me with a wrench."
"I'm sorry… but it was a light blow, you turned out fine. And no, it was actually a baseball bat. "'
"Yeah, I'm getting the feeling you're not good at winging it."
Wrench shrugged,"When things don't go according to plan, I just proceed to blow shit up."
"Mhm, thanks for the warning then."
I stood up and took a walk around the Hackerspace. There were monitors on every wall, and the colors were so bright and edgy. I came to lean on a desk in one of the corners. Wrench came up to me and crossed his arms.
"So, a translator, huh?" He said.
"That's literally what I said fifteen minutes ago," I replied almost with an eye roll.
"I hope you accept the offer. You'd be helping us out big time."
"One decision at a time, Wrench. I'm still not sure whether I should quit Blume or not."
"And why not?" Marcus came, sounding cocky as ever.
I glared at him from under my eyelids,"because it's too risky."
"No it's not," he replied, "because we'll be helping you out."
"How exactly? I'll have yet to explain to them why I'm suddenly quitting my job after all this time. I mean, what if they don't let me go that easily? What if I got blackmailed into staying, again?" The last word came out more as a whisper, so neither Wrench nor Marcus heard me.
"Not gonna happen, we'll erase every bit of leverage they might have on you."
"One question though," I announced skeptically,"why did you decide to help me out on this?"
"Because," Marcus leaned closer to me, I gulped at the closed distance, "in order for us both to get what we want, we'll have to help each other out," he husked.
I pushed him off and walked away from him, "and how do you know what I want?" I growled.
"I honestly don't, but I'm sure it's something relevant to our cause."
"How self-centered…" I rolled my eyes.
He chuckled, "Well then if it isn't, consider it a debt paid for your services."
"Besides the amount of money I'll be receiving," I pointed out.
He nodded, "so, we're allies now?" I said mockingly.
"Yeah, that means you need to get over that hostility you have towards us."
"Sorry, I seem to have a few trust issues," I apologized sarcastically.
Marcus smirked, "you'll overcome them." He turned and walked away.
I chuckled to myself, realizing the mess I got myself into.
I rubbed my forehead and turned around. "Oh, god," I gasped as I found Wrench casually gawking at me with two dashes displayed on his mask. "Damn, you're creepy," I groaned.
"I know," he replied bluntly.
"Yeah, well, thanks for the welcoming ceremony, you guys, but I need to head home now." I went to grab my purse and put it on my shoulder.
"Do you have a ride?" Asked Wrench.
"No, you kidnapped me. Remember?"
"Then, I'll give you a ride," he casually imposed.
"No thanks, I'll walk."
"C'mon, don't be so stubborn. It's dark out there and you might get hurt."
"The Revolver's there to prevent that from happening. Why do you care anyway?"
"Just trying to be a gentleman," he said as he raised his hands in defense.
"Charming," I rolled my eyes.
I headed up the stairs and stood in front of the door, realizing that it requires a code to be opened. I grunted in exasperation,"Someone would be kind enough to open the door please?"
Sitara came and nonchalantly entered the code. The door immediately opened. "Thanks, see ya." I walked out and reached the center of the store, which served as a front for the Hackerspace. I launched Nudle Maps, calculating the distance between here and Blume HQ. I groaned as I discovered it was quite the ride to get there. I started to think that maybe I should've agreed to Wrench giving me a ride after all. It was 11 pm, and there weren't many vehicles out on the streets. But then again, maybe being spotted with an infamous, wanted hacker isn't really in my favor, especially when it involves Blume's reputation.
It took me a while, but I was finally able to catch a cab back to the company's Head Quarters. The ride was a bit long (and pricey), but it got me to my destination. I retrieved my car from the parking lot and drove back to my apartment. When I got back home, it was already half past 12. I placed my keys and bag on the counter and immediately fell on the couch. I curled up and started getting lost in my own contemplations again as I subsequently drifted off to sleep.