Adventures in Volunteering

Smithers helped run a local game center for kids. It should not be a surprise that he took this job very seriously. He needed help on his latest run but didn't exactly want MI6 to find out he was borrowing his coworkers for more unofficial assignments. Now, where was someone he could rope into his latest round of fun? Alex liked gaming, didn't he? Well, it was time to set off for his house, then.

"Smithers?"

Smithers beamed at him. Alex looked confused. "Alex! I need a favor. Nothing to do with MI6, mind you."

Alex raised an eyebrow. Smithers knew Crawley had pulled some shit on the poor boy with some sort of tennis competition. "Well, I volunteer at a local children's gaming center and my partner who I usually go with broke up with me. I just need someone to help me monitor the screens and make sure the children don't get into too much-"

Alex held up a hand. He looked almost relieved. "Alright. Just computers?"

Smithers nodded. He wasn't a people person off the job either. "Just computers."

Smithers let out a mental sigh of relief that Alex followed him to the car. He got in the car next to Smithers. "What sort of gaming center is this?"

Smithers grinned. This might be fun for both of them. "It's for kids. Most of them just play fortnight and Minecraft. A bit of Roblox here and there. What we need to watch out for is when one of them gets the idea that they're some sort of hacker. Most of them try a Hail Mary and all that does is throw everybody off the server."

Alex nodded. Smithers parked in the parking lot and handed Alex a lanyard. The boy reluctantly put it on. "What kind of server setup do you have?"

Smither continued explaining the setup to Alex as he led him through the staff entrance and into the corridor. He had a posted policy of strictly banning certain kinds of mods, though most of the server alerts were automatic. "…It keeps the children from holding too many grudges."

Alex sat down next to him in the server room. Smithers turned the servers on and began the startup sequence. "Watch out for monitor three. There's always one kid who tries a Hail Mary at exactly eleven o'clock every day. Points for dedication, I suppose."

Alex snorted slightly. Smithers watched him spin in the wheeled chair. Ah, to be young again. "There are snacks and soda in the staff room. Do try not to overindulge."

Alex rolled his eyes at Smithers and turned the last computer on. He squinted. "What language did you use to set up the alerts?"

Smithers perked up. He was rather fond of the bits of code that he'd created for this. "Lisp. It's an older one, but it has its uses, especially when you muck around with other coders."

Alex looked at him. Smithers realized that it might seem a bit like overkill. "Even script kiddies?"

Smithers gave him a conspiratorial look. "Especially them. They're using exploits that people have already found. Consequently, we can cannibalize the code to detect when critical bits are being hurled at the server. New exploits are generally beyond this group. If there's a zero-day that ever comes out of this bunch, I'll hand over the government prize money myself."

Alex looked thoroughly amused at that statement. BEEP! Alex zoomed over to the monitor on his wheeled chair. Smithers stifled a giggle. "It says they're trying to use a map hack in Minecraft server three?"

Smithers let out a sigh. These kids and their bloody hacking attempts. "Map hack?! I'll show them a map hack!"

Smithers entered the server. Now, where were they trying to use it? Ah, virtual New Zealand. Smithers checked that the backup was installed before deleting the entire virtual continent. Alex gaped at him. Smithers cracked his neck before turning towards Alex. "Type this in the message box: You can have New Zealand back in an hour or whenever you decide to play nice."

Alex typed the message out and sent it. Smithers grinned as he set a timer for the reappearance of virtual New Zealand. Alex looked at him. "That was kind of cool."

Smithers was thoroughly amused. Ah, how people changed their tune when they saw the fruits of his labor. Alex cracked open a cola. No surprises there.

SCREEECH!

"Ah, there goes Andrew with his weekly Hail Mary. Just let him crash the whole server. Perhaps he'll learn his lesson after the twenty-seventh time in a row. Besides, our boot times are excellent."

Alex shrugged and wheeled over to the next monitor. There were several messages on there. "What's a KillAura?"

Smithers rolled his eyes. "Ah, that's a common one for Minecraft. You don't have to look at something to kill it. Don't bother throwing them out. If we did, we'd expel half the children."

Alex rolled his eyes and clicked out of the alerts. Smithers brought out the popcorn. It was nearly the hour when the children started feeling murderous online. "Why are we booting out people who use 'annoy'?"

Smithers continued typing a response on his computer. They needed standardized responses for mandatory cool-down times. "There's an automated message, but it's essentially harassment since the servers are private and limited in number."

Smithers offered Alex popcorn as one of the little player figures started stabbing their teammates. It amused Smithers greatly to turn friendly fire on and off at random intervals. Strictly speaking, he should let the kids have control, but where was the fun in that? There was a shriek of pre-pubescent rage on the other side of the door.

"OMG! I'M SORRY! I THOUGHT THE FRIENDLY FIRE WAS OFF!"

Smithers heard the distinct noise of a chair being thrown at a wall. Ah, well. That was what the front-facing employees were for.

Alex was giggling silently. "Should we check on them?"

Smithers rolled his eyes and took a bite of popcorn. Alex followed suit. "That's what the monitors in the front are for."

They leaned back and watched the chaos as Smithers gleefully went to get them some water. Alex was on his third coke when he got back. "Don't eat too much popcorn. We'll have a break for lunch, you know."

Alex nodded. Smithers watched him snarf even more handfuls of popcorn. Well, it wasn't like he was Alex's guardian or anything. That was probably fine. One day of terrible nutrition probably wouldn't kill him. The next hour or two was fairly uneventful. Smithers lightly tapped Alex, who seemed to have either zoned out or gone into a temporary sugar coma. Alex jumped slightly. "Alright there?"

Alex shook his head vigorously before responding. Smithers wondered what was going on before realizing that Alex had likely fallen asleep. "Yeah, just a bit hungry."

Smithers gave him a mischievous look. Alex gave him a mildly sleepy grin. "Lunchtime, dear boy. Lunchtime."

Alex all but jumped out of his chair to follow Smithers out of the room. Smithers was going to enjoy introducing him to The Ox and Lamb. The food was excellent. And appropriately greasy for this sort of thing. "Is that a pub?"

Alex looked almost hopeful. Smithers gave him an amused look. "Indeed, it is. Not to worry, we're here for the food."

Alex's crestfallen expression was priceless. Smithers was starting to see why people liked pranking him. Alex certainly knew how to play ball. He handed Alex a menu. Smithers decided that his choice of the chicken and mushroom pie sounded delightful and ordered one for himself. Alex's scowl as he ordered apple juice and a half pint of cider was just icing on the cake. They mostly ate in comfortable silence.

"You know, Ian never did like my mucking about with computers."

Smithers resisted the urge to point out that Ian wasn't there. It seemed a touch insensitive. "You don't have to agree with him about every hobby of yours. Besides, it's not like my parents approved of my desired career either. I wanted to be a hacker, you know."

Alex arched a brow at him. Smithers finished off his pie. "Aren't you already?"

Smithers shrugged. It was a bit more complicated than that. "Yes and no. My actual degrees were in computer science and electrical engineering. These days I mostly do design elements and the coding-coding is left to the people who work for me. I do a lot of project management. The servers for the kid's place are mostly for fun."

Alex finished eating. He still seemed a bit unsettled. Smithers could sympathize. Having your guardian not like your hobby tended to be very discouraging. "I like helping you out with the servers."

Alex seemed a bit strained. Perhaps it was time for a bit of…embellishment. "I think Ian would have wanted you to have some fun with your life, as long as you stay healthy. At the end of the day, that's what most parents want for us."

Smithers couldn't say he knew Ian Rider well enough to tell. His relationship with Alex's uncle had been a touch tepid and much more professional. Alex looked up from his plate. "You think?"

Smithers set his glass down smoothly. In for a penny, in for a pound. "I do."

Alex looked much less gloomy after that. Smithers figured that Ian Rider wasn't around to contradict him. "Ready to head back?"

Alex gave him a wry grin. Smithers was reminded of John and Ian for a few seconds. "Going to mess with more kids, Smithers?"

Smithers gave Alex a blank look. He would like to think his proclamations of innocence were more convincing than Alex's. "I'm afraid I have no earthly idea what you're talking about."

Alex rolled his eyes. Smithers was going to enjoy this part. "Sure, you don't, Smithers."

Smithers continued towards the car and opened the door. The trick to denial was to keep it up. "How could you accuse such an upstanding member of the community-"

Alex barked a laugh and got in next to him. "Didn't you just tell me that your dream was being a hacker?"

Smithers let out a sigh. Details. It was always the details that had gotten him in the field work examinations. "Perhaps."

It was time to head back for another round of server nonsense. Alex's eyes danced as Smithers pulled out of the parking spot. "Do you want to take bets on whose character dies next?"

Smithers rolled his eyes. There it was. Every last person in that family was a con artist. "I know better than to take bets from anyone related to Ian Rider."

Alex made a scoffing noise. His lips formed a slight pout. "Rude."

Smithers continued towards the center. "But it's true. Now for the real question. Are you willing to do this more regularly?"

Alex ran a hand through his hair. "As long as I'm not in the hospital or on a mission, I suppose."

Smithers parked in the parking lot. "Good. Now, back to work we go."

Alex rolled his eyes and put his lanyard back on. Smithers decided that it was going to be a fun little friendship.

Fin