The days were passing by quickly and his patience was wearing thin. Each meeting, Six had felt like navigating through a never-ending labyrinth. Every time they thought they had a lead or some useful information, it turned out to be a dead end. The organization seemed to be mocking them, finding amusement in their chase. It was as if they were just a group of deer caught in the glare of the blinding light of a car.
White noticed that Six seemed angrier than ever before, despite having seen him angry many times in the past. He was worried about Rebecca's safety, but White could sense that something had shifted, even though he couldn't figure out what it was.
"Why did you think it was a good idea to fall into these idiots' traps by following them? Wouldn't that imply that we know about where Holiday is?"
"We had a promising location. We couldn't have known it was just a gimmick."
"It had to be, they couldn't be that stupid." was Six's response, as he decided to hide his now-shaking hands, something that never happened to him before, inside his pant pockets. He hoped that this would help to stop the choking feeling that came with the realization that Holiday's time was running out, and they were just discussing theories and facts.
White's eyebrow rose, indicating that he had known Six for a long time and could tell when he was deep in thought. White couldn't help but wonder about Six's plans and how far he was willing to go to free Rebecca Holiday from her confinement.
"I know someone," Six said in a quiet voice, breaking the awkward silence between them. He couldn't just tell White about what had happened between Holiday and himself, so he had to take his word for it.
"I know you do. You know quite a few interesting people, but that makes me wonder if any of these acquaintances could help us."
"A highly efficient hacker who could give them a taste of their own medicine," Six ignored his words and continued. White smiled, intrigued by the story of this mysterious individual. "One never liked getting his hands dirty by researching our targets. The less evidence, the better."
"So I guess I should reach out to this person."
"He won't talk with you and will likely erase his digital presence, making it difficult for us to track him down again. He avoids working for the government because it's too risky and could jeopardize his identity."
"How will he work for us if he knows that you're now working for Providence and departed from your old teammates?"
"It's worth trying."
The problem wasn't finding a burner phone number or repaying for the favor. The real issue would be persuading a hacker to work for him, considering his current interests and loyalties.
After years of not contacting this individual, he began to wonder if it would eventually alert the rest of the numbers. Money was always the driving force for hackers, as they, of course, had access to everything and only needed capital to fulfill their twisted desires. This hacker was no exception.
Six was aware that Rebecca wouldn't be pleased, even if she wanted to help him to help herself.
As he rummaged through his private drawer, an old piece of paper caught his eye. On it was a number, written in what he believed to be a black marker. Six never thought he would have to look at it again, but now it demanded his attention. It was a reminder of his past, a past he had hidden away and hoped to never revisit.
Keeping it a secret from Rex and Bobo had been a challenge.
He immediately wondered if his contact would keep his old number and thought it wouldn't be wise to do so, but he didn't want to ask his old teammates about it. Six didn't want to reveal any important information that could put more people in danger than just Holiday.
A visit to the city was necessary to find a device that could not be tracked for making the call. It seemed foolish that the hacker still held onto that number, considering the risk of losing the paper or being turned in to the authorities. However, there was no one else he could trust besides Five to ask about it if his initial plan failed.
This made him wonder if she could keep the secret. His fingers were shaking uncontrollably, as his body was filled with adrenaline. The success of this plan was crucial; he couldn't let Rebecca down. He didn't want to give her a false hope. The number appeared disconnected, which made sense since the paper was quite old. As he looked at it, he knew that as much as he despised it, he had to contact Five to do the dirty work for him. At least the woman still used her old ways of communication.
He just needed a safe place to wait for her. Usually, the roof of an abandoned building would suffice. Despite the cloudy sky, Six didn't mind. He wasn't made of sugar and a bit of rain wouldn't melt him down. It seemed that Five didn't mind either, as he was leaning against one of the walls near the door of the stairs he had climbed to reach the roof. He waited for her pink hair to appear on the stormy night.
"Talking of the devil, here he is," she exclaimed, her voice resounding amidst the thunder that now graced the earth. Six shook his head and pushed his glasses up, looking at the amused woman. He didn't have time for pleasantries and got straight to the point.
"I need your help to find an old acquaintance."
"Hmm? How strange, Mr. 'I don't want anything to do with my past anymore'," she quipped. "This must be important if you're coming to me for help."
"It is," Six replied, his tone serious. "And I trust that you will keep this a secret from the others." Five raised an eyebrow, now intrigued. It seemed that whatever Six needed help with was dangerous and important.
"What is it? If you haven't been able to find it on your own, it must be quite significant."
"It's the hacker who used to work for One. I need to track him down and contact him."
"Sorry, handsome, but you know he will never work for you while you're still with Providence," she said, brushing off his request with a wave of her hand.
"But perhaps you could help me convince him," Six persisted.
"If I knew more about the situation, it could help me to persuade him to give us his contact information."
"Are you just here to gossip?" Six asked.
"No, I truly mean it," Five replied with a sigh. He knew that part of her was right and he would have to tell her an elaborate story to convince the hacker to help him.
"It's about Holiday," he began, as Five raised one eyebrow in curiosity. "She's being targeted by an organization that has stolen one of her researches and is pressuring her to complete it for them. They've even threatened to harm her if she refuses."
Five's expression changed to one of understanding. "So this is about your lady, then? Understandably, you would be willing to pay a high price for his services."
"I'll find a way to handle it," he replied confidently, as another clap of thunder echoed in the sky.
"Bringing back memories of your mercenary days, huh? Well, I could help you find some gigs if you need them."
"Make it quick," Six's words amused her as if she could simply press a button and make it happen.
"Of course, because he must be the second contact on my phone list," she mocked him, even as she suspected that behind those sunglasses, there was a deadly glare. "Give me a couple of hours and I will try to find your guy. Hopefully, it's not information that only One knows."
Six hoped, for the sake of leaving his past behind, that it wasn't the case. But he knew that if he went back to his old habits as a mercenary, they would soon connect the dots. The mercenary network was much more intertwined than a regular citizen could even imagine. Each one had its way of killing and leaving a recognizable mark for the others to understand it was their territory.
That also meant not messing with their targets, no matter how crazy the amount of money for their heads could be, or it would mean putting a big target on your back.
"I assume she isn't foolish enough to still be in Providence, just waiting for an attack to happen." Five's voice sounded more serious than he had ever heard it before, making him wonder why she was so fond of the woman. He had never heard her use any other term for her besides "your lady."
"Of course not."
Six glanced at his wristwatch under a bus stop to shield himself from the storm that he thought matched his turbulent emotions, and looked around for any passers-by who might overhear his conversation if Five decided to call him with any news about the hacker.
"Hey handsome!" Six's eyebrows shot up as Five sat down next to him at the bus stop, as it was a common occurrence between the two of them.
"I was expecting you to call me to meet in a more private location," Six whispered, her voice barely audible. The woman smiled and placed her arms behind her back, shaking her head.
"There isn't much to tell you anyway, you know?" She glanced around before sitting even closer to the man, who visibly flinched at the thought of being in such close proximity to her. Five suppressed a laugh and handed him a piece of paper, causing him to wonder how it could be completely dry when she seemed to be drenched from the rain.
"Here is his new number. I had to endure Trey's bad jokes, so you owe me a favor. I'll think of something I want from you and let you know." Five couldn't help but stifle a laugh at the look of horror on Six's face, even though she couldn't see his eyes behind his glasses. "Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you out or anything like that. And even if I could easily take down your lady, I don't want to deal with your bratty attitude if I accidentally kill her. Plus, I had to tell the hacker that she was your wife and her life was in danger in order to get his help. He agreed to help, but only if it was an inside job and Providence respected his privacy. The deal will only be between the two of you."
His wife? Of all the things he thought that Five could say to try to convince him to help them, he didn't expect that.
"How did you find him so easily?" Six decided to not make a comment about that and focus on something else.
"Trey had a target that he needed to track and had to ask for help as well." Five sighed. "What a coincidence isn't it? I didn't even have to ask the others about it!"
"So, is he still working..."
"If you pay, he sure does."
Five stood up from her seat and gazed up at the sky, kissing him goodbye on the cheek.
"I need to keep going. Don't worry, I will call you anytime soon!"
Six experienced the sensation that his head would disengage from his body. Now he had a 'wife' and money to collect. He quickly dialed the number on his burner phone and heard a familiar deep voice on the other end of the line.
"I want to say that it's unexpected, but I'd be lying."
Six remained silent as the man on the other end sighed, undoubtedly wondering how to address the fact that one of the most emotionally detached men he had ever worked with had managed to get married and then ruin it, leading to him needing the man's services.
"How much?" Six asked, as there was no need to continue discussing the situation. Being a hacker, he would likely discover by himself that his supposed marriage was simply an elaborate hoax to solicit his services.
"It all depends. Five wasn't very specific. The size and resources of the organization will play a big role, however, I doubt they could stop me as easily as they did with Providence."
"Two days maximum?" Six asked.
"Right. I can work with that. All I need is something I could use as a reference. If Providence is still being controlled by their flawed code, I could also infiltrate their network and monitor their IP addresses."
Six pondered about it. Granting access to another hacker would only complicate the situation. Although he was paying for the job to be done, he couldn't prevent the hacker from gathering vital information and exploiting it in the future.
"Your silence is a way for me to hear your thoughts". The man on the other end laughed, and Six had to fight the urge to just punch the phone into Oblivion.
"If you obtain any additional information..." Six tried to warn him, but there was still a laugh on the other end.
"As if I hadn't done such things before. Providence is not new to me, but you're lucky because so far, I haven't needed anything from them, yet. But that makes me wonder how influential your wife is in Providence and what kind of big fish we are trying to catch."
"I thought you wouldn't want to do the work if you knew I wasn't working for my former teammates". Six raised an eyebrow, even though the man on the other end couldn't see it.
"I typically don't do it just for the fun of it, but if these beginners can do it and damage their network, I can do it as well."
"How much? Six asked again. "In Providence, she is the scientist in charge of the scientific department. That's how important it is."
"Good job, man! You sent it out of the park by marrying her. It's not surprising why you switched jobs. But even though we have known each other for a while, it will still mean that there will be no discount. Six figures."
That didn't sound easy to achieve with a couple of jobs, but there was no way back.
"After the job is done, we'll discuss the deadline. Consider it a guarantee before making the payment. But if something still happens to her, even after my help, I will still charge you anyway."
Holiday had never seen the somber expression on Six's face before. She couldn't tell if he was doing it unintentionally or on purpose, but he suddenly removed his glasses and, while rubbing his temples with one hand, collapsed onto the couch, resting his head against the back of it.
"Is everything alright?" she ventured to ask, even though she dreaded the answer.
"Just a pretty long day," Six said, not looking at her but at the ceiling. "Remember the hacker I told you about? The contact has been made, but in order to track their possible location, he has to infiltrate Providence as well and try to unmask their IPs." Holiday's eyes moved frantically, so she had to close them for a moment. If that hacker also stole part of their information, it would become another problem to deal with. And it all started with her stupid investigation.
"This is wrong. This is just wrong."
Sitting upright, Six looked at her, not giving credit to her words. He couldn't believe that she was ignoring the fact that Rex's life, as well as the lives of others, could be in danger.
"I can't believe that people like that still exist in your past. It's clear that you now owe them something in return."
"You always do when you solicit such services," he replied simply. She needed time to process the information, but Six knew that eventually she would come to the same conclusion he did.
He felt her head softly land on his arm as she sighed heavily.
Rex's life was also worth the risk.
Information beeped on his burner phone at the most inconvenient time of the night, but he was familiar with the hacker's tricks. It was almost 3 o'clock in the morning, but the disclosed location helped to fully wake him up, jumping to sit in bed and give a better look at the paragraphs that seemed to keep coming. Attached was a picture that appeared to be a map of some sort.
"Wow, what a fascinating place," Six read the final text and quickly jotted down the coordinates and examined them under the light of his bedside table lamp.
Was it a place he could recognize? He would surely find it in the morning.
Rex's eyes widened as Six placed the information he had gathered on the meeting table. Capitan Calan, on the other hand, seemed less surprised and was instead wondering how it was possible without their undercover agents.
"Here are the coordinates, but I can't quite remember if I've been there before. We might not be able to dismantle the entire operation in just one mission, but it's definitely worth a try," Six said.
"I agree," Rex chimed in from the other end of the table. "I've been itching to kick some asses and I can't wait to hear their cries of pain for what they're doing to the Doc."
"It would be wise to first check the premises. They might be expecting us, like last time," Calan suggested, crossing his arms. "If we're too eager to confront them, they might go into hiding again and the information could end up being useless."
"I didn't think about jumping into action just yet," Six responded, looking at Bobo who was sitting by his side. "Last time, Bobo had a good suggestion to send in our undercover agents again, capitan. And you as well. Maybe if we were able to thoroughly examine the map and familiarize ourselves with every passage, we could strategically set a trap to eliminate as many of them as possible. This would send a clear message that we are no longer playing games."
Rebecca struggled to eat as she listened to Rex's risky plan. Each bite felt like her stomach was disintegrating. Six seemed lost in thought, carefully analyzing the plan.
"It's a reconnaissance mission, and then we'll give them something to worry about," Rex explained, but Rebecca was too distracted by the man in the green suit who was also skipping his meal. She couldn't help but worry about Rex's safety and the potential danger to his nanites.
"You shouldn't go, Rex. It could be dangerous for you and your nanites. They might not have completed their research, but they could still see you as a valuable subject. If they manage to kidnap me and complete their research, it could mean your death or anyone else's."
"I'm ready for action!" exclaimed Rex, standing up and clearing not only his own plate, but also any possible trash that Six or the woman had left behind. He then took the bags with him. "Don't worry, Doc. We'll get you out of this dusty place." Six refrained from commenting and instead watched as Rex said his goodbyes to the woman and left the room. He then stood up and walked over to Holiday, who also got up from her seat. She looked at him, wishing she could see the expression in his eyes.
"There's no other option but to try and infiltrate blindly and hope for the best," said Six in a quiet voice. Rebecca could see that he was biting his lower lip and starting to show signs of stress.
"So your hacker sends you a map and you guys decide to put yourselves in danger again, just to test its accuracy?" Holding her face in between his hands, Six simply decided to kiss her complaints in a way to not fill his own mind with doubt. He wasn't used to it. Never felt the need to shut off his own brain to stop thinking about casualties.
"Does this mean that I can't stop you from leaving?"
He smiled softly and kissed her hand before walking away, despite her attempts to hold onto him.
"Will you at least try to be careful?" She asked before he closed the door.
"It sounds like you don't even know me and how good my skills are." The man attempted one of his rare jokes, but Holiday shook her head.
"That's precisely what worries me the most."
"I will be as careful as possible," he reassured her. "And Rex will also be there, so what could go wrong?"
Holiday couldn't help but think that everything could go wrong.