6. Hacker

Chrissy seeks the help of an old friend to try to figure out what's on the mysterious memory card they have found.

Ian was leaving work and almost to his car when his phone rang. It was Chrissy. “Hey,” he answered.

“I showed that memory card to everyone here at work,” she said.

“I'm fine. How are you?” he replied with a touch of annoyance.

She ignored his sarcasm. “Nobody here has ever seen anything like it. It's definitely not any kind of programming. Zane was so fascinated with it he wanted to make a copy and try decoding it in his spare time. But the damn thing's copy protected.”

“I didn't know you could copy protect a memory card.”

“Yeah, it's weird alright,” she said, “Zane likes to break the copy protection on DVDs and Blu-ray disks, but he couldn't crack this. He said it's a real pro job.”

“This is sounding stranger by the minute,” he responded, “How in the hell did it get into our possession?!”

“Beats me. I want to show it to an old hacker friend of mine. He's a real ace at this kind of stuff. He can break any encryption.”

“Let me come with you. I want to hear what he has to say. Emily has soccer practice after school, so I don't have to pick her up for awhile.”

“Alright, meet me here and we'll go together.

Ian stopped by Chrissy's work and they drove to her friend's place. Ian parked the car in front of a rather run-down looking apartment building in a seedy looking neighborhood.

“Not the best part of the city,” he said, looking around a little nervously as they got out.

“I lived in this neighborhood for a short time,” said Chrissy, “Lock the doors.”

They walked up to the front door and Chrissy checked the names on the register. She didn't see her friend listed. “Damn it! It's been a few years since I last saw him. He's probably moved.”

They were about to get back in the car when she looked across the street. “Wait a minute,” she said. Ian followed her gaze and saw a man with a dilapidated shopping cart digging through a dumpster. Chrissy started across the street and Ian followed. She stopped when she reached the man. “Benjamin?” she said.

The man straightened and turned around. He was tall, about six feet, and incredibly skinny. Although rare, Ian had heard of anorexia in males. The man looked like a prime case. He had shoulder length jet black hair which contrasted highly with his very pale skin. He looked about thirty years of age. He was holding a broken electric coffee maker in his hand. He looked at Chrissy for several seconds before his eyes widened with surprise. “Chrissy?! Wow!” he exclaimed, “I haven't seen you in years. Where've you been?”

“I moved to another neighborhood,” she replied, “It's been awhile.”

“Well, you're looking good. You look... healthy,” he said. “This your old man?” he asked as he eyed Ian.

“Yeah, but not in the way you think. He's my husband, not my father. Ian, meet Benjamin.”

Benjamin's eyes widened again. “Your husband?! You're married?! No s**t!”

“Yeah, and I've got a kid, too,” she said. She gestured to the shopping cart, which was full of miscellaneous junk and throwaways. “So, are you living on the street now?” she asked.

“Nah. I live in a flat around the corner. Come on, I'll take you to it. We can have a beer and catch up.” He tossed the coffee maker into the cart and started pushing it down the sidewalk. Ian and Chrissy followed. “I had to move because I'm on disability now,” he explained as they walked.

“Disability?” Chrissy replied, “Why? What happened?”

“I went insane,” he answered with a straight face.

Author's Note

Suggestions and constructive criticisms are always welcome.

Reviews

[John Lauterbach]

I like Benjamin a lot so far, especially how matter-of-fact he is with "I went insane." Like he could go on to say "Oh you know, it happens."

The end felt more natural to me than the beginning. Once they got to Chrissy's old neighborhood, it all felt right again. I can't place it exactly, but it feels like you had the ending of this chapter in mind before the beginning.

[Craig2591]

Yeah, in the next chapter you'll get a glimpse of why he's considered insane.

[C. Rose]

Again with the zinger last line :)
I like how you gradual expand the cast.
Now that I see you using multiple POVs, I take back the Stephanie/Jonathan complaint.
2 POVs is awkward, but multiple is fine.
Chrissy is better than Stephanie at explaining what happen off-camera.

[Craig2591]

Geez! I owe you a bunch of RRs. Do you have a book you'd like me to read? I'm glad you're enjoying this one.

[C. Rose]

I would appreciate you reading my story Weeds.
http://www.writerscafe.org/writing/clange/1241008/
I just updated it this morning :)

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

The ending of the chapter in regards to Benjamin was a nice twist. It also makes me wonder if he was truly insane or simply labeled as such. He reminds me a little of my character Kiran in how matter-of-fact he is about bad things happening to him, though I haven't had too much of a chance to show this Kiran trait just great.. Or more likely I feel I need to show it more. Anyhow. I'm interested in learning more of Benjamin's story and whether he was actually insane

[Craig2591]

I'll let you be the judge as to how insane Benjamin is. ; ) I haven't caught that in Kiran, yet. I need to read more about him.

[K.]

Ooh, I love the Benjamin character. Great job on his description, I could almost see him in front of me. And of course, LOVE the cliff hanger at the end of the chapter :)

[Tina Kline]

I liked reading about Chrissy and Ian again. This story is getting very mysterious.
I hope they discover what's on that memory card before the others show up.

[Craig2591]

Thank you.

[Barbara Walker]

What a great way to leave a reader wanting more! Mystery and insanity-a great combination. Looking forward to what's next!

[Craig2591]

Thank you.