When I woke up the next day, I felt like I had been over by a train after being trampled on by a stampede of rhinoceros, to put it lightly. I sat up on the couch and stared at my surroundings for a good ten minutes just trying to remember where I was and how I got to be there. I only had vague memories of the night before, but I knew it involved alcohol.

Glancing over at the desk, I noticed a glass of water and a couple of tablets waiting for me. Somehow Jake knew I was going to wake up to the worst hangover ever. I stood up slowly just so I could reach the glass and medicine, then promptly sat back down. Wasting no time, I downed the pills and washed them down. I spaced out again and stared at the flaking paint on the wall until my head felt relatively better. Only then did I feel confident enough to venture out of the room.

To my surprise, Jake wasn't at his desk. In fact, he wasn't even in the building, which I confirmed by checking every nook and cranny. Heading back upstairs confused, I noticed the laptop we had acquired the night before open on the desk beside Jake's. I walked over to take a look. That's when I found the handwritten note on the keyboard.

'Going out to purchase supplies. Your laptop is ready.'

Nice and vague, but what else could I expect from Jake? I hoped supplies was going to at least include caffeine and food. Preferably something greasy and horribly unhealthy. However, there was no guarantee that supplies would include comfort foods, or any type of edible food. I just knew if he returned with granola bars again, I was going to lose my shit.

I pushed the note aside and turned my laptop on cautiously. It felt weird to see the screen light up and bring up my old wallpaper when just yesterday it was owned by a lunatic drug dealer. The computer prompted me for my password. I paused for a moment, then entered my old computer's password. As I thought, Jake even kept that the same. I wasn't even shocked to see my old desktop when it loaded. If anything I would be more shocked if it was different. However, as I opened the menu I realised it was superficial. He had only recovered what was backed up to my cloud drive, such as documents, photos and videos. Applications that were not installed with the operating system were missing. Still, I was grateful that he did recover what he could in that short amount of time.

I leaned back and sighed. I finally had my own computer again, but what do I even do with it? There was a temptation to head to my old haunts online, but I knew that was out of the question. Out of curiosity, I opened the browser I searched my name on Google. In the past that always led to embarrassing results, but I wondered what I would find now that I was an internationally wanted criminal. What was my family back home seeing of our exploits? At first all I found were rather generic news articles referring to Nym-0s' activities. I barely received a mention other than the fact I was the unknown individual seen accompanying him. The latest few articles reported that we shot up a harmless rave the other night. Classy reporting as always. There was one article on the second page of results from my local news though that caught my attention.

<<Terrorist in our Community: How Did We Miss the Signs?>>

Say what now? All logic told me to ignore the opinion piece, but I opened it anyway. I couldn't believe my eyes as this so-called reporter ripped apart my life and had me painted as an anti-social loner, ripe for the picking for a cyber terrorist to brainwash into joining his anti-establishment cause. I suddenly understood completely how Jake felt about the news. While reading it, I argued to the screen out loud, as if I could defend my case. Of course I knew it was a hopeless cause. There was no way I could convince people like this writer that I wasn't hellspawn. The part that bothered me the most though was the quotes they gathered from neighbours and co-workers. Some I barely even spoke to in the past. Others were absolute assholes whom I slighted in the past for good reason. Then there was the quote from my ex-finance, which was the icing on the cake.

<<I don't think anyone was more surprised than I was, but when I took a step back, I realised all the signs were there. She was very argumentative, antagonistic towards authority and government bodies on many occasions. Dare I say nasty even? I am disappointed by how blinded by love I was. I wish I had heeded the advice of my friends and stayed away from her.>>

"Oh, you don't even know the meaning!" I snapped out loud. "Wait until Jake gets back! I'll show you nasty!"

I glanced at the clock. It was the middle of the afternoon, but it occurred to me that I had no idea how long Jake had been gone for and how soon I should expect him back. Realising my vengeance would have to wait, I sighed and left the page to check the email we set up for my pseudonym for communicating with the psychiatrist. I wasn't expecting much, but lo and behold, there was a response sitting in the inbox!

<<Hi Ms. Chase,

My clinic hours are 9 am until 7 pm, Tuesday through Thursday. However, the never-ending pile of paperwork usually keeps me in the office until 10 most nights. You are welcome to stop by for a visit anytime during those hours.

I hear the weather in Duskwood is beautiful this time of year. Have you visited before?

Sincerely,

Dr. Richard Cumming>>

I did a double take when I read the last line of the doctor's email. I had hoped I was better at hiding our identities than that, but apparently the good doctor was onto us. Still, I was grateful that he made it clear he knew who we were while continuing to play along in case someone else read the email. Jake was against visiting his office, but perhaps I could convince him to visit outside his standard hours. At least we shouldn't be seen by any other staff or patients. The doctor left it in our hands to decide when to visit. Surely that would make setting up a trap difficult. I leant back in my chair and thought about what I was going to say to Jake to get him to agree to this arrangement. Just as I was running chat scenarios in my head, a black window appeared on my screen with white text.

> Don't panic.

> It is me.

> Can't talk. Need you to go to my computer and enter a few prompts for me.

I stared at my screen confused for a few moments, unsure if what I was seeing was even real.

> Hello? Are you there?

> Did you leave your laptop open and walk away?

Cautiously I typed a response and hit enter.

> What happened to buying supplies?

> I will explain later.

> Please go to my computer and open it.

> I don't know the password.

> Yes, you do. The PIN is the day I first reached out to you.

> Year first.

> How do I know you're you?

There was a long delay before the next response.

> Ghostbusters.

> Sorry, I cannot say more. I don't know how much is being monitored right now.

> What the hell Jake!?

> What is going on!?

> Please trust me, ok?

> I will get back to you as soon as possible.

> And if you don't?

> If you need to run, run.

> I will catch up to you.

> Remember I can always find you.

> Please, open my computer and unlock it using the PIN I mentioned earlier.

> Go to the command window and enter: $ sudo ufw allow 22

> That's all you need to do. I will handle the rest.

> Give me a minute.

I sighed and rubbed my head while glancing over at Jake's laptop. I had no idea what was happening on his end, but my gut told me it wasn't good. From what I could gather, he needed something from his laptop and whatever he was having me type was going to allow him access to it. What did he get himself into that he couldn't just come get his laptop? And he needed remote access to his computer?

I shook my head and pushed my chair over to his desk. Gingerly I opened his laptop and entered the fateful date five years ago - 20220521. Sure enough, it worked. After opening the command window, I went back and forth between the two computers to make sure I typed the command correctly. Once I confirmed it was correct, I decisively hit enter. I received a response confirming port 22 was opened, but then nothing. I wasn't sure what I was expecting though.

I went back to my laptop to let Jake know I had done it, but the screen was gone. I picked up my phone and checked it for any notifications, but there were none. Just to be sure though, I called Jake's phone. It rang and rang. I half expected it to go to his default voicemail greeting, but it didn't.

"Good afternoon, Fräulein!"

My blood ran cold.

"Cyan!? What the fuck? Where's Jake!?" I shouted.

"Ah, he's a bit preoccupied at the moment, but I assure you he is fine," he responded all too cheerfully.

"Like fuck he's fine! Don't think I have forgotten what you did to him the other night!" I snapped.

"And I certainly haven't forgotten what you two did to my men last night either," he said coldly. "You two cost me a lot of money. Nym is simply getting me what I am owed back. Once he is done, you can have your boy toy back."

That's what this was all about? Cyan somehow got a hold of Jake and was forcing him to give him money? I could only assume he wasn't getting the funds legally. I gritted my teeth and tried to remain calm.

"Unharmed. Return him unharmed," I insisted.

"Mmmmh, sure. If everyone does as they are told, he will not receive further harm. If you two try anything, all deals are off the table," Cyan responded firmly.

"All deals?" I questioned.

I realised Jake and Cyan must've cut their own deal. What did Cyan threaten Jake with to get him to comply? I could only imagine the worst. The truth is, reality far exceeded what my mind could up with.

"One last thing. After this is done, Jake is out. For good. He doesn't owe you anything," I pushed.

"You know you're awfully quick to accept this situation. I would've expected more protest from you over the news. It's almost as if you already knew when you called that I had Nym working on this for me," Cyan thought out loud.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied terribly.

"Yes you do. He has been in communication with you, hasn't he?" Cyan laughed. "That son of a bitch. Martinez! I thought I told you to monitor his activity!"

I couldn't quite make out the conversation on the other end, but I did pick up the word 'encrypted'. I sighed with relief. Jake was already trying to circumvent them. I just wished there was something I could do from my end to help him.

"A little smartass, isn't he?" Cyan humoured. "Hey, Nym! Guess who I have on the phone here! I bet she'd love to hear the stories of the good ol' days!"

"You think I would believe anything you have to say?" I rolled my eyes.

I could've hung up on him there, but I strained my ears to try to pick up Jake's voice on the other side. I just wanted to hear him and hear his tone so I could determine whether he was ok or not. I needed that comfort of knowing.

"It's up to you whether you want to believe me or not. Let's see, where do I begin? Oh how about how Nym would get his girls high as a kite, borrowed my playroom, and kept them down there for days. God knows what happened in that room, but by the time he let us in, they were completely mind broken nymphs. His best work was on our rival's fiancé," Cyan rambled on. "The funny thing is, she reminds me of you."

"Shut the fuck up!" I heard Jake shout on the other side.

"See? Did he deny it? No, he didn't, fräulein," Cyan mused. "The playroom is still available. I might be inclined to let you use it again if you wanted to do some training with MC."

I heard Jake say something spitefully in German on the other side of the line.

"Oh, MC! You should've seen the look on his face as the thought of you in the stocks crossed his mind," Cyan chuckled.

"Why don't you turn the camera on and show me?" I tried my hardest to stomach the situation so I could seize the opportunity to get proof of life out of Cyan.

"Ha! Smooth, real smooth, MC. I'll tell you what, I'm feeling generous right now so yeah, I'll let you get a look at him," Cyan paused as he fumbled with the phone.

I pulled my phone away from my ear just as the camera turned on. The room was dark, but I could see Jake's face illuminated by the computer screens in front of him. He was fully concentrating on his work and didn't notice Cyan had the camera on him. Even in the dim light I could see his cut lip and swollen eye. Whatever happened earlier, he clearly didn't go willingly to Cyan.

"Say hi, Nym! Your girl misses you!" Cyan mocked.

Jake glanced over, glaring at Cyan and at the camera, "I thought you needed the money tonight. Quit wasting my time."

"Well it's not my life on the line," Cyan teased. "I could keep her company for you. You know, like the old days."

Jake spat something in German again, which had Cyan laughing maniacally.

"Oh, MC, let me translate this smartass for you! He said, 'You still can't get any action without using my women?' Ha! I have had plenty of successes since you've been gone!" Cyan boasted. "Yeah, that's right, no speaking in Deutsch to hide things from her. She deserves the full truth from you. Honestly though, he's worried that you'll find me more enjoyable. That has been known to happen."

"I highly doubt that," I sneered.

Cyan swapped to the front facing camera. I ignored him and tried to catch things in the background to see if I could determine anything that would give up their location, but it was just a generic, abandoned warehouse. Those were really a dime a dozen.

"I could have my men pick you up and we could find out," Cyan grinned. "All you need to know is let me know where you are and I will handle the rest. Aren't you feeling lonely there?"

The way he said those last words made my stomach churn. I immediately ended the call and tossed my phone on the desk. I didn't manage to get anything that would help me reveal Jake's location and instead only succeeded in making myself feel sick. There were heaps of abandoned warehouses in the area. I wanted to believe that Jake could handle it, but what if he couldn't? Cyan said a life was on the line. Did he mean Jake's? Would he kill Jake if he couldn't get the money in time?

I stood up from my desk and started pacing around the room. Was I really reduced to sitting here and waiting for news? My hands started to shake at the thought of history repeating itself. No, I couldn't handle radio silence. Not again. Not ever again. I had to do something. Something was better than nothing. But what? I didn't even know where to begin! Damnit, I hated feeling so useless.

I turned around and noticed several windows opened on Jake's laptop. I jumped over to it to have a closer look.

<<Tutorial: How to Connect and Operate Your CCTV System Remotely>>

The other window was just a simple text file.

<<192.168.9.6 admin s&ja#eH$g12>>

I smiled confidently, "Don't worry, I'll find you."