Hack.A.I. (The Hack. series Book 1), page 20
Cassie slapped him lightly on the chest. “You’re disgusting.”
Nate shrugged with a wicked smile.
“You’re handsome. I’m not sure if I told you that.” Cassie smiled. Regurgitating his line from the day before.
“Thanks.” Nate replied coyly. “You don’t look too bad yourself.” He glanced down at her body.
She thrust herself forward and landed a kiss on his lips. They continued to kiss passionately for a moment.
Nate cupped her breast and the excitement between them built once more.
Cassie pushed Nate off her by his shoulders, so their lips became unbound.
She got her knees on the carpet and collapsed her stomach on the sofa, pulling Nate’s hand so that he got up to his knees behind her.
After the fresh bout of intense passion and Nate driving Cassie’s face deep into the sofa pillows, they both collapsed, rosy-cheeked, into each other’s arms on the floor once more.
In moments of stress, any comfort is a blessing. Right now, they have each other.
“Do you know, I don’t think I’ve noticed that anklet before.”
“No? It was my mothers, one of the few things I had from her. It’s important to me.”
“Looks sexy on you.”
“You think so?”
Nate nodded.
“She looked just like me.”
“Beautiful?” Nate added.
She smiled at him with a gentle warmth.
“Okay, babe, I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” She said, her smile fading from her face.
They both rose and took seats on the small sofa’s opposite ends, facing each other. Still hand in hand.
Nate stared at the blank wall, hoping the difficult words would appear like a teleprompter.
“I was just a kid when my parents left me. No note. Nothing. They just got up and left.”
Cassie’s hand shot over her mouth, but Nate didn’t acknowledge it and continued.
“I spent years in the system, you know. Bouncing from foster home to foster home. As I got older, I struggled to make friends. I became insular. I attended school but couldn’t pay attention. When the exams came, everyone expected me to fail, but I aced them all. Just through pure luck, I guess. Other than religious studies, because really, who gives a shit?”
Cassie's face broke into a radiant smile, brightening up the room.
Nate continued. “I was in and out of the headteacher’s office for fun, mind you, I think if I wasn’t such an outlier in my grades they would’ve expelled me long before I left.”
“What for?”
“Well, I never liked bullies.”
“What does that mean?”
“If I saw someone being bullied, I’d lose my cool. It would either come to blows with someone or if I really didn’t like them, I’d hack into their laptops and expose their digital lives to their friends.”
“You’d doxx them?”
“Yeah, they had it coming, believe me.”
Nate's eyebrow twitched under his touch, his attention drawn to Cassie's glare.
“I know it wasn’t right, but we were kids and they were real assholes.”
“How did you get a laptop in foster care?”
“The family I was staying with at the time was good to me and bought me my first laptop. And that’s really where my passion for engineering came into it. I gave the impression of working harder in school, but secretly I was searching for vulnerabilities in all the code I could find.”
“At that age?”
“Yeah, and that became boring. And so I took up an interest in software engineering and then general engineering. Sorry, I know this is all really boring.”
“No, it’s really not,” Cassie laughed. “Not for me. I love hearing you share about yourself.”
Nate smiled and continued. “One day, my internet wasn’t working as well as I wanted to, so I built a satellite that would improve my connection. Somebody heard about my satellite and asked if he could purchase my plans. I didn’t really care for or want money. I had everything I wanted, so I just said when I asked him for a favour to answer. That became Starloop and got the internet to every corner of the globe.”
Cassie's shoulders dipped as she rolled her eyes. Tearing her hand from his. “Listen, I didn’t ask you to tell me anything you offered, so if you are going to lie about it, then say nothing.”
“Cass, I’m not lying.” Nate replied, maintaining and unwavering eye contact.
“You’re not lying?”
He shook his head.
“And what about when you said about building something before, was that a lie?”
“No.”
“What the—” She trailed off. “What favour did you ask?”
“I built another satellite, and he launched it into a space for me.”
“You have to be messing with me.”
Nate shook his head again.
“For better internet?”
“Uh, not this time,”
“What then?”
Nate hesitated.
“It’s easier to show you later. It will help us get Bic back. Believe me.”
Cassie surveyed him, but moved on anyway.
“How old were you when your parents left?”
“Five or six, something like that,” Nate replied vacantly.
Cassie’s eyes widened and her head shook.
“Left me at an orphanage on the outskirts of Cardiff.”
“You’re Welsh?”
Nate nodded. “Can’t you tell?”
“Ahh no, that’s a deal breaker, mate.” Cassie smiled.
“You English are all the same.”
“I’m from Barbados, actually.” Cassie said in a perfect Barbadian accent.
“Ahh, of course, you are a Rihanna wannabe.” Nate smirked.
“Ey, don’t rip Rihanna bro, she’s iconic.” Cassie threw her arms out wide, ready to square up. A smile across her face.
“Oh, you are tough stuff.”
“I got your number, mate.” She leaned in and kissed him.
They fell into each other’s arms and it went quiet again between them.
“Do you know what’s mad?” Nate said.
Cassie sat up and stared into his eyes.
“I remember them leaving. Driving me up to the orphanage, dropping me off. Explaining everything to me like I was a lot older than I was. And then they told me they would come back for me and, stupidly, I believed them. Who drops their kid off at an orphanage and then comes back for them?” his voice broke.
“Oh, babe.” The tears welled up again in Cassie’s eyes, threatening to break their banks.
“The worst thing was, I used to tell myself that they had to be superheroes or spies or something and when they finished their mission, they would come back for me. After a year, I doubted it. Two years came, and I knew then they had left me there for good. I promised myself I would trust no one or their word again.”
“You poor baby!” Cassie said, softly landing her hand in his.
“Everyone has a story, Cass.” Nate shrugged. “Even you?” Nate said, looking around the room they were sitting in.
Cassie nodded and gathered herself.
“You probably guessed it, but this is my wonderful childhood home. Within a couple of years of buying this beautiful place, my parents paid off the mortgage and spent the rest of their income taking us out. Growing up, our parents worked hard to provide us with everything. New clothes, makeup, dolls. Everything. We lived an enviable life. Especially with all the girls at school. Had all the issues of being a different skin tone, but mom and dad tried their best so that we didn’t notice.”
A tear stripe rolled down her cheek.
“And, as life does, it kicks you. I was eleven years old, and my parents went out on a date night. My mother looked gorgeous, she wore this beautiful floral dress and my pops always wore a suit jacket and tie for date night. They looked so happy, so proud of each other and us. I took a photo with the camera I got for Christmas.” Cassie pressed the clean corner of a dust sheet into her tear duct to dry her eyes a little.
“But I refused to have it printed when they didn’t come home. A drunk lorry driver, pissed off with his cheating wife, collided into their car, killing them both instantly.”
Nate let out a gasp. “Oh Cass, I’m sorry..”
“Thank you, babe.” She continued. “It was unusual for them to be out so late. So I ended up staying awake with the babysitter. I remember we were making bead bracelets. And then the police knocked on our door and I knew they weren’t coming home. I’d seen the scene on cop shows so many times before. My younger sister had already gone to bed, but my screams woke her. I stayed strong and apologised to her, but I couldn’t tell her what had happened. She was five. And I needed to protect her.”
Nate nudged over to her and put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in tightly and kissed the top of her head.
Tears steadily poured down her cheeks.
Her words didn't falter, even as she was held tightly, her voice echoing with strength.
“That night I grew up. My mother’s family from Barbados were not granted visas to care for us and my dad’s family had already died. So it was left just to me to look after my sister. Ava, her name is.”
Nate picked up on a facial expression he didn’t expect. Pride.
“Beautiful name.”
She smiled at him. “It suited her. She was beautiful.”
Cassie’s face hardened. “She kept asking where mommy and daddy were. I couldn’t explain to her well enough that they weren’t coming home. Whichever way I tried, she just kept asking. I remember screaming at her. And then felt guilty when she burst into tears and hid under the stairs. I still feel terrible about it.”
“You were a kid, Cass. Who had just had her world ripped apart. No one would dare blame you for losing your temper.”
“But she did. And that hurt more than anything.”
Nate couldn’t reply. It wasn’t his place.
“She told the teacher in school that I shouted at her. They started asking questions. And I knew then they would separate us. I told them that my aunt had come over to look after us. But they didn’t listen.”
Her face contorted with anger, forming a grimace.
“They asked to visit. I said no, but they didn’t listen. They turned up at our house and I dragged my sister into the closet to hide. I was so scared of losing her, so I put my hand on her mouth to shut her up. She cried, said I was hurting her, but she had to be quiet. She didn’t understand why. Ava bit my hand and I let her go. She ran straight to them and told them I hurt her. I begged and begged them not to separate us. But they said I posed too much of a risk to her.”
“What?” Nate huffed.
Cassie nodded, tears streaming down her face.
Nate understood all too well. “I can’t believe they would separate sisters.”
Cassie sighed.
“They put her up for adoption alone. And I never got to see her until she was adopted. I met the foster family briefly, and they looked like honest people. They were going to give her a life like she could never have lived with me and she deserved it.”
Kissing her head once more, Nate spoke. “You deserved it too.”
She smiled with teary eyes. “Nobody wanted a moody teenager.”
“So you didn’t get adopted?”
She shook her head.
“Same.” Nate offered a mutual mocking high five.
Cassie’s smile broke the tone and she high fived back.
“Where is she now? Ava?” Nate said gently.
“Last I heard, she was in a private school hoping to move onto Oxford. She was always so clever.”
Nate wrapped his arms around her and embraced her as the tears flowed.
“I’m sorry, so much time has passed and here I am crying about it. It’s stupid.”
“Cass, don’t be sorry. It’s really not stupid. Believe me.”
“You might be the only person who fully understands what I went through.”
Nate nodded.
With a soft smile, she sat up and locked her lips with his in a sweet, lingering kiss.
“So here we are, a couple of orphans begging for someone to love us.” Cassie smiled.
“I’ll love you, Cass. I’ll love you all night long!”
Nate smiled with a wink.
She chuckled at him with teary eyes.
Then her face soured, and she appeared lost in thought.
“Nate, I have to tell you something.”
“What is it?”
Nate awaited those three beautiful words, but they never came.
Cassie had spotted someone walking in the back garden towards the house.
thirty-seven
They both jumped to their feet and gathered their clothes.
Hugging the wall, they peered out the back window.
A loud thud of three consecutive bangs on the door frame, followed by the word “Police!” startled them.
“Shit, how did they know we were here?” Cassie whispered.
“It doesn’t matter. We need to get out of here. Can we get out somewhere upstairs?”
“There’s a skylight.”
“Class, let’s go.”
The door echoed with more thuds.
“Police, if you don’t answer the door, we are going to have to break it down.”
Cassie flung her dress over her naked body and slipped into her converse high tops.
Nate pulled his loose jeans up and rested them on his hips and partially pulled his T-shirt over his head, half stepping into his shoes as he stumbled towards the stairs.
They stuck their heads through the doorway to see the dark outline of a group of people chatting amongst themselves.
“I can hear someone inside.” The closest person to the door spoke aloud.
Nate gestured for Cassie to go up the stairs, and he stepped up the stairs lightly behind her.
They reached the second floor and heard the officer shout the command to break the door.
“Go, go!” Nate said in less of a hush, pointing up to the attic stairs.
From the attic stairs, they heard the door cave in after three relentless strikes.
The skylight was at the attic's far end, making them crouch while approaching.
Hard, thumping steps made their way up the stairs below them.
Cassie yanked the stiff window open.
“Skylight!” A call from the officer in the garden to his colleagues inside.
“Shit!” Cassie said.
Nate helped her up onto the windowsill and followed her.
The thumps began on the attic stairs.
She tried to maintain her balance on the slippery tiles while attempting to help Nate up.
Unsure why she turned to help him, given his proficiency in climbing.
Nate stood upright and closed the window when a hand reached out and grabbed his ankle.
He kicked it off and slammed the window down. The officer tucked his hand back inside before it shut.
“Go!” Nate pointed down the street.
A distance of some fifteen buses before they ran out of rooftop.
The mossy roof tiles were as slippery as seashore rocks.
Despite Cassie's hesitation, Nate held her hand and led her up the pointed rooftops, before allowing her to go ahead at the summit.
They both traversed the top as though it were a precarious balance beam. Side footing with their arms spread wide.
One officer finally forced the skylight open, causing Cassie to turn her head, and she lost her footing.
Nate grasped the back of her dress and steadied her.
“Just keep moving.”
“Where are we going to get down? There’s nowhere.” The panic etched out of her voice.
“Cass, look at me.”
She turned her head.
“Don’t think about it, just concentrate on one step at a time.”
She nodded.
“One step… that’s it.”
They inched forward.
The portly officers with their thick stab vests struggled to get through the skylight, allowing Cassie and Nate time to get distance between them.
On the curb, officers traced their steps, ready with Tazers.
“You won’t get away from us, so just come down.”
Cassie shot glances at them while she stepped.
A slight misstep and her ankle rolled, and she slid headfirst down the roof towards the back gardens.
Nate dived without hesitation, caught her ankle and pulled her back towards him until they were even with one another, still sliding down the rooftop.
He reached out, hoping to catch something in his hand to stop them, but everything slipped through his fingers. Within a second, they cleared the rooftop and were falling through pure air.
Nate turned his body and pulled Cassie to him in a bear hug, and braced for impact.
What he hoped would be a cushioning bush or soft patch of grass turned out to be a rusted tin roof that broke his fall.
They both clattered through it together, gauging Nate’s leg, tearing a large gash down the side of his thigh.
Before crashing into a car bonnet and bouncing off of it onto the floor.
They both moaned and groaned in pain.
Rolling around on the floor, Nate reaching for his thigh and Cassie holding her back.
“Are you okay?” Cassie gasped.
Nate struggled to regain his breath after the double impact on his back.
“My leg.” He muttered, still rolling about, holding his leg aloft.
Cassie struggled to her knees and surveyed Nate’s leg.
The moonlight filtered in through the opening, allowing her to see the large ruler straight laceration going down the outside of his right thigh.
In the lowlight, she searched the garage, finding nothing of use.
Cassie reached down and tore the bottom of her dress away, bunched it up tightly and pressed hard on the open wound.
Nate jerked in pain.
“Have you still got your painkillers?”
“No,” he groaned.
They heard voices outside the garage door.
“Was it this one?” One outside the garage asked.
“Third from the right they said.” His colleague replied.
