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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 Credits/Legal Location : Small Town, Illinois Date : April 17th, The Near Future Aside from his computer life, Tony led a more different life. His family wasn't excessively wealthy, and his parents fought many times. He also had a younger sister, Emily, but she wasn't at the house much — she was usually off with friends. She was fifteen. Tony truly found that the world of computers was his world. He felt so alive when his hands swept over a keyboard, while either chatting or cracking a new code. Tony had been interested in the internet for years now, and his hacking skills had improved greatly. He had made his own programs to assist him, too. Tony was spending his last semester in three technical classes. He had access to a computer throughout most of the day. He knew the ins and outs of the machines, and was currently saving up enough money to build his own. Tony had never been employed, but he spent much of his computer time on auction sites. He used to collect cards of all kinds years back, and his impressive collection was now raking in hundreds of dollars. A computer, a desk, and a chair were all Tony needed. Tony had one dream : To join the Angels, a squad of hackers trained to prevent enemy hackers from breaking into the system. Hackers who wanted to actually cause damage had a code name : Crackers. Although most preferred to be called Professional Hackers. Tony knew he had the skills to join the Angels, and he planned to after he got out of college. Running a personal website was Tony's other hobby. Tony runs a site that gets a modest five thousand hits a day. His site focuses on original fantasy novels written by submitters, and fantasy artwork. He also has a sub site for it, for special members only. This was an extensive hacking tools site. Tony had always been reluctant to pass on his skills to other people, for fear that they would use them for other reasons. Tony always felt that the true art of hacking wasn't to cause damage; it was to prove how skilled one was. So onward to Tony's adventures in real life. Tony is six feet tall exactly. He shaves often, and has slightly messy hair. Quite a few girls are attracted to him, but he's always too busy day dreaming about code to really talk to any of them. Tony had one true friend in school, Roger, a person whom he had grown up with. Roger wasn't that much of a hacker himself, but did wonders with html and the like. He did most of the design work on Tony's site. They usually entered chat rooms nightly, where they would stay for hours. So Tony's real world was in his computers.... Tony exited his bedroom and entered the living room. His house was small and simple. The smell of waffles spread through the house; Tony's mother was fixing breakfast. She worked as a nurse during the nighttime, while Tony's father worked during the day as a carpenter. The two didn't see each other much, which was probably just as well. Tony eyed the study room across the hall. It was here that the family computer was located. It wasn't the best of machines, but its six hundred megahertz speed and ten gigabyte hard drive served well enough. The computer's operating system was a Windows 2000. What Tony did on computers was mostly on the internet, but using hacker programs did take up a good chunk of system resources. Tony couldn't wait for his own computer, a custom built heavy duty machine. Tony approached the modest table to find a glass of milk and two waffles waiting for him. Emily's plate was already empty and she was nowhere in site. Tony's mother constantly maintained the house and provided her children with food. She may have been a little too parental, but Tony didn't mind. She scurried about the kitchen, cleaning up the messes from the breakfast. Tony sat down and scarfed down his waffles, then he got up and grabbed his backpack. "Bye, mom," said Tony before heading out the screen door. Breakfasts were usually like this; just a small part of the day, easily forgotten. Tony hopped on the bus; he didn't have a car yet and had no intention of needing one before college, at least. Tony usually rested on these thirty minute bus rides, staying out of the business of the others. He usually thought to himself that though he didn't know many people at school, quite a few of them he might know online. The same went for himself. He enjoyed the mysterious world of the internet in this aspect. Tony already knew that Roger was skipping school today, so the likelihood that he would make conversation with anyone was slim. Today was just another day of school; a long six hours of books, desks, and discussions. School was so monotonous and boring to Tony now. He used to find it interesting, but the feeling of boredom occurs to you once you're in school for twelve years. Tony felt he was no longer learning anything, either. Every class he took wasn't a challenge for him. His favorite class was the computer class he took at the end of the day. He usually completed his projects early and had plenty of time to surf the internet. The school used Macintosh computers. Tony knew of the many back and forth discussions about PCs and Macs, but Tony didn't really get involved. He felt that if a computer could work, it worked for him. Tony actually admired the computers in his last class; they were new machines with the latest software installed. He had always like the general look of Macintosh computers, even though he was more accustomed to the Windows platform. One good thing about Macs, Tony knew, is that they are less prone to viruses and hackers didn't focus as much on them. In this day and age, hackers were everywhere and numerous viruses had spread like wildfire. Viruses were beginning to become perfected so that, just by opening an e-mail, the user's computer would be infected. This old dream was starting to become true. And hackers were also growing more professional and treated more and more harshly everyday. Penalties for hacking were rapidly increasing. Tony felt it was too bad that so many hackers wanted to cause harm instead of simply enjoying the art of it. Long ago, hacking was more about having fun and meeting a personal challenge rather than proving what bad things one could do. Those days were fast disappearing. The Angels seemed to be the strongest defense against them now. Life was controlled by computers, making computers the most important thing in life to many. If the network were to go down, mass panic and chaos would commence, while the hacker would sit there, in his or her chair, smiling at their monitor. Tony came home at the usual three o' clock and proceeded to the study room. No one else would be home for two hours, leaving him by himself, the way he preferred to be. The system booted up and he logged into his name. Just as programmed, his chat program started up when he logged in. IMX, or Instant Messaging X, was a seven-year-old chat program now considered the only instant messaging service, available on all platforms. It seemed ages ago that all the other services were terminated due to lack of usage. Now, an estimated one billion users were on IMX, the free program. IMX's stocks were huge considering its program was free and widely distributed. The IMX loading screen disappeared and Tony logged in and pressed "enter." The chat program logged him in and his buddy list popped up. He had twenty-seven online and eighty-five offline. Tony's IMX name was Key67, a five- year-old name that had become widely known. Roger was on; his name was MrCache. A few other longtime buddies were on, too, like TomKL, a member at Tony's message board which was part of his site, and ChipnDip, the person who ran the chat room he frequently visited. Tony logged into his chat room, where sixteen people were already having discussions, including Roger. Tony breathed and cracked his knuckles before working his fingers over the keyboard. Entering Chat Room : Total Xcape The time is now 3:05 Redfox1:hahaha Extralarge : :-P Redfox1: lol... that was funny... APizza : Heh... MrCache : Yo, Key. Sup? Key67 : nm, u? MrCache : Nopers... Goaway : :-\ Itch had entered the room Itch : hi all Extralarge : hey fox, gimme that image now Itch : visit my site! www.bananapudding.com Extralarge : how about no... Key67: Hey Cache, heard anything about the board? MrCache : Not yet... it's still down as far as I know TomKL : :( Itch : What r u talking about? TomKL : go away Itch : Neva! AllocatedV has entered the room Itch : sup? Chipndip : Expect some down time tommorow, backing up serverz Key67:k RedFox1 : this chat sux... i'm leaving Itch : Whatever, bro ExtraLarge : k, c ya later RedFox1 has left the room Extra Large has left the room Breadbox : hmm... Key67 : there's a new IMX version out soon Breadbox : Duh Itch : I already downloaded it... MrCache : your in an idiot MrCache : it's not out for weeks Itch : i'm a hacker :-D Key67 : LOL Key67 : listen kid, if i can't download it, no one can Itch : huh? Breadbox : hackerz... ChipnDip : heh Itch : you ain't no hacker... Key67 : ;-) APizza : brb IAMCOOL has entered the room Key67 : hi cool wasup? IAMCOOL : nothin really... MrCache : Did you finish that new bot yet? IAMCOOl : no... Itch : you people are all morons ChipnDip : Than leave TomKL : for real... Itch : hey Itch : um... Itch : Key person, what did u mean? Key67 : ? APizza : back Itch : u said that stuff about if u can't get it no one can or something... Key67 : yes Key67 : cuz i'm a master hacker :-) IAMCOOL : bye all, i'm busy... MrCache : K, later IAMCOOL has left the room TomKL : Silence... APizza : yep... TomKL : hmm... Breadbox : who is this allocated person? TomKL : i g2g go to, bye Key67 : k. be back on at 7... MrCache : hey chip... Chipndip : Huh? MrCache : was this chat down or something yesterday? Chipndip : ya Chipndip : someone screwed around with it... MrYoda : hackers? Chipndip : nah Chipndip : it just happens. I got work to do i'll be back on at the usual time. ViperStrik : got pics? send to recieve Key67 : i have no pics... MrCache : :-\ Viperstrik : what kind of chat room is this... MrCache : a room where you chat Breadbox : hehe Through the course of the day, Tony continued on with conversations about random things. The chat room was kind of slow today. Tony ate dinner, than returned to the computer, with some pizza still in his mouth. Only five people were in the chat room now. AllocatedV was still in it, but had still never said anything. Fishy : Hello? Key67 : hi Fishy : where is everyone? Breadbox : i dunno but i gotta go Fishy : bye Key67:c ya fishy Fishy has left the room Breadbox : ... MrYoda : guess i'll find a more active chat room now... MrYoda has left the room KatieMX has entered the room KatieMX was a longtime friend of Tony's, as well. She usually came into the chat rooms around seven or so. KatieMX : Hi key! Key67 : hey KatieMX : wow... there's no one here KatieMX : Have you seen Shelly? Key67 : not today KatieMX : :-\ KatieMX : Ok well bye then... i need to talk to him KatieMX has left the room MrYoda has left the room Breadbox has left the room Tony was by himself now except for the mysterious stranger. Tony was about to leave the room right before he spoke. AllocatedV : So, I guess it's really you. Key67 : huh? AllocatedV : I admire your work. I've been watching you... Tony could feel some adrenaline rush through him. Key67 : really? AllocatedV : I am recruiting for the IMXXX group, a hacker cult Key67 : erm.... cult? AllocatedV : this url won't make any sense, but copy and paste it exactly as shown AllocatedV : http://mmm.www.moc/::IMXXX/blink/home.shtml Key67 : Woah, wait a minute... AllocatedV : Password : XVXBX45 AllocatedV has left the room It all happened so fast for Tony. He was scared by the internet, which was rare. He had a choice to make now. The link he was given didn't make the slightest bit of sense... Tony choked once and got up to close the door in the study. The only light in the room was the blue hue of the computer monitor. He copied the link and slowly put it in his web browser. He cautiously pressed enter. Nothing happened for a moment. He felt sure that the link was wrong. Suddenly, a box popped up, asking for a password. He quietly typed his password and pressed enter once more. The box disappeared and his web browser suddenly crashed. Tony thought it was all just a hoax. That's what he thought until... the most peculiar thing happened. His desktop suddenly turned black. All the icons disappeared, too. Tony had the urge to pull the computer plug, naturally thinking that it was a virus. But he instead watched what happened next. In very small letters, the word 'Loading' appeared. Soon afterwards, a gray circle appeared with a bird symbol within it. Tony continued to watch in amazement. These people were true experts if they could make something like this happen, he thought. Another box appeared right in front of his eyes. It read : Type your IMX name, so Tony typed Key67. The box vanished and another took its place. This one had no text field, and it simply read : Three days.... The computer monitor turned off and then back on. What he was looking at now was his desktop again, completely the way he had left it. Tony immediately did a virus scan but found nothing. He relaunched IMX to find ShellShocked99 on, a friend and fellow hacker. Tony sent him an instant message. Key67 : Dude... the weirdest thing just happened... ShellShocked99 : tell me Key 67 : This weird guy... Key67 : He sent me a weird link and when i went there, it like, messed up my computer ShellShocked99 : hmm... ShellShocked99 : Thats weird Key67 : I think he was from some cult or something... does IMXXX ring a bell? ShellShocked99 : =-o ShellShocked99 : omg... u were in the IMXXX site? Key67 : yes... ShellShocked99 : your in deep now buddy ShellShocked99 : haven't u heard of IMXXX? Key67 : it sounds familiar.... ShellShocked99 : IMXXX is a major hacker cult, Key. They hack into sites and delete them. Key67 : good god... they delete them? ShellShocked99 : yes... they have a criminal history, Key. You didn't sign up with them or anything i hope? Key67 : i'm afraid i did... ShellShocked99 : geez... that's bad... Key67 : well what was i supposed to do? Key67 : i didn't know who these guys were ShellShocked99 : well... they may have hacked into you, Key. I don't know much about them, but I know they are bad news. Key67 : Well i was fearful for myself so I joined this thing... Key67 : have any of them ever been caught? ShellShocked99 : i dont think so ShellShocked99 : Look, i g2g... you watch youself, k? Key67 : Ya ya... sure thing... ShellShocked99 left, leaving Tony, covered with sweat, sitting on his chair. Tommorow was Friday, he thought. he could lose his troubles there. Every Friday night, he went down to the arcade and hang out with friends. And he knew he would have plenty to discuss this time... Tony sighed deeply and turned off the computer. He brushed his hair with his hand and left the room. He tried to swerve away from thinking too much about the night's events. He could already feel the tension building up. He decided he needed to do further research. Tony settled down in his bed and pulled out a book he had been reading, "The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy," a book which he had read three times before. He found he could quickly bury a bad day on the internet by diving into a good book... Date : April 18th Tony entered the arcade at seven in the evening, shortly after eating dinner. His day had been nothing out of the ordinary this time; no messed up sites, no chatting with hacker cults. Tony brought a pocket full of quarters to blow on the multiple video games. He was an above average gamer, and loved to take on a challenge. He was almost as well known at the arcade as he was on the internet. The arcade was crowded tonight due to the fact that a new game had just been shipped in. No one knew what it was yet, though. Inside the arcade were random noises, flashing lights, and large groups of people. A certain large group of people were huddled around a corner. Tony figured that the new game must have been there. He managed to sneak a peek at it. The machine was large and had two sides. So it must have been a two player competitive game. The crowd was watching the game closely. Roger suddenly spotted Tony from the corner he was standing in, where he could view one of the players. Tony still couldn't see the other side though. A boy fifteen years old or so was sweating in his game seat, rapidly pushing buttons and shoving the joy stick in all different directions. His eyes were focused only on the screen, which had a large number of images. "Hey, Roger," Tony said. "Hey," he replied. "So... what type of game is this?" "It's a mixture of that one game um... Risk, you know, that global conquering board game thingy, Space Invaders, and Asteroids. It's really fast paced and challenging. I have yet to play it, but so far the three people who have tried it on this side have walked away. The other player must be good at it." "Sounds interesting, Rodge." "Yeah. You should give it a shot." "Nah, I'll just watch... hey, remind me to tell you about something that happened to me on the internet last night, ok?" "Yeah yeah, sure," The boy playing watched himself lose control of Russia and then get bombarded by a missile deployment. It was game over for him, and he walked away with an annoyed look. Everyone was now looking at Tony. "Go, Tony! You can win it!" someone shouted Everyone in the room started rooting him on and looked at him. Reluctantly, Tony sat on the sweat -stained chair, cracked his knuckles, and inserted two quarters. He grasped the joy sticks and twiddled his fingers before fixing his eyes on the screen. 'Challenger ready. Press start,' the screen read before listing a set of instructions. Tony skimmed through them and got ready to do battle. Roger was right — it was a complex game. The controls consisted of three buttons and two joy sticks. The game started and Tony saw that he was on the blue team while the opposition was on the red. His men were in America, the other side started in Australia. To the right was a smaller screen showing the battlegrounds. A 2-D image map of men standing guard popped up. To the left was another small screen, this one showing another 2-D map of the night sky, as well as a single cannon on the flat, green ground. The center screen was larger and displayed the world map. 'Game Start' appeared and disappeared on the screen. Tony aimed his sights on Mexico. He captured it, and his military men increased. He then went for Canada, which expanded his territory greatly. A tank now came rolling onto the military screen. He eyed the red team, which already had Japan. Tony knew this would mean his oppenent would have access to strong forces. Tony began moving his troops to Northern South America. Two missiles suddenly appeared on his left screen. He took control of the cannon and shot them down before returning to the world map. His nemesis had just taken South Asia. Tony fired off three missiles from the west coast of the US. They disappeared, meaning they were shot down. Tony proceeded to Greenland, and then Iceland. At the same time, missiles were raining down on his lone cannon. He soon earned enough cash to buy a new cannon for the air defense area. Just then, he came in contact with a military ground force. Taking control of his men, he fired back into the approaching squad. His army was soon destroyed, though. Northern Europe now belonged to the enemy. While all this was happening, Tony had successfully captured both Americas. He was displeased to watch an air raid occur on his cannons, destroying one of them. Tony got even by surprise attacking South Africa. The droning noise of the onlookers evaded him now as he entered "The Zone.". Tony took Antarctica, which was nothing more than a big defense island. He spread through the south, taking New Zealand. His enemy launched an attack on the US. He took command of his men and fought them off, but after suffering major casualties. He launched five missiles at Australia. Two were destroyed, but the others made impact. He quickly rushed in and nabbed the country. He thought he was doing all right until a radiation symbol blinked on his screen and an alarm sounded. His enemy had researched nuclear arsenal! He rushed in and claimed the Koreas, but the nuke had already been fired and was heading toward South America. He tried to shoot it down, but it destroyed all defenses on America, so he was now without an air defense. His oppenent didn't have one either, though. Red team now had control over the Americas, while blue had control of the Pacific. Tony sent a large force to China and took it over, just barely. He immediately began researching atomic bombs. All the while, Tony sent squad after squad to prevent losing Africa. He watched as his tanks and men were all destroyed. He had lost Africa, and was now trying to hold back the force. Japan was still Red, and Tony was also focusing on that country, but the lonely island defended heavily. Mashing buttons, Tony held back forces coming from all sides. Antarctica was now lost, and the enemy was quickly closing in. His new weapon was finally ready, and in desperation, he fired it at Europe. Southern Europe had been hit, and Tony slithered some troops through the Himalayas to attempt to capture the area, while still holding back the red virus. Tony began making troops in Germany, but he was losing the massive Russia from troops from the east. China was holding out well, though. Tony sent wave after wave to Northern Europe and eventually grabbed it, but lost China in the process. With nothing to hold the opposition back, Asia was swallowed up. Tony focused solely on his military now, trying to defend the dying continent. It was no use, though, the constant battering from the enemy caused Europe to go down in the sea of red. Tony had a little surprise though. For a while, he had been building up a nuclear arsenal in Hawaii, a place where the red team had not looked. Tony knew his chances of winning were doomed, but he wanted to go down with fireworks. His confused challenger didn't move any troops; he thought he'd already won, as Tony expected. Suddenly, Tony let loose with ten nukes, flying off in all directions. His totally bewildered opposition could not react fast enough, and he lost Northern Europe. Japan, Australia, Canada, and the Middle East to his awesome weapons. Without haste, the challenger sent all remaining troops to Hawaii, quickly taking over the small island. 'Game Over' appeared on the screen. Tony was pleased with himself. He thought he had done well for a first timer. He got up, a bit dazed, to find that the crowd was clapping for his efforts. He slowly walked through them to meet the mysterious stranger he had been playing. When he approached the person, he was a bit surprised to find out that it was a girl his age. She wore a baseball cap and a denim jacket. She looked over and smiled. Tony leaned over on the wall. "Gotchya," she said with satisfaction "Well, I hope I proved a challenge," Tony replied "Are you kidding? That was the most invigorating match i've had today," "Wow, how'd ya get so good? This game just came out!" "I did research on it for weeks," "Hmm, but how did you know it was coming?" She replied by simply winking. She stood up, showing Tony that she was just his size. She extended a hand. "Key67, right?" Tony choked and trembled as he shook her hand. "Yea-yeah. That's me," "Shell Shocked, that's who you're lookin' at," Tony fell back in surprise. "You? You're Shell Shocked 99?" "Yep," "You lived here all along?! Wjpa... and I thought you were a boy..." "Yes, well, that's just me and my lil' tricks," "Geez, I can't believe it," "I've been looking for you, Tony. Looks like I finally found you," "Yeah, well... do you want to talk outside or something?" "Yeah, let's." She stood up and the two got through the crowd. A waiting player quickly took her seat. Tony grabbed Roger and the two headed near the front of the arcade, near the door. "Tony, who's she?" Roger asked "Her? She's Shell Shocked, dude." Roger and examined her. "Really? Got any proof?" he said with a laugh "Trust me, Roger, she's her. I've played online games with her before. I can recognize her playing style." "Really? Well, this is all very surprising, um... what's your name?" "Melissa, but people call me Streak most of the time," "I see." "Well, guys, we'd better get onto the issues," Melissa said "Uh?" said Roger dumbly The group of three proceeded outside and walked to the park, while talking about the IMXXX cult. Roger was enlightened on the subject and had much to say. When they reached the park, they sat on a bench and continued the discussion. The sky was turning dark blue. "So, Tony, you got a message saying three days, huh?" asked Melissa. "Yeah." "Well be up bright and early Sunday, then. You gotta find out what's going on. I know you really don't want to get involved in their gang, but you're the only one here with access," she added "Tony, does IMXXX have anything to do with the chat program?" Melissa quickly answered. "They use the IMX's network to break into computers and sites using the information they recieve. They are the only ones who can actually bypass the tough security embedded in that program," "So what type of sites do they target?" Tony asked. "Major ones, usually. No one doubts that they were behind the whitehouse.gov hacking a few months ago, leaving the site down for a week. My guess is that they are targeting the Government," "Whoa, that's deep," Roger replied "It's deeper than you think," Tony blurted. "If they mess with something as important as the Government, that's terrorism, nothing else. These guys aren't just a cult — they are cyber terrorists... geez what have I gotten into..." "Something you need to get out of quickly, Tony. What if they make you hack into a government site for some kind of initiation? What if you got caught?" Tony said nothing, and the group looked to the ground and thought. With nothing left to say, Tony exclaimed,"Look. It's getting late, I should go home now, I'll see you all online later. I... I think i'll just skip the internet tonight though..." "Yeah, okay. I better go now, too," Roger added. "All right, then. We will meet again," Melissa stated. The group smiled at each other and dispersed in separate directions. Tony, tired and weary, entered his lit house. Emily was home, which was very odd considering it was Friday. She was on the couch watching TV, and spent no time looking at Tony. He trudged through the hall and looked at the computer. He entered the study and logged in. He had twenty seven new e-mails. He simple logged back out, without reading any of them. A few hours later after studying for tests, he collapsed onto his bed, exhausted by the night's events. His favorite book lay on the floor, unread for the night. Date : April 20th Tony awoke early Sunday and went to the computer, an item which he was beginning to fear. The Saturday before had been uneventful; Tony worked a little on his web site, and his family went out to dinner, but other than that, nothing exciting. He was trying to take it easy for the day. He logged in and saw that he had forty-five e-mails. Almost all of them were junk, as usual, but one was from IMXXX. It simply read 'Now'. There was no return address — nothing, just that simple message. Breathing deeply, he logged into the IMXXX organization the same way he did on Friday. His desktop turned black and the logo reappeared. Instead of a blank screen like last time, there was now a single link on the home page. He clicked it and a chat room began to load up. He entered his name and Tony arrived at the sparsely populated area. The chat room was black, gray, and had white text. The IMXXX logo showed in the background. Only four people were here, and it seemed as though they were already having a conversation... Entering IMXXX Recruiting Room The time is now 9:34 AM AllocatedV : Hello, Key. Glad you could make it. Key67 : oh, hi... IcyCoolz : heh JLightBurst : we'll be with ya in a moment... Key67 : ok... IcyCoolz : Welcome xViralx, your initiation will begin soon xViralx : k, i'm ready JLightBurst : if you fail, then it's over, Viral xViralx : Yes xViralx : i know Key67 : so... Viral was also recruited, too? IcyCoolz : yes AllocatedV : he will now have a test placed before him... JLightBurst : alright everyone, we're going to the test room The chat room faded away and a new one appeared. This chat room was smaller this time, and a bigger screen took over one part. To Tony's surprise, it looked like a Pac-Man game. Tony almost laughed. He knew that this couldn't possibly be the chat. IcyCoolz : Alright Viral, your mission is to hack into the 'Fed's database. Simply get into it, than get out. If you can do that without getting caught, your one of us. Got it? xViralx : mm hmm Key67 : woah... isn't that a little tough lol JLightBurst : IMXXX only takes the toughest hackers, Key IcyCoolz : Now Viral, while you will be doing that, we will monitor your progress here. What we see is a Pac-Man game. If a ghost grabs you, it means you were caught and you have failed us. xViralx : k :-\ Key67 : 0_o Key67 : wow, that's pretty amazing... IcyCoolz : boss is a genius hehe Key67 : that must have taken alot of code to do right... JLightBurst : boss can do anything JLightBurst : nothing can stand in his way AllocatedV : begin, Viral. NOW! Tony, already sweating, lay back in his chair. A small screen to the right showed code flying by; 'Viral' was already at work. He could only imagine this person behind a monitor, rapidly jamming keys. On the Pac-Man screen, the little yellow character began moving in all directions.Tony figured that a successful hack meant that all the pellets were gone. It was an odd feeling. Tony knew that no one was actually controlling the game itself, but it was running solely on 'Viral's hacking. No ghosts were anywhere to be seen yet. The character went around, leaving a trail of blackness behind it. A ghost suddenly appeared, followed by another. The character began dodging them. Three more ghosts swarmed over the character. It began slithering through the five oncoming ghosts. Tony couldn't believe it; he knew the person was going to fail. To his shock, eleven ghosts were now pursuing Viral. His character began bouncing all over the place. Six more ghosts popped into the scene, but Tony could no longer count them. More and more ghosts spawned into the virtual arena. More and more, until the level was swarmed with them. Ten or so cornered the hapless victim and made contact, causing Pac-Man to explode into little bits. The words 'Connection Terminated' appeared on the screen. The game screen vanished and everyone reentered the original chat room. AllocatedV : you have failed, Viral xViralx : can't i get another shot? I messed up early and the alarm was sounded JLightBurst : that's your own fault IcyCoolz : you obviously don't have what it takes, Viral Key67 : he didn't stand a chance! Key67 : you can't just expect someone to do something like that for an initiation! IcyCoolz : if one cannot, they fail the test xViralx : alright... i guess i'll leave now AllocatedV : not so fast, you must be punished now Tony's heart skipped a beat. xViralx : wha? no... please don't do anything! IcyCoolz : goodbye, failure AllocatedV : ciao! xViralx has been terminated IcyCoolz : :-D AllocatedV : hahaha.... JLightBurst : that was fun Key67 : omg... what did you do to him? JLightBurst : ;-) IcyCoolz : as we speak, his hard drive is being deleted, his mother board fried, and the authorities have pinpointed his location and are homing in. Mass fear swept over Tony just then Key67 : good lord... AllocatedV : Key, we hack on a very safe network that cannot be easily tracked. If, however, one fails us, we can send a report and have that person arrested. It will teach that person not to mess with us. That is your first lesson, Key. Key67 : look guys, I don't want to do this. I'm not that type of hacker... IcyCoolz : oh? JLightBurst : hehehe I don't think you have that option... Key67 : but... AllocatedV : like i said, Key, DON'T MESS WITH US AllocatedV : ring ring ;-) Tony jumped in his seat when the study phone rang. He picked it up with his trembling hand, but no one was on the other line. Feeling sick, he put the phone back on the receiver. Tony didn't want to be here. He'd rather be anywhere else than the false safety of the computer room. But he had no choice. There was no turning back now. IcyCoolz : alright, Key. It's your turn. Key67 : me?! now? JLightBurst : yes, now. And because your so famous, you get a more challenging test. Key67 : ... AllocatedV : it'd be a shame to see you fail, Key, boss likes you. IcyCoolz : alright. Here's your test. You are to hack into OUR network. Key67 : WHAT? JLightBurst : that's right. Access the inner code of our network, Key. If you can do this, you pass. Key67 : wait... IcyCoolz : let's go Before Tony could react, they were once again in the hacking room. Instead of the Pac-Man window from before, he had a hacking window with a message field. The proper IP was already in place, leaving Tony to gain access to the IMXXX network. He cracked his knuckle and prepared to enter the void. The word 'Start' appeared on the screen. Tony lay his finger upon the keys and began his work. On the IMXXX crew's screens, they were watching the Pac-Man game once more. The yellow sprite went up, down, left, and right, collecting small dots. They waited for the right moment, and then the three entered their own hacking screens. They were going to attempt to stop Tony from gaining access the same way the people who caught Viral did. The three worked as a team and tried to catch Tony. One last person, in another place, watched the game unfold. He observed the yellow circle now being chased by three ghosts. They almost got him several times, but Pac-Man slipped through. The mysterious person stared at the events taking place. He pressed a button, causing the game board to be split in three. Each piece had a warp to the other. This was done to make the hacking progress much tougher. Pac-Man wormed his way through the pursuing ghosts. He had several close calls until finally, only one pellet was left. The figure began racing towards it. Ghosts were waiting for a surprise attack, though. The yellow figure was almost there when all three ghosts jumped out, quickly closing in on Pac-Man. It seemed doomed when suddenly, a small rectangle appeared, attached to Pac-Man. To the figure's great surprise, Pac-Man aimed at a ghost and a projectile came out. It made contact with the ghost, making it explode. The little yellow circle ran through the remains, then turned around and blasted the ghost chasing it. It also vanished. The remaining ghost couldn't catch up to Pac-Man, and he gobbled down the remaining glowing circle. Tony had fought back; he had blocked the others from stopping him, and made them lose connection. The keyboard was riddled with sweat droplets, and Tony fell back into his chair. His hands ached from the non-stop typing. He once again found himself in the chat room. AllocatedV : congrats, you have passed Key67 : ... IcyCoolz : you truly proved yourself, Key. JLightBurst : you are now one of us IcyCoolz : you surprised us. Not many people could block us while still hacking into the network. You really are great at the art. AllocatedV : let us visit boss now The chat room faded and a new one appeared, this one with many more people. Tony figured it was the main hub of IMXXX. Sixteen people were now piled into this chat room, probably the only people in the IMXXX cult. On the list of active chatters, a certain name in bold type sat above everyone else. His name was 'IMXXX'. Tony once again felt nervous. He knew he was now in the presence of the IMXXX leader. JLightBurst : everyone, this is our newest member Key67 : hi... BlackDemon70 : ah, we've been expecting you IMXXX : hello, Key. It's a pleasure to meet you. Glad to see you passed the test. Key67 :well, thx IcyCoolz : yes, welcome to the brotherhood. IMXXX : Key, I understand that you have a site? IMXXX : you can give me a link, i won't hack it ;-) Key67 : ok... Key67 : www.cinnamonphoenix.com IMXXX : aight BlackDemon70 : heh cool IMXXX : alright, Key, your free to go. You can stop by here anytime you want. Next time you do, you will have three links to choose from on our homepage. You can stop by when ever you want, but you must stop here EVERY Friday night, unless you have a good excuse not to. Fridays are when we meet and possibly 'work' Key67 : ok, well... im busy so i guess i'll go IcyCoolz : alright, Key, don't do anything stupid, or we will find out Before anyone could say anything else, Tony left the site and turned off his computer. He just wanted to get out of there, and fast. He was already feeling so many mixed emotions. He tried to forget all about IMXXX for the rest of the day. He looked at the clock. It was now ten-thirty. Hungry, he decided to go eat breakfast. Tony stopped by the newspaper and looked in the movie section. He remembered that a new movie was out, the latest in a series he had loved. The last movie was out last year, before Tony had become obsessed with computers like he was now. He decided that he would go to that movie. He decided he wanted to enjoy himself for once. He called Roger and his new friend, Melissa, to see if they wanted to come. He told them it was just for fun, and that they would not discuss IMXXX at all during the movie. Both of them reluctantly agreed to go. Tony hung up, grabbed some money, and headed out, leaving the computer turned off in the cold study room. Date : May 2nd The following Monday, Tony did not touch the computer. He did not chat with friends nor work on his website. On that Tuesday, he only checked his mail, nothing else. People would already be asking where he was, but Tony was enjoying himself even more so. He watched TV, he went to the arcade more often, he went to places with friends in his real life. But on Fridays, he couldn't avoid the IMXXX chat. He didn't want to take chances. He knew these were very dangerous people and could do what they wanted to. The second Friday was uneventful, although IMXXX himself did mention a future plan. So time passed. Tony began working on his website some more. He got his message board running again, which had one-thousand members, and he also began to become slightly more adjusted to his new online life. He had many discussions with Roger and Melissa, planning what to do about the whole situation. Tony knew he had to stop IMXXX in some way.. Then came May 2nd, a day which Tony would remember. It was a Friday night, and Tony had entered the IMXXX home page. It now had more options, such as 'Hacking Console', and 'Visit Site', two places where he almost never checked out. Tony connected to the chat room where he had been several times before... Now entering IMXXX Chat room The time is now 7:34 5ICKO : Yo, Key xDragonFirex : hehe... this will be good IMXXX : everyone got the news on? Key67 : What's going on? BlackDemon70 : you'll see IMXXX : watch the news, Key xDragonFirex : :-D Key67 : well I don't have a TV in here... 5ICKO : then go watch it in another room... we'll be here BlackDemon70 : you'll enjoy this... Tony pushed outwards and entered his room, where his small TV was that used antennas to receive three channels was. He turned it on to the basic news. One woman anchor was reporting. The news ticker at the bottom sped across the screen. Tony waited for whatever was going to happen. He paid close attention to the screen... "-And there's still no sign of the missing tanker truck that did not make it to its destination. The truck is holding dangerous chemicals, and everyone in the area is desperate to find it. It was last reportedly seen on route 4. Witnesses say that they saw it pass by a weigh station at high speed. For more on the scene, we go to Charles Johnson," she said as a reporter appeared on a new screen to the right. He was on the side of a road, with cars passing by him, while holding a microphone. "That's right, Linda. Now, authorities are getting desperate to locate this vehicle which failed to report back and has been missing for sixteen hours now. We have reason to believe that the vehicle may have been hijacked. If that's the case, the driver may attempt to use the vehicle for destructive means. With the current state of the world, it's no small wonder that authorities are taking fast and drastic action. It also may be likely that-" the anchor suddenly interrupted him. "Charles, I'm sorry but we have breaking news," she said The reporter on the other screen nodded and the news station screen appeared back on full again. "We have just received news that the IRS mainframe has just been hacked into, and millions of dollars have been anonymously given to multiple bank accounts in the U.S. The event occured just fifteen minutes ago after the hackers failed to be stopped. There seems to already be proof that it was the work of the notorious IMXXX hacker cult, a group which has been known to gain access into government servers and perform illegal activities. They use the IMX network to open the doors that they need. The distributed money has failed to be traced and estimates are that $500 million has been removed and scattered through out 20,000 American bank accounts. More investigations are under way as we speak, we'll have more on this developing—" Tony turned his TV off and headed back to the study. The chat room was littered with 'lol's and smiley faces. Tony sat down back at his computer, emotionless. IcyCoolz : hahaha, good one, boss! IMXXX : ;-) IMXXX : what do you think of my latest work boyz? JLightBurst : brilliant! xDragonFirex : word to that Key67 : y do u do it, IMXXX? IMXXX : aye? Key67 : why do u hack into major places like that? BlackDemon70 : because it's fun IMXXX : we are... stealing from the rich and giving to the needy GellyDonut : like Robin Hood! IMXXX : indeed Key67 : u know, people count as you as terrorists IMXXX : your one of us too, Key IMXXX : and we are not terrorists IMXXX : you will understand sometime Key67 : no i won't 5ICKO : dude, your a hacker GellyDonut : yup Key67 : no... I do it for the challenge, not to cause harm IMXXX :hahaha IMXXX : you make me laugh IMXXX : Key, you have one month IMXXX : you have one month to plan your first pro hack BlackDemon70 : yes, i am eager to see your abilities. Key67 : what? IMXXX : you can pick a subject IMXXX : but it has to get on the news, that's our way of working IcyCoolz : yes, if it doesn't get on the news, it must have not been good enough GellyDonut : yup yup IMXXX : they like to report what we do Key67 : very well... IMXXX : one month, Key IMXXX : oh, by the way, I checked out your site IMXXX : i like it, it's cool Key67 : thx... Key67 : g2g IcyCoolz : alright, c ya IMXXX : yes, goodbye Tony exited the chat room and decided to hang out at a place he had been so long ago... Entering chat room Total Xcape The time is now 7:50 KatieMX : hi, key! Long time no see! Key67 : yes... hello ShellShocked99 : i told everyone about what's going on, Key ChipnDip : ya, man your in trouble... Key67 : plz don't mention that stuff... ChipnDip : oh... sorry :-( MrCache : I heard the news... MrCache : new hack... ShellShocked99 : will they never stop? TomKL : don't let them hack our site, Key! Key67 : they won't... Key67 : the boss likes it i think... MrCache : can't u get any info on these guys? Key67 : no, the IMXXX network blocks me from looking at any data... IAMCOOL : sounds like your screwed IAMCOOL : anyways IAMCOOL : hey IAMCOOL : just finished my latest IMX bot... Key67 : haven't you heard? IAMCOOL : huh? Key67 : they are trying to make it harder for IMXXX to access the IMX network, so they are shutting features like that down Key67 : soon it will be just plain chatting, no sending pictures or files, no nothing IAMCOOL : they can't do that! ShellShocked99 : that's just how severe the problem is now... ChipnDip : oh god, that sux! TomKL : i do not like IMXXX at all >:( SilverHawk2 : you should leave KatieMX : ya... Key67 : I don't have that option Key67 : they'll get me if i leave ChipnDip : crap :-\ Key67 : and now IM supposed to hack something in a month MrCache : don't do it! Key67 : i have no choice... Key67 : look guys, it's gettin' late Key67 : i'm going to go to the message board for a while than watch a movie MrCache : alright ShellShocked99 : good bye, Key KatieMX : you be careful Itch : what the hell is everyone talking about?! ChipnDip : dude ChipnDip : shutup Tony left the room and checked his message board. No new posts really interested him. It was interesting, he thought, that 990 out of his 1,012 members had no idea about his new secret internet life, and yet, he was the head of his board. He left the board and admired his site. It was so fancy and well put together. Tony remembered the old days when he enjoyed the internet, and he enjoyed working on his website. Now it wasn't long until he graduated, and he would have to worry about college in addition to IMXXX. He knew then the internet was built for the youth. Thirteen to seventeen- year-olds mostly. They didn't realize how deep the great network ran. And in that short time span, they lose innocence and childhood to the great and mighty internet. And then, when you're older and at the pinnacle of online life, you step out of this world. But if something grabbed you earlier on, it wouldn't let go so easily... Date : June 1st Over the month, which went by very quickly, Tony had though about to get out of IMXXX safely and with haste. He thought up of many ideas, like faking his name and switching ISP's, or hacking into IMXXX again and erasing his data. But IMXXX was too experienced, and none of these plans had a chance. He had no choice but to risk his freedom by hacking into a government network himself. Only one other hack had occurred during May, and it wasn't as big as the May 2nd attack. In Tony's real life, he was trying to come to his senses. He hung out with friends more often, and tried to find joy in running his website. But during the time, he was plagued in creating his plan. Tony also didn't stand up to IMXXX's authority anymore, as well. He had two choices — risk getting caught, or get caught. He knew which one he would choose. He had also gotten no leads on IMXXX member whereabouts. No one ever came on the IMX chat network itself, so there was no way Tony could gather any data. That was, until he received an instant message late at night while he was chatting in 'Total Xcape'. It was GellyDonut, and he sounded desperate. It must have been desperate, or he wouldn't havesigned on. When the window popped up, the moment Tony had been waiting for had arrived. He quickly opened his hacking console and began accessing GellyDonut's account. Tony had to keep the connection on for three minutes, and as long as he didn't respond back with a message, he couldn't get hacked himself. With one hand, he typed in multiple commands in the console — with the other, he was prepared to talk to GellyDonut if it sounded like he was about to leave. GellyDonut : key! GellyDonut : key help me! GellyDonut : crap... GellyDonut : dude GellyDonut : i forgot my IMXXX password! GellyDonut : i wiped it from my computer by accident! GellyDonut : can u help me?! GellyDonut : hello?! GellyDonut : please! GellyDonut : please i need my password! GellyDonut : im sure u can get it in someway GellyDonut : talk to me here! Tony had to wait only thirty more seconds... GellyDonut : ok GellyDonut : im leaving then GellyDonut : bye Key67 : wait! GellyDonut : huh? GellyDonut : got my pass? Key67 : um... Key67 : i'll talk to IMXXX GellyDonut : ok well g2g GellyDonut : bye Key67 : wait! GellyDonut signed off right after Tony told him to wait, but luckily for him, he had just gotten all the info he needed — a highly encoded IP address. Tony wiped his forehead and copied the magic numbers down on solid paper. He glanced up at the clock. It was eleven at night on Saturday. Tony decided to mess with the IP address later, though. He wanted to get this over with. Tony entered the IMXXX chat room, where ten other people were waiting IMXXX : Ah, Key, glad to see you Key67 : i'm starting my hack soon BlackDemon70 : sweet! IcyCoolz : what's your target? Key67 : the Pentagon IMXXX : woah! that's heavy, dude IcyCoolz : u sure your up to it? :-P JLightBurst : man, your daring... Key67 : i like a challenge IMXXX : so what are you going to do? Key67 : just leave a message Key67 : is that alright? I don't think i can stay long enough to erase files or anything. I'm risking enough as it is... IMXXX : hmm... IMXXX : alright IMXXX : THIS time Key67 : ok thx IMXXX : but you better not fail Key67 : i won't Key67 : btw... Key67 : GellyDonut forgot his password... IMXXX : that moron BlackDemon70 : i will contact him, boss IMXXX : very well Key67 : ok, everyone, i'm gonna be starting now IcyCoolz : ok, good luck Tony exited the chat room and rethought his plan. He wasn't going to hack into the Pentagon, but he was going to hack into CNN. He didn't want to be treated like a criminal, but if he was treated like a prankster, his punishment if caught would lessen. His idea was that he would make a fake breaking news report. Most likely, later on, the reporters would state that the Pentagon disavowed any information on the subject. To most people, it may seem like the Pentagon really was hacked, simply because that's what the people wanted to believe. And at the same time, IMXXX would praise Tony on a job well done, and show him the upmost respect for his efforts. But if there was one flaw in the plan, his life could come tumbling down. And on top of that, IMXXX himself was difficult to fool. But Tony thought that if he did something as grand as getting into the Pentagon, that IMXXX wouldn't want to prove his hacker cult wrong, and thus would believe what he saw. And Tony knew himself, he knew that even he did not have the skills to break into the Pentagon. Tony was taking major risks with a fragile idea. So Tony cracked his knuckles, and entered the IMXXX hacking console. The news system was hardly as protected as the Pentagon was, and could be easily manipulated. He connected to the console and began typing his genius report. With one swipe of the wrist, he was connected to CNN. He hoped that IMXXX himself was not monitoring his activity, but he felt that he probably wasn't. In just a few minutes, his task was done. Tony left the computer and went into the living room. It was lit by the TV. His mother was sitting on the couch, smoking a cigarette. Tony glanced over at the screen, and he saw that a show was on. He picked up the remote control. "Mom, can I watch the news?" Tony asked "Yeah, sure..." she replied. "I wasn't watching this anyway." Tony flipped over to the proper channel and watched the events unfolding. They had just now received the breaking news. "We interrupt the current story to bring you some late breaking news. We have received a report that the Pentagon has been hacked into. No imminent damage was reported, but they are still checking all their systems. It was no doubt the further work of the IMXXX cult. There is no further information at the current time, so stay tuned for more," the anchor reported. "Damn hackers," Tony's mother said bitterly. She got up and went to the kitchen, and Tony switched back to the previous channel. He went back in the study and reentered the chat room, where people were already celebrating. IMXXX : well done, Key IcyCoolz : impressive! Key67 : yes, well... it was difficult IMXXX : ;-) That wink IMXXX sent meant nothing to the others, but it churned something in Tony's stomach, telling him not to be around IMXXX alone. GellyDonut : thank you, Key for telling him IMXXX : shutup you moron IMXXX : i can't believe you went on IMX IMXXX : if this happens again, you are history GellyDonut : yes, boss. Sorry... Key67 : ok well... Key67 : hacking into there wore me out so i'm hitting the sack... BlackDemon70 : u deserve a rest JLightBurst : alright, see ya tommorow IMXXX : next month, it's TheShroom's turn to hack, our newest member TheShroom : i can't beat key's work though IMXXX : well do something good then IMXXX : i got something good planned soon :-D Key67 : alright bye everyone... Tony quickly signed off, breathed, and entered 'Total Xcape'. Only a few people were here. ShellShocked99 : did u really do that, Tony? :-( Key67 : hack into the Pentagon? MrCache : ya... dude... we are losing you... Key67 : i didn't do it Key67 : i couldn't Key67 : but that's all im saying, don't tell anyone else KatieMX : ok, you can trust us, dude Key67 : i'll be here, but I got work to do MrCache : alright, bud Tony opened up another hacking tool he developed, a tool which could find out information using IP addresses. He typed in GellyDonut's numbers and pressed 'enter'. Within moments, his phone number, name, and address appeared. Tony quickly wrote them down. His address was encoded in a special locator number. Tony would have to descramble it first. He copied that data and used yet another program. The address was traced to the U.S., then to Ohio, then to the town. His exact address appeared. Tony copied all the data for later use. His job done, he returned to the chat room. KatieMX : whew, can't believe school's almost done MrCache : graduation, baby! ShellShocked99 : too bad we won't see each other much anymore :-( Key67 : only online ;-) KatieMX : ya, we'll still be here. TomKL : i'm tired of being in 8th grade... Key67 : lol Key67 : ok, bye all Roger was going to a college all the way in Florida, while Melissa was going to Washington State. Tony was going to Chicago, so he would be close to home. He would indeed miss meeting his close friends personally, but at least he would still talk to them online... He would be graduating soon. A big step in his life. He felt happy for once and felt that nothing could ruin his next few weeks and the long summer ahead... Date : June 6th Tony was dropped off at school by his mother, and he proceeded to the gymnasium for the events. He wore a blue gown and a smile. He soon ran into Roger right outside the gym. The gym was right near the computer lab that Tony had spent so much of his high school life in. Saying nothing, they high-fived each other and proceeded inside. There were thick, ominous clouds in the sky above and the sun was just setting. The two went inside and got in the group of other students, some of which they had grown up with. Teachers and assistants were bustling about, while the students were creating a ruckus. Tony and Roger got with some other longtime friends and awaited instructions. After a while, they proceeded out into the gym area. A decorated stage awaited them as well as dozens of other excited parents. The old "Pomp and Circumstance'" boomed over the auditorium and the crowd of sitting onlookers began to clap loudly and flash their cameras. Tony felt in tune with life for once, and he could fully understand his surroundings. He and his class sat in the very front, as the class board and other students proceeded to the podium and gave their long, boring speeches. It seemed like hours had passed when finally the principal stepped up with all the teachers, ready to hand out the diplomas. Finally, he began calling names in alphabetical order. Each student went up one by one, their blue gowns shining into the crowd. It seemed that each student got more cheers than another. Roger went up and waved to everyone as flashes of light covered him. He stepped back down near Tony and summarized his experience with a simple "whew!" Tony felt a bit nervous when they had started calling out the 'M's. And at last, his name came. He stepped up to the stage and shook hands with all the teachers. He looked into the audience and saw both his parents, taking pictures, and Emily, who was waving slightly. Tony went up and grabbed his scroll of paper and waved at everyone, and began to proceed back to the group. "At last," he thought, "I can get on with life." Then something happened. It all happened so quickly, that Tony couldn't comprehend it for days to come. He was walking back to the steps, when suddenly the lights went off in the gym. The whole crowd gasped and began to converse with one another.The principal stepped up to the podium to try and keep everyone calm, while Tony stood there on the stage, looking around with confusion. Before he could react, the back doors of the gym came bursting open and to Tony's horror, squads of FBI agents came swarming in. Tony could do nothing as they approached him. The most fear he had ever felt rushed over him, immobilizing him on the stage. He could only look onward at the oncoming FBI agents. The crowds behind them screamed with no other way to react. They had no idea what was going on, but Tony knew instantly. He stood in terror as the agents got closer. But, to his surprise, they ran right past him. They split up at the bottom of the stage and ran left and right past the audience. "GO, GO, GO!" they continued to yell. The massive squad kicked the front gym doors open and gushed out of the opening. All of them vacated the gym room, leaving Tony aghast. His diploma dropped to the ground. Without thinking, he jumped down from the stage and ran though the bewildered people below. Tony was outside the gym now, but no one was around. Within moments, though, FBI agents came swarming out of the media center and ran to the front of the school campus. When he was sure they were gone, Tony entered the darkened computer lab himself. Then he realized within an instant what had happened. On each of the computers was a black screen with a simple message. It read, "Hahaha! Too late! Signed, IMXXX" Tony felt himself choke up as his knees hit the ground. IMXXX was here — he was right here! Just moments ago, the cult master mind had been inside Tony's computer lab! Tony kneeled down and felt sick. The rest of the night was a blur to him. He remember being brought back into the gym, and watching the FBI question everyone in the room, including himself. Three hours passed before all the agents left. The principal finally stepped back up and exclaimed that the graduation would continue, but would end right after everyone had gotten their diplomas. Tony felt like he was stuck in a nightmare. He felt like none of this had happened. The rest of the night was hazy, too. He remembered going to a fancy restaurant and poking at his food, while his family said nothing the whole time. Before he knew it, he was home. Now he could feel again, and the only feeling he felt was hatred. IMXXX had ruined the most important night of his life for him. It was a night that was supposed to be perfect. Not only that, he had ruined the night for many other people. Tony, enraged, entered the study and stared at the computer that he had been sucked into. He walked up to it and was about to slam the monitor to the ground, when he managed to remember that it wasn't his computer and he had no right to do it. After all, he'd be getting his own soon. He didn't want to ruin that chance now. But he didn't care. He hated computers. He hated the internet. He hated IMXXX. No longer feeling emotion, he slammed the study door and collapsed on his bed at one in the morning. He was supposed to be back home at ten. He turned off his light and pulled a cover over himself. And that night, Tony cried, if only for a small while. But Tony was stronger than that. He pulled together his strength and tried to think straight again. He was asleep within ten minutes. Date : July 4th Location : Indiana The red convertible sped across the vast expanse of open highway. Its radio was up loud, and the car only had one passenger : a laptop. Tony sat in the driver's sear, wearing sunglasses. He had gotten a part time summer job and took out money from his his bank account to buy a used car. And on his passenger seat was his Macintosh Powerbook. It was using the latest BlueTooth wireless technology to communicate with his airport — a wireless modem — to be connected to the internet while on the road. Sun glared onto the screen but disappeared when clouds came up above. His radio was playing classic rock music — his favorite. He was using one hand to drive and the other to reach over and type. Wind raced through Tony's hair as he chatted with his friends while he drove. The roads were sparsely populated on this Independence Day. ChipnDip : wow dude ChipnDip : that's awesome that your on the road! ChipnDip : so how's the Mac treatin' ya? MrCache : hehe Key67 : it's pretty cool Key67 : the airport is awesome Key67 : i believe that I cannot be hacked with it KatieMX : that's sweet Key67 : I like Macs, they're cool computers. I'll be buying a new PC desktop soon though Mandago : Woah i wish i could use a computer in a car Key67 : ;-) ShellShocked99 : so your going to Ohio to find this one IMXXX member hmm? Key67 : ya I better get goin' to. I need some fuel! KatieMX : LOL Key67 : heh Tony exited the chat room and left the highway via an onramp. His relationship with IMXXX had remained intact; he had attended the Friday meetings, but he had never asked what had happened on his graduation night. In two days, he would witness a new hacker show his stuff. Tony put his computer to sleep and pulled up to the pump. He swiped his credit card and the little TV started up for something he could watch while a robotic arm replaced his hydrogen tank, a process which took about five minutes. Hydrogen powered cars had been around for just a brief while, but were already being perfected. They still couldn't get as good mileage as old petrol powered vehicles, but oil had gone down to five percent in reserves just a month ago, meaning that cars would have to have an alternate power source. The news was playing on the TV. By dumb luck, it was a press conference about IMXXX. A man stepped up to a podium as people took pictures and cheered. Tony watched closely. he knew who the man was — it was Michael Tombrolo, the president of IMX as well as an important congressman. He was a Presidential advisor. He waved and began his speech. "Welcome, everyone. Happy Independence Day." Applause "Yes, I'm sure that you all are wondering about the current state of the IMXXX investigations. We have improved greatly in learning about them, and we think we may have some leads," More applause. "Thank you. We have managed to locate two IMXXX cult members, who are now in custody. We are quickly gaining valuable information that will lead to the capture of every last member. Their reign of cyber-terror will end within months. The other issue is the IMX chat program itself. I assure you that the actions of sixteen or so people will not cause the program's network to be shut down. Even though they use the IMX network for their hacking, we can use the network against them to identify their whereabouts. This is why it is only a matter of time until we have them all in our hands. And as a final note, we will have them all caught before the Mars Mission commences. We can not afford to have hackers in our midst during such an important event," There was more applause as the TV turned off and Tony's credit card popped out. He gulped but reassured himself to keep moving. He didn't really enjoy being treated as a felon on the run, but as long as they didn't find out about him, he was safe. Tony jumped back into his car and awoke his computer. He then realized that he was starving, so he went inside with his laptop and bought some snacks before coming back out. Tony pulled up to a parking space to consume his on-the-road meal. He logged into the IMXXX network, which surprisingly worked flawlessly on his Apple, and entered the chat room. He had one immediate question to ask. Key67 : IMXXX, who was arrested? TheShroom : ya, that's bad news, man IMXXX : those idiots, BlackDemon and AllocatedV got themselves caught. Key67 : oh crap... IMXXX : it was there own fault IMXXX : if your smart, you don't get caught TheShroom : i'm all ready for my hack, everyone IMXXX : just two days, then JLightBurst : man, i can't believe those two got their asses in jail IcyCoolz : ya and tried and the Supreme Court, too IcyCoolz : that's unbelievable IMXXX : don't worry about it IMXXX : what's done is done IMXXX : say, Key, where are you? Key67 : heh Key67 : well i'm out on the road right now... Key67 : wireless internet :-) IMXXX : i see. clever. IMXXX : we must talk IMXXX : i'm sending you and me to a chat room This had never happened before. Tony didn't know what to expect. He swallowed the last of his Twinkies and chugged down some cola as he was sent to a lonesome chat room. Key67 : so, um, what's up? IMXXX : i've been meaning to have this talk with u for a while IMXXX : I know you didn't hack into the Pentagon IMXXX : but that's ok IMXXX : no one in our clan has ever done that before, not even me IMXXX : I know you just hacked into the news IMXXX : clever Key67 : ...um... sorry IMXXX : no worries IMXXX : I know you are an excellent hacker, Tony Key67 : you know my name? IMXXX : of course i do IMXXX : i did from the start IMXXX : i've always admired you IMXXX : and I must ask you not to leave IMXXX Key67 : okay... IMXXX : i cannot say anything other than continue doing what you are doing now IMXXX : there is good chance that they are listening IMXXX : stay with us, that is all Key67 : wait, hold on... The chat room vanished and Tony was left pondering the situation. Perhaps it was true that their messages could be intercepted. In fact, it was probably loose security that got the other two arrested. IMXXX himself had reason to behave like this. He was truly a mastermind, thought Tony. The sun was setting and it was getting dark as Tony was on the road. He had just entered Ohio, and decided to find a place to crash. Not much would happen for the night, but tomorrow, Tony would confront GellyDonut, someone who he had thought was arrested. He eased off the situation in his mind. And in the distance, he could hear fireworks already going off... Date : July 5th Location : Ohio Early next morning, Tony packed up his recharging PowerBook and left the hotel where he had stayed. He grabbed a doughnut in the lobby and got into his car. There was a sign of rain, so Tony kept the roof up. It began to drizzle as Tony pulled back on the highway. His laptop was already set up and connected to the internet. Doing the whole wireless internet gig wasn't cheap, and it kept his cell phone busy, but for Tony it was great for his lifestyle. Rain began driving down the more crowded highway, pelting his car. It quickly got worse as lightning swept through the sky, followed by loud thunder. He disconnected from the internet, knowing it probably couldn't keep a constant connection in this weather. He shut down his computer afterwards and paid attention to the road, which was also what he was supposed to be doing. Tony flipped on the radio and listened to the news for ay further development. They were mainly talking about the Mars plan, which would take place next year around this same time. They would be sending five astronauts, already picked but kept secret for protection, to fly to Mars on a several month long journey. Tony could understand their fears of hackers. After driving for hours, Tony pulled off an onramp and found the neighborhood where a fellow IMXXX member was waiting. The golden rule of being an IMXXX member is to never talk to each other on IMX. GellyDonut had forgotten this, and now Tony had a lead of his own. He pulled up to an apartment building. It wasn't very tall or fancy. He pulled around to the back and locked his car before proceeding to the front and grabbed an elevator. It took him to the third floor. Tony exited it and looked on the slip of paper. The number on it was '34'. Searching the dusky hall, past some running children and blinking lights, he found the room. The door knocker was broken off the green door. Hesitantly, Tony knocked on the door with his fist. A few moments passed until he could hear locks being turned on the other side. Finally, the door opened all the way. GellyDonut appeared to be a middle-aged man, who wore glasses and was slightly pudgy. Somehow, Tony had always imagined that this was what he look like. He could tell he was in his early thirties. Tony shot a quick look around at the apartment room. It was messy with pizza boxes and clothes, with a TV and a couch. "Who are you?" he asked. "Hello, Charles," Tony replied coolly. "I've never seen you before, who are you?" "You know me. Can I come in?" "No. Go away." Charles was about to close the door when Tony quickly added, "I'm Key, Charles. Key." The door opened again, and Charles had a surprised look upon his face. "Oh... um... crap," Charles replied. "Can I come in?" "I... uh... sure." Charles opened the door slowly and Tony entered. "Okay, what do you want here?" "Show me your computer," Tony said while looking around keenly. "Oh... okay. This way." Charles stepped ahead of Tony and turned into a room. Tony followed. The computer had a single window and was very pristine compared to the living room. Charles sat at his chair and exited an online shooter game he had been playing and headed back to his desktop. He turned around to say something, but he bit his tongue when he saw Tony in the corner of the room. He had yanked out the phone cord and replaced the jack with a connection to his computer. Tony was sitting calmly on the floor, with his laptop in his lap. "Ok, Jelly, your going to tell me anything you know about IMXXX that I don't. You've been there much longer than I have. I know you know something that I don't, so tell me," said Tony. "Yeah? And what if I don't?" he asked defensively. "Then I send this report to the proper authorities. It contains your name, phone number, and address. I don't think you'd want that to happen, would we?" "How did you find me, Tony? How?!" "Does 'Help, help! I forgot my password!', ring a bell?" Charles sighed deeply and kneeled over. "Why do you need this info?" "I want to meet IMXXX himself." "Are you crazy? He has body guards swarming all over him. And plus, I don't know where he is!" Tony tapped his 'enter' key lightly. "Come on then, you must know something. It would be a shame if you didn't." "Why don't you just ask him yourself? He respects you!" "Alas, our conversations may be intercepted at any moment. How do you think those other two got caught? I got to do this my own way." "Ugh... why do you need to do this, man?" "Because, I need to find IMXXX. And if you don't tell me, I'm sure that the government would enjoy having another IMXXX member in custody." "And what makes you think I have this info you need?" "The way IMXXX talks to you leads me to believe that you knew him personally once. Tell me where you last knew him, Charles. Tell me something that will lead me to him, or I press 'enter.'" With a big sigh of desperation, Charles finally answered, "I grew up with him in high school. He lived in Albany, New York. His name was Alexander, but I don't remember his last name. He's not from America, so his last name was... weird." "That's fine. Give me his address." Charles turned to his computer. "No, no, no. You don't need your computer. Turn back around." Charles, fearing imprisonment, turned around. "Surely you must have it written down somewhere other than your computer," Tony exclaimed. Charles hesitated and opened a drawer at his desk. He pulled out a blank sheet of paper and scribbled on it before handing it to Tony. Tony examined it closely. "Well, you'd better not be lying, Charles. For your sake," he said while folding the paper into his pocket. "Anything else?" Charles asked bitterly. "No, that's all," Tony answered. Charles breathed deeply as he watched Tony press 'enter' on his laptop. "What are you doing?!" Charles demanded. His answer was simple; his computer shut off as did his lights. "What did you do?!" "Relax, big guy, I just shut off the power for your room. It will be restored in five minutes. I don't want you sending a report or anything while I'm still here," Tony said, while packing his stuff and heading out. Tony found himself back in his car. He had two minutes to leave before Charles sent a report, which Tony knew would happen. He quickly turned his computer on and wrote down the address he was given. He typed it into a search program and found a house in Albany. But Tony wasn't satisfied. He quickly scanned to see if there were any high schools nearby. And that was the catch; there weren't. Tony nodded at himself and copied down the address into his notepad. He looked closely and heard himself say : 'clever, Charles. Clever'. Tony saw that the address he was given was 10110. Those numbers told Tony that the address was disguised in binary code. Remembering his math teachings on the subject, he decoded the address to reveal the true address. He smiled at his work. It was inevitable that the FBI or whoever would be waiting for him at '10110'. Charles was indeed sly, but Tony could not be tricked so easily. He only hoped that someone wasn't waiting for him at the real address. With only a minute left, Tony picked up his cell phone and called Melissa. The phone rang three times before it was finally picked up. "Hello?" Melissa asked sleepily. "Melissa, it's me, Tony." "What... what time is it?" "It must be seven there, but I have news." "Oh, really?" "Yes, I've gotten a good lead on IMXXX, but if anything happens to me, you need to take over. It's important." "Tony, it's too early..." "Melissa, listen. I think IMXXX may be trying to tamper with the Mars mission. It's imperative that you take over where I started if I get caught. I'm going to be actively hunted soon." "Tony, hold on!" "No time, Melissa, here's the address I got." And Tony told her the numbers. "Tony, be careful. Don't get caught, Tony. You're trying to be a hero now." "I'll try not to. I got to go. Stay in touch." Tony hung up and sped off onto the highway. He planned to drive for an hour so he could be in safety, then he would stop to eat a quick lunch. No doubt he'd be on the news tonight. Location : Pennsylvania Date : July 6th Tony got an early start in the morning before heading back out onto the road. He immediately turned on the radio and lowered his roof to soak in the sun rays and enjoy the clear sky. His landscape was rapidly changing into flat hills. He was on a busy highway today, so didn't have his computer on. The radio news was talking about the Mars mission, as usual. Tony kept an eye on the busy road while listening. After about an hour, when the discussion was over, which was mainly about if humans would colonize the planet, they went to some late breaking news. "This just in," came a female voice, "We have just been informed that another IMXXX member has been apprehended. His first name is Charles and he was found early this morning." Tony turned the radio up and listened very carefully to the important news. "The suspect had earlier released a report that another IMXXX member had met with him the day before, someone who is only known as Tony. Tony's IMX screen name is Key67. As it turns out, he is a well known hacker. Though he has never caused any reported damage, he is declared dangerous and the Government is eager to bring him in. At the same time, another IMXXX member is currently being hunted down. We will have more on this later. The whereabouts of the IM Triple-X leader is still unknown," Tony turned the radio's sound down again. He was still safe, for now. He just hoped that IMXXX himself wouldn't turn him in. He wiped his forehead and continued driving. Tony was heading into deep waters now. He wondered what his parents thought of him. He hadn't dared called home for fear that he could be tracked. Tony reassured himself and kept driving. He was about 150 miles from the capital of New York before stopping for the night. He had been driving pretty much all day and was worn out. Tony gathered his things and checked into another hotel. Tony entered his single-bed room, flicked on the light, and placed his computer on the bed and hooked it up into a phone jack. He turned it on, went to shower, and came back before switching on iTunes and starting up his play list of music. Tony flicked on the TV too, but kept the sound on mute as he entered the chat room for the scheduled hack. He had informed everyone earlier that he was changing his IMX name, which was a simple process. His new name was 'LostKey7'. LostKey7 : hey everyone TheShroom : yay! everyone is here to watch! IMXXX : indeed IMXXX : what is your target TheShroom : the White House TheShroom : i'm gonna leave a message on the President's computer IcyCoolz : are u ready then? TheShroom : I will be in ten minutes... i'm just going to finish downloading something IMXXX : very well LostKey7 : i'll brb everyone IMXXX : okay Tony exited the chat room and glanced at the TV. There seemed to be nothing of importance on currently. Tony looked back at his computer and accessed his site. He decided that he had no other choice than to temporarily shut it down for his own safety. He simply left a message on its home page stating : "For my own reasons, the site will be down for an unknown amount of time. Thank you for your understanding. I hope to get the site up again soon." Tony then shut down his message board. At the current state of his life, he couldn't afford to be so public right now. He had to remain as hidden as possible. Tony logged back into IMXXX. TheShroom : ok everyone i'm ready IMXXX : good luck IcyCoolz : btw, is it true that GellyDonut was caught? LostKey7 : yes IMXXX : it was too bad IMXXX : the traitorous dog also revealed who Tony was IMXXX : he can now stay in prison forever for all I care JLightBurst : ouch. that's cold IMXXX : if you fail me IMXXX : there is nothing I can do IMXXX : remember that TheShroom : yes, sir! TheShroom : let's begin LostKey7 : ok The Pac-Man screen that Tony was so accustomed to showed up once more, and the hacking began. Tony lay back on the bed, watching the action. Everything was going fine for the moment. Then something happened just a few seconds after the hack had begun. The words 'Session Terminated' popped up on the screen. Tony sat up quickly as he was transported back into the chat room. LostKey7 : what happened? IMXXX : the IMXXX network has been breached IMXXX : all members are ordered to disconnect immediately! IcyCoolz : omg... IMXXX : as we speak, they may be finding out all the information they need to arrest every last one of us TheShroom : what do we do?! IMXXX : if you can, hide! Get out of where ever you are! IMXXX : I don't know how they did this. I'm shutting down the IMXXX network now! Before Tony could react any further, his computer shut off by itself. Panic stricken, Tony unplugged his computers and headed out quickly. He scuttled down to the lobby via the stairs. "I'm checking out. Something came up," Tony told the desk clerk. "Oh, okay then, but we still have to charge you for a night's stay," she replied. "All right, sure. Fine. Bye," said Tony as he rushed out of the hotel, with the clerk looking at him oddly. Tony jumped into his car and sped off into the night. He was sweating heavily. He was really in trouble now; the Government could access every bit of information now. Including a picture of himself. Now he was truly on the run. With computer off and radio on loudly, Tony kept himself awake and listening to the news. At five in the morning, he was just miles from Albany. He was also very tired, but he couldn't stop now. He could notlonger stay at hotels, or use an ATM, since his name would be identified. He only carried twenty-six dollars with him. He decided that he should stop for breakfast. He substituted by going into a Burger King and ordering a cola and some cinnamon buns. He paid five dollars for the meal before driving off again, gobbling down his food nervously. At eight in the morning, Tony pulled off into a suburban area in Albany. He sunk below the skyscrapers in the distance. After driving around for thirty minutes, he found himself in a worn down neighborhood. It was ominously barren here. Trash littered the lawns and roads as the sun rose higher in the distance. He pulled out his address note and eventually found the house he was looking for. Tony couldn't be sure that it was the right place, but he took the chance anyways. Before he exited his vehicle, now parked in the empty lot, he spotted in the rearview mirror a slow- moving black car pass him. Tony got a quick glance to see a passenger wearing sunglasses and an earpiece. Tony ducked behind his seat, deeply hoping that they didn't know he was there. After they were out of sight, Tony slowly opened his door and got out. He walked up the steps and opened the screen door before knocking on the front door. Minutes past. Tony realized that there was no one home. Out of curiosity, he turned the door handle to find that it wasn't locked. He hesitated and looked around to see if anyone was looking. But the neighborhood was bare. A though crossed him. What if several more people had lived here who were in the IMXXX gang? It might explain why most of the houses were empty. He shook his head and entered the house. He had expected to see someone here. Tony remembered that he didn't know how old IMXXX was. Or Alexander, as he now knew. Perhaps his parents no longer lived here, but there could be many possibilities. "Hello?" yelled Tony. The sound echoed across the house with no answer. He entered the living room. It seemed no one had been here for awhile. Not knowing where he was going, he eventually found himself in the computer room. There was no longer a computer here, but Tony could still see how one had been there before. He stepped in. The room looked frighteningly empty. Papers and books were cluttered on the floor indicating that someone had left in a hurry. It was now obvious that he was in the midst of someone from IMXXX. He also realized that the FBI probably weren't here yet, or they could even be here now. He quickly felt the urge to get out, and get out quick. He was about to turn around and leave when he saw an envelope on the desk, inside the square of solid wood surrounded by a dust frame. His name was on the front. Trembling, he tore it open and read the small note inside. 'Tony, meet me. Washington. Edwin Carver car garage. Seventh floor. Hurry. FBI could be at house at nine.' Tony looked up at the clock. It was ten to nine now. Without any time to spare, Tony rushed out of the house and jumped back in his red convertible and sped off, leaving the neighborhood behind. When he was back on the overpass overlooking the neighborhood, he paused a moment to see numerous FBI cars surround the empty house. Tony looked forward and drove off. Location : Virginia Date : July 7th Tony drove all day and all night through New York. He entered the state of Virginia and kept going to reach Washington, D.C., where IMXXX was waiting for his arrival. He had the radio on all day and waited for a conference on IMXXX. Late at night, it came. Tony listened to it emotionlessly, as he was dead tired. After a minute of clapping, Michael Tombrolo's peppy voice popped up. "As you know, we have on gained sufficient leads on the IM Triple-X organization in the past days. The information we gathered helped us pinpoint the location of all but two members. We now have all but those two in custody. The remaining two members will be brought to justice quickly and swiftly, and the threat that IMXXX has bestowed on us will end." Tony was running out of time. It was now four in the morning, and Tony could see the gathering lights of D.C. on the outskirts. He was completely out of money now, and almost out of fuel. Driving by street light and road signs, Tony eventually found the parking garage. His car began to sputter as the last of his hydrogen tank's liquid gas was being absorbed. The garage was empty and very dark. Graffiti littered the walls. Tony would have felt barely secure in this compound if he had let his roof back down. The cars outside cast an echoed sound in the stone complex. There were no lights on at the bottom floor, nor were there on the second. A few flickered on the third. Police sirens blared loudly outside and Tony tried to ignore them. On the sixth floor, wind rattled the loose boards and signs in the area. Running on hydrogen droplets, Tony pulled up the last ramp and got to the floor which was right underneath the roof of the garage. Only moonlight lit the area. Tony turned off his car and observed his surroundings. Past the wire guardrail were hundreds of lights, many moving in one giant stream. The Capitol building could almost be seen way off in the distance. Tony cautiously exited his vehicle and slammed the door. He put his hands in his pockets and dawdled around a bit. Ten minutes passed. Tony began to feel stupid, like this was all pointless. He started to head back to his car when he suddenly heard approaching footsteps. Tony turned around and backed up to his car. The footsteps continued until a dark figure came into focus. Tony could already tell that the figure was taller than himself. A few awkward seconds past before Tony spoke up, with his much strength as he could muster. "Alexander?" "Tony, we meet," he replied His voice had a small accent that Tony couldn't quite define, but his voice didn't seem at all that much adult. "I'm glad we could see one another,'" he added. "Let's get some light in here." A small beep was sounded, and one by one, the lights in the room flickered on. Tony watched them all turn on until the figure was lit himself. He was tall and sturdy. His face was highlighted by a closely trimmed beard. His hair was black and flat. Alexander wore a red cape and a black vest. His pants were dark blue and his feet were protected by 12-inch boots. He quickly extended a hand, surprising Tony. "Alexander Frangenie Babolio, also known as IM Triple-X." Tony reluctantly shook his hand. "Tony Mondez," he said nervously. Alexander nodded and breathed deeply. "Would you guess i'm only twenty-one, Tony?" "No. No, sir." "No reason for the formalities," he said with a laugh. "Tony, we have much to discuss, come." "First, I need to know that I can trust you," Tony replied quickly. "You don't... trust me?" "Why should I?" Tony asked while glaring at him. "Tony, I can understand what you think. I am a bad man, I can control the net, I can destroy America." "Something like that," Tony replied. "I assure, it's all for a good cause." "Good cause?!" "Let me explain, Tony. I started IMXXX years ago. I made it because I was good at computers. Like you, I enjoyed a good challenge." "So what happened between that and now?" "Well, I gained my first members and we began practicing the fine art of computer hacking. I raised the bar on my limitations and became well known. During the time, I payed close attention to you. I never really met you before, but I had seen your work on the internet. I was impressed." "Go on." "I never wanted to do damage or hurt anyone, Tony. What I'm about to tell you is a little complicated, so listen well. I will put it simply for you." Alex sighed deeply and rested his forehead on his hand. "I discovered a government plot, Tony. You don't need to know how, but it's all true. So I figured I'd do more research. Not being born in this country, I had much to learn about your government. This interest led me to find that a certain person is attempting to kill the president in some way. I couldn't believe it, and nor did I want to. But I went deeper into the plot, wanting to know. Michael Tombrolo, Tony. Michael has the potential to do it. I don't know what it is yet, but I know it's him. Leader of IMX, a trusted government official... I don't know why he would want to do such a thing." "You're lying, Alex." "I wish it were so. Michael has manipulated us all into believing that IMXXX are the bad guys. But it's not true, Tony! Only I knew of this hidden conspiracy, and I wasn't about to jeopardize my knowledge by sharing what I knew. Soon after I discovered the plot, my source vanished, leaving me to continue on finding out what was going on. So that's how it started, Tony. My people and I hack into government owned servers to try and gather anything on this whole ordeal. When my members hacked into servers, I received feedback from their databases. I've been using this information to piece together the plot. And during this time, my fellow members made the government's security teams plow through their servers to fix the holes and hopefully find the hidden information being kept by them. As far as I know, they don't suspect anything. But I haven't learned enough and I need you now." "What evidence do you have?" "Not enough to convince you by yourself, Tony. It's up to you if you believe me." "Why do you do what you do to those who fail you?" "If someone is caught, I reroute the last information received by our opposition to the host's computer to avoid getting caught as a whole. I have to erase their hard drives to make sure that IMXXX information can't leak out. I sound so tough and evil on the internet, I know, but I must if work is to be done." Tony looked to the ground and thought hard. "Alex, what happened on my graduation?" "Yes... that. Tony, the government, like myself, had their eye on you too. I'm not sure how, but they believed that they finally got a good lead on the mysterious 'Key' on that night. Eager to catch an IMXXX member and longtime hacker, they quickly sent a squad to apprehend you, even though they'd have to find you first. Wanting to take no chances, I sent a message to the FBI alerting them that the school was under attack and that the source was coming from the computer lab. Believing that the whole event was a hoax and that you didn't even go to the school, I protected you that night." Tony said nothing as Alex kneeled down beside him. "Think about it, Tony," he spoke, "Place the pieces together and it will make sense. Think, Tony." Tony stood there, pondering the events in his tired mind. Minutes passed and Alex stood up again. "Tony?" Tony looked up and extended his hand. "What do I got to lose?" he said. "Nothing anymore," replied Alex. A few silent moments passed. Alex walked away from Tony and reached for something behind a pillar. He returned and walked past Tony, to the back of his car. Alex bent down and appeared to be straining himself. A loud pop followed by the sound of metal hitting the ground. Tony rushed over to see Alex installing a new license plate. "You'll be safe now," he exclaimed. Alex stood up and pointed to a black van parked in the far of corner of floor number seven. "That's your new home," he said, "I'm assuming you brought a computer." Tony nodded and went into his car to pull out his laptop and he showed it to Alexander. "An Apple, eh?" "Yes... is there anything wrong with that?" Tony asked. "No, actually. It could prove useful. More 'diversity', if you know what I mean." Tony slowly nodded as the two walked to the van. Alex switched the lights back off with a flick when they got close to the van. He ripped open the back doors to expose his small living quarters. The windows in the back were covered up. On the floor was a sleeping bag. To the right side was a small table with two laptops, while an office chair sat beside them. A big blue cooler was behind the front car seats. Tony looked at the laptops. One was much bigger than the other. "That's Princess," Alex said, while pointing to the smaller one, "And that's Queen. Queen does the connecting and most of the work, while Princess works the numbers and feeds them to Queen. It's a good system to work with. I have free access to the internet via the van's radio. It's the perfect vehicle to do professional hacking. You can put your computer on the cooler, Tony. We will work everything out in the morning. You must be tired, you can sleep back here. I'll take the driver's seat. Now rest, we will have a busy day tomorow," Tony quietly nodded and jumped in the back. He fell to the sleeping bag, fully exhausted. Before Alex shut the back doors, he asked a quick question. "Alex, is there anything of importance that you do know on this whole secret plot?" Alex hesitated and answered. "I believe that it involves the Mars Mission..." Alex looked around and slammed the doors shut. Tony quickly entered the realm of sacred sleep. Location : Washington, D.C. Date : December 25th "You are a magician. You can do tricks. But if people discover your tricks, that trick is ruined forever," Alex told Tony as he patted him on the shoulder, "Come, I will teach you," And so Alex taught Tony the tricks of a true professional hacker. Tony learned much, like rerouting your computer protocol stream, sneaking past firewalls, using false alerts, and planting virtual bugs. Months passed. Days flew by. Tony had spent most of his new life training in the car garage, remaining hidden from view. Alex showed him hacker gadgets, capable of messing with smaller electronics, and some which could emit a small electromagnetic pulse. By now, the threat of IMXXX had disappeared to everyone except the duo's nemesis. Rarely did Tony think about his real life — about his family, friends, and a new permanent home. He instead thought of completing his new goals. Tony was a runaway now. His plans for collage were halted, as was his future. Tony had not talked to Melissa or Roger on the phone for a long time, but he kept in contact with them over the internet. The back of the van was truly a sight; three networked laptops sharing over two-hundred gigabytes of information, running on a wireless internet connection. Alex had usually opened up radio streams and filled the van with techno music when Tony trained. The two could also access TV channels in the room, and they payed close attention to the news often. Nothing had been spoken of IMXXX in months now, but more and more focus went towards the Mars Mission, which would start in July. Everything and everyone could just barely fit in the back as the two were entranced by the glowing computer monitors that were windows to the outside world. The van never left the garage, and neither did Tony's car. For food, the two would go to fancy restaurants or pizzerias, all within walking distance. Tony had never gotten a mile away from 'The Base', as the van was called. The parking garage seemed like a safe fortress. It was never heavily used, and the highest that Tony ever saw cars go was the fifth floor. Sometimes he could hear gangs down below making a ruckus, but they never came up here. Tony wondered why, but never asked. And the top floor, the roof, was where Tony could go to view the cityscape of Washington. But the seventh floor really belonged to Alex and Tony. Alex had become a trusted friend of Tony's. Alex's family had left him over one-hundred thousand dollars, which he could anonymously access and transfer from. He could also steal other people's money, but he no longer wanted to. In fact, the two had done nothing to infringe on anyone's rights, and were just trying to stay low for the time. Tony had gotten to know Alex's present so well, but he was interested to learn about his past. "When the time comes," Alex had said. It was Christmas now, and snow covered the ground. Shoppers bustled on the streets below and sale signs covered the store windows. Taking a moment off of gathering further information, the two celebrated the holiday by going out to the city's best Italian restaurant. They were seated and Alex ordered some fine wine, while Tony ordered a glass of cola. While they waited for the food to arrive, the two munched on the basket of bread. Alex took a sip of his drink and the two began an engaging conversation. "So," Alex said, "I guess this is a good time to get to know each other a little more." "Sure," Tony replied. "Well, Tony, I grew up in Italy, as you already know. I was born in Venice, the city with the canals for travel, of course you already knew that too. My father worked as a shoe salesman, while my mother ran her own restaurant. Like you, I had a sister, but she was older than me and she now has her own life. I don't really see her much anymore, though," Alex exclaimed while running his finger on the glass's rim. "I grew up a normal life. I had friends, I went to school, everything was fine. But my life quickly turned around. One night... my dad was gunned down in the street. My mom died soon later from heart failure. It all happened when I was nine, Tony. My — my sister told me the truth about him. He was actually leading a double life as a computer hacker. He had tried to prevent a hacker cult from causing great turmoil in the government. He had succeeded in a small part, but he paid for it with his life... Thanks to him, the hacker cult was caught in the most part, but there were more out there, and Italy was no longer safe for me... So I left. My sister bought me a plane ticket for America. I vowed to take down anyone who tried to overthrow another government by simply hacking, but it seems that I have turned on your government myself. There isn't much more to tell." Tony was amazed at the story he was told. "I — I see, Alex," he replied. The food arrived and the two began eating silently. After a little while, Alex began talking again in between his chewing of his steak he had ordered. "Well, Tony, I may have finally gotten a good lead. I've found out someone who may be able to get us into IMX headquarters. He has a password that will let us gain access into the building. And I mean this literally, Tony. I've concocted a plan to plant a bug into the IMX computer network so that we can access it whenever we please." "Why can't we just use the password to enter the building's network?" "Won't work. The building itself accepts no incoming connections. It simply outputs its data into servers elsewhere that are the ones that accept the massive communication requests such as chat rooms.It's impossible to gain access to the building through a network because of this. But if we plant a bug on a main frame, we can get in whenever we please, because the bug will open a connection to us." "All right... but how do we require the password?" "I found a veteran hacker who had once gained access to the building a few months ago during a downtime in security. He must have been very good to retrieve a password, of course. Since new passwords take place over the old ones every six months, we only have a short amount of time remaining," "But, don't we need a user name, too?" "We have one. Someone named Kelly Palmer. The problem is, Tony, that only one person will be allowed inside the building, so someone will have to stand guard outside. The IMX compound itself is pretty small and run mostly by computers, so you should have no trouble getting around once you are in." "Me?" "Yes, Tony, I need you to. You are the better candidate for this mission. I have better knowledge of the IMX's inner network, so I can help you out more if I work the computer. We will further discuss the plan later." "Okay, Alex, now how to we acquire this password?" "The person who has it is an online game enthusiast named Jason McGregor. He wants to challenge you to a game in person at his house," "That's crazy! Doesn't this person know what will happen if we fail to prevent this plot?" "Actually, Tony, no one knows yet, remember? Anyways, we're lucky we even have this chance. He would rather turn us in for a hefty two-hundred grand then help us out like this. He thinks we are the crazy ones, Tony. But anyway, if we win, we get the password, if we lose... well, it's over. We will meet him the day after tomorrow. I hope that you are in game playing shape,"Alex exclaimed while finishing his meal. "Any idea what I'm going to be playing?" "Not a clue. He had a library of fifty games. It's amazing that he's agreed to do this for us. He gave his word that he wouldn't turn us in if we won. Obviously, that means that he must be confident that he can beat you." Alex asked for the check and gathered his things. "Tony? You coming?" Tony waited for a minute before taking out his cell phone. "Yeah, hold on. I just have to make a call," Date : December 27th The cold winter air nipped Tony's nose as Alex and himself waited at the bottom of the parking garage. Tony put his hands in his pockets after he checked his watch. They had twenty minutes to show up at Jason's before the deal was cancelled. ""Who did you say was coming, Tony?" Alex asked. "A friend of mine, she's much better at games than I am." "We're running out of time, though." "She'll be here." Wind blew strongly through the bottom of the garage as a bus stopped nearby at its stop. A group of people came out and scattered in different directions. One last person emerged from the large vehicle, and Tony's spirits rose. "She's here," Tony exclaimed. Melissa looked around and spotted Tony and the taller figure next to him. She smiled and quickly ran up to them. "Tony! Sorry, plane was delayed." "It's all right, Lisa. You got here in time." Melissa stepped forward. "You must be IM Triple-X," she said. Alex replied by nodding. "We have no time to waste," Tony told them, "Let's get a move on." The three left for Jason's building address. Hastily walking on the sidewalks, the trio eventually arrived at their destination. Tony looked at the address he had written down. The small building was in the downtown district, in between two larger buildings. The sign read "Jason's print shop." "This must be the place," Alex guessed Tony stepped up to the door, which had a "closed" sign on it. Tony knocked on it loudly. A minute passed before it finally opened. A man the same height as Tony waved them in without even looking at his guests. So the three went into the heated room. It was carpeted and had several tables with large computer monitors on them. A couple large printers were placed on counters. "So, you must be my competition for today," Jason said with a strong British accent. "I can't wait to play the famous Tony." "That's Tanya," Melissa suddenly said Jason turned around and looked at her. "You are 'Key'?" "Yes, I am her." "I uh... I didn't know you were... well never mind then, let us play. Ah, and this must be IMXXX himself." "Indeed," Alex replied. "And, who is this?" "Just someone who came to watch," Tony replied. "Ah... well, very well then. I will pick the game. Sit in that chair over there, Tanya. I assure you that the game will play just fine on that one." Melissa nodded and sat at the monitor while Jason proceeded to the one on the other side. "We will play 'Extreme Racers Four'," Jason said, "I hope you have had experience," "I'm a fast learner," Melissa replied. Jason glanced over from his desk and glared at her. "Fine. Computer, log into GameNet as Serenity Now," he commanded. His computer made numerous sounds as it did it's job. The real Tony and Alex pulled up chairs to their desk. "You sure you can do this?" Tony asked. Melissa nodded. "I've played the other three games of this; I should be fine," she replied. "Tanya, log into GameNet as a guest and connect to the LAN. I'm waiting for you in a server," Jason demanded. Melissa did what she was told and soon found herself in the arena. The words 'Pick a vehicle' popped up with a selection of racers. "I'll pick 'Blue Razor', I've used it before in the past games..." Melissa said. At the same time, a smaller screen showed up with the race course pictures for the chosen level. It was named 'MetroCity - Downtown'. By the looks of it, the level had many curves and dead ends. "Better spend your stars on acceleration," Tony suggested. "You have two lives," Jason added, "Use them well." After some further adjustments, the race was ready. The level loaded and funky techno music filled the room. On the screen was Melissa's vehicle, a blue futuristic motorcycle, and to the right was Jason's car, a large vehicle that resembled a hovercraft. The two vehicles were waiting on a large expanse of road surrounded by big buildings. The sun was setting in the background and flying cars were soaring through the air. "Weapons are chain guns, missiles, and quark bombs," Jason said, "Good luck, then." Lights near the top of the screen were flashing red. Melissa scooted close to the computer and grabbed the mouse. The lights flashed yellow then green. Before Tony knew what was happening, Melissa's little motorcycle sped off. The surroundings became blurs of color. Her craft spun around a tight corner before going down a long straightaway. Her vehicle started to get shot at from behind, but Melissa careened her car right and left to avoid the blasts. She then sped down a curve which dumped her off at a steep incline. Her motorcycle began speeding straight downward in between buildings. She eventually arrived at a tunnel with many curves. She hit a few, but kept racing. She noticed in her rear view mirror that Jason was right behind her. "Your weapon gauge is almost full," Tony advised. Melissa continued to barrel through the tunnel and emerged through the other end. She drove right past a sign which read 'Danger - Highway ends!'. Jason had seemed to have gone the other way on the fork. "You've gone the hard way," Alex exclaimed. "I don't know where i'm going," Melissa replied. Her vehicle raced down an empty road before smashing right through a barricade and being flung into the air. Without hesitating, she activated her turbo boost in mid air and aimed for a small platform. Tony gritted his teeth as she barely made it. She was now rushing down a hill, and Jason's car was at the bottom, not moving. "Watch out!" Tony said as a missile suddenly came barreling up at Melissa. She just dodged it, making it explode behind her. The giant hover car began racing off again. Melissa reached the bottom and was just behind the oppenent. She reached over and hit a key which caused a bomb to fling from her front and attach itself to the other car. The vehicle exploded into little bits and Melissa went racing past the destroyed car. She smiled at her work. She was now going through the business district of the digital city, trying to avoid traffic. She was coming to an intersection when a large tuck suddenly sped by. She tried to stop, but couldn't in time. She smashed directly into its side, making a big explosion which covered the screen. She reappeared a few seconds later and sped off. The sound of her follower's car was quickly approaching from behind. Tony noticed that the race was almost over already. The five minutes it took had gone by in a heart beat. Fearful of losing, Jason began barraging Melissa with all his remaining missiles. She tried to dodge them, but a few hit her and she went spinning out of control and hit the side hard, causing her little motorcycle to stall on the side of the road. The other car sped past her. "Quickly! You're in trouble!" Tony said. But it was too late, the words describing that player 'Serenity Now' had already popped up on screen. Tony and Alex looked at each other without saying anything. "You gave it your best," Tony said, patting Melissa on the back. "I'm... sorry, guys. I was too... rusty," she said sadly. It was then that Tony noticed Jason looking over them, extending a hand. "Good job, you gave me quite a challenge there," he said. "Really?" Melissa asked. "Indeed" he replied, "I am impressed. "So are you gonna turn us in?" Tony asked. "Oh, that... no. I won't. I will go ahead and give you the password you need..." "Really?" Alex asked. "Yeah, I guess I'm just a nice guy... but don't spread the word. I got my honor at stake." "Well, okay," Tony replied happily. "I don't know what about this government plot, but if the leader of IMXXX needs help, he will receive it. Good luck out there, then," Jason finished. "Let me give you the user name and password you will need. But I will not help beyond that. I don't want to be responsible for anything." "Thank you," Alex said. "Thank you for everything, Melissa," Tony said to her at the airport terminal, "We may need you again." "I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful to you," she said. "You did everything we needed you to do. Somehow, I think if the real Tony had lost, we wouldn't have that password." "Somehow it seems women have an advantage in the hacker world," Alex chuckled. "Yes, well... good luck, guys," Melissa said as she waved once more and left for her plane. "Well Alex, we've got our work cut out for us," Tony explained. "We begin tomorrow; we haven't much time," Alex added, "And Tony... your friend is good at computer games." "I know... I think Jason cheated anyways..." "Really? How so?" Tony simply smiled at Alex. Date : December 31st The clock struck eleven at night as the two figures waited outside the IMX building. Light, cold rain sprinkled throughout the deserted streets; everyone was elsewhere celebrating the new year. Tony and Alex had just pulled up into an alley, keeping their van hidden from view. They went through the plan one last time. Tony was to sneak into the building while Alex kept an eye on the building's security systems. Tony had to install the tracker bug, a program which would let him access to the inner workings of the complex IMX network whenever he wanted completely undetected. All the data he needed was packed inside a USB memory stick, which could be inserted into any USB port. Timing was crucial — he had thirty seconds once the clock struck midnight that inner security would be down to insert the bug. After the thirty seconds, the system would be completely back online and the IMX network would again run for a full year. This was the only shot that the two had at this plan. Aside from planting the bug, he also had to download the plans that IMX had at the same time. This whole process would take twenty-two seconds, as Alex had discovered. This meant that Tony had four seconds to log in and four seconds to log back out before he set off the alarm. Never had Tony done such a thing —it would be his greatest work. Tony thought it was a shame that he wouldn't even be able to leave his mark behind this time. It was now eleven-fifteen as the parking garage door opened, giving Tony entrance to the building. He shook Alex's hand one last time and jumped out of the van. Alex awoke his two computers from their slumber and started a connection before testing the communication device— a cell phone which would only send text messages. Alex used"'princess" to start an IMX chat with Tony. "Seems to be working, be careful," Alex sent. Inside the garage, Tony felt the USB memory stick in his pocket as he snuck behind cars and pillars to the entrance to the elevator. With spylike finesse, he ducked out of the way of the guard's sight and barely made it inside the elevator. Tony quickly pushed the "close door" button before taking out his cell phone and sending 'In Lvator, send code'. Expecting things to function like clockwork, Tony aimed the cell phone's antennae at the elevator's key card slot. Nothing happened at first. Tony looked around the small room nervously. Suddenly, the green digits above the kay card slot begin to scramble into garble and elevator jerked once, twice, and started moving. Floor number '5' lit up on the panel and Tony pocketed the phone and tried to enjoy the ride. After what seemed like an eternity, the elevator stopped at the fifth floor — the only floor in the building which was actually controlling the worldwide IMX network. Tony stepped out and found himself on carpeted floor and surrounded by windows which ran down a hallway. The lights were off and the room was only illuminated by the glow of the lights outside. Light rain hit the panes of glass. A few potted plants and chairs dotted the hallway. All was silent as Tony stepped down the hall. He noticed a camera scanning the area in front of a door. It was the only door in the area, and it had no door knob — just a key pad near it. Tony stepped forward, hugging the wall, to find himself right outside of the camera's vision range. He again pulled out his magic wand- his cell phone —and sent the message 'Camera' and pointed the cell at the camera. Within a few moments, it stopped moving and Tony stepped forward to the door. He typed in his numerical password into the key pad and swallowed. A few moments passed. The key pad suddenly let off a loud beep, causing Tony to jump where he stood. The door swung open and began to slowly close by itself. Tony hastily rushed in. This next room had no windows and appeared to be a small office. The desk and chair were illuminated by the computer monitor, which was on a screen saver which showed a clock. It read '11:40'. Tony looked around the area. The desk was very messy — littered with paper. He then noticed the door behind him. It was made of glass so he could see through it. In the next room was a long hallway of black boxes. The lights were off in the area, but the black boxes were covered with blinking lights of different colors. Tony proceeded through the unlocked door into the room. The sound of wind from fans filled the air. Tony knew where he was— the main frame of the IMX network. These were servers — hundreds of them. Together, they ran the entire IMX network that so many people used. The tile floor was covered with reflections from lights. Tony's phone beeped and he checked it. "Lasers in area. Don't move," his message read. Tony slowly backed away. Another message popped up. "Sending map of laser movements. Follow it." In a minute or so, his text area was replaced with what appeared to be a map. It was covered with many small squares separated with white lines. At the bottom was a blue dot, while red dots moved about on the white lines. Tony knew what this all was — he was the blue dot, while white lines indicated where there was tile space —area where he could walk, and the black squares were the shelves of servers. The red dots were scanning lasers. Tony stepped forward and the blue dot moved. He continued straight ahead and then turned right to avoid getting detected. He moved straight, then left, then right, back once, left, left, right, and then right again. His little dance among the servers kept him from being detected, but it had cost him time — he now only had four minutes. He left the walls of servers and turned off his cell phone. Finding the only other door on the other side, he opened it by pushing against it and found himself in a computer lab area. Computer stations covered the room. Five stations each with four computers sprawled across the carpeted floor. This was it — the inner sanctum of the IMX network. Now Tony just had to find the central computer. Cameras were scattered everywhere on the ceiling of the room, keeping an eye on any activity below. There was no way Tony had enough time to deactivate every last camera, so he would have to dodge their views himself. He eyed the back of the room — there seemed to be a glass-walled office in the back, hidden with blinds. The computers each had the IMX logo on them — the letters 'IMX' with a blue circle insignia on them which looked like it was chatting with an open mouth. Tony ducked under desks and crept forward to the back of the room when he was sure a camera wasn't looking. He barely made it to the end —almost getting caught twice. Without looking at his watch, he tore open the glass door and went inside the empty office. He paused for a moment to confirm his location; the name 'Michael Tombrolo' was printed in bold letters on the door. So Tony was here — Mr. Tombrolo's office, where so many important key discussions had taken place about IMX — that chat program that Tony had supported so much. That chat program that he had made so many friends with... and so many enemies. Without a moment to spare, he sat in the desk's big, comfy chair and moved the mouse, turning off the screen saver. The desktop wasn't quite what Tony was expecting— it seemed to be a picture of Michael Tombrolo's family. He was standing next to his wife with his young daughter at his side. Tony thought to himself that this man's plans couldn't be that evil; he was a family man at heart. Maybe it was Tony that had the wrong idea of what Michael was doing. He glanced at the computer's clock which read 11:59 PM. Tony fidgeted with the USB stick, dropping it on the floor. He quickly picked it up and sat it down on the desk. All Tony would have to do now is log into the IMX console and put the USB device in the keyboard. Everything would be fully automated afterwards. So Tony opened the console and the log-in screen came up. He was still safe as of then — but if he typed something in the log-in panel a moment too early, the alarm would be raised due to the higher security. Tony stared at the computer's clock. It still read 11:59. Tony licked his lips and wiped his forehead as it finally struck midnight. Tony found himself typing with the light of the computer onto the keyboard. He rapidly pounded in the user name and password he had memorized within three seconds. He wouldn't even be able to know if he had perfect timing until it was too late, but he trusted Alex's knowledge. Within a second, the console appeared. Every millisecond was important as Tony mechanically inserted the USB stick into the open keyboard slot. He could only sit and watch as it worked it's magic, leaving Tony looking around nervously. According to Alex, the laser would be shut down for an extra minute, leaving Tony time and space to make a break for the exit. The next thing Tony remembered was ripping out the little stick and logging out and running out the door. He let it swing before turning back to close it. Tony raced as fast as he could toward the server room. He tore into the tiled room and paused all of sudden as his heart stopped. Ahead of him, the office he had been in before was now lit by white light, and a shadowy figure stood at the door. It did not move. Neither did Tony. It took Tony only a moment to realize that the figure was facing the other way; not looking at him. Tony worked his legs to run to the right and he silently ran down the aisle to the front, running gracefully on his toes to avoid making a sound. Tony was now in the dark corner of the room, facing the figure from the side. He still did not know who he was. The figure suddenly turned around and walked down the center of the room, his shoes making a racket. Tony quickly snuck behind him and arrived at the front office and peered back at the figure, growing smaller as it walked away into the computer lab. Tony took off for the hallway, tearing open the door and making a break for the elevator. He paused a moment to check his cell phone. There was a message on it. It read "Get out now! Chopper on patrol!" Tony threw the phone in his pocket and again ran down the hallway. He heard the rotating blades of a patrolling helicopter come closer and closer from the left. Tony had just arrived at the elevator and was pushing the call button repeatedly. Tony backed up to the elevator doors as he peered to his left, down a corner. The helicopter was right there — and coming at him. It wouldn't be long until he was in its field of vision. The doors opened and Tony fell backward. He quickly ordered the doors to close right before the helicopter's pilot saw him. Tony fell back and sighed. He arrived at the car garage to find the guard facing away from himself, talking on his walkie-talkie. Tony calmly walked by him and proceeded to the exit, keeping an eye on the guard. Without warning, the guard turned around and spotted Tony. "You there, stop!" he screamed. Tony took off to the alley the van was waiting in, and he was now being chased by the security guard. "STOP!" he yelled again. Tony was now outside, in the now heavy rain. He ran through the mist and jumped over fallen trash cans. The sirens of a police car echoed through the crevices of the back roads. Tony glanced back to see a pursuing patrol car, with its sirens blaring. The black van's rear doors ahead of him tore open, and Alex was standing there, waving him in. As Tony got closer, Alex jumped over the seat in front of him and started up the van. Tony jumped into the back of the van, slamming himself into the back. He lunged forward to slam the rear doors at the cop car, which was only twenty feet behind them. The black van sped off into the night. "Hold on," Alex said, "We're gonna lose them." Tony sat up in the back. He breathed deeply and then flung open his laptop's lid, turning the computer on. A sudden sharp turn made Tony lose his balance and hit the side of the van. The siren lights of the police filled the back of the van with red and blue. "Tony, hold on back there," Alex repeated. The black van swerved to the left and was now on the highway. It dodged in between cars, almost being hit several times. "We're going the long way," Alex exclaimed to Tony, who was in the back working on his laptop. The van jumped the curb and was barreling down a grassy, muddy hill. It drove right through a gap in the trees below and emerged onto a residential road before speeding off back onto another highway. Meanwhile, Tony was accessing the IMX network. He just needed to know if he could get in to make sure the system worked. "I think we lost them, but I won't be slow in getting us home," came Alex's voice over the windshield wipers. Street lights filled the back of the van as it raced off to the parking garage that Alex and Tony had taken shelter in. Five minutes of cautious driving finally gave Tony and Alex protection as Alex drove into their home and onto the fifth floor. Alex pulled over and parked. He turned off the engine and crawled over the seats to reach the back. "Are we in?" he asked. Tony replied by turning his laptop around so Alex could see. On the screen was the IMX logo. "Good job, Tony," Alex replied happily and without much breath, "Now get some rest. We will wait until tommorow to look at our treasure." Tony closed his laptop and collapsed onto his comfy sleeping bag. Alex turned back around and crawled back to the front of the car. Tony was tired but didn't get to sleep until about three. He kept thinking about the night's journey. In the end, he though up one word to describe it all, "cool," he thought. "It was cool." Tony patted his computer, which was showing "Happy New Year!'" in big words on the screen, and drifted off. Date : April 3rd The data that Tony and Alex had gathered revealed Michael's plans among other thing that the two couldn't believe at first. It didn't take long before they knew that the two of them had to do something to prevent this plan from taking off. How many people were involved was really the only thing not yet known. Some interesting events had taken place since that night that Tony snuck into the IMX Headquarters, which Tony kept telling himself was too easy. Over the past two months, Tony and Alex had laid low and kept silent, but parts of Tony's older life which he had all but forgotten were returning. On Valentine's Day, Tony received a phone call from his parents on his cell phone. It was the first time in many months that Tony had heard their voices. The conversation didn't last very long, as Tony didn't want to be traced or anything. They simply told him that they weren't mad at him and they just wanted him to come home or at least have a visit. Tony replied by saying he would come home and his name would soon be cleared. The whole talk lasted less than thirty seconds, but deep down, that short time made Tony feel slight happiness. Tony checked his site and message board. The 'Down' message was still on the two. Tony wondered if there would be any future hope for his humble website. A few days later, with nothing to do and Alex gone for the moment, Tony hesitantly logged into the IMX program to see if any of his old friends were on. To his surprise, his old chat room, 'Total Xcape' was still up with many unfamiliar names jabbering about, but a few old names were still about. And so Tony cracked his knuckles and worked his fingers across the laptop's keyboard while in the back of the van by his lonesome. CoolPenguinz : No one wants to visit our site eh? Smacked : no go away 18425 : Anyone got pics? Smacked : of what you idiot? 18425 : shutup 18425 : i need pics of that new computer game Smacked : what game? GoAway : hi everyone DaLizardos : Come visit our site -Click Here- CoolPenguinz : yes please GoAway : what's your site about Smacked : dude, what game? IAMCOOL : key? is that you?! IAMCOOL : dude whats up long time no see 18425 : who key? TheToothPaste : another site owner TheToothPaste : I used to go to his site but it's down CoolPenguinz : i see ChipNDippers : key is that u? 18425 : nvm already found some LostKey7: yes i've been busy... CoolPenguinz : whats your site LostKey7: It used to be cinnamonphoenix.com DaLizardos : sounds familiar ChipNDippers : what brings u back Smacked : uh? LostKey7: i... had free time Smacked has left the room TheToothPaste : bring your site back up :-( LostKey7: soon perhaps 18425 : who is this guy? ChipNDippers : an old friend... 18425 : i ain't never seen him around IAMCOOL : he hasn't been on in a long time 18425 : whatever... LostKey7 : well i can't stay long... CoolPenguinz : i've been to your site before plz visit mine LostKey7 : fine send a link DaLizardos : -Click Here- So Tony followed the hyper link he was given and his web browser opened up and led him to a site where he had never been before. To his surprise, it was another hacker site like Tony's had been. 'HackerAmber.com' were the words in his address bar. The main page had 'Join' and 'Members Only' as the only links. Tony looked around a bit and left. The chat room was strangely empty now. CoolPenguinz : join if u want LostKey7 : no thx I belong to all other organization all ready DaLizardos : LOL CoolPenguinz : there are no other organizations CoolPenguinz : It's us or no one CoolPenguinz : we have merged with everyone and have over 500 members DaLizardos : yes we are simple recruiters... LostKey7 : recruiters... LostKey7 : sigh... LostKey7 : what about the angels? CoolPenguinz : huh? LostKey7 : never mind... DaLizardos : if your a hacker, you should join us LostKey7 : what's the greatest thing your team has done? CoolPenguinz : redirect a stock of store merchandise across to our members DaLizardos : yes that was sweet... LostKey7 : heh LostKey7 : common criminals CoolPenguinz : if u say so CoolPenguinz : but we are better than any little organization your part of LostKey7 : ha ChipNDippers : well key, i'm actually with them and this chat room belongs to them now... LostKey7 : what?! LostKey7 : why? this place used to be great ChipNDippers : it will become greater still CoolPenguinz : but don't worry it's still a public chat LostKey7 : you disappoint me... DaLizardos : Hackers rule the future, my friend DaLizardos : they can do anything to everyone LostKey7 : no, you have limits. I know this... CoolPenguinz : we control everyone LostKey7 : you are nothing but pitiful slime DaLizardos : oh yeah? Keep it up, we'll get you LostKey7 : i'm not scared of you LostKey7 : i'm not scared of petty criminals CoolPenguinz : we are in control, fool ChipNDippers : why don't you understand, Tony? ChipNDippers : we are the best and the only ChipNDippers : you are a hacker, Tony. Join us MrCache has entered the room LostKey7 : hello, Roger MrCache : hmm? who r u? ChipNDippers : Tis' Tony MrCache : Oh MrCache : Tony! Hello! MrCache : :-D LostKey7 : yes, hello old friend LostKey7 : this room has been invaded by hackers, Roger. Let us go... MrCache : er... MrCache : u r not part of them? LostKey7 : no of course not MrCache : well MrCache : i'm afraid you will have to leave then LostKey7 : huh? MrCache : I am part of HackerAmber, Tony. Join us or leave LostKey7 : no Roger, say it isn't so... LostKey7 : why? MrCache : I am a good hacker like you Tony MrCache : join the friendship LostKey7 : never LostKey7 : I do not wish to be treated like a criminal further my friend MrCache : you are no friend of mine, you traitor LostKey7 : Roger? Why are you doing this? MrCache : leave before we are angered Tony said nothing MrCache : speak, Tony MrCache : join us or leave MrCache : in this world, you are either an Amber, an Angel who opposes us, or a victim LostKey7 : I no longer need you, Roger LostKey7 : I have Melissa and she will never turn to you LostKey7 : and I have another powerful ally... LostKey7 : you no longer mean anything to me LostKey7 : farewell CoolPenguinz : you are strange... CoolPenguinz : who do u work for, stranger LostKey7 : you will know soon... LostKey7 : or i'm sure you will find out... And with that, Tony left the room and put his computer to sleep. His mixed emotions kept him active as he walked around the fifth floor, thinking about what to do. His old friend had turned against him, and it was only because of one thing — computers and the internet. Tony needed to get away. He wanted freedom from his computer and he wanted to be on the open road. He had made his decision. He knew what to do next in order to prevent the plot in which he and Alex were trying to prevent and had worked against all these many months. Tony left a note on the van stating he'd be back in a week or so and that it was a promise. He hoped Alex would see his note as he threw the blue tarp off his red car and hopped in. He sat there for a moment with key in ignition before running back to his van to get his computer. He didn't want to, but he knew, he had to have it. As Tony sped off and left, his destination Florida, to settle the score with a false friend. And while he drove, he thought of that insidious plot of Mr. Tombrolo. The Mars shuttle was what he had been waiting for. He had full access at Cape Canaveral. He needed the special, new technology the shuttle carried. It all had made perfect sense, except for the reason for it all. It was a complex and fragile plan, too. As the shuttle flew over Washington, D.C., it would fire a blast of electro magnetic waves right at the Government's central servers, deleting forever whatever data Michael wanted deleted. The kind of EM Wave that Michael needed was something only the shuttle's new technology could achieve. Instead of shutting down electronic systems, it would act like a giant, well-contained computer virus. Completely undetectable, completely keeping Michael himself out of any blame. What data Michael wanted to erase still remained a mystery, like several other things. Whatever Michael was keeping hidden from Tony was what Tony was the most worried about. How to prevent this event from taking place was dead second. Date : April 5th Location : Tampa Suburbs Tony, after days of driving and staying in hotels, finally pulled off the final onramp to meet Roger, a person whom he had once trusted. Why Roger had acted so violently to him was yet another mystery that Tony would have to solve. He knew something wasn't right about the current events, and he felt like something must be fixed or it could endanger Alex and himself. The starry night sky was blocked by the may lights of the city and the ever-moving vehicles of the night. To Tony, it felt like being in Albany all over again. But what would Tony do when he met Roger? Act peacefully and talk things out? Or act aggressive and violent towards his old friend? He'd have to figure it out once he got there. Tony sunk below the many tall buildings as the gulf breeze hit his face. He had actually never been in Florida, but his runaway life sure was letting him visit many an exotic locale. It was odd though — so many people now knew Tony but he had not yet been caught. There was a risk that Roger may have moved, but Tony doubted it. He could most likely be found in his dorm room at his college. Roger had told him that he was going to some newly constructed place; a school named "Albert Technical College." Tony spotted the campus's entrance sign and pulled in. Students were still about the large, brown buildings. A giant statue of a man holding a computer was in the courtyard, being lit by some spotlights. Three separate buildings all pointed at the center statue in a triangle fashion. Tony spotted the dorm building and proceeded to it. He had a sudden longing about going to his own college... Tony found himself on the eighth floor of the building, where a long hallway which was carpeted and walls painted with dark yellow were. Tony eventually found the room he was looking for - '844' - and knocked on the door softly. "Coming, hold on," a voice said inside that Tony knew belonged to Roger Tony stepped to the side of the door where he could not be seen at first. The door opened and Roger's head poked out, scanning the hall. He was about to close the door when Tony quickly stepped out. "Hello, Rodge," Tony said with force while he had one arm holding the door open. "T-Tony? Wha-what are you doing here?" Roger responded nervously. "Well, aren't you glad to see me?" "Y-yes. Of course I am. It's just a surprise is all. Come in." Tony stepped into the room, decorated with computer posters similar to that of Tony's old room back home. "Nice place you got here," Tony exclaimed. "Yes, I guess. Look Tony, i'm sorry about a few days ago... the way I acted." Tony looked at Roger oddly. "It's just, well, I have to act like that in front of my superiors. I'm sure you understand," "Yes..." "So um... what brings you here?" "Just thought I'd spend the day seeing an old friend," Tony said a bit less forcefully. "Oh, well, hi anyways, uh... let's sit down," he said while pointing to his couch. Tony nodded and proceeded to the sofa. "You seem nervous, Roger." "No, not at all. I just have a big test tommorow..." "I see..." "So uh, what have you been doing?" "Computer related things..." "Oh, okay..." "Roger, why'd ya join Hacker-Amber?" "Well, um..." "I mean, I didn't even know the place existed until I entered that chat room." "You haven't been paying attention to the news?" "No, i've been busy... the news doesn't really interest me that much anymore," "Well, we are already gaining popularity." "Hmm?" "Yeah, we don't do as big of things that IMXXX did, but people still recognize us." "You mean fear you." "Yeah, I guess..." "Why'd ya join them, Roger?" "Well, I heard that IMXXX was doing all these things and I wanted to join because it sounded like the type of life I'd like." "Are you insane? IMXXX doesn't exist anymore... and that wasn't a life at all. Staying at home while causing great fear among the masses, being treated as a criminal? Is that your type of life, Roger?" "No, but..." "It's sad, Roger. You had a choice. You went to join your group on your own free will, but I was forced into IMXXX, and now I can't escape. I'm trapped unless I can find the way out. It's not the life, Roger. Every IMXXX member is now in prison except two. But what good is it... there will always be hackers. The government can't do enough to get rid of them... our whole lives are on computers, and what are we to do but wait and get attacked. I'm one of the few that can defend themselves..." Roger stood up and became defensive. "Well, Tony... I... who is the other member?" "What?" "The one you said hasn't been arrested yet." "I cannot tell you. I can only tell you that I'm trying to stop something which will happen. If you joined us, the two of us, you could redeem yoursel.," "But I haven't done anything wrong!" Roger shouted. "Just forget it all, Tony! Join us and your life will be okay again. No running and hiding. We have the power to keep you protected and let you take the escape you wanted. You'll be free, Tony..." "No I wouldn't, Roger. I won't be free until I make my own escape..." "Come on, Tony." "I won't be free until... I can regain control on my life. Yes..." Tony eyed Roger's computer's keyboard in the corner of the room. "A controlled escape, Roger. An escape back into reality..." "Tony?" "I must go, I have been here long enough. There is no further reason for us to talk..." Tony got up and began to leave. "But, Tony!" Roger shouted behind him. "Farewell," Tony replied. "But Tony, I know who the other IMXXX member is!" Tony turned around. "No you don't," Tony replied. "Someone named uh..." "Of course you don't know. He's been careful, unlike myself. I must go," Tony said while turning toward the door. "But Michael told me! He — I mean, not Michael, I mean—" "Michael?!" Tony asked, surprised. "He's no one, don't worry." "Oh, he's someone alright," Tony replied while racing to the door. "No, Tony! Wait! Don't leave yet!" But it was already too late; Tony had already reached the elevator, nervous as ever. So Roger had made contact with Tombrolo. And then the thought struck him... what if he had just walked into a trap? What if coming here was just a clever plan between the traitorous Roger and Michael? Tony rushed to the parking lot and hastily drove off in his car. No one was waiting for him. Date : April 7th Location : 100 Miles out of Washington, D.C. The trip back home was uneventful. Tony had not even touched his computer once. What was once the friendly internet that he had known had been turned into a relationship-ending, self-inflicting tool which hid many surprises. IMXXX was once Tony's enemy, but now the human leader of the once terrifying hacker cult was now Tony's most trusted partner, while Roger, a much older friend, was now Tony's nemesis. But there was hope for Roger, Tony knew it. He had yet to give up on him. But Roger was now working with Michael himself, and Tony had little doubt that there was a connection between Hacker-Amber and Michael. But was Hacker-Amber his only connection? It seemed like a very ambitious project for Michael to tackle by himself and perhaps with a five-hundred-member hacker corporation. If there were more governmental members, Tony knew of none of them. But perhaps the events which would happen next would answer some, if not many of Tony's questions, and would test Tony's allegiance to stopping this plot. Tony was driving once more on the highway, the sun was setting in the distance and Tony had little emotion; he just drove past other cars, awaiting to get to his destination. He was still peeved at Roger's actions, but would forgive him if everything turned out well in the end. And he hoped the end would come soon; he had grown tired of his life style. He just wanted to get into a good college now and get on with his life. His life with the Angels was uncertain at the time — a dream he once had for years. The cell phone suddenly rang, bringing Tony out of his trance. Tony picked up the phone, not expecting anything out of the ordinary. It was Alex, and judging by his slightly shaken voice, something was wrong. "Tony?" Alex asked. "Yes? What is it?" "We're in trouble, Tony." "Trouble?!" said Tony as he quickly grasped the phone tighter. "Yes, Tony. They've found us." "Found us? What do you mean?" "I don't know how, but I don't have much time." "Alex?" "Look, Tony. No sense in getting both of us in trouble. They will be here in a few hours. They're tracking me. But we have a choice. All that matters is our mission. I've taught you enough. You can carry it on now, Tony." "Alex, wait. What do you mean?" "I'm giving us a chance, Tony. I'm turning myself in. It will save you and the base. It's the only way. I'm counting on ya now, Tony." "But Alex! How did they find us?" "I don't know. I'm not sure. But Tony, I can clear your name. I won't be around anymore but... it's worth it. You will be a free man again. Isn't that what you've always wanted, Tony? I will tell them that you were never involved; that you were just one of our earlier victims and you had your identity stolen. And there's always a chance that you can get your friend Melissa to help you. I'm sorry about all this, Tony. About dragging you into IMXXX and into the life you had to live. But it's all almost over, Tony. Just prevent that rocket from firing that pulse. I must go..." "But, Alex!" There was no response. Tony put the phone down on the passenger seat. He felt sick, so he pulled over on the side of the road. Light rain sprinkled the car, so he put the hood up. All this had happened so quickly. All Tony could comprehend was that he was by himself again, like he had been before he met Alex. But how had they found him? Tony knew it was his own fault in some way. He hung his head on the steering wheel as cars rushed past him. He thought long and hard about his current status. He was about to pull off the side when his phone rang again. Tony picked it up, hoping for a change for the better. The caller ID reported that the caller had an unknown number. Tony nervously answered. "Hello?" "Tony, so glad we can finally speak," said a voice. It was a voice that Tony had heard before but couldn't quite pinpoint. It didn't take him long though to realize it was Michael on the other line. "Wha-what do you want?" Tony asked. "Well, Mr. Mondez, I think you know the matters we should discuss. I've been trying to contact you all day, but i've been busy." "Yeah? Busy with what?" "Oh certainly you know how stressful my job is, Tony. Running IMX day and night. It's not easy keeping the biggest communication network safe for it's users. So Tony, let us talk like gentlemen. We both know each other well enough, correct?" "I don't think so." "Ha. Well you certainly like sneaking around, don't you, Mr. Mondez?" "What?" "The night you invaded the sanctity of IMX HQ. Come, come, we all know about that. I bet you're wondering why it was so easy." "I don't need to know." "Yes, of course you do. It's important, don't you think? You see, Tony, you've been on a wild goose chase all this time. Ha. There is no secret plan, my boy. It's absurd to think that I, a trusted government official, would try to cause harm to this country." "You can't trust anyone anymore, Tombrolo." "And why is that?" "Because life is run on the net now. People can disguise themselves. They can easily lie. No use arguing with me on that topic." "But Tony, I assure you, I have done nothing wrong and I do not have any such plans. But listen, Tony. You're a good kid. I know that Alex forced you into IMXXX. You never wanted to be in there in the first place. But I'm making a bargain with you. I can set you free and get you into that Angels academy you always wanted to be in if you just do something for me. In fact, I will release all the IMXXX members." "I don't believe you, and what is it you want me to do?" "Simply stay out of governmental affairs. You see, Tony, we are under a time of great reform and change. Many ideas are circulating about that may become twisted or changed, but most ideas are never used. It's by your luck somehow that you managed to pick up upon one of these old ideas. It has happened before." "And what make you think I can trust you?" "Trust doesn't come easy these days, does it? But Tony, I assure you, I am one person that can be trusted." "What do you know about Hacker-Amber?" "Ah yes, them. I know you have indifferent thoughts about them, but believe it if you will, they are here to help us. Hacker-Amber is simply practicing with pre-constructed scenarios. When they become knowledgeable enough, they will become a group of volunteers here to prevent cyber-terrorists from invading America's space. I know it seems as if I am lying, but it is the truth. Soon, Hacker-Amber will be a respected anti-hacker organization, just like the Angels." "That's a crock, Michael. Stop lying to me." "Times have changed, Tony. We are in a state of political reform and reconstruction. America is not the only superpower left in the world anymore, as you know. The United Countries of Europe, EU, is also a very powerful superpower. And whenever one exists, others will try to take it down. Or rather, the superpowers will take each other down. It's a dangerous world, Tony, and the net controls everything." "I've head this story before, Michael. Make your undying point so I can't get on with my life." "Calm down and listen to my explanations. You were a simple teen who enjoyed the thrill of hacking. One day you were asked to join a hacker cult which performed illegal activities against the government. The truth was Alex, the leader, had this idea of a government plot which was kept hidden and could greatly change the way America runs in a negative way. All the members of IMXXX were eventually caught, save you two. Beingblamed for security holes in my network, I took it upon myself to end the problem. I knew about Alex's beliefs and ideas, but I didn't think of you as a threat. I though I had a lead on your graduation night, you would have been the first IMXXX member captured, but I suppose Alex or you used your intellect to simply distract us from some other event you were planning. I had thought we had struck the wrong school, of course, this was before I knew your name, and I still considered you a small fry. I knew Alex, though. Why? Because he once worked for me, Tony. It was a brief experience, but I knew him well. He was a genius, but obsessive. Many thought he was crazy. Well i'm certain you know the other events of the story except for that night you snuck into IMX... Well, that was all a plan of mine to capture Alex, thinking he would pursue his plan and enter the building. I would wait for him to actually steal files so we could press charges on that crime, too. But I hadn't expected you to be there. I had no idea that you were working with Alex, and he kept you safe by talking with you and keeping an eye on security. You had thoroughly ruined that plan... but I didn't give up. I focused my attention on your old friend, Roger. I asked him to join Hacker-Amber and he obliged quickly. He was jealous of ya, Tony. I used him to manipulate you and possibly reveal the location of Alex. But my own ambitions don't matter anymore. I know Alex will turn himself in any minute now. He will appear on the news, the story will be big for a week, and then no one will even remember IM triple-X. Then I will make some bargains and you will all be set free. Most likely working for Hacker-Amber, preventing cyber-terrorism. Working for good. Genius minds of hackers shouldn't be locked away for good; they should be used for good. Well, that's my story, Tony. Just turn yourself in, too, and this will all be over with. That's all that there is left to do." "So what do you believe are Alex's intentions then?" "He's just a misguided hacker, Tony. He once thought that he could beat the system by manipulation of the people, but we can fix his thoughts. It's a simple process. He was once someone who was against America's power, but not anymore." "I don't believe any of it, Michael." "I didn't expect you to at first. But once you get to thinking, it will all make sense. It just takes time. You know who to place your trust with, Tony." "Then tell me, Michael. How did this whole plan of using the shuttle to delete government files begin in the first place?" "You deserve an answer, Tony. That was all a plan to spot weaknesses in the government's mainframe, but it was never used. Terrorists could actually use rockets to cause more damage then just a giant explosion if they'd equip the rockets with these pulse emitters which could delete any file requested. But we realized that in order to do that, they would have to have many, many codes and pass-phrases. Otherwise, the rocket would be too destructive for its own good. Therefore, at the current time at least, that type of protection is not necessary, not at the time, at least," "So..." "So that plan was dumped but was probably spread around in some manner or another and Alex picked it up," "I know Alex. He doesn't lie. If he says you have a plan to delete files that would negatively affect America, I know he means it." "Listen to me Tony, I love this country, I would do nothing wrong to it. Just trust me on this, Tony. Stop where you are. If you continue, you may not have a chance. Just give it up, Tony, and you will again be free." "But Alex wouldn't lie..." "Tony, I'd have no reason to delete the Gallimer files! They are important to America's future. Everyone trusts me to serve America well, and that, I will do." "...Very well, Michael. We will stay in touch." "Really, Tony? You... trust me?" "The future will tell us. Farewell for now." "I will call you back, Tony," Michael finished. "Goodbye." So that phone call had two new and important facts for Tony. One was that Michael was a complete fraud, Tony could sense it. The other was that Michael had let something slip. Something that he had apparently thought Tony already knew — the Gallimer files. It may have been the key word. Tony finally had a good lead that he would soon investigate. Realizing he had skipped dinner, Tony stopped at a gas station to get some food after two hours of more driving. Out of a wanting to experiment and know the truth, Tony hesitantly used his credit card to pay, taking a daring leap at the same time. After a few moments, it cleared, and the cashier sent Tony along his way. "Thanks, Alex," Tony thought. Date : April 12th Thanks to Alex, Tony was free; he made his escape. It was now a much simpler matter : only Michael was pursuing him now. This eased the stress on Tony, but only by a little. He knew he must complete his mission. Tony needed to do some research... He had returned to the base that night, finding it safely tucked away in the garage. All was silent except for the wind and sounds of cars below. Inside, the computers were turned off. It seemed too empty. Tony was depressed with himself, and for days he did nothing but eat and sleep. He watched the news, where everyone was talking on and on about the imminent Mars mission, none of them realizing what other fruits the shuttle could bear. Tony got his act together. He was running out of time and needed to act. and he knew where to go for information. Early next morning, he gathered some note paper and traveled down to the nearest congressional library. He walked up the tall stairs and entered the old building, which had a fancy interior. Dozens upon dozens of rows of books lined the giant central room, and giant portraits of presidents covered the walls. Tony got to work by first searching for anything on Michael. All he found as he sifted through the books was information about his life in office, his ideas behind IMX, but barely touched on his other history. It was a disappointing search. Tony knew what to look for next. He got back on the reference catalog computer and searched for 'Gallimer'. A few results came up, and Tony proceeded to the next row of books, having wasted two hours on Michael already. Tony discovered that the little known 'Gallimer' file was actually a bill made from the result of a supreme court case entitled 'Gallimer v. Tombrolo'. Obviously, the second name caught Tony's attention immediately. He looked into it. Tony flipped through the few pages that touched on the 'Gallimer' file. Tony also found something intriguing; the Tombrolo in this court case was actually Michael's wife, Kelly Tombrolo. The plot just thickened; 'Tombrolo' wasn't Michael's first last name — he changed it when he married. Tony knew he would have look into that later. Kelly lost the case, which focused on the issue of whether or not the government should block anyone's access to the net anywhere in the world if necessary, but they would have to have proper reason to . Kelly was against this, saying that this would inevitably result in the government spying on anyone they wished, and was a violation of privacy. Gallimer, a governmental official, won the case, but the other result was that the government's abilities were limited. Suddenly it all started making sense to Tony, even though he couldn't quite pinpoint how. Tony knew he must now do research on Michael's past. Tony glanced at the clock. Time had really flown by — five hours had passed. But this research needed to be done. There had to be one book he had missed — none of the articles on Michael mentioned his old last name.. He knew the information he needed was somewhere. He needed to unveil the popular leader of IMX's past. Tony spent an hour looking through book after book on Michael, reading each one. It was painstakingly slow process. After looking through books about political officials, chat programs, the internet, hackers, cyber-terrorists, NASA, and computer history, Tony still never found out Michael's last name. At least Tony knew what country he was from; Michael had lived in Italy. This was a bit of a hamper on Tony's research; he knew it would now be much harder to get information on paper about Michael. He could always rely on the internet, though, something which he knew well. But why was Michael's original last name hidden as it was? Maybe Tony was looking in the wrong area — the wrong books. The sun was now setting outside; Tony had been at the library all day and had not eaten once. Tony decided to check the periodicals room. He scanned through many a newspaper, and his eyes began to water and hurt more than anytime he had spent on the computer for hours on end. But he was onto something— he knew he was. Tony glanced out of the room. Moonlight covered most of the library. Many people had left or were leaving. The library was going to be open for only another hour. It was true that Tony could return the next day, but he was so close — he could feel it. He would get that name tonight. Tony felt dreary and tired, and he scanned the newspapers like a machine. Everything seemed like a blur now. His stomach growled and he began to nod off. Suddenly, something awoke him. He had read it, stared at it for about five seconds, and finally comprehended what it said. The date of the paper told Tony that it was printed over a decade ago. And there were his words, big and bold; "Michael Spongasti arrives in America!'" the article read, under a picture of a younger Michael, waving while exiting a plane. The article read : "Michael Spongasti, a well known Italian Congressman, has arrived in America. He has made prior arrangements, and the President has requested him here personally. Michael says he will enjoy working for America and hopes to make it a better place to live. He was well respected in Italy, but states he wishes to move onto more complex matters. In a conference, he stated "I just like to help make societies a better place to live." Michael also said that his release of his new chat program is coming close. The internet communication has been suffering recently, having many of the big corporations that own them fail. Michael says that communication over the internet is "A great tool that revolutionizes the way we meet each other." The new chat program, named 'IMX', will be funded by the government and will be a free service to everyone. Michael also plans to spread the program to other countries, effectively making it the best way to talk with everyone all over the world.' Tony copied down the last name and sped out of the library. Grabbing some fast food, he went back to the base and turned on his computer while munching down on a burger. Now he had the internet on his side; he was almost unstoppable. He logged on to a search engine and typed in 'Michael Spongasti'. Three pages of results popped up. The first page yielded no results; only articles about other similar names. Page two wasn't much better either. Losing hope, Tony went on to the next page. The very last result was in Italian. It had a complex URL, too. Tony clicked to translate the page. It appeared, but Tony wasn't very hopeful; most of the images were broken, and the site was sloppily made. Some of the words were also not translated. Tony scrolled and clicked around. He was about to leave when he noticed something. A small link near the bottom of the page read 'Kelio Hacker Club'. Tony clicked on it, while finishing his soda. A picture of a group of men showed up. One of them looked startlingly familiar. Tony read the caption. What he found, on this small site, was all the information he needed. The page was years old. It read 'The Kelio hacker club was composed of of several friends who worked against the government of Italy. They did not want to cause damage to Italy's social structure, but rather, inform people about the government's problems by hacking into websites to spread the information. They later disbanded, some captured, but had many successes during their careers. Their greatest success was victory against their enemies, a cult which supported the government's ideas and opposed ours. We defeated their leader, Xavier Bobolio, and everyone else who opposed us learned our wrath. Long live Kelio!' Tony's heart stopped for a moment as he stared into the cold, dead eyes of Michael's. He couldn't believe it; Alex's father had been murdered by Michael. It all made sense now. Everything fell into place. Michael was a cyber-terrorist in Italy, but his small group of people were eventually caught. Michael was leading a double life then, and he is now. Fearing capture, Michael, who was also a well respected official, fled to America and made up all that crap that he now lives on and everyone believes. Unsatisfied with his works in Italy, Michael now seeks to topple America. And he wishes to do it secretly; by pulling out the bottom of America's tower undetected. If he deleted the Gallimer files, one thing would lead to another. He could have full access to America's main frames, and give access to every one of his associates. Sure, the government would notice his activity, but it would be too late; the damage would have already been done. America would easily fall to the hands of terrorists and would no longer be a super power. Michael was a genius, Tony thought, an evil genius. But how had Michael changed his past and keep his old life a secret? It was simple. Michael was a hacker, like Tony and Alex. He had tricks. He was a magician. He, like the other hackers, was in control. Hacker Amber was simply his pawn; like Kelio had been. It was a secret operation that Michael had been scheming for years. During the time Alex worked with him, as smart as he was, he must have known something was amiss. And Michael uses the IMX network to access files or do whatever else he wished on the massive network. Over a billion users... not knowing that the creator was this evil... And Tony had been dragged into the whole ordeal because Alex was desperate for the help. But Tony was now the last hope. There was no one he could tell; no one would believe him and surely Michael would strike back. Tony was young, he shouldn't have to face burdens such as this. But he knew he must press onward. But did Alex know about Michael and his father? That was one question that Tony wanted an answer for. He was now preparing for the night of his life. A night which he would have to his best to save America's — perhaps the world's — future. The astronauts were making their final preparations... Date : May 28th It took weeks of planning and preparation, but Tony felt he was ready for his bold undertaking. Time was running thin. Tony felt hesitant to bring Melissa, whom was still innocent in the whole ordeal, in to help, but Tony needed someone there with him to maintain the connection to NASA while Tony worked. Tony would have to disable the pulse cannon's commands from its computer, and if the rocket launched, he would lose his connection. Tony would have to use IMX's network to gain connection —there was no way he could do it himself undetected. Over the past months, hacker protection had taken huge leaps. It was never harder than it was now for a hacker to gain access to whatever information they wanted. Tony only hoped his IMX bug was still in place... Melissa, out of college for summer, was called. Tony told her that he needed her to complete the mission. He told her all about Alex and Michael. He told her that she was risking arrest, but promised her that they would be found innocent. It was all Tony could do. He knew Melissa was strong and eager to do anything to help people. She was the only person Tony could trust now. It was a phone call Tony did not want to make. But to his disbelief, Melissa obliged. She was indeed a true friend. If the two succeeded, they would not be famous. Only a few would know of the danger barely averted by a few teenage hackers. But this mattered not to Tony. He had to now finish what he had begun. There certainly was no turning back now. May twenty-eighth... the Mars mission would commence. It would have been something Tony would once be excited about; the prospect of landing and possibly colonizing other planets. But, for the current time, all he could think about was saving the planet he lived on. Tony had seen the new shuttle. It used magnetism to travel through space twice as fast as previous shuttles. The journey to Mars would take less than eight months. No longer were the main thrusters hurled back into Earth's atmosphere; they went with the shuttle and were used as a docking platform. When the crew of six reached Mars, they would detach the shuttle portion and leave it in orbit, where it could also serve as a long-range communication device. The thruster portion was large, sleek, and triangular. Two jets, throughly attached to the large object, would emit a mixture of super-heated steam, a magnetic fusion trail, and the classic fire-propelled emissions. The shuttle, also a sleek triangle, would carry the crew to their destination, taking observations and performing experiments along the way. But the same tools they used on board could be used to aim a blast of network-corrupting pulses down to Earth. The shuttle would be passing over Washington, D.C., as the president watched from below, unaware of the dangers the shuttle carried. NASA would open up ground connections to the shuttle during the last five minutes before launch for safety reasons — but there was another reason; IMX TV would be recording the event and showing it live over the IMX network so that anyone on IMX could watch it. It was something they did from time to time, broadcasting important events live over their networks. Tony would be sure to keep an eye on the events. Tony would have those five minutes to work his magic — terminating the pulse generator's sequence. If it fired, no one would even notice it —not even the crew members on board. The cannon was meant to fire communication beams over three times faster than current radio waves, essentially keeping in touch with Earth in a matter of seconds, even if they happened to be millions of miles away. The beam wouldn't be a huge strong blast; it would simply send a programing code to perform various actions. If any noticeable affect were to occur, it might be a slight energy fluctuation in the general area. There was a knocking on the rear van door. Tony got up from his computer to answer it. Melissa stood smiling in front of her car. She couldn't help but run up to Tony and give him a small hug. "Hey, Melissa," Tony said. "Glad you could make it." "Yes... well, we better get to work, then." "Yes, there's no time to waste. Thank you for this." "Are we really risking getting arrested, Tony?" "I'm afraid so. If we make a connection to NASA via the IMX network that was not permitted, I have little doubt that the alarm would be raised." "Oh..." "But it will be worth it. We'll be heroes," Tony said with a chuckle. "Yes, Tony. That's all that matters..." "My objective is to disable the cannon. Yours is to maintain a constant connection. While you're connected, the IP Addresses will change every ten seconds; this is a security measure. You basically have those ten seconds to learn the new IP address. It sounds difficult, but it's automatically done with a tool I recently completed. You basically just have to do a lot of typing." "All right, Tony. I'll do my best." "Come in, would you?" "Yes... okay." Melissa jumped in the back and Tony slammed the doors. "It's crowded in here," she said. "I know. It was meant for one person, and now there's even an extra computer in here. Please sit there," Tony exclaimed while pointing to the table on the left. "You'll man 'Queen' there. I'll have my laptop to work on. Since these both use different operating systems, it could give us a small advantage. That little one there, 'Princess', will have live footage from Canaveral. Ya got all that?" "Yes, Tony," Melissa said. "Now we have one problem — there's no way to connect to the inner IMX network wirelessly, so we must use a pay phone. I've chosen one which should give us the most advantage. It's down in an old alley." "I see, Tony." "This will be my greatest work ever," Tony told her. "Tony?" "Hmm?" "How is that you've been able to hide in this garage for so long. It seems someone would have found you by now." "Well, maybe I just have a guardian 'Angel' looking over me..." It was fifteen minutes till launch as Tony left the garage's protection and hooked up the proper wiring to the pay phone, which was in an old, trashed alley way. The big black van wasn't exactly conspicuous, but Tony had no choice. It would take the people from IMX five minutes to locate them and arrive anyway, which was how much time he had. As soon as the IMX program's TV window popped up to report the event, time would slow and the two would begin hacking like they had never hacked before. Tony sat back and sighed in his chair and looked at Melissa, preparing her computer and sitting on the floor. She looked up and smiled and looked back at her computer. Tony reached over and activated IMX, logging in as his old 'Key67' name, surprisingly still functioning. He set it to make it appear as though he were offline to everyone. He took a glance outside to make sure the wires were properly set. Two large wires were plugged into the pay phone's receiver. Tony returned to the small, black room lit only by the fluorescent glow of three computer monitors. Ten minutes until launch. Nothing on IMX. What if the broadcast didn't go under way? What if there wasn't a proper connection? What if Melissa or Tony failed? So many things could go wrong with the fragile plan... The time was now eight, and it was seven minutes until launch time. Tony peered over, and extended a hand to Melissa. She shook his his heartily. Both cracked their fingers, adjusted themselves, and prepared to begin working. Six minutes until launch. Melissa's program was active, while Tony was a click away from connecting with IMX. Six, five, four, three, two, one. It was now officially five minutes until launch. Tony glued his eyes on 'Princess'. Nothing happened. A second past. Two seconds. Three, four, five. Tony swallowed hard. He was already losing hope. Just then, a popup appeared with IMX's logo incased. A voice spoke out loud. "Live from Cape Canaveral! Brought to you by the one and only, IMX! We have live feed of the Mars mission launch!", this is where the logo faded and a reporter appeared in front of the shuttle launch area, speaking into a microphone. Dozens upon dozen of people surrounded her, and the countdown clock was ticking away, "That's right, we are reporting live via IMX satellite news, here at the launch site for the most ambitious space plan ever. Look behind me and you will see the final farewells of the astronauts, at the top of the shuttle tower. They are now waving to everyone. And now they depart, one by one, inside the 'Equinox'. Godspeed, godspeed. And as you can see, everyone here is in an uproar about this famous event. Again, this specific report is being brought to you worldwide by IM.," Tony was already successfully connected to the IMX network, while Melissa was ready to do her part. Tony paid little attention to the report being given. He was now connecting to NASA's network. 'Connection 56% complete', reported the window. "Ready?" Tony asked without turning around. "You know it," came Melissa's answer. The connection was completed. Tony could imagine the surprise on Michael's face at the moment. Michael could only watch as Tony, the teenager he thought he knew, ruined his plan. Sure, those first few seconds would pass, then Michael would have a track on him, and race down to their location. But there was no way they could make it in time. But something was wrong. Something wasn't right. Tony's connection was in no way secure enough. He only had one primary connection. If it was disconnected, he would have to reconnect, which may not even be possible. Tony felt ashamed for letting this thought evade him earlier. He needed a secondary, but in order to do that, he would need someone to redirect it. He could think of only one person. Tony grabbed his phone and pounded in numbers, hoping his client would be there. "Tony? What's wrong?" Melissa asked. "I need a new connection, Melissa. We can't rely on one. Just keep doing what you're doing now." Tony sat in his chair, hoping for an answer. The plan's success again rested upon one person. "Roger?" Tony spoke into the phone. Melissa looked over in surprise. "Roger, listen. I need you to do something for me. No. Look, I'm sorry about before. I'm not mad at you. No, Roger. This is important. I need you. Melissa needs you. Your decision could change America's future. Think about it, you always wanted to be a hero. Please, old buddy? That doesn't matter anymore! Okay, open a connection with me. I need to run a connection through you to NASA. Just monitor the connection and don't let anything interrupt it. Please do it!" "What?" Melissa asked. "I don't know. He's being difficult, but I don't blame him." "Tony!" "If we get a connection from him, we're in good condition. Keep at it, Melissa!" "Yes, good luck," she replied. Tony turned back around to his computer, praying for Roger to forgive, forget, and oblige. "Come on, Rodge. Please..." Tony said to himself. "I'm doing fine here," Melissa announced. "Good. How difficult is it?" "Not very, but I'm guessing it will get tougher," Tony glanced back at the TV broadcast. Three minutes remained until ignition. He looked back at his screen. Thankfully, Roger had opened a connection. "Thanks, bud," said Tony. He began typing rapidly. The second connection was created and now Tony had direct access to NASA. "Keep at it, Melissa. We are almost there." "Tony!" "What?" "The program just crashed! I relaunched it but-" "Damn! Well, there goes our primary. I'll try to reconnect, you keep that secondary up." "All right, I'll try." "We have another problem," Tony advised. "What?!" "It's going to be harder than I thought to disable this thing. There's too many access codes! This is going to be tough... I'm not sure I can do it." "Yes, you can, Tony. Your the famous 'key'! This what you do, Tony. You do it better than anyone. You can do this!" "Yes... you're right. You're good yourself, Melissa." "Tony, since I met you in person... well, you've inspired me. You're a good, person, Tony. You'r ea good kid. You should be proud of yourself. I'm proud of you." Tony stopped typing and looked at his keyboard. His fingers ached. "Thanks, Melissa." "And, well... if we are both arrested... and if our lives must change in that matter... I know it was worth it to have you as a friend, Tony..." Tony was speechless. "Melissa..." "Now show Michael who runs this show!" Melissa said excitedly. "There's no way we're going down now!" "Yes... yes, you are right! We will do this. No matter what. Nothing will stop us." "You can disable the cannon, Tony!" "But... what if we fail..." "Then... well, we know we gave it our best shot." "Melissa, I... I..." Police sirens broke the conversation. They were barely heard way off in the background, but they came slowly closer. Tony was panting in the steamy van as drops of sweat landed on his keyboard. He was desperately trying to disable the cannon. He must prevent this from happening... only one minute remained until launch. The sirens came closer... The last minute was a blur. All Tony could remember is mindlessly working on his keys. Melissa was saying some things to him, but they bounced off. It was all a mind game now. The pain throbbing through Tony's hands did not affect him. He had flashes of his room, of Alex, his old computer, of graduating, the IMXXX startup screen, the arcade where he met Melissa. These images formed a collage in his mind. What he was doing now was what he had been preparing for all these many months. He was finishing what Alex had started. Tony couldn't let Alex down. Then he remembered what Alex had told him: "You are a magician, you perform tricks." "Tricks," thought Tony. "Tricks"... Tony's pure, single minded connection to the net was disconnected by the loud banging on the van and the words, "Open up in there! You have five seconds!" Tony remember he had not fulfilled his mission. But he remembered that during his trance, he had done something. He couldn't remember what. But he knew he had done something. But was this it? Was it the end? Did he succeed? The rear doors of the van ripped open. Several cops stood with guns pointed at the two kids. Tony turned around after seeing the reflection of blue and red lights on his computer monitor. He mechanically threw his arms in the air as he was almost blinded by the bright lights. Michael shoved his way through the crowd of authorities and stared at Tony with disbelief. He looked to the ground and shook his head before gesturing to the officers to proceed. Tony looked at Melissa. She was indeed brave to have sacrificed freedom for this noble cause... She looks up at Tony, and Tony expected to see an expression which would hurt him, but it wasn't so. Melissa had a simple smile on her face. It occurred to Tony that she didn't know yet if Tony had succeeded. Tony glanced at screen to see the shuttle had lifted off and was soaring above the clouds. Tony and Melissa were both cuffed and brought into the warm night air before both being placed in the back of the police cruiser. Michael looked through the window, wearing a callous expression. Tony felt what Michael felt —disbelief at what he had done, and the fact that Tony could have been free but chose to oppose further. No doubt Michael would come down hard on Tony. All Tony could comprehend was that he would have a trial. He would face a variety of charges, mostly dealing with hacking. He would try not to defend himself, but defend Melissa as much as possible. It was all he cared about now. The city lights were absorbed by the windows, filling the back of the car with ever-changing light. Behind Tony were close-following cop cars. The journey passed by Tony. Almost no sound penetrated through the car. All was peacefully calm. Tony gazed out the window, Melissa looking out her side. Then something struck out at Tony. He whispered to Melissa to come over and look. She got on one side of Tony and huddled close. The two watched as a a bright object emitted a stream of gray clouds over the starry night. It sped across the sky. It was the 'Equinox', in all its glory, its crew making the trip to Mars. Then something else happened. The police car was at a high altitude on the highway, giving Tony and Melissa a great view of greater Washington. As the shuttle was almost directly above them, all the lights of the buildings circling the Pentagon flickered on and off for a brief moment. This flickering stopped but extended outwards in a circular fashion, making every light in the area go off for only a moment. It was like a ripple in water, originating at the Pentagon and spreading outwards. Melissa gasped. "It will be all right," Tony whispered. Melissa looked at him, and trusting Tony, returned to her original position. Tony looked back out. The ripple had lasted only a few brief seconds and was now over. So the cannon had struck, but had it done its damage? Tony closed his eyes and leaned back on his seat. Date : July 14th The series of events after the incident were what to be expected; Tony's parents were informed, they cried, Melissa's parents were notified; they couldn't believe what their daughter had done. Tony had not been able to talk with Alex since that day on the cell phone. The story was huge on the press, all the media covered it. 'Teenagers destroy important Government files!', 'Teen hackers accused of treason!', 'Young computer programmers break into the Pentagon!', read the headlines. The following days before Tony and Melissa's trial sped by quickly. Tony didn't need a good defense — he already knew what would inevitably happen. He and Melissa would be tried on the same day, in the supreme court due to the magnitude of the charges. If everything worked out like it should, Tony would be a free man once and for all. Michael was the single person managing the charges. There was actually not a single human witness for the case aside from everyone's personal testimonies, for how could there be? Instead, Michael would rely on written records that had recorded Tony's actions on the net. Tony was dressed up in suit and tie, Melissa was wearing a fancy dress. The two friends sat next to each other on the bench, awaiting the trial. Tony looked back to see his parents and his sister. He had not seen them in person for so many months; this sighting, despite his conditions, made him a tad more happy. The judge announced that the trial would commence. It was the beginning of a usual courtroom drama; the type of thing Tony had seen so much on TV. But Tony could already see the twist in the case from a mile away. Tony was the first one called up. He sat in the chair and awaited any questioning. The judge glared at him constantly. Michael asked Tony whether or not he done this or that, and Tony always answered truthfully. Finally, he asked if Tony had hacked into NASA the night of the 28th. Tony answered 'yes', causing a gasp among the crowd. Then Michael asked whether or not he had tampered with any shuttle technology on board. The question was a bit harder to answer, but Tony answered 'yes' again in the end. Tony's lawyer didn't seem to had made a strong case, but it didn't matter. Tony was basically on his own. 'No further questions' was the call for Tony to step down. Melissa was called up. Tony noticed that Michael was much easier on her. It came down to the fact that Tony had made Melissa his accomplice in the crime, and that she should be punished less severely. Again, none of this mattered yet to Tony. Melissa told everyone how he had met Tony and certain things he had done. She was careful never to mention IMXXX, though. It was time for Tony's defense. "Well, your honor, you've asked for the truth," he started, "So here it is. I lie about nothing. Michael... is a terrorist who wanted to delete key files stationed in Washington to overthrow America -" "That's a lie! I would do no such thing!" Michael yelled. "Order! Take your seat, Mr. Tombrolo," the judge said, "Please continue, Tony." "Thank you. Well, I was the only one who knew about his plan. I didn't have time to act, so I did the only thing I could think of, which would be disabling the shuttle from emitting that pulse," "That's preposterous!" Michael yelled again, "Your honor, are you really going to believe these ludicrous statements? To be able to use a rocket to delete computer files like that? It's insane." "Quiet, Tombrolo! Tony, what files did you say Michael was trying to delete?" the judge asked. "The Gallimer file. It's a file that allows the government to spy on the network, though it comes with limitations." "And do you have any proof?" Michael asked. "I have proof that you were trying to overthrow the Italian government. How you got past background checks and arrived here is beyond me, but I had reason to believe you are trying to do the same to America." "Insane accusations, Mr. Mondez!" "You used your IMX network to control the networks. You have the power to go through with your scheme." "And how did you find this out, Mr. Mondez?" asked the judge. "A well trusted friend named Alex Bobolio told me." "I see..." "He worked with Michael once; this is where he discovered the plan. That's all I have to say." "You may step down, then." So then Michael was called up to show the big paper of records. He claimed that Tony had been a longtime hacker and that he had been planning this event for months now, and then he went on saying about how he was a hero in stopping Tony from making the Mars mission a disaster. Tony was waiting for something, though... If Michael said what Tony hoped he would say, Michael's own tower would fall from the bottom up. "Do you have proof that Tony is a long time hacker?" the judge demanded. "Proof? You want proof?! Your honor, this Mr. Mondez was part of the IMXXX cult! Tony got together with the leader, Alex, and plotted against us! Thanks to him, the Gallimer files no longer exist! Do you not understand that without those files we are subjecting ourselves to endless terror? We were chasing Tony for over a month! He performed illegal actions against the government! He and the rest of that IM triple-X gang were trying to topple the U.S. government from day one and they have finally succeeded in causing serious damage!" "But Mr. Tombrolo..." the judge interrupted. "Yes? What?" "We've checked our files, and according to them, IM triple-x does not exist. There is no previous criminal record on file for Tony Mondez." Michael's expression changed in an instant. "What do you mean no records? Don't you remember the terror the IMXXX cult spread across the nation?" "Mr. Tombrolo, all our records are held on computer. If they aren't there, they aren't anywhere." Michael's face turned into desperation. "But!" Before the judge could answer, a man dressed in a suit holding a clip board hastily walked up to the judge and whispered something in his ear before stepping back down. "Attention, everyone! I have just been informed that a witness has been found that will now come to the stand!" "Wait! What?" Michael asked. Tony turned around as the back doors of the massive court opened and a familiar face appeared : Roger. Tony looked at Melissa, who also looked surprised, and shrugged. Roger looked tired and worn out. He swore the oath and took the stand, before exclaiming that his plane was late and he had just arrived. "Would you please state your name for the court?" asked the judge. "Roger Carks." "Would you please describe how you met Tony?" "I've been friends with him for years. We were into computer programming." "What happened on the night of the 28th?" "I'm not sure. Tony contacted me and asked me to open a connection to NASA. He said it was important and for a good cause. Something about saving the country." Tony peered over at Michael, whose calm characteristic was replaced by a person who was wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Would you please describe your relationship with Mr. Tombrolo?" "Him? He almost ruined my life." "Really? How so?" "He... he came into my room one night, busted down the door. He pointed a gun at me and threatened me to join his hacker group." Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing. The whole court was in shock, everyone was looking at Michael in utter disbelief. "He said we would reform America together. He wanted me to join his 'children.'" "Roger, what was this hacker group he wanted you to join?" "Hacker-Amber." Another gasp spread through the court. "Michael, is this true?" "I uh... uh..." Michael stuttered. "I need an answer, Mr. Tombrolo." "Your honor, can you believe this?! A bunch of hoodlum teenagers are framing me! I, the founder of IMX!" "No Mr. Tombrolo, I believe it was the other way around." "What? What do you mean?" "It's all very clear and evident to me now. There is no more fooling the public. You created IMXXX, a fake hacker cult organization. You then searched and gathered several people and framed them, saying they were part of this cult. You did this to make it look like they deleted the Gallimer files, making you a free man. It is clear that you are indeed a terrorist, using Hacker-Amber as your terrorist group." "Your honor, how can you make such accusations! Your blaming me for the deletion of the Gallimer files?!" "Michael, the Gallimer files still exist." "What?!" "They were never deleted, Michael. You were the one who first stated that they were. You did the talking. It's all very clear to me now." "But my records will clear my name! On the records, it states that the Gallimer files were deleted by a pulse from the 'Equinox' shuttle!" "Mr. Tombrolo, your records tell us how you were an Italian hacker, bent on overthrowing the government. If that isn't evidence, then I don't know what is. It appalls me to think that you came up with such an insidious plan — to get innocent people arrested and attempt to delete files that would allow terrorists to access America's networks." "Your honor!" "Mr. Tombrolo, I'm placing you under arrest for sabotage and treason, to name a few. This trial is no longer a trial as it was not meant to take place. The jury does not need to deliberate in this case; I find Tony and Melissa innocent of all charges. I also believe that an amnesty is in order for every last member framed in the IMXXX scandal." Officers surrounded Michael, cuffed him, and began taking him away through the back. He struggled and yelled. "Look, Tony! Look what you've done! IMX is history! Thanks to you, IMX is shutdown! It's gone! And because of your interference you're placing an important government official in prison! You screwed up big time, Tony! I know you're guilty! They will find you guilty!" Michael finished as he disappeared behind the doors. Tony hugged Melissa and patted her on the back. "It's over. It's finally over. We're free. We're all free," Tony exclaimed. Tony noticed Roger still in the witness stand, smiling and giving the thumbs up. After just a few hours of making sure Tony was cleared, he was freed. The trauma subsided quickly in everyone. Tony knew, deep down that he beat the system. His plan had worked... That night, Melissa, Roger, Tony, Alex, Tony's parents, and Emily, all ate together at the pizzeria on Main Street. It was a joyous night. Tony felt relieved. A great burden had been lifted off his shoulders. No, he wasn't a recognized hero; only five people, including himself, knew about the disaster barely averted. But Tony didn't care. He had saved a lot of people. He had saved himself. The few that knew about what he had done were an old friend named Roger, an intellectual arcade gamer named Melissa, a trusted friend thought to once be an enemy named Alex, and a man who wanted too much and was too ambitious for his own good named Michael Tombrolo. After the dinner, Tony walked with his three friends in a park. Tony had a flashback of when he did the same a long time ago, but there were only two others at the time... "Roger, did Michael really threaten you like that?" Tony asked. "...Yes, Tony," he answered nervously. "God, Rodge. I'm so sorry about treating you like that... you really came through in the end for me, though." "You're a friend, Tony. A good one. I almost forgot that..." "So what do you think about a chat program? They're already announcing on the news that IMX will be shut down in about a month... they say the program is so corrupted and full of holes that it would be a threat to the people by keeping it open," Melissa pondered. Tony had another flashback. This one of his youthful days hanging around in 'Total Xcape'. The chat room where he had remembered that recruiter coming in and demanding Tony's services. "Heh, I'm sure something else will come along," Alex answered. "So, everyone who was part of IMXXX is free?" Roger asked. "Yes," Alex replied, "But there is no way to apologize to all the people I harmed. I feel terrible about my previous actions... but Tony, you were great. You did it. You are far more clever than I." "Thanks, Alex. Thank you. everyone..." Tony said, "So, what are we all doing then?" "More college... another year," Roger answered. "Same here," Melissa added, "What about you?" "Technical College I guess, and then the Angels... I must fulfill my old dream... I will certainly be busy. Alex?" Alex sighed and looked at the ground. "I will be returning to Italy to live with my sister. I don't know if I will return to America." "Alex..." Tony asked, "Did... did you know what happened to your father? I mean..." "Yes, Tony... Michael and 'Kelio'... I've known for years. I never told you as it may have been a liability to have known that information. I had to keep your feelings focused on your mission." "Yes, I understand..." The group looked at each other and smiled once more. What a long journey it had been... Tony gave his farewells and went back to his parents' hotel room. They hugged him once more as they made their final arrangements to fly back home the next day. Tony would spend the rest of his summer back at his first home. Tony awoke early the next day and walked down to the Edwin Carver garage, to the fifth floor. He saw Alex packing his things in the van. "Hey, Alex," Alex turned around. "Oh, hello Tony." Alex reached for something in the back of the van and pulled out a black bag and tossed it to Tony. "Don't forget this," he exclaimed. Tony opened the bag to find his trusty laptop tucked inside. "Thanks, Alex. Are you taking the base back to Italy?" "Yes... but I will be selling it for a more modest vehicle." "What are you going to do up there?" "Lie low, stay out of the way, just live life, Tony. We are young, Tony. It's what we are supposed to be doing. But it just struck me... what are you going to do with your car?" "I'll be airlifting it back home, I guess." "You do know that's not cheap, right? I just found out how much it will cost me..." "Yeah, but I think I owe it to family to fly with them home..." "Family is important, Tony. Don't forget that." "Thanks Alex, you are a true friend." "So are you, Tony. Well, I better get going then." "Goodbye, Alex." "Farewell." Alex waved once more before jumping in the front of the van and sped off down the ramps of the garage. Tony stood and watched as the van vanished from view. He then gazed upon Washington, D.C.'s cityscape. After a few minutes, he got in his car and proceeded back to the hotel. He would soon be leaving the city he knew so well... Tony lived the remainder of his young life in peace. He went to college and even joined the Angels years later, to help stop another incident like that of what he tried to prevent. The months following the trial were months focused on two things — the Mars mission and the 'Tombrolo Scandal', or so it came to be called. Tony got to visit his nemesis a year after the trial. He was on one side of the prison wall, while Tony visited from the other. They communicated and saw each other through TV screens. "Hello, Michael," Tony said. "Hello, Mr. Mondez," Michael replied. "Tell me, Mr. Mondez, how did you do it?" "Do what?" "The whole deal with the shuttle." "Ah, yes." "What actually happened to the Gallimer files? Why did I get a record saying they had been deleted? Did you send a false record to trick me?" "No, I wouldn't do that." "Than what, Tony?" "They were deleted, that is true." "But then why-" "A true genius always keeps a backup of something they want to get rid of, so they know what they deleted and can use it for specific purposes." "You made a backup?" "No, I accessed yours. In the IMX network. I commanded the file to re-install back into it's rightful place. But you never got that report, Michael. You never got it because I did not send it." "You... you had access all along?" "Remember that night I was in the IMX building?" "Yes... I saw you." "I planted the bug into your servers, enabling me to access it at will." "I see, Tony... but you have just made a mistake! I can press charges on you now for breaking and entering!" "Wow, you must really want me in jail. But Michael, have we forgotten? You already pressed that charge against me for entering the IMX building. I was found innocent, remember? They believe that you had framed me about everything... and double jeopardy protects me. I am a free man, Michael." "You little..." "Don't be mad, Michael. You brought this upon yourself. For everything you've done in your life." "Well, Tony..." "So, Michael, how is your family doing?" Michael took a minute to answer. It seemed that he had lost all lust to pursue Tony. He failed, and he knew it. "Well, my daughter just got into high school... my wife is still married to me. She still loves me..." "That's nice, Michael. Family is important..." Tony's time was up and he left the building. It seemed that something in him that was missing had just been filled. The Mars mission was a success. The astronauts returned home safely and became famous as they reported their astonishing finds from the planet. Tony watched with much interest. They said that could be possible to colonize the planet in the far-off future; this news excited many. The momentum of the 'Tombrolo scandal' died down quickly as the case took its place in the crowd. Soon, the name 'Tony Mondez' would be forgotten to many. Tony reopened the Cinnamon Phoenix, but disposed of the hacker tools pages. He also reopened his message board and sent e-mails to all his members that the site's long hiatus was over with. His site gained 10,000 hits in one week. IMX shut down a few months after the trial. Time passed by with no online instant communication. It seemed unreal to Tony; Instant Messengers were such an important part of many people's lives. The fall of IMX came unexpectedly and without warning. Many people were in the dark about why it even shut down in the first place. But a new program, called TIM, or Turn Instant Messenger, soon came into play. 'Turn' had owned several TV channels and magazines, as well as a very popular web browser, and they were excited to launch the new worldwide free program. It wasn't long before Tony had a copy. The program allowed everyone to import their IMX friend list, and even keep their IMX names. That convenience got Tony's online life back up and running in only moments. Before long, he found himself in a chat room entitled 'Total Xcape 2' Now entering chat room 'Total Xcape 2' on the TIM network Key67 : Hello everyone Joker88 : hi ChipnDippers : hi Tony! :-) OopsyDaisy : who r u? Key67 : Someone... ShellShocked99 : Hi :-D MrCache : ah, Tony. So glad this chat room is back... ChipnDippers : it needs to be up don't you think? Joker88 : what are you talking about? TomKL : dude we're just saying hi TomKL : so where ya been, Tony? TomKL : hey Tony did u hear about that trial? Some guy had your first name I think... Key67 : ya i think I heard about that OopsyDaisy : you ppl are weird MrCache : we like being weird... ChipnDippers : lol ZephyrFusion has entered the room Joker88 : hey, wasup ZephyrFusion : nothing... Joker88 : i see... ZephyrFusion : Tony... Key67 : hmm? who r u? ZephyrFusion : it's Alex, Tony Key67 : Alex! :-D Key67 : how's Italy? ZephyrFusion : it's great ZephyrFusion : i'm happy here TomKL : Tony, where did your hacker stuff on your site go? Key67 : i removed it ZephyrFusion : wise decision ShellShocked99 : yes Joker88 : hacker stuff? where? ZephyrFusion : gone... Joker88 : i'm a hacker! well... i'm just learning Key67 : tell me, do u enjoy what u do? Joker88 : it's fun! MrCache : ha Key67 : how old r u, kid? Joker88 : 14 ZephyrFusion : they sure make em young these days... Key67 : ya? what have u hacked? Joker88 : into my school and changed my grades Key67 : ah, petty crime, then? i'll keep an eye on you... Joker88 : no! Key67 : and this is the life u have chosen for yourself? Joker88 : I dunno! ZephyrFusion : think he'll learn, Tony? MrCache : only when it's too late... Joker88 : you guys are weird! Key67 : i, too was a hacker, kid Joker88 : really? can u teach me some stuff? Key67 : i dunno... ZephyrFusion : a magician never reveals his secrets Joker88 : whatever MrCache : cute, kid. real cute ShellShocked99 : ya better teach him something or he may get mad :-P Key67 : alright, kid Joker88 : what?! what r u gonna teach me? Key67 : just a simple message, kid Joker88 : tell me already! Key67 : but a simple kid like u may not be able to understand... Joker88 : grr! just tell me the advice! Key67 : fine then Key67 : listen, kid Key67 : a hacker's life is most certainly a tangled... 'web' Signing off... Credits/Legal I'd like to again thank everyone who read and commented on my story at qslaboratory.com. They kept me at it when I was unsure whether or not it would be worth it to continue. Of course, i'd like to thank my main man, Dark Sim 905! This story is copyrighted Dzone 2003 and Gekko claims ownership over it. Brand names used are copyrighted of their respective owners. Steal my story without consent and your guilt will inevitably make you suicidal. If it doesn't, I will make sure you are properly disposed of myself. Have a nice day :-) |