[center] [Img]https://i.ibb.co/MnJXmwn/alex-sig.png[/img][/center] [b][:: One week ago... ::][/b] “So, what you’re trying to tell me is that you have no idea [i]how[/i] over five hundred of someone else’s hard-earned dollars suddenly ejected itself from the ATM machine at Brooklyn Financial last night?” The tall, thin fifty-something detective leaned over the cold metal table staring past his bushy furrowed brow and thick glasses at the short-haired, bleach blond girl who could do nothing but focus on her twiddling thumbs for the moment. There were a few moments of silence between them, save for the cool air blowing through the tarnished AC vent above their head, before the detective cleared his throat with impatience. “Well?” He arched an eyebrow, clearly tired of having to deal with yet another teenage degenerate on the streets of New York. “Yes.” The girl muttered under her breath as she continued to look down at her nervous hands, the few silver rings she wore clinked together every-so-often. “What? I can’t hear you?” The other said in a much sterner voice. “Yes.” She spoke up. “Okay, ‘yes’ what?” “Yes, th-that’s exactly what I said.” She shrugged. “I have no idea how it happened.” And so the reality was that Alex didn't quite know how it happened. Sure, she knew she had some strange and unexplained connection to electronics, and especially those networked into cyberspace, but just how it manifested and the lack of control over it isn't something she understood. She only knows that there is so much more to the world beyond what any human can perceive. But what the hell does it all mean? “Bullshit.” The cop leaned in closer, mere inches from the other’s downcast face. “The security footage pins you as the only suspect on scene when it happened. And after a thorough search of all the techie junk and computer hardware you had laying around in your bedroom at your parent’s house, I think we can conclude that you knew exactly what you were doing, and knew just how to hack into the bank’s ATM machine whereby you manage to circumvent multiple levels of security.” “That must be it.” She retorted in a hushed tone of voice. “Guess you got me figured out.” “Trust me.” He scoff. “You’re no different than the other assholes out there trying to make a quick buck at the taxpayers expense.” “I wasn’t there to steal.” The girl muttered under her breath. “I was-” “What?” The detective slammed an open hand down onto the tabletop, causing the girl to jump a bit. “Speak up for cryin’ out loud.” The detective shook his head in annoyance. The young woman slowly stopped moving her hands and finally looked up at the man staring back down at her, the expression on her face dull and unremarkable as her emerald eyes glared back at him. “You’re wearing a hearing aid…” She cocked her head slightly with a hint of curiosity in her face as her eyes moved toward the right side of his head. “Detective.” The cop narrowed his eyes in confusion at such an unusual -yet very accurate- comment. It wasn’t a question from her though, but rather the girl was essentially pointing out the fact that deep inside his right ear laid a small electronic hearing device made up of even smaller components that the naked eye would not have been able to spot. Of course, the man assumed it was a lucky guess or just some snarky remark due to his age, but before he could respond to the girl’s assessment, his hand flew up to his ear as high-pitched static feedback echoed from the device, causing his face to screw up into a painful expression. “What the hell-...” The detective hissed through clenched teeth while simultaneously attempting to pry the hearing aid from just outside the auditory canal it was attached to. The fact that the man, the once authoritative figure standing in front of her was now flailing around frantically trying to ease his suffering, brought just a little crack of a smile to the girl’s lips. She never liked to be yelled at. Suddenly the door to the small room they were both in opened up, and a woman dressed in business attire, and carrying a leatherbound brief, entered through. “Alright, the shows over.” The dark-haired woman said, and at that moment, the young girl’s concentration over the electronic hearing device broke and she looked over at the other woman who was addressing the detective who was recovering from the previous pain in his ear. “I’m miss Bellamy’s representative.” She said, placing a business card onto the table and sliding it toward the cop. “And I’ll she’ll be coming with me.” [b][:: Present Day | Husker’s Bar & Grill ::][/b] Alex felt comfort in familiar places, and the ol’ watering hole that seemed to have been a landmark within New York City since the beginning of time was no exception. Huskers was simple, not over-the-top like most flashy establishments in the area, and it just had a warm, homey feeling even in the most rowdy of evening hours. The girl sat in her usual spot, the corner booth near the rear of the room, just across from the bar. She'd been there going on two hours, with a black laptop, a plate of half eaten fries, sliders, and her third root beer, which was already screaming inside her bladder. But, despite the fact that she had to piss like a racehorse, Alex Bellamy was in the middle of an online business transaction... With multicolored lights glaring from the laptop screen against the girl’s fair skin, black sunglasses on, and fingers poised against the keyboard, she began the descent into the online game's cyber-infrastructure, her innate magic seeping into the very core of the computer's processor and out through the network. [color=8dc73f]:::::::::::::::::::::::: [b][J!nX]:[/b] Yo, when should I expect the shit I paid for? [b][J!nX]:[/b] You ain't holding out on me, right? [b][J!nX]:[/b] I know you got my deposit through paypal. O.o?? [b][ΝØ∀Δ]:[/b] Patience. ::::::::::::::::::::::::[/color] Her client, some kid who apparently found her through the dark web as a potential dealer in all kinds of virtual gear for just about any online game on the market. Of course the more rare the commodity, the higher the price tag, but if it meant less grinding for drops and unlocks and more time showing off all the latest hardware and looking like a badass doing it, then gamers would pay up. Sure, after being bailed out of a very long jail sentence, Alex was told to “stay out of trouble and keep a low profile”, but a girl needs to eat regardless. Besides, no one is getting hurt and her real identification is hidden well enough. The text message regarding the Guild meeting showed up on her phone, but she was too far gone and embedded into penetrating the game server's security protocols and firewalls to have even noticed. It would also be her first time meeting with others like her, at least as far as she knew. [color=8dc73f]:::::::::::::::::::::::: [b][ΝØ∀Δ]:[/b] Done. Check your IG mail. [b][J!nX]:[/b] NICE!!!! omg thx!!! ur teh best!!! ::::::::::::::::::::::::[/color] Before any further communication took place, Alex carefully backed out of the multi-level firewalls, and when it was safe, severed her connection. The faint green glow that emitted from her retinas while maintaining a deep connection slowly subsided, and she removed her Ray Bans, and blinked a few times to regain her normal vision. Her eyes closed for a moment as she rubbed the area right above her nose, the stinging pain of neural fatigue falling to the wayside. As her eyes opened once more, the girl saw Salem, one of Husker’s staff, standing at the edge of the table staring back at the blonde. [sub][@HaleyTheRandom][/sub]