The Code Between Us

Chapter One

Ava's Pov

I laugh when the world thinks they've got me figured out.

The FBI has a thick file which had my code name 'Specter' on it and a f*****g bounty on my head.

Cybersecurity firms used me as an example to scare interns with the words 'Do not leave a backdoor or else Specter would find them.'

I had a motherfucking teaching experience in the digital world. I scare the biggest companies with billion-dollar techs.

I was a ghost.

I could get into any firewall and slip out without a trace left behind.

But nobody knows me…not really. They don't know the person messing with them is just a twenty-two-year-old girl who lives in a cramped studio apartment in South Side Chicago. Most people would think I am living the life, being the best and famous hacker but the problem of being anonymous was that I couldn't take credit for s**t.

I mostly survive on instant noodles because my account was as empty as the police's promise of justice.

Now, you will wonder why a famous hacker is broke but that's the problem. I am not into this life to steal but for the thrill and fun.

I like being invisible. It was safer that way and I didn't want to do anything to bring attention to myself.

But tonight, that was not my plan.

"Firewall's down…" I whispered to myself in my dark room, with the only light coming from the monitor of my laptop. My fingers fly over the keyboard, and the rhythm of the typing is in sync with the beating of my heart

"Sorry, Ethan. Your new shiny AI is mine." I laughed as I broke through the system. Was it hard? Yes, but I did it. Even after he bragged about it being impenetrable.

"Was this the challenge, Ethan Thompson?"

I leaned into my chair as I watched my code do what it does best while the name left a bitter taste in my tongue.

I hated him so much.

He is the golden boy, the billionaire who thinks everyone else is beneath him. He had built Thompson Tech, the biggest tech company in the country. It had been the beast till I came along.

For the last two years, Ethan and I had been caught in a game of cat chase mouse, except he thinks I am the mouse and he is the cat who is trying to take charge.

I hack every new code he brings out and leave my footprint all over his digital canvas and I watch him break down from the hack CCTV cameras while I laugh with a bucket of popcorn.

It was my favourite show.

I grinded as I uploaded my latest calling card. It was a ghost mark encoded into the background of his prototype launch screen.

The word 'THE SPECTER' and a middle finger would be plastered on the screen when he wants to use it for tomorrow.

"Ahh, another episode of my favorite show…" I smirked as I already imagined the breakdown he would have.

"Let's see how fast you rebuild this one…"

I looked back at the code and I felt something was off or different. I didn't mind as I shook it off and being paranoid…it comes with the job.

"Done…' I leaned back in my chair, as I rubbed my tired eyes.

I walked to the window as I looked at the city. Chicago hums with life, sirens blaring, neon signs as bright as the sun, people moving like it wasn't almost midnight.

The city never f*****g sleeps.

But my world is smaller. Just cables, screens, and codes.

I walked back to my desk as I closed my laptop and tried to get another plan in motion when a soft ping cut through the silence of the apartment.

It was a message on my laptop.

It was weird because I knew no one who would send me a message on my laptop. I tried to check the IP address but it didn't come up with any.

"s**t…"

I clicked on it and five words glowed on my screen.

"GOT YOU, SPECTER. GAME OVER!"

I could feel my stomach flip. As my eyes widen.

"That's not possible."

I launched a countertrace instantly, as my fingers slammed into my keyboard with speed and efficiency. There was no room for mistake but every path led me to a f*****g dead end.

It was like I was locked in.

"No…." I breathed out, my hands running through my hair. "This isn't….."

The words froze in my mouth as I watched my screen glitch, then it went blank. One by one, my other monitors shut down too, leaving me too stunned to speak.

"Someone had been able to hack my system."

Then I heard a voice from my speaker. It was smooth, confident, and very familiar,

"Still sloppy, Morales." He chuckled, "I can see that some things never change."

My heart shuddered. He didn't call me Specter, but my f*****g last name.

My real last name.

Fuck I was screwed. I needed to get out of here but I stayed rooted in the spot.

"How the hell…."

"It's cute that you thought you could keep playing games on my turf, really cute." His laugh was low but taunting.

"But this time, I won, bitch."

The blood in my veins ran cold. There was only one person in the world who could sound like that. The arrogant, smug, and the kind of voice that made me want to punch the screen while I imagined his f*****g face.

"Ethan Thompson" I whispered his name.

He chuckled, "That's right."

I need to get out of here, immediately. I stood up as I walked around the apartments.

"Task, task, if you leave I am sending all your details to the f*****g FBI and you know that it would be game over." He warned and I knew he wasn't bluffing.

"What the hell do you want from me?" I glare at him. I knew he could see me but I couldn't.

"Stay there,....and don't make any sudden move. You listen to me now."

I swallowed hard.

I was f****d!