Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Hacker Zi ❯ Part Seven ( Chapter 7 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Maho 
While Nick's job seems to be an ideal one, Marc's is nothing but hell.
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Sci-fi / Psychological / Cyberpunk / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.19.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 182 | Status: Completed
While Nick's job seems to be an ideal one, Marc's is nothing but hell.
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Sci-fi / Psychological / Cyberpunk / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.19.2007 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 182 | Status: Completed
DISCLAIMER: While Hacker Zi and its characters were created by me, some of the screen names were taken from actual people. Please DO NOT TRY TO CONTACT THEM. The story is purely fictional
Nick’s first day was full of training. While Ryan minded the register, Brandon showed her around the store. Within fifteen minutes they had gone through every type of item in the store. For her uniform, Brandon just told her to wear pants and at least a t-shirt. No strapless shirts, tanks, or beaters were allowed. They were also required to wear anti static wrist straps when working on computers, or even handling computer components.
“Now that you're familiar with the place, you can just make yourself at home. We can't start repairing your laptop until some of the new parts come in.”
“....this has got to be the slowest day ever. Bran, I need something to do.”
“Well there really isn't anything for you to do. I ordered new parts for the machines, but they won't be in today. You could clean the shop.”
“.........we never do that....and its never dirty.”
“Why don't you waste time on your laptop? You still owe me that code.”
“hmmm.....I guess I could finish that up.”
Ryan slowly stood up from the chair behind the counter. He took a minute to stretch, then headed into the break room. The two of them watched as the door closed behind him. Brandon then took his place at the counter, looking as entertained as Ryan had been.
“He owes you a code?”
“For a website. Its a side project we started. To pass the time and it was a way to try and get more traffic into the store.”
“Did it work?”
“Not sure yet. The site hasn't been touched for a few weeks. We were preoccupied with other things.”
Nick gave him a funny look, but he pretended not to notice. His cell phone must have been on vibrate, because he removed it from his pocket and put it to his ear. As he listened to the caller he glanced down at his watch.
“Its not ready right now, but I can get it for you. - ”
He soon left the register and went into the back of the store. Nick decided to go into the break room to keep Ryan company. He was at the table, working on his laptop. She watched over his shoulder as he wrote some kind of code.
“Whats that?”
“Javascript.”
“I know that. Whats it for....besides the website.”
“Its supposed to be an online catalog, but it keeps messing up.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well there's supposed to be an 'add to cart button' for each item, but when you actually go to the website and click it, it adds everything to the cart, instead of just the item you were wanting. I must have messed up somewhere in the code, but I can't figure out where.”
“Wish there was some way I could help, but I'm not much of a programmer.”
“Wanna learn? I can teach you sometime. It really isn't that hard.”
“Alright.”
“Why don't you take a load off, we're probably not going to get many customers today.”
She decided to take a seat. While she watched Ryan write the code she decided to get on her laptop and see if any of her friends were online. As soon as the homepage loaded she received two instant messages, one from Zeke, and another from Zack.
Vampire: Hey, where have you been? I tried your house, but no one picked up and your cell is off.
Zi: ^_^ I'm at work. Won't be home for another four hours. Whats up?
Vampire: I was just wondering if you wanted to come over and play a game. Halo 2 : )
Zi: You know I'm not very good at shooters.
Vampire: ) :
Vampire: Thats because you don't play them enough.
Zi: True.
Vampire: Then its settled. You'll come over after work. Dylan and Jacob will be here too.
Zi: Having a slumber party? XD
Vampire: Technically its just a few guys staying the night and playing video games. But yes, we're having a slumber party.
Fanning121: Glad to see you online. Where are you? I already tried coming over for some food...but you weren't home.
Zi: Sorry ^_^. I'm at work. You know where the spare key is, why didn't you just go in and help yourself?
Fanning121: .....because thats rude. ^_^ but on the plus side, it gave me a reason to order pizza. I'll save you some for later!
Zi: Will it be there tomorrow?
Fanning121: ....probably not. Hmm....then the next time you come over, we'll order pizza! My mom misses you. She said you haven't been around lately.
Zi: Tell her I'm sorry for not being around as often as I used to. ^_^
Fanning121: She said if she adopts you, you'd have no reason to be a stranger.
Zi: XD
Before Nick could receive another reply from either of them, another message showed up. It was a chat invitation from Neo. She looked up from her screen to see him grinning.
“We're sitting right next to each other. Why the chatroom?”
“Gives me something to do, besides this code. And I can talk to your buddies with you.”
Ryan entered a message and sent it to Nick. She shook her head and then returned to her laptop. Both Zeke and Zack were already there.
Neo: hey guys
Vampire: Hey Neo.
Fanning121: Haven't seen you in a while either.
Neo: Well I can't say the boss is working us hard, because he really isn't.
Fanning121: Us? Do you guys work together?
Zi: We're sitting across from each other in the breakroom.
Vampire: You live in the area? Why didn't you mention this before?
Neo: You never asked. No one ever asks the old 'a/s/l' anymore. Thats the first thing I used to see when someone new messaged me.
Fanning121: We should get together and play games sometime then.
Zi: Will you have pizza?
Fanning121: Possibly. Unless we go to your house, then I'll mooch off of you.”
Zi: XD
Vampire: Are you guys getting off at the same time?
Neo: Probably. Its a slow day, so we might get out early.
Vampire: Could you make it over here Neo? I already have MadPirate and Zephon over here. And Zi was going to make it over here already.
Fanning121: What about me?
Vampire: Your mom didn't give you the message?
Fanning121: When?
Vampire: I called an hour ago. She was on the phone but said she'd tell you!
Zi: Looks like she forgot XD
Neo: What would we play?
Vampire: Halo. I have two systems and if Fanning brings his Halo game we can all play.
Fanning121: Sounds like a good plan.
Neo: Sorry guys, we gotta go. Boss is calling
Zi: See you guys tonight!
Neo has left the room
Zi has left the room
“You guys mind going to the store and getting a few things?”
“Not at all. Did you make a list, or is it just the usual stuff?”
“Just the usual. Including the smokes.”
Brandon handed Ryan an envelope, which he folded and placed in his back pocket. He grabbed his keys from his bag and exited the break room. Nick followed him out of the store and to his car. It was a silver Focus, a bit of dirt on the side, but nothing too major. They were going to a grocery store a few minutes away.
“Why are we going to the store?”
“To stock up on soda, chips, and do Brandon's grocery shopping. Can't complain cause its better than sitting around doing nothing at the store.”
“Does he live in the store?”
“Above it.”
As they entered the store, Ryan grabbed a buggy. The first place they hit was the vegetables and fruit. Ryan sent Nick to get the vegetables, while he picked out the fruit. After filling the buggy with salad ingredients, five packets of tofu, and a variety of fruits, they went into the bread section. Ryan grabbed a few loafs of bread and some peanut butter, then moved on into the canned food section.
“Is Brandon a vegetarian?”
“Yeah. He was raised that way. I gave him some of my hamburger once, not thinking. Made him sick for a week. Now he won't let me eat any type of meat at work.”
“That must have been terrible.”
“He was pretty mad about it, but he's cooled off since then. If we weren't such good friends he probably would have fired my ass by now. Pardon the language. Guess he's starting to rub off on me a bit. Next up – instant noodle section!”
The list had said only one kind of ramen, but Ryan decided to get a little bit of everything. All together there were eight different kinds of instant noodles in their cart. Their last stop was the chips and soda section. Nick was to get five different kinds of chips, and Ryan was going to get the mountain dew.
Within an hour they were finished. Ryan loaded the groceries into the back of his car and let Nick take the cart back to the store. On the way back, realizing he had forgotten the cigarettes and his car was running low on gas, Ryan stopped at a gas station. He got out and filled the tank.
“You wanna go in to get the cigarettes and pay for the gas?”
“I'm underage”
“......so you are. Well you can still come in. I'll bribe you with a Code Red.”
Today had been another eventful day. Once again Marc and Rob had found themselves at a crime scene. This time however, it was a hit and run. A young girl on a bike had been hit by a car, who didn't even stop to see if she had been killed. Luckily the girl had survived the ordeal, and was now being flown to a hospital. Marc and Rob were trying to find the car and the culprit.
“There were traces of the cars paint on the bike. Looks like it was a yellow car. We're canvasing the area for witnesses. So far the only witness is a housewife who couldn't tell the difference between a Saturn and a Buick.”
“Bastard better hope that girl doesn't die. Or that we don't catch him.”
“I think you're letting this affect you too much Rob.”
“Can't help it, I mean with a kid coming, and then something like this happening, makes you wonder, what if it had been your kid. What if it had been Nikki?”
“Kate's pregnant?”
“I didn't tell you? I think I found out the night you went on that date.”
“Well congratulations.”
“Thanks. But man, ever since I found out, I've been kinda stressed. And more than usual.”
“You shouldn't worry about it, you have nine months to plan -”
A ringing cell phone interrupted Marc. He took a second to answer it, and a minute later he and Rob were in the car. The hit and run had been Identified in a neighborhood fifteen minutes away. Marc flipped on the siren as they started to hit traffic. Within eight minutes they had reached the perps house. The two of them took a second to double check the car. There was no blood, but on the bumper remained a bit of pink paint.
“Looks like he's our guy.”
The two of them made their way up the sidewalk and to the front door. Marc pounded on the door and a minute later a woman answered it. She seemed a bit shaken up by the knocking, so Marc apologized. He then questioned her about the car out front, then asked if her husband was at home. She didn't have to answer him. A second after he had asked, the man had darted out the back. Marc ran through the house after him, gun in hand, while his partner circled around to the back.
As Marc exited the back he was attacked by a dog. He had seen the it through the corner of his eye and was able to keep it away from his neck by using his arm. As he hit the ground he felt the dogs teeth tear his shirt and break through his skin. Using his left arm, he pushed against the dogs neck, trying to push it off of him. The woman soon showed up and grabbed the collar of the dog. Somehow he managed to break free after that, his arm bleeding, but still attached.
Not even bothering to wrap his arm, he continued the chase.
The gunshots told him where the suspect was. When he reached him, he was on the ground, crying out in pain. Rob was sitting on the ground a few feet away. His breathing was heavy.
“You alright?”
“.....N...o.....It's.....my....ch..est...I...th.. .ink....it's....a....he..a..r.t....att...ack.”
“Don't move, I'll call a bus.”
Within seconds two buses arrived. One of them took Rob and the suspect straight to the hospital. The second stayed behind and wrapped Marc's arm. After his arm was cared for, he headed to the hospital. On his way he informed Rob's wife about what had happened.
When he arrived at the hospital, he was surprised to see the chief already there. His boss told him that as of now, Rob would be on leave for a few months in order to recover. In the meantime Marc was to be given a new partner. His new partner, Michael, had rode in with the chief. Marc was to take him back to the station and then take the rest of the night off.
After saying a few words to his former partner, Marc left the hospital and headed for the station. On the way his arm began to ache, so he decided to stop and get some ice before dropping his partner off at the station.
Nick’s first day was full of training. While Ryan minded the register, Brandon showed her around the store. Within fifteen minutes they had gone through every type of item in the store. For her uniform, Brandon just told her to wear pants and at least a t-shirt. No strapless shirts, tanks, or beaters were allowed. They were also required to wear anti static wrist straps when working on computers, or even handling computer components.
“Now that you're familiar with the place, you can just make yourself at home. We can't start repairing your laptop until some of the new parts come in.”
“....this has got to be the slowest day ever. Bran, I need something to do.”
“Well there really isn't anything for you to do. I ordered new parts for the machines, but they won't be in today. You could clean the shop.”
“.........we never do that....and its never dirty.”
“Why don't you waste time on your laptop? You still owe me that code.”
“hmmm.....I guess I could finish that up.”
Ryan slowly stood up from the chair behind the counter. He took a minute to stretch, then headed into the break room. The two of them watched as the door closed behind him. Brandon then took his place at the counter, looking as entertained as Ryan had been.
“He owes you a code?”
“For a website. Its a side project we started. To pass the time and it was a way to try and get more traffic into the store.”
“Did it work?”
“Not sure yet. The site hasn't been touched for a few weeks. We were preoccupied with other things.”
Nick gave him a funny look, but he pretended not to notice. His cell phone must have been on vibrate, because he removed it from his pocket and put it to his ear. As he listened to the caller he glanced down at his watch.
“Its not ready right now, but I can get it for you. - ”
He soon left the register and went into the back of the store. Nick decided to go into the break room to keep Ryan company. He was at the table, working on his laptop. She watched over his shoulder as he wrote some kind of code.
“Whats that?”
“Javascript.”
“I know that. Whats it for....besides the website.”
“Its supposed to be an online catalog, but it keeps messing up.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well there's supposed to be an 'add to cart button' for each item, but when you actually go to the website and click it, it adds everything to the cart, instead of just the item you were wanting. I must have messed up somewhere in the code, but I can't figure out where.”
“Wish there was some way I could help, but I'm not much of a programmer.”
“Wanna learn? I can teach you sometime. It really isn't that hard.”
“Alright.”
“Why don't you take a load off, we're probably not going to get many customers today.”
She decided to take a seat. While she watched Ryan write the code she decided to get on her laptop and see if any of her friends were online. As soon as the homepage loaded she received two instant messages, one from Zeke, and another from Zack.
Vampire: Hey, where have you been? I tried your house, but no one picked up and your cell is off.
Zi: ^_^ I'm at work. Won't be home for another four hours. Whats up?
Vampire: I was just wondering if you wanted to come over and play a game. Halo 2 : )
Zi: You know I'm not very good at shooters.
Vampire: ) :
Vampire: Thats because you don't play them enough.
Zi: True.
Vampire: Then its settled. You'll come over after work. Dylan and Jacob will be here too.
Zi: Having a slumber party? XD
Vampire: Technically its just a few guys staying the night and playing video games. But yes, we're having a slumber party.
Fanning121: Glad to see you online. Where are you? I already tried coming over for some food...but you weren't home.
Zi: Sorry ^_^. I'm at work. You know where the spare key is, why didn't you just go in and help yourself?
Fanning121: .....because thats rude. ^_^ but on the plus side, it gave me a reason to order pizza. I'll save you some for later!
Zi: Will it be there tomorrow?
Fanning121: ....probably not. Hmm....then the next time you come over, we'll order pizza! My mom misses you. She said you haven't been around lately.
Zi: Tell her I'm sorry for not being around as often as I used to. ^_^
Fanning121: She said if she adopts you, you'd have no reason to be a stranger.
Zi: XD
Before Nick could receive another reply from either of them, another message showed up. It was a chat invitation from Neo. She looked up from her screen to see him grinning.
“We're sitting right next to each other. Why the chatroom?”
“Gives me something to do, besides this code. And I can talk to your buddies with you.”
Ryan entered a message and sent it to Nick. She shook her head and then returned to her laptop. Both Zeke and Zack were already there.
Neo: hey guys
Vampire: Hey Neo.
Fanning121: Haven't seen you in a while either.
Neo: Well I can't say the boss is working us hard, because he really isn't.
Fanning121: Us? Do you guys work together?
Zi: We're sitting across from each other in the breakroom.
Vampire: You live in the area? Why didn't you mention this before?
Neo: You never asked. No one ever asks the old 'a/s/l' anymore. Thats the first thing I used to see when someone new messaged me.
Fanning121: We should get together and play games sometime then.
Zi: Will you have pizza?
Fanning121: Possibly. Unless we go to your house, then I'll mooch off of you.”
Zi: XD
Vampire: Are you guys getting off at the same time?
Neo: Probably. Its a slow day, so we might get out early.
Vampire: Could you make it over here Neo? I already have MadPirate and Zephon over here. And Zi was going to make it over here already.
Fanning121: What about me?
Vampire: Your mom didn't give you the message?
Fanning121: When?
Vampire: I called an hour ago. She was on the phone but said she'd tell you!
Zi: Looks like she forgot XD
Neo: What would we play?
Vampire: Halo. I have two systems and if Fanning brings his Halo game we can all play.
Fanning121: Sounds like a good plan.
Neo: Sorry guys, we gotta go. Boss is calling
Zi: See you guys tonight!
Neo has left the room
Zi has left the room
“You guys mind going to the store and getting a few things?”
“Not at all. Did you make a list, or is it just the usual stuff?”
“Just the usual. Including the smokes.”
Brandon handed Ryan an envelope, which he folded and placed in his back pocket. He grabbed his keys from his bag and exited the break room. Nick followed him out of the store and to his car. It was a silver Focus, a bit of dirt on the side, but nothing too major. They were going to a grocery store a few minutes away.
“Why are we going to the store?”
“To stock up on soda, chips, and do Brandon's grocery shopping. Can't complain cause its better than sitting around doing nothing at the store.”
“Does he live in the store?”
“Above it.”
As they entered the store, Ryan grabbed a buggy. The first place they hit was the vegetables and fruit. Ryan sent Nick to get the vegetables, while he picked out the fruit. After filling the buggy with salad ingredients, five packets of tofu, and a variety of fruits, they went into the bread section. Ryan grabbed a few loafs of bread and some peanut butter, then moved on into the canned food section.
“Is Brandon a vegetarian?”
“Yeah. He was raised that way. I gave him some of my hamburger once, not thinking. Made him sick for a week. Now he won't let me eat any type of meat at work.”
“That must have been terrible.”
“He was pretty mad about it, but he's cooled off since then. If we weren't such good friends he probably would have fired my ass by now. Pardon the language. Guess he's starting to rub off on me a bit. Next up – instant noodle section!”
The list had said only one kind of ramen, but Ryan decided to get a little bit of everything. All together there were eight different kinds of instant noodles in their cart. Their last stop was the chips and soda section. Nick was to get five different kinds of chips, and Ryan was going to get the mountain dew.
Within an hour they were finished. Ryan loaded the groceries into the back of his car and let Nick take the cart back to the store. On the way back, realizing he had forgotten the cigarettes and his car was running low on gas, Ryan stopped at a gas station. He got out and filled the tank.
“You wanna go in to get the cigarettes and pay for the gas?”
“I'm underage”
“......so you are. Well you can still come in. I'll bribe you with a Code Red.”
Today had been another eventful day. Once again Marc and Rob had found themselves at a crime scene. This time however, it was a hit and run. A young girl on a bike had been hit by a car, who didn't even stop to see if she had been killed. Luckily the girl had survived the ordeal, and was now being flown to a hospital. Marc and Rob were trying to find the car and the culprit.
“There were traces of the cars paint on the bike. Looks like it was a yellow car. We're canvasing the area for witnesses. So far the only witness is a housewife who couldn't tell the difference between a Saturn and a Buick.”
“Bastard better hope that girl doesn't die. Or that we don't catch him.”
“I think you're letting this affect you too much Rob.”
“Can't help it, I mean with a kid coming, and then something like this happening, makes you wonder, what if it had been your kid. What if it had been Nikki?”
“Kate's pregnant?”
“I didn't tell you? I think I found out the night you went on that date.”
“Well congratulations.”
“Thanks. But man, ever since I found out, I've been kinda stressed. And more than usual.”
“You shouldn't worry about it, you have nine months to plan -”
A ringing cell phone interrupted Marc. He took a second to answer it, and a minute later he and Rob were in the car. The hit and run had been Identified in a neighborhood fifteen minutes away. Marc flipped on the siren as they started to hit traffic. Within eight minutes they had reached the perps house. The two of them took a second to double check the car. There was no blood, but on the bumper remained a bit of pink paint.
“Looks like he's our guy.”
The two of them made their way up the sidewalk and to the front door. Marc pounded on the door and a minute later a woman answered it. She seemed a bit shaken up by the knocking, so Marc apologized. He then questioned her about the car out front, then asked if her husband was at home. She didn't have to answer him. A second after he had asked, the man had darted out the back. Marc ran through the house after him, gun in hand, while his partner circled around to the back.
As Marc exited the back he was attacked by a dog. He had seen the it through the corner of his eye and was able to keep it away from his neck by using his arm. As he hit the ground he felt the dogs teeth tear his shirt and break through his skin. Using his left arm, he pushed against the dogs neck, trying to push it off of him. The woman soon showed up and grabbed the collar of the dog. Somehow he managed to break free after that, his arm bleeding, but still attached.
Not even bothering to wrap his arm, he continued the chase.
The gunshots told him where the suspect was. When he reached him, he was on the ground, crying out in pain. Rob was sitting on the ground a few feet away. His breathing was heavy.
“You alright?”
“.....N...o.....It's.....my....ch..est...I...th.. .ink....it's....a....he..a..r.t....att...ack.”
“Don't move, I'll call a bus.”
Within seconds two buses arrived. One of them took Rob and the suspect straight to the hospital. The second stayed behind and wrapped Marc's arm. After his arm was cared for, he headed to the hospital. On his way he informed Rob's wife about what had happened.
When he arrived at the hospital, he was surprised to see the chief already there. His boss told him that as of now, Rob would be on leave for a few months in order to recover. In the meantime Marc was to be given a new partner. His new partner, Michael, had rode in with the chief. Marc was to take him back to the station and then take the rest of the night off.
After saying a few words to his former partner, Marc left the hospital and headed for the station. On the way his arm began to ache, so he decided to stop and get some ice before dropping his partner off at the station.