Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Hacker Zi ❯ Part Thirteen ( Chapter 13 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Maho 
Nick's debt has been paid.
...these summaries are getting harder to write.
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Sci-fi / Psychological / Cyberpunk / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.19.2007 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 184 | Status: Completed
Nick's debt has been paid.
...these summaries are getting harder to write.
Miscellaneous: Original Stories Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Sci-fi / Psychological / Cyberpunk / Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 11.19.2007 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 184 | 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
The drive back to the hospital was silent, with the exception of the low music being emitted from the radio. Ryan would occasionally glance over at Nick, who remained fixated on objects passing by. He could not imagine the pain and confusion she was going through. Two friends hospitalized on the same day, and David's sudden reappearance. Ryan was in awe over her ability to look so calm. He would have surely broken down by now.
Within fifteen minutes they arrived at the hospital. This time, Ryan parked his car in the Visitors section, wanting to avoid giving a cop the opportunity to write him a ticket. When the two of them made their way to the ER waiting room, Zeke approached Nick, while Josh and Robbie rushed up to Ryan. Josh filled him in on what had happened.
“Brandon's out of surgery, but the hospital's making him stay overnight, for observations they said.”
“How long ago?”
“About ten. We wanted to wait until you got back to go up to his room.”
Ryan nodded then looked over at Zeke. He was telling Nick about what had happened. Their friend was still in the operating room, and it didn't look like he was going to be coming out very soon. The doctors were still trying to remove all of the .22 fragments that were still in his body. After he had finished, Ryan spoke to Nick.
“Since it'll be a while, do you guys want to come up with us to see Brandon?”
Zeke declined the offer, but insisted on Nick going. Together, the four of them made their way to the elevator. Brandon was on the third floor, but finding his room would be difficult. The floor was like a maze, one wrong turn and you found yourself back at the elevators. After going in a circle once, Ryan stopped at the nurses station and asked for help. Josh and Robbie tried to keep him from doing so, claiming that they knew where they were going. The nurse gladly showed the four of them to their friends room.
When they entered the room, it looked as though Brandon was sleeping. Josh approached the bed and was about to lightly tap him on the shoulder, but before he could do so, Brandon opened his eyes and glared at him, causing Josh to jump back in surprise.
“You scared the shit out of me!”
“.....take me home.”
Ryan shook his head, chocking back a laugh that had been caused by Joshes fright.
“We can't. Besides, its just one nig-”
“Take me home, dammit.”
“Listen, dumbass. You punctured the vein in your hand when you punched that fucking computer. If we hadn't have came when we did, you'd probably be six feet under by now.”
Brandon let out a sigh in frustration. Robbie was right, he probably would have been gone now if it weren't for them. But he wasn't about to admit that to his face. Instead he turned his eyes towards the ceiling, staring at the white paint.
“I hate fucking hospitals.”
“Should have thought about that before you lost that fucking temper of yours.”
“....hey Rob, come here for a second.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Almost everyone in the room laughed, with the exception of Brandon and Nick. It was then that he had noticed she was even there. He shot a look at Ryan, who pretended not to notice. He didn't want her here, Ryan probably realized that as soon as he saw Brandon's glare. But this did give him the opportunity to do what he needed to do, Ryan had just forced his hand without even realizing it. Moving his uninjured hand to the bed tray beside him, he picked up what appeared to be a credit card.
“Josh, Rob, go down to the cafeteria and get me something to eat. Get whatever you want too....just don't forget the Mountain Dew.”
Josh gave him a confused look, but was silenced with an elbow to the stomach by Rob. He then stepped forward and took the card. It was a special credit card given out by the hospital. By using it in the cafeteria, it automatically sent the purchase to the patients bill. Grabbing Josh by the shirt, Rob pulled him into the hallway and out of sight. Once they were gone, Brandon looked at his two employees.
“...Nick, I'm letting you go. Consider your debt paid.”
He had not only shocked Nick with his words, but Ryan as well. He was afraid, but somehow knew that this would happen. Ryan was the first to voice his protest.
“What the hell Virg!?!”
Ryan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Brandon had no reason to do this. Or at least not a very good one. Glancing over at Nick, he saw that the words hadn't phased her, or they had and she was extremely good at hiding her emotions. When she finally spoke, Ryan was surprised when he heard her words.
“.....David won't be there when I get back, will he?”
“No....he won't. By now he's probably far from there. It was too much of a risk. He can't go back to his past life. He doesn't want you involved in his present and future life.”
Nick didn't speak. It were as if she couldn't. Was she supposed to just act like he was dead? Going back to the way things used to be was impossible. She had already lost her friend once. How did Brandon expect her to do it a second time? How did David?
The silence of Nick made Brandon feel uneasy. He was demanding a lot from her. So was David. She had been dragged into a dangerous situation almost unknowingly. By giving her ipod filled with clues to what had happened, by being unable to completely leave his past behind, he had unintentionally put her in that situation. And by hiring her as an employee, Brandon had done the same. His grandfather had already suffered from their mistakes. Now they were attempting to spare two other lives from the clutches of Defiance. One was almost impossible to help, but Nick still had a chance. Defiance did not yet know who she was, and by forcing her to forget about David, and leave the store, it could stay that way. Unless Michael had already pried information out of his partner. But even then, by keeping David away, Defiance wouldn't touch her. They wouldn't dare burn Michael.
Before either Brandon or Ryan had the chance to speak, Nick began to walk towards the door. Ryan called after her, causing her to stop at the door. She turned back, looking at both of them, her emotions unreadable. Then, without another word, she turned and walked towards the elevators. After she had gone, Ryan turned towards Brandon, who stared back at him.
“What the fuck are you doing!?! What the fuck is David doing!?! Do you guys enjoy fucking with her like that!?!”
“David wants her to stay out of this. He doesn't want her involved.”
“She became involved the moment you gave her a fucking job! If you guys wanted her to stay the hell out of this, why the fuck didn't you just fix her damn laptop and send her on her way!?!”
“Because. Defiance didn't just crash her computer. They installed an indestructible virus that would give them access to everything on her computer. It would have become active in 24 hours. Giving her a brand new laptop, no strings attached would have been beyond suspicious. So by offering a job, it produced a plausible excuse.”
“And the old laptop?”
“I destroyed everything but the shell. Before David left he asked me for one thing, and one thing only – make sure she never got involved.”
“But she knows everything now!”
“No. She still knows nothing. We only told her bits and pieces – like Rick wanting to rid the world of materialism, and how many followers he has. We left out who, how, where and why.”
Ryan still wasn't satisfied. Sure, Brandon had presented an excellent argument, but the damage had already been done. Nick knew about what Defiance was planning. More than likely, she still remembered a few of the screen names from the incident in the chatroom, the rest she could probably uncover herself. And now they definitely knew about her and where she lived, thanks to Michael's infiltration of the police force.
After leaving the room, Nick had returned to the waiting room in the ER. Zeke was somewhat surprised that she had returned so soon. He had assumed she would have stayed up there for a good hour or two, considering it was her boss. She sat down next to him, holding her legs on the chair with her arms.
“You're not going to stay up there longer?”
“.....no.”
“But...isn't your boss - “
“He's not my boss anymore.”
“You were fired?! Why?”
“.....David. Zeke....did he tell you what he was going to do?”
“....you mean the Defiance thing? He didn't have to tell me. I already knew about it.”
Nick was puzzled by his remark. Seeing the look on her face, he continued his explanation.
“We were both given an offer to join Rick. I came close to, but changed my mind after we were told that it would mean giving up everything in our past. I couldn't live with myself....putting friends and family in pain just to follow some stupid ideal.”
“So....the two of you were going to fake a suicide?”
“No. It was originally supposed to be a car accident, but after I backed out, that was his only option. David didn't want to leave us, but he wanted to get away from his father.”
Nick fell silent again. He figured she was finally out of questions, or was trying to sort through the information she had learned. Zeke was about to make an attempt to comfort her, when a doctor emerged from the OR. Both of them stood up and walked over to the man, along with Dylan's parents.
“How is he?”
“We removed all of the bullet fragments, and stabilized him. He's being taken to a room on the eighth floor. As to the extent of his injuries, I'm afraid he will probably never be able to walk on his own again. One of the bullets shattered his knee cap...but the other wound will heal within the next year. He's a very lucky kid. If it weren't for this, the bullet would have caused more damage – possibly even his death.”
The doctor held up a small bag. The contents of the bag was a white, rectangular device, a gaping hole was in its center, and some of the pieces that remained intact were covered in blood. Zeke and Nick knew what it was instantly, Dylan's parents on the other hand, were basically clueless. The doctor handed the object over to his parents, then turned to leave, saying something as he went.
“I wasn't sure what to do with it, sometimes patients are weird about this kind of thing, and want to keep it, as a reminder that it had saved their life.”
As the doctor turned and walked away, Dylan's mother called after him. He stopped and looked back, not hearing her question.
“When will we be able to see him!?”
“Its best if you let him rest for the rest of today. Normally parents are allowed to visit the next day, but as far as friends go, the fewer that go in the better. If you stop by the front desk, they'll give you his room number.”
Against their will, Dylan's parents soon left after that. Only Zeke and Nick remained. Zeke was waiting on his parents to pick him up. Nick, on the other hand, stuck around to keep him company. That, and she didn't want to go home, at least not yet. Just knowing that David would be gone again made her wish she could go far away from there.
As Zeke and his parents were leaving, they offered her a ride home, which she declined. Once they were gone, she walked outside. Removing her cell phone, she began to dial her brothers number. Just as she was about to punch in the last digits, she stopped. In front of her stood Tiffany and her mother, a look of shock on her face.
“....Nikki....”
“.....When did you....”
The drive back to the hospital was silent, with the exception of the low music being emitted from the radio. Ryan would occasionally glance over at Nick, who remained fixated on objects passing by. He could not imagine the pain and confusion she was going through. Two friends hospitalized on the same day, and David's sudden reappearance. Ryan was in awe over her ability to look so calm. He would have surely broken down by now.
Within fifteen minutes they arrived at the hospital. This time, Ryan parked his car in the Visitors section, wanting to avoid giving a cop the opportunity to write him a ticket. When the two of them made their way to the ER waiting room, Zeke approached Nick, while Josh and Robbie rushed up to Ryan. Josh filled him in on what had happened.
“Brandon's out of surgery, but the hospital's making him stay overnight, for observations they said.”
“How long ago?”
“About ten. We wanted to wait until you got back to go up to his room.”
Ryan nodded then looked over at Zeke. He was telling Nick about what had happened. Their friend was still in the operating room, and it didn't look like he was going to be coming out very soon. The doctors were still trying to remove all of the .22 fragments that were still in his body. After he had finished, Ryan spoke to Nick.
“Since it'll be a while, do you guys want to come up with us to see Brandon?”
Zeke declined the offer, but insisted on Nick going. Together, the four of them made their way to the elevator. Brandon was on the third floor, but finding his room would be difficult. The floor was like a maze, one wrong turn and you found yourself back at the elevators. After going in a circle once, Ryan stopped at the nurses station and asked for help. Josh and Robbie tried to keep him from doing so, claiming that they knew where they were going. The nurse gladly showed the four of them to their friends room.
When they entered the room, it looked as though Brandon was sleeping. Josh approached the bed and was about to lightly tap him on the shoulder, but before he could do so, Brandon opened his eyes and glared at him, causing Josh to jump back in surprise.
“You scared the shit out of me!”
“.....take me home.”
Ryan shook his head, chocking back a laugh that had been caused by Joshes fright.
“We can't. Besides, its just one nig-”
“Take me home, dammit.”
“Listen, dumbass. You punctured the vein in your hand when you punched that fucking computer. If we hadn't have came when we did, you'd probably be six feet under by now.”
Brandon let out a sigh in frustration. Robbie was right, he probably would have been gone now if it weren't for them. But he wasn't about to admit that to his face. Instead he turned his eyes towards the ceiling, staring at the white paint.
“I hate fucking hospitals.”
“Should have thought about that before you lost that fucking temper of yours.”
“....hey Rob, come here for a second.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Almost everyone in the room laughed, with the exception of Brandon and Nick. It was then that he had noticed she was even there. He shot a look at Ryan, who pretended not to notice. He didn't want her here, Ryan probably realized that as soon as he saw Brandon's glare. But this did give him the opportunity to do what he needed to do, Ryan had just forced his hand without even realizing it. Moving his uninjured hand to the bed tray beside him, he picked up what appeared to be a credit card.
“Josh, Rob, go down to the cafeteria and get me something to eat. Get whatever you want too....just don't forget the Mountain Dew.”
Josh gave him a confused look, but was silenced with an elbow to the stomach by Rob. He then stepped forward and took the card. It was a special credit card given out by the hospital. By using it in the cafeteria, it automatically sent the purchase to the patients bill. Grabbing Josh by the shirt, Rob pulled him into the hallway and out of sight. Once they were gone, Brandon looked at his two employees.
“...Nick, I'm letting you go. Consider your debt paid.”
He had not only shocked Nick with his words, but Ryan as well. He was afraid, but somehow knew that this would happen. Ryan was the first to voice his protest.
“What the hell Virg!?!”
Ryan couldn't believe what he was hearing. Brandon had no reason to do this. Or at least not a very good one. Glancing over at Nick, he saw that the words hadn't phased her, or they had and she was extremely good at hiding her emotions. When she finally spoke, Ryan was surprised when he heard her words.
“.....David won't be there when I get back, will he?”
“No....he won't. By now he's probably far from there. It was too much of a risk. He can't go back to his past life. He doesn't want you involved in his present and future life.”
Nick didn't speak. It were as if she couldn't. Was she supposed to just act like he was dead? Going back to the way things used to be was impossible. She had already lost her friend once. How did Brandon expect her to do it a second time? How did David?
The silence of Nick made Brandon feel uneasy. He was demanding a lot from her. So was David. She had been dragged into a dangerous situation almost unknowingly. By giving her ipod filled with clues to what had happened, by being unable to completely leave his past behind, he had unintentionally put her in that situation. And by hiring her as an employee, Brandon had done the same. His grandfather had already suffered from their mistakes. Now they were attempting to spare two other lives from the clutches of Defiance. One was almost impossible to help, but Nick still had a chance. Defiance did not yet know who she was, and by forcing her to forget about David, and leave the store, it could stay that way. Unless Michael had already pried information out of his partner. But even then, by keeping David away, Defiance wouldn't touch her. They wouldn't dare burn Michael.
Before either Brandon or Ryan had the chance to speak, Nick began to walk towards the door. Ryan called after her, causing her to stop at the door. She turned back, looking at both of them, her emotions unreadable. Then, without another word, she turned and walked towards the elevators. After she had gone, Ryan turned towards Brandon, who stared back at him.
“What the fuck are you doing!?! What the fuck is David doing!?! Do you guys enjoy fucking with her like that!?!”
“David wants her to stay out of this. He doesn't want her involved.”
“She became involved the moment you gave her a fucking job! If you guys wanted her to stay the hell out of this, why the fuck didn't you just fix her damn laptop and send her on her way!?!”
“Because. Defiance didn't just crash her computer. They installed an indestructible virus that would give them access to everything on her computer. It would have become active in 24 hours. Giving her a brand new laptop, no strings attached would have been beyond suspicious. So by offering a job, it produced a plausible excuse.”
“And the old laptop?”
“I destroyed everything but the shell. Before David left he asked me for one thing, and one thing only – make sure she never got involved.”
“But she knows everything now!”
“No. She still knows nothing. We only told her bits and pieces – like Rick wanting to rid the world of materialism, and how many followers he has. We left out who, how, where and why.”
Ryan still wasn't satisfied. Sure, Brandon had presented an excellent argument, but the damage had already been done. Nick knew about what Defiance was planning. More than likely, she still remembered a few of the screen names from the incident in the chatroom, the rest she could probably uncover herself. And now they definitely knew about her and where she lived, thanks to Michael's infiltration of the police force.
After leaving the room, Nick had returned to the waiting room in the ER. Zeke was somewhat surprised that she had returned so soon. He had assumed she would have stayed up there for a good hour or two, considering it was her boss. She sat down next to him, holding her legs on the chair with her arms.
“You're not going to stay up there longer?”
“.....no.”
“But...isn't your boss - “
“He's not my boss anymore.”
“You were fired?! Why?”
“.....David. Zeke....did he tell you what he was going to do?”
“....you mean the Defiance thing? He didn't have to tell me. I already knew about it.”
Nick was puzzled by his remark. Seeing the look on her face, he continued his explanation.
“We were both given an offer to join Rick. I came close to, but changed my mind after we were told that it would mean giving up everything in our past. I couldn't live with myself....putting friends and family in pain just to follow some stupid ideal.”
“So....the two of you were going to fake a suicide?”
“No. It was originally supposed to be a car accident, but after I backed out, that was his only option. David didn't want to leave us, but he wanted to get away from his father.”
Nick fell silent again. He figured she was finally out of questions, or was trying to sort through the information she had learned. Zeke was about to make an attempt to comfort her, when a doctor emerged from the OR. Both of them stood up and walked over to the man, along with Dylan's parents.
“How is he?”
“We removed all of the bullet fragments, and stabilized him. He's being taken to a room on the eighth floor. As to the extent of his injuries, I'm afraid he will probably never be able to walk on his own again. One of the bullets shattered his knee cap...but the other wound will heal within the next year. He's a very lucky kid. If it weren't for this, the bullet would have caused more damage – possibly even his death.”
The doctor held up a small bag. The contents of the bag was a white, rectangular device, a gaping hole was in its center, and some of the pieces that remained intact were covered in blood. Zeke and Nick knew what it was instantly, Dylan's parents on the other hand, were basically clueless. The doctor handed the object over to his parents, then turned to leave, saying something as he went.
“I wasn't sure what to do with it, sometimes patients are weird about this kind of thing, and want to keep it, as a reminder that it had saved their life.”
As the doctor turned and walked away, Dylan's mother called after him. He stopped and looked back, not hearing her question.
“When will we be able to see him!?”
“Its best if you let him rest for the rest of today. Normally parents are allowed to visit the next day, but as far as friends go, the fewer that go in the better. If you stop by the front desk, they'll give you his room number.”
Against their will, Dylan's parents soon left after that. Only Zeke and Nick remained. Zeke was waiting on his parents to pick him up. Nick, on the other hand, stuck around to keep him company. That, and she didn't want to go home, at least not yet. Just knowing that David would be gone again made her wish she could go far away from there.
As Zeke and his parents were leaving, they offered her a ride home, which she declined. Once they were gone, she walked outside. Removing her cell phone, she began to dial her brothers number. Just as she was about to punch in the last digits, she stopped. In front of her stood Tiffany and her mother, a look of shock on her face.
“....Nikki....”
“.....When did you....”