Page 9 of Hacker Unknown

“Thank you, I am not even sure what is going on. I can assure you I can pay for your services.” The words came out in a rush.

Kat wrapped an arm around my shoulder and gave me a half hug, the gentle touch caused my eyes to water. “Don’t worry about the fee. We’ve been looking for you.”

And like that the day shifted again. I wasn’t dumb, Zayla’s dad knew about my mom’s research which meant she knew about me.

“Don’t worry,” Kat added quickly. “Yes, we know about the research and you. The reason we were looking for you was to protect you because the Russo family in New York came after Zayla trying to get to you.”

My stomach flipped knowing that Zayla could have been hurt because of me. How the hell was all this going on and I was living my life like nobody knew I even existed.

“Maybe I should leave. I don’t want to put any of you in danger. Coming here was a mistake. I need to go back to Paris, but someone stole my passport.” I was rambling information as Kat guided me to a conference room and had me sit in a large leather chair. The weight of the day crashed down on me, and I was so exhausted.

“Tea, coffee or vodka?” Antonio asked as he actually held up a bottle of vodka. I was tempted.

“Tea …” I paused, “But I might need the shot of vodka by the end of the meeting.”

He smiled and poured a glass of tea for me while his wife took the seat across from me. “Oh, he wasn’t talking about a shot. My guess is you need a large glass of vodka.”

The warm tea felt good as it slid down my throat. My stomach right then decided to growl. I hadn’t even realized until that moment I hadn’t eaten since I had breakfast on the plane.

“I am not sure where to start or what you need to know.” A part of me worried about divulging too much about my blood. Part of me figured Zayla would already know from information her father had left her. Talking about it always left me feeling raw and vulnerable, and currently I wasn’t sure how much I was up to telling.

Kat lowered herself into the seat next to me and poured two glasses of vodka. “First let’s have a drink I am sure you need this.”

I grabbed the crystal glass and Kat clinked the edge of hers to mine and said, “Santé.”

The alcohol burned as it went down my throat, but left my entire body feeling warm and a little more relaxed. Kat filled the glass up again and I shook my head.

Kat picked the glass up and took a swig before she asked, “How about I start and then you go? Would it make you feel better knowing what we know?”

“Yes.”

Kat briefly explained how Zayla’s half-sister had used Zayla to get to her dad’s safety deposit box which they thought might contain some of my mother’s research or my location. She was looking for a way to find me, so she could sell me on the black market and her father had wanted to find me to help cure his cancer. Zayla’s half-sister was killed along with her father by AA Security. But a few people in the Russo family knew about me. Which answered the question from earlier when they mentioned the mob was looking for me. For years I had been in danger not realizing how many people knew about me. Ultimately, they did not have any of the research.

“Start from the beginning,” Kat urged, her voice soft yet firm. “Even if it seems unimportant, leave nothing out.”

I hesitated, the weight of the situation pressing down on me. “Okay,” I began, “it started with a Facebook notification from someone I didn't know.”

Antonio leaned forward, his gaze intense. “Did you recognize the name or profile?”

“No, it went straight to spam since we weren't friends,” I explained. “I almost missed it entirely. But my assistant checks the spam message folder daily in case a client’s message goes there by accident. She was the one who let me know.”

“You will need to show CJ the message,” Antonio said, and sighed, tapping a pencil against a notepad. “Profiles can be easily faked, but the team has some software that might be able to pull hidden information the user doesn’t even realize is being collected. It might be easier to give CJ your phone to clone, so he could look for anything else.”

"I don't have anything to hide," I said, perhaps too quickly. "Here, take it."

Kat swiped the phone off the table. “I will make sure this gets to CJ and team.”

“Continue on with what happened after you received the message,” Antonio prompted, pushing for her to keep talking.

For the next half-hour, I recounted every detail, step, and observation, from my front door to the moment I arrived at AA security. By the time I finished, I was drained.

“And this guy who sent you to us,” Kat started, her voice laced with concern, “I don't like that he approached you in the cemetery and knew so much about you. What is worse is that he has all your medical information.”

Years of my data could be anywhere, and the only problem was I had no clue what any of it actually said. I wanted to take the research and hide it, but theoretically I knew that it wasn’t possible to make sure no one would ever see it.

“From what we could track down, your mother never gave Zayla's dad any of your medical information,” Antonio added. “The only thing we found was a coded message from Zayla’s dad to her. It was about how to find you.”

Part of me really wanted to see records of what my mom had written down. The other part of me dreaded reading the analysis she had done on me. From what I can remember my mother was very loving and didn’t treat me like a pin cushion to further her research. But there was also a chance I had cut out a lot of what my childhood was really like.

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