Page 45 of Innocent Princess

The first day was hell. They accused me of the attempt. No matter what I said, they didn't believe me. It was rough because they weren't letting on as to what all they had on me. I didn't want to give away anything from past jobs that could jeopardize myself or anyone else.

On day three, things shifted.

Agent Black gave me a hard look across the table after an hour of grueling questioning. "Truth is, Stone, we don't think you did it. We know you turned the job down. But we've got you on so much shit we could lock you up for years."

I wasn't surprised; Black and Graham seemed competent at their jobs.

"So what do you want from me? Why else would you hold me here if you don't think I did it?" I was tired and annoyed with their games. I wanted to get all this shit behind me.

"We want you to find out who did it. Who set up the job?"

It was all starting to make sense now. They needed me, and they're going to use my past discretions over my head as leverage.

"Don't you have guys for that? Clearly, you've got the funding." Wasn't this the kind of thing Zella told me I should consider after school? Isn't there a need for guys like me, who are willing to wear white hats?

"We'll give you credit, Stone. You're good. Better than our guy, but don't tell Antonio I said that." He chuckles, now acting all chummy.

I didn't buy it; there was no pretending I could be friends with the man someday. That ship sailed days ago.

However, I didn't see another option. Help take down what Black and Graham had divulged as a crime ring. Turns out, several Universities had large amounts of fundraising money stolen in the past several months. These fuckers never thought I did it in the first place, just wanted my help. Not too thrilled with their methods. I'd have to find other ways to use my hacking skills for good. Working with the authorities hasn't been a walk in the park.

No, it was either help them, or they had me on identify theft, data fraud, and computer fraud—just to name a few. Sure, the first two sound really fucking bad, but what I did was so minor compared to what I could have done.

If I helped the cops, I’d walk away from this with a clean slate, and I had to promise to keep my nose clean. I made the deal, accepted my punishment, and agreed to help them. I thought that meant I might be able to give Zella a call, to let her know I was okay. I was wrong. Immediately, I was transferred to a safe house, no outside contact until the job was done. While I balked at their reasoning for the safe house, they insisted on keeping me safe while I assist them in taking down a crime ring.

The safe house was decent. The set up the Feds gave me was grade-A. They monitored the shit out of what I did though. I had to fight for the opportunity to run through everything the original hacker did, so I could find a trace of him. Every hacker has a fingerprint. They leave something behind with every job. While the hacker who attempted to steal the money ultimately failed, there was no doubt in my mind I’d be able to find him if I could figure out who he was.

Following the rules, made the job take ten times longer than it should have, but I finally had a breakthrough on day ten. I had officially assisted the Feds in the arrest of not only the hacker behind the botched job, but also, the man who set up the job.

Heading home was in my near future. Upon my return from the safe house, I'm granted my phone, which is dead, my laptop and the rest of my belongings. I'm going to have to wipe everything and then get a new system, who knows what they might have done. They said they were going to keep an eye on me, so I'll just have to start new. Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna keep my nose clean, but only clean enough to not get me in too much hot water.

I shrug, not going to stop cold turkey.

Once I get back to my car, I plug in my phone. It will take a few minutes to boot up with enough juice, so instead of waiting to call Wells and Zella, I head home.

I pull in to the Loft parking lot just as my phone comes to life. I've got so many goddamn messages, I don't know where to start. That's a lie. I know where to start: with Zella's. Her messages and texts range from worried to mad, to scared, to desperate. They stopped about four days ago. My stomach is sick with fear that she's not going to want to have anything to do with me now. But I'm going to try my best to win her back.

Still scrolling through my phone as I walk up to my building, I hear Wells up ahead.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in." He's leaning against a lamppost, and I can't read the expression on his face.

"Yeah. I know. Good to be home," I offer.

He pushes off the post as I meet up with him. "Man, we've been so fucking worried about you. You all right?" He— the old Wells, the guy who truly used to be my best friend—claps a hand on my shoulder. "It's been two weeks from hell. What do you know? Anything? I gotta find Zella as soon as possible. I'm sure she hates me."

Wells’s eyes sadden and panic kicks in. "All I know is they wanted to bring you in for questioning. Then we didn't see or hear from you again." He walks with me as we enter the building.

"I asked my uncle to contact you," I grumble. He's such a dick.

Wells nods. "When I finally got a hold of him, he was cryptic. Said you were fine but finally taking responsibility for your actions. He wouldn't give me anything else." He pauses, turns to me, and asks, "Dude, were you arrested? The police were unhelpful; I couldn't get a straight answer from them."

"No, I wasn't," I spit out. "You went to the police?" I asked, a little surprised he cared so much.

He slides a glance my way as we enter the elevator. "No, I didn't, but Zella did. Multiple times. She got nowhere."

My heart tightens at his words. Zella must have been freaking out. "I need to call her. Go see her. I'm going to change first." I look down at my pants and shirt. The clothes given to me at the safe house didn't fit well and were super cheap. Never thought I'd miss my own clothes so much.

"That's going be a problem," he says as we come to a stop in front of our apartment.

---