When Desperation Meets Opportunity Chapter 17 — A #NaNoWriMo 2015 Story
By: Josh Gauthier
Tags: NaNoWriMo, Short Story, Fiction

Chapter 17 — Jim

Success! Or, at least I am very close to it. I just destroyed my virtual box, which is perfect. Being that it is a virtual environment inside my computer, that is exactly what I want to happen. I can just load a new one up and try again. Right now, the last of my focus is on getting the virus to delay. Currently, it is immediately executing. However, that also leaves it open to detection. I have the rest of today to complete this, so those are two holes I need to plus. Of course, I haven’t been briefed on what exactly will happen later today, but I’ll enjoy the Sunday of coding as much as I can.

Jake and I took a break from the binary decoding. That works fine by me, seeing as it didn’t appear to be revealing any key information, and I’m not really that concerned about things at the moment. I probably should be, but there will be time for that after I complete my tasks. Since he was so helpful in his support and the mentoring he has done on the coding side of things, I offered him a sizable amount of my money — ten thousand dollars to be exact. Surprisingly, he turned it down. I was shocked. He isn’t in the poor house, but to turn down ten thousand dollars? That is what separates me from him, and perhaps me from a lot of people. The money wasn’t something I was going to question. Short of killing someone, I’d say I would do anything for money at this point. You can judge me after a life of not having all that much.

In any case, my next batch of funds requires me to finish this program. I better focus.

The warmth of the day is beginning to overpower the air conditioning inside of my apartment. I’m not sure if it is hot and stifling in here because of that, or if it is the intense pressure I am feeling. Any second now, Mr. Man will be calling with my next directions. I don’t feel even close to ready to have this conversation. I would certainly feel a whole lot better if I could just get this done. It has to be in here somewhere. One of these lines of code just needs a number or a symbol. I begin combing through the guide Mr. Man sent me and the code I typed. It appears to match up perfectly. What the heck am I doing wrong?

After at least thirty more minutes of carefully going over every single character, I think I found my problem. I typed an “el”, you know, the lowercase letter, instead of the number “1”. In the font in my developer environment, they look almost identical. The one is just a bit taller than the letter I. Stupid serifs. Hopefully I am about to execute my final test. I load up my virtual box one more time, set up the virus on the remote server, and download into the box. Now is the waiting game. The program is supposed to act like a routine update to the system. However, after five minutes of downloading, the triggers fire, which should take down the whole system. Sounds pretty cool, if you ask me. I sure hope the guys I’m doing this to deserve it. It could really be devastating!

Out of curiousity, I checked around online and found a few of my dream places of employment had job openings. With a newfound set of confidence and the first program of written under my belt, I could take on the world right now. I’m sure Jake would also be willing to be a reference for me as well, which would be great. Once I finish my tasks for Mr. Man, I’m hoping to spend the time necessary to apply for some of these positions.

Feeling confident that my virus is completed, I package onto a USB flash drive. I am all ready to go. Butterflies invade my stomach, but not too aggressively. I am weirdly calm for the magnitude of what I am about to do. The only thing I can do now though, is wait. Wait for a call. Wait for somebody. As Tom Petty stated so well, the waiting is the hardest part.

I decide to go to my bedroom and lay down for a while. The constant state of exhaustion from all of this coding is really quite something. My stamina has improved, so I can pack more in each day. But, overall, my brain just needs a break. I’m not sure what that says about my future as a programmer, but I’d like to think containing the work to my nine to five wouldn’t be so bad.

My phone goes off. It is Mr. Man. Finally. I answer.

“Hello?”

“Jim, it is nice to talk to you. You were successful in creating the program, I presume?”

I notice myself smiling as I respond, “You bet. It was tough, but your instructions and training were crucial I’m ready to roll!””

“Excellent! I’m glad to see you are beginning to enjoy this work. Who knows, there might be more where that came from if you keep it up. In any case, we should talk about your next step.” More work from him? Maybe that can be my next place of employment.

“You know I’m game by now. Give to me straight.” I find it interesting how my interactions with Mr. Man have gone from apprehensive to almost cordial in the span of a little over a month. It never occurred to me until now that I might actually enjoy doing these tasks. The conscience in the back of my mind isn’t too happy that I am helping this guy commit some serious crime. But, like I thought before, maybe this company deserves it. “By the way, could you tell me more about this company I’m targeting? It’d make me feel a lot better to know that they are owed what is coming to them.”

“I already told you that they have been insubordinate to my company. If you want a little more explanation, just know that I purchased them because I thought their skills and tactics would help me overtake other companies in my industry. Unfortunately, they decided that they would use their tactics on my company, and try and force me out. I’ve worked hard for my position. This didn’t come easy, and I’m not giving it up easily. You are playing an essential role in my revenge and in keeping my business going. You will make sure that none of this is traced back to me. It is crucial that we maintain that secrecy. Any shred of evidence connecting me to them would almost certainly result in government intervention, and that is not something I’m willing to let happen!” By the end of his comments, his voice has grown in volume to powerful levels. I could tell how convicted he felt about this, and how important it was to him to protect the integrity of his company. If I could do a little dirty work that benefits me and punishes those that deserve it, then it is totally worth it.

“It sounds more than justified what you are doing. I’m glad that I can help in any small way. What is the next step?”

Calming down, he delivers his next words more softly. “Ahh yes. In less than an hour, you will have a visitor at your door. She will be delivering a badge to you that will allow you to access the Ming Security and Defense building on 1516 North State Street in Chicago. Once inside, you will need to find a way to introduce the virus into their network. If you are successful, this will count as your 4th task, and two hundred thousand dollars will be sent your way. We’ll be in touch when you complete this. Thank you.”

A thank you. He is thanking me. What a partnership this has become. However, now I’m wondering about the she he is referring to that is bringing me this badge. How exactly did that come about? Does she work for them and is granting me access? If so, how did he end up connecting with her? This might be the most intriguing question of all, but I won’t need to wait long to find the answer. Since I moved to the city, I’ve been too concerned with getting myself situated to really think about dating. I had a few different flings in college, but nothing that ever substantiated beyond a few late nights together and some extended study sessions, if you know what I mean. In fact, it would probably be late high school the last time I had a girlfriend I would consider serious. I still regret how badly that ended. At work, we are unfortunately still a very male dominated place, so the opportunities to meet people there have been few and far between.

The tangent that just occurred in my mind makes me realize that I really crave companionship. It is frustrating living alone and having no one to share things with. Thankfully Jake has been a great friend, but there are just some things a good woman provides that a friend never could. It just sat on the back burner until now. After all, I can’t even remember the last time I had a casual conversation with a girl in a social setting.

There is a knock at the door. I roll out of the bed and make my way to answer it. As I look around my apartment, I realize that my focus on coding has made an absolutely mess of the place. It might be wise to take a few moments and shove some things in corners before I have company.

“Just a minute — finishing putting some things away!” I shout towards the door as I begin a mad scramble to hide the dishes and piles of clothes. Thankfully I’ve been stuffing the cash in random places in my bedroom, so that is out of sight. Even though I said it would be a minute, it takes me about five to feel good about letting someone in. Finally, I open the door. And my jaw nearly hits the floor.

Looking back at me is Maggie Holmen. My heart drops into my stomach. I haven’t seen her since she told me she was pregnant.

Clearly, she must be as shocked as me, as I witness her legs crumple beneath her as she faints and falls to the floor.