ghost
2010-08-20 18:58:11 UTC
Daniel stood at the gate on the street side of the house. A small two
story with faded blue paint, to one side, which was almost flush with
the strip next to it that took up the rest of the block an iron set of
spiral steps went up to the porch on the second floor. The billboard
lights next to the house shone up at the advertisement, reflected
light illuminating the heavy black curtains on that side of the house.
He opened the gate finally and went into the tiny yard, and up the
iron steps quickly.
Daniel stood on the porch just after three A.M. in the summer heat.
The nights never quite cooled down, especially this close to the city
center. Traffic, mostly foot traffic, still went steadily by on the
main road below as he rang the bell, the el-train shot past. He hopped
nervously from foot to foot. He was here because of a conversation
he'd just had in the diner several blocks away.
The inside of the top floor was four rooms, split by a hallway down
the middle. The side closest to the billboard was almost one large
room, a large archway between the two. The back was a kitchen, the
front a common room full of second hand couches, chairs and pillows.
The front room opposite that always had its door closed, the back room
furthest from the billboards glaring lights was Ace's bedroom.
The entire place was sparsely furnished, everything that was there
was secondhand. Ace lay on a futon mattress against one wall under a
window, asleep. Her phone sat on the floor above her head, plugged
into the laptop sitting next to the outlet. The room had a closet,
clothes were piled on the floor of it, a few dresses hung above them.
She rubbed her eyes and reached for the phone, "The fuck." She
murmured and rolled out from under the single blanket she had and got
to her feet. She found a pair of jeans and pulled them on. "Yeah
yeah." She muttered as the bell buzzed again, wandering into the hall
as she pulled a t-shirt over her head and pulled all her long braids
free.
She opened the door, "Danny, you better be drunk." She said wiping
some sleep from her eyes.
"Sorry," He said, "Thought you'd be awake." He said.
"Had dinner with mom, killed three bottles of wine." She said
stepping away from the door and wandering towards the kitchen. Wine
always put her to sleep.
Daniel shut the door behind him as he followed her.
She stopped at the counter and looked around befuddled for a moment.
Daniel stepped up and started to make coffee. She had one of those
large industrial coffee machines you find in diners, it took up most
of the counter it sat on. "Got a question." He said as he scooped out
coffee grounds.
Ace just slumped into a giant comfy chair that sat in the archway
between the two rooms. "No, I won't sleep with you."
"Not that." Daniel said, not quite pretending to be hurt. Ace broke
up with him, and made no bones about it. "Ever heard of a guy called
Mr. Black?" He asked as he flipped the switch to brew.
Ace rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I take it back, I might sleep
with you if I don't have to think about that one."
Daniel wandered over and leaned against the wall, looking at her. He
was a typical skinny little punker, tight black jeans, t-shirt that
even though it was a sized medium hung on him like it was a large, big
sneakers. She immediately saw why she was attracted to him in the
first place. "So, he's not a legend?"
"He's a fucking net ghost. Guys a bogeyman used to scare little
hackers and little runners." She sighed, "At least, he is now."
"Now?" Daniel said, she had his attention.
"Story my mom used to tell me. About what she did a long time ago,
how she met my dad." Ace stood up, she moved a mostly clean coffee mug
under the spout so the coffee machine could fill it up directly. She
waited a moment as Daniel took a seat in the front room. She moved the
pot back under the spout when her cup was full and went into the other
room.
"Here's how it goes, back before all the contracts we use, it was
kind of wild west, right? There was this one guy, Mr. Black,
controlled almost everything." She sipped her coffee, "Hackers, thugs,
smugglers, the works." She waved her hand for emphasis. "Then, he gets
dead," She sipped her coffee. "A big showdown in Vegas before it was
ghosttown."
Daniel waited a second, "That's it?"
"That's it." She shrugged. Within a couple years I guess the corps
figured out we'd sign contracts, do the work, get paid legit like.
Corporate espionage became another legit industry." She said.
Daniel scratched his head for a second, "Talked to Mayhem today." The
history lesson hadn't really helped him.
"How is Maggie?" Ace asked.
"She's good. Emily is back in a few hours from Tokyo."
"Any news then?"
Daniel shrugged, "Guess we'll hear in a few hours when she lands. But
that's not the deal, right? She says someone hit SyneTech and took out
their clients."
"Sure." Ace said, she had no idea what he was talking about. But then
she hadn't really checked the newsfeeds since before she went to
dinner many hours ago. She was effectively out of the loop. She wasn't
sure who SyneTech was to begin with. Her deal was testing security,
mostly for think tanks. Maggie Mayem worked inside the entertainment
industry.
"Eric says the hit was signed by Mr. Black. He dug that up pretty
quick."
"OK, people go by old cowboy names all the time." She sipped her
coffee and prayed the conversation ended soon.
"He says it's legit and it got me thinking."
Ace looked at him, whenever Daniel said that you had a fifty-fifty
shot of pure genius or an idea so stupid a four year old could crush
it.
"He's gotta have resource who ever he is, score of a lifetime kind of
resources. This was a big hit Ace, no small time shit here. I thought
about the scope and did a quick look see. This guy is about to be
Legend."
"You want to hit him." Ace said without blinking.
"Get a team together. You're the best phreaker I know. Mayhem can
tear a system down in minutes. Eric is the tightest driver. Backup is
me, and maybe Possum."
Ace sipped her coffee, and thought. She stood up and put her coffee
on the counter. "I'm out."
"Damn it Ace." He stood up and followed her.
"No, no no no." She waved her hands. "I got a contract, steady
income. I don't need to be going all solo. I spent my life running
around from old cowboys trying to find my mom, even after she quit.
I'm not going to make some of my own." She turned, a bit of anger
burned in her bright blue eyes. "Just, no." She said finally, and
firmly.
Daniel sighed a deep heavy sigh.
"Talk to Ronny. He's good with networks, and crazy enough to go for
it." She suggested, seeing him crestfallen pulled on heartstrings she
thought she cut months ago. "And get Possum involved, he knows how to
use a gun."
"Right." He turned to leave, "Hey Ace, message me if you change your
mind."
"Out, I'll ping you later when I wake up." She kissed him on the
cheek, pushed him out the door, closed and locked it.
"Fuck me." She said going into the closed room, greeted by the glow
of half a dozen screens scattered around the room, and lights from
dozens of hard drives. "As long as I'm awake might as well see what's
on the feeds." She ran wandered out and grabbed her coffee before
going back into her office and closing the door behind her.
--
Copyright Gordon Feiner
ghost
~Carve Me Out Those Other Words To Live By
story with faded blue paint, to one side, which was almost flush with
the strip next to it that took up the rest of the block an iron set of
spiral steps went up to the porch on the second floor. The billboard
lights next to the house shone up at the advertisement, reflected
light illuminating the heavy black curtains on that side of the house.
He opened the gate finally and went into the tiny yard, and up the
iron steps quickly.
Daniel stood on the porch just after three A.M. in the summer heat.
The nights never quite cooled down, especially this close to the city
center. Traffic, mostly foot traffic, still went steadily by on the
main road below as he rang the bell, the el-train shot past. He hopped
nervously from foot to foot. He was here because of a conversation
he'd just had in the diner several blocks away.
The inside of the top floor was four rooms, split by a hallway down
the middle. The side closest to the billboard was almost one large
room, a large archway between the two. The back was a kitchen, the
front a common room full of second hand couches, chairs and pillows.
The front room opposite that always had its door closed, the back room
furthest from the billboards glaring lights was Ace's bedroom.
The entire place was sparsely furnished, everything that was there
was secondhand. Ace lay on a futon mattress against one wall under a
window, asleep. Her phone sat on the floor above her head, plugged
into the laptop sitting next to the outlet. The room had a closet,
clothes were piled on the floor of it, a few dresses hung above them.
She rubbed her eyes and reached for the phone, "The fuck." She
murmured and rolled out from under the single blanket she had and got
to her feet. She found a pair of jeans and pulled them on. "Yeah
yeah." She muttered as the bell buzzed again, wandering into the hall
as she pulled a t-shirt over her head and pulled all her long braids
free.
She opened the door, "Danny, you better be drunk." She said wiping
some sleep from her eyes.
"Sorry," He said, "Thought you'd be awake." He said.
"Had dinner with mom, killed three bottles of wine." She said
stepping away from the door and wandering towards the kitchen. Wine
always put her to sleep.
Daniel shut the door behind him as he followed her.
She stopped at the counter and looked around befuddled for a moment.
Daniel stepped up and started to make coffee. She had one of those
large industrial coffee machines you find in diners, it took up most
of the counter it sat on. "Got a question." He said as he scooped out
coffee grounds.
Ace just slumped into a giant comfy chair that sat in the archway
between the two rooms. "No, I won't sleep with you."
"Not that." Daniel said, not quite pretending to be hurt. Ace broke
up with him, and made no bones about it. "Ever heard of a guy called
Mr. Black?" He asked as he flipped the switch to brew.
Ace rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I take it back, I might sleep
with you if I don't have to think about that one."
Daniel wandered over and leaned against the wall, looking at her. He
was a typical skinny little punker, tight black jeans, t-shirt that
even though it was a sized medium hung on him like it was a large, big
sneakers. She immediately saw why she was attracted to him in the
first place. "So, he's not a legend?"
"He's a fucking net ghost. Guys a bogeyman used to scare little
hackers and little runners." She sighed, "At least, he is now."
"Now?" Daniel said, she had his attention.
"Story my mom used to tell me. About what she did a long time ago,
how she met my dad." Ace stood up, she moved a mostly clean coffee mug
under the spout so the coffee machine could fill it up directly. She
waited a moment as Daniel took a seat in the front room. She moved the
pot back under the spout when her cup was full and went into the other
room.
"Here's how it goes, back before all the contracts we use, it was
kind of wild west, right? There was this one guy, Mr. Black,
controlled almost everything." She sipped her coffee, "Hackers, thugs,
smugglers, the works." She waved her hand for emphasis. "Then, he gets
dead," She sipped her coffee. "A big showdown in Vegas before it was
ghosttown."
Daniel waited a second, "That's it?"
"That's it." She shrugged. Within a couple years I guess the corps
figured out we'd sign contracts, do the work, get paid legit like.
Corporate espionage became another legit industry." She said.
Daniel scratched his head for a second, "Talked to Mayhem today." The
history lesson hadn't really helped him.
"How is Maggie?" Ace asked.
"She's good. Emily is back in a few hours from Tokyo."
"Any news then?"
Daniel shrugged, "Guess we'll hear in a few hours when she lands. But
that's not the deal, right? She says someone hit SyneTech and took out
their clients."
"Sure." Ace said, she had no idea what he was talking about. But then
she hadn't really checked the newsfeeds since before she went to
dinner many hours ago. She was effectively out of the loop. She wasn't
sure who SyneTech was to begin with. Her deal was testing security,
mostly for think tanks. Maggie Mayem worked inside the entertainment
industry.
"Eric says the hit was signed by Mr. Black. He dug that up pretty
quick."
"OK, people go by old cowboy names all the time." She sipped her
coffee and prayed the conversation ended soon.
"He says it's legit and it got me thinking."
Ace looked at him, whenever Daniel said that you had a fifty-fifty
shot of pure genius or an idea so stupid a four year old could crush
it.
"He's gotta have resource who ever he is, score of a lifetime kind of
resources. This was a big hit Ace, no small time shit here. I thought
about the scope and did a quick look see. This guy is about to be
Legend."
"You want to hit him." Ace said without blinking.
"Get a team together. You're the best phreaker I know. Mayhem can
tear a system down in minutes. Eric is the tightest driver. Backup is
me, and maybe Possum."
Ace sipped her coffee, and thought. She stood up and put her coffee
on the counter. "I'm out."
"Damn it Ace." He stood up and followed her.
"No, no no no." She waved her hands. "I got a contract, steady
income. I don't need to be going all solo. I spent my life running
around from old cowboys trying to find my mom, even after she quit.
I'm not going to make some of my own." She turned, a bit of anger
burned in her bright blue eyes. "Just, no." She said finally, and
firmly.
Daniel sighed a deep heavy sigh.
"Talk to Ronny. He's good with networks, and crazy enough to go for
it." She suggested, seeing him crestfallen pulled on heartstrings she
thought she cut months ago. "And get Possum involved, he knows how to
use a gun."
"Right." He turned to leave, "Hey Ace, message me if you change your
mind."
"Out, I'll ping you later when I wake up." She kissed him on the
cheek, pushed him out the door, closed and locked it.
"Fuck me." She said going into the closed room, greeted by the glow
of half a dozen screens scattered around the room, and lights from
dozens of hard drives. "As long as I'm awake might as well see what's
on the feeds." She ran wandered out and grabbed her coffee before
going back into her office and closing the door behind her.
--
Copyright Gordon Feiner
ghost
~Carve Me Out Those Other Words To Live By