#(OR AT LEAST TELL THE INTERNATIONAL CHOSEN AND YOUR HACKER FRIENDS TO STOP DOING THAT TOO)

[izzyizumi]

KOUTAI GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION FUTURE AUs KOUTAI GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION FUTURE AUs KOUTAI GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION FUTURE AUs KOUTAI GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION FUTURE AUs KOUTAI GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION FUTURE AUs --

[witch-of-letters]

A Mirror Shattered (Callum Lynch x Reader)

When they first brought you here, to one of their Animus facilities (or ‘prisons’ as you liked to call them), they didn’t bother giving you their names. You didn’t ask them to. It didn’t matter to you. But one day, a woman, a head scientist as you’d later learn, introduced herself as Dr Sofia Rikkin. The rebel in you told you to remain silent and hostile but when you saw that shine of honesty in her eyes, you reluctantly swallowed your anger and talked to her as calmly as you could at the time (given how restrained and nervous you were).

  She explained your purpose there - they would put you in the Animus and watch your memories - ‘genetic’ memories to be precise. You listened to her patiently and when a pause came, you told her that you knew how that machine worked, how it wouldn’t be your first time in there. You felt a little amused when you saw her face change from calm and collected to surprised. Guess she wasn’t used to hearing that.

  Once they ‘released’ you into the ‘social’ area of the facility, you weren’t surprised to see so many kidnapped people in the slightest. You were a long-ago-initiated assassin, a Master. You were a brilliant hacker, IT-specialist, historian, fighter, and on top of that, a great expert on the artefacts of Eden. You previously had the chance to study them very closely, and that alone gave you an edge - you knew exactly how Apples and the other artefacts worked, and what their purpose was. Minerva had chosen you as her ‘champion’ for the fight against recently released Juno, for by the time you actually got into that facility, Desmond Miles had been long gone.

  While Desmond was your cousin (and one of the closest friends you’ve ever had), it didn’t stop him from foolishly pressing his palm against that damn pedestal. As grim as 'inevitable’ solar-wind/energy (you surprisingly couldn’t remember which one was right) collision sounded, it was far better than whatever Juno had in store for humanity. Everyone was devastated at his death, even his distant and cold father, who normally would never shed any tears. Fortunately, the team didn’t disband and together with Shaun and Rebecca, you somehow managed to move on - and that’s where the backstory abruptly stops.

  At first, you didn’t bother with socializing with the people around you. They kept themselves away from you, not knowing who you were but knowing why you were brought here. For as long as you could, you kept interactions with any of them at a minimum, not only because they were complete strangers but also because you needed some space to observe everything - the structure of the building, guard patrol schedules etc.

  On one day though, you saw the eyes of a person who looked like he had seen better days, had a better life. You didn’t know why he did it but when your eyes met, his lips whispered the words ‘Where am I?’, clearly stating that he knew nothing about Abstergo. Thankfully, the guards didn’t pay any attention to that, but you chose to look the other way and poke at your untouched steak.

‘Where am I?’   - the words kept repeating in your head, over and over again. ‘You have absolutely no idea what you have gotten yourself into, pal.’ you thought while laying on your bed, awake and in the middle of the night. You suddenly wished you could send a message to your teammates, let them know where you were but alas, you didn’t have a laptop at your hand’s reach, or even a simple phone to poke around in the Templars’ internal network and search for the Apple located in this damn building.

  Once they put you into the Animus the next day, they kept replaying Ezio’s memories - memories, that you had already gone through at the Auditore mansion - to find the place he had hidden the Apple in. What they didn’t know was actually your rather strange ability to directly interact with your genetic memories and ancestors. While no one could explain that - even Minerva - you found it useful, and right now, very comforting because you knew that all of them - Altaïr, Ezio, Connor, hell even Edward - were watching over you, unable to physically aid you but staying there with you as your pillars of sanity. 

  Callum, as you finally learned his name, was slowly getting accustomed to life in here. Moussa became his first friend, then Emir, and as bizarre as that sounds, even Nathan (the descendant of a traitor, Duncan Walpole). You kept noticing him glancing at you whenever you entered the hall to have lunch or spend some time playing basketball.

  Once you got your tray with lunch, you sat at the table next to him. You told him the words you first thought of after he first arrived here.

  ‘You have absolutely no idea what you have gotten yourself into, pal.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ you smirked.

  ‘We are prisoners in here. Forced to revisit the memories of our ancestors. Find what they seek.’ Suddenly he seemed very confused at your words.

  ‘Who’s “they” and what are we supposed be to looking for?’ You subtly shifted your gaze to your surroundings, looking for anyone eavesdropping on you. The camera wouldn’t be able to hear your conversation in this hall anyway.

  ‘Ancient artefacts. Not made by a human.’

  ‘Are you saying there are aliens out there?’ As amusing as that sounded, you kept your poker face.

  ‘It would be rather difficult to explain it to you here where we are not exactly alone. Besides, I’d need the artefact in my possession in order to show you how it looks like, and how it can be used.’ Now you saw him in deep thought, probably just processing your words. An alarm signalled for you to finish your lunch, and then go back to your designated cell.

  ‘I think I might be able to get one for you.’ Since the guards were already approaching, you had only enough time to give him a small nod. ‘Finally.’

  Some days later, Dr Rikkin asked for you to step inside her lab. Whether it was for another ‘interview’ or not, you frankly didn’t give a fuck. And then...you saw it. The Apple, laying inside a small chest, just waiting for you to come and get it. But you wouldn’t dare to do it. It wasn’t the right time.

  ‘I have an offer for you, Y/N. One that would benefit both of us.’ You already knew what she was about to tell you. ‘Not a chance.’ you thought.

  ‘Oh, please. Don’t tell me that I’m going to have to dig deeper, and when I’m finally finished, you’ll have your father pardon me. That scenario won’t happen, I assure you.’ For a moment she looked sad but the she made her face neutral again. She knew you were right but what else could she offer you for your cooperation? You wouldn’t budge so easily. She decided to be honest with you, for reasons she herself couldn’t understand. Perhaps you were just charming enough.

  ‘No. He won’t. But I do want to help you. I-’

  ‘Look, it will never work out between us. I know that you’re trying to bring Callum on your side by telling him a story about how both of your mothers were killed by an assassin but he won’t get you what you want. No one here will.’ you paused, to let her mull over your words a bit. Not giving her the option to open her mouth, you continued.

  ‘Your father, you, and your countless followers can’t seem to understand that the Order you’re all trying to achieve so hard will never be realised. While we Assassins fight for the Freedom, we understand that we can’t give people too much of it, or the world would become even more chaotic than it already is. The Order on the other hand practically equals slavery. You are trying to find the Apples of Eden like the one behind you.’ She turned to look at it but made no move to close the lid of the chest.

  ‘What do you think your fellow Templars would do to the innocent people? Enslave them. Make them mindless puppets to play around with.’

  ‘My father has always said that our the Templar Order would make our world peaceful. That we would never have to fight anyone again.’

  ‘Then you were either raised as a blind mole or an ignorant fool. Look around you. Why do we, perfectly normal people, have to be kept in cells and used as your personal Indiana Jones’ to find a thing that you have absolutely no real knowledge of? Oh yes, you have absolutely no idea how the Apples, or should I say any of the Eden Artifacts, work.’ She was stunned, to say the least. The things you just said...seemed baffling to her. She slowly and with a small hesitation, started to believe your words. The Templars had neither good and peaceful intentions nor the knowledge on any of the artefacts of Eden, and that one day, it would be their downfall.

  ‘I believe you, Y/N, but unfortunately, I don’t have the power to release you. My father would never betray the Order or its principles.’

  ‘But I see that you can. I’m not going to offer you a place within the Brotherhood. You can come there yourself if you want to. The only thing I’m actually pleased about is that you finally know the truth and recognize it. No one benefits from lies - everyone has to swallow the bitter pill in the end .’ With that, you left her lab, letting her think it over and decide for herself, whether she’ll betray her father or not.

  While you were talking to Sofia, Callum faced his shadowy ancestor in his cell, staring at him through the glass window, looking him in the eye. After the last Animus session, he began experiencing hallucinations, dubbed “the Bleeding Effect”. He couldn’t tell the difference between what was real and what wasn’t. Unbeknownst to him though, Alan Rikkin was looking at him through the one-way mirror, silently observing his moves. He was fascinated by it because as a Templar, he would never be able to experience such a thing. It just didn’t work on the Templars as a whole. But there was also that feeling of dread like he knew something bad would happen with his ‘guest of honour’, like he would be able to tear down the whole facility if he kept gaining Aguilar’s combat experience. He would have to keep a close eye on him.

  You don’t hear it when it happens. The Riot. You simply stare at the ceiling, doing nothing. Then suddenly, Moussa barges in through the door to your right. You jump up from the bed and raise an eyebrow, silently asking ‘What?’ He only smiles and throws you a strong rubber baton.

  ‘We goin’ hunting now?’ you ask.

  ‘After you.’ he motions to the door, and without a thought, you ran into the hall so fast, that Moussa is having trouble with keeping up with you. The more unconscious or dead bodies you pass, the stronger your will fight is. Spotting a guard stepping out of a hallway, you run up to him and jump in the air, just high enough to flip and land on his shoulders, twisting his neck with your thighs. Your companion is very impressed, to say the least. When you finally reach the main hall, you see the other Assassins having finished the fight in there. Emir runs up to you.

  ‘We need to find Cal.’ you’re quicker than Moussa.

  ‘In the Animus room. He’s there, I know it.’

  ‘Then let’s go!’

  The fight between you six and the guards doesn’t last long. Nathan lays dead on the floor along with Emir. It was safe enough to take a breath. Callum though has another idea in his mind apparently, and runs away to God knows where. Then you realize that he’s after Sofia. ‘She will escape, Cal. You won’t catch her in time.’ The three of you - Moussa, Lin, and yourself, leave the room, but not before bowing your heads in respect of your fallen comrades.

You and Callum escape the facility.

  ‘You want to get that Apple, don’t you?’ he asks you one night after your escape. You nod.

  ‘I was after it long before I let myself get captured by them. Sometimes it’s necessary to take such risks.’ You briefly thought of Lucy and her betrayal. ‘But they don’t always pay off.’

  ‘I assume you know much more about the Creed.’

  ‘I do. I’m one of its current leaders actually. I know that you’re not familiar with the name of William Miles but he’s the one who is trying to keep the Brotherhood together. He’s given away a lot of things to keep it that way, and I’m trying not to let him down because he’s the only blood family I have left.’ You hug your shoulders, and Callum puts his jacket on your shoulders, trying to keep you warm and at the same time comfort you.

  ‘True, I don’t know him but you could introduce us to each other someday perhaps? Right now, we need to follow Alan Rikkin and retrieve the apple he’s stolen.’

  ‘That’s the part where you realize that we Assassins can never afford any holidays. We always have to be on the move, always have to be alert and cautious. It gets so tiresome sometimes that you wish you were already dead and at peace.’ He actually laughs at this. What would Moussa and Lin say about this? Perhaps the guy upstairs knows, you can’t tell.

  ‘Indeed. Now, let’s sleep. We won’t have enough time for it tomorrow

The next day is practically all a blur to you. Alan and his followers converge at a ceremony in a Templar sanctuary in London to celebrate their ‘triumph’. You all dress up into black hooded outfits. Rikkin begins his speech. His neck gets pierced by a hidden blade. He lies in a pool of his own blood, while Callum retrieves the Apple from his hands. Sofia cries for her father and vows revenge against Cal. The four of you depart, vowing to protect the Apple from the Templars.

Present day, Luxembourg

"How glad am I to finally have you back in my arms," Shaun sighs as he holds you close to him. You squeeze him tighter, letting a tear escape your eye.

"And I you, Shaun. Frankly, it was a mess in there. I’m glad that it’s finally over."

"Me too but I know that you were able to handle things in there just like you always do - perfectly."

"Don’t flatter me, you bastardo." you mocked him with a perfect Italian accent, which he loved, if anyone asked you. Rebecca went over to you two and gave you a tight hug which you happily returned.

"I was really worried, Ryder. Try to be more careful next time, okay?"

You rolled your eyes, “I always am. Now let me go and attend the Council. As rather useless as it is, I need to give them a full report about what happened in Spain."

”Alright, go but return ASAP. We’ll need you, and this guy over here specifically.’ She pats Shaun on the shoulder and he answers with an indignant ‘Hey!’

As soon as you leave the room, you spot Callum standing in the shadows at the end of the long hall. He looks you in the eye and nods. You nod back.

The plan is set in motion.

[hellyes-tommccamus]

Mutant X [TV] (2001-2004)

S01E21 “Dancing on the Razor”

[spoilers]

Sci-fi/action

Tom McCamus plays a main role in season 1

The penultimate episode [of season one]. No prizes for guessing why I consider the end of season one the end of the show. The title may or may not be a quote of Iron Maiden lyrics. Or may be me drawing parallels where none exist. Which really is the backbone of English Literature. Oh how proud my English teacher would have been. Or perhaps not. He was not at all impressed when I read out a novelised X Files episode in class.

Brennan and Jesse wander round one of the many abandoned warehouses that are invariably chosen as meeting spots. I think I might be wary of being asked to go to such a location if I was a scared and vulnerable New Mutant. The GSA show up and fight the guys one or two at a time, Kung Fu style. The New Mutant they were supposed to meet doesn’t show, but someone has installed cameras in the warehouse and is watching them.

Proxy Blue reports that she has an informant who has video footage of the fight. Am I the only one who is disappointed the internet no longer looks all shiny and bevelled? My first website was. Back in the day when people had websites.

The guys of Mutant X decide that they won’t be able to trace the email from the person who set them up. Despite all of them allegedly being great computer hackers. Adam says they finally have something in common with Genomex. Other than him being an ex-employee? And their goals actually aligning pretty often? I guess we’re all guilty of saying things that sound good, but aren’t necessarily true.

Mason complains to his new number two about Proxy Blue broadcasting his business on her broadband spectrum. I do love it when they toss around “techno terms” in an effort to sound more sci fi. Recall when we didn’t all have broadband? Recall when we didn’t have internet? There’s a scary thought. Support Net Neutrality! And with that, I think I have reached my maximum allowable number of tangents in the first five minutes of this episode.

His new number two, Harvey Lanchester (Roman Podhora) suggests that the leak came from inside Genomex. Mason refuses to believe that, despite his employees being discovered working against the company actually quite frequently. (Cut to some poor intern shaking their head and taking down the 1 above the “days since employee defection” sign). Mason indicates that he has implemented some sort of method to detect thoughtcrime (1984 reference number three). Today, I believe that would be extremely easy. Let me scare you to death for a second: do you ever think anything you don’t google/message to someone/say on the phone? Here’s hoping my NSA file says something along the lines of: “Mostly harmless, mind too focused on frivolous things to revolt. Mad as a spoon.”

Harvey is an interesting second in command. He replies to Mason in the same sharp and unforgiving tone as his boss uses, and seems to get away with it.

The Mutant X girls have more luck in their computer hacking than the guys. Shalimar says they tracked a caller to Proxy Blue to a company called Macklin Exporters.

Harvey is way ahead of them, and his team is pulling apart the exporting office. He demonstrates his power, which is to shoot some form of heat beam from his forehead. The exporting company looks to be, if not a front, unsuccessful. Their warehouse is completely empty and doesn’t even have any racking to store things on. Macklin employee Jay (James Gallanders) is brought over to Harvey for questioning. He claims not to know anything. Shalimar and Brennan stroll in and fight off the GSA. They rescue Jay, not bothering about all his unconscious colleagues. Probably uncredited extras, and not important. Harvey sets fire to the warehouse, presumably killing all of those poor unimportant extras.

Brennan and Shalimar take Jay back to a safehouse. They start to question him but they end up telling him about what they are. And isn’t the whole point of this operation to stop just that? Jay says he knows nothing except he’s only alive because he was late for work. So did the GSA kill his colleagues before setting fire to the building? And for that matter, why did he not react much to seeing his colleagues at least knocked out?

Proxy Blue reports on the “explosion” at the warehouse. And she even mentions that it’s not connected to the unreleased video footage from earlier. Isn’t it a bit odd that she would indirectly expose her informant like that? Predictably, Mason isn’t happy with how Harvey dealt it. Emma and Jesse look up Harvey in the New Mutant database and find that he has a psionic combustion power. I’m not sure why this power is classed as psionic when it would be better classified as elemental or even molecular. But I know I can’t escape the obvious explanation - and I’m rolling my eyes as I write this - it’s because it comes from his head, isn’t it? Emma thinks Proxy Blue is taunting her informants to come forward with the disc, which would make sense.

Shalimar questions Jay again. He refers to his colleagues as friends, which is inconsistent with his apparent apathy towards them. Brennan gets a call from Adam, who pushes him to get information from Jay. He asks for his coworkers’ names but he does not know them, despite just calling them his friends. He tells them to look in his apartment, and that there is a list of the other employees on his refrigerator. I’m sorry, but is it normal to keep that sort of thing on your refrigerator?

Brennan goes to Jay’s apartment, but once again the GSA is there before them. However the whole scene is stolen by Man Carrying Dog in an Elevator.

Meanwhile Shalimar seems to be having fun mothering the man they think is involved in (badly) attempting to expose them. She tells him about how this exposé will affect their lives, while making a good show of drinking from a cup, which is clearly shown as empty from the angle they chose to film.

Brennan and Harvey face off. Their fight is interrupted before it starts by the unsung hero of this episode. Oh yes it’s Man Carrying Dog in an Elevator! There’s another man involved this time, and they pass the dog between them. At times I am a Supporting Artiste (the most pretentious and best job title) and honestly I think they think it’s hilarious to make us do the most stupid and bizarre things. Where is the logic behind the dog being carried twice? Part of me loves the abject falseness of film and TV but the other part of me thinks the people who make it need a bit of real life experience to realise how silly they’re being. Politicians should also be forced to go on my Grim Reality course. Insider info: the dog was probably owned and brought along by one of the men.

Shalimar and Jay get very flirty and plan to go on a date. But he tries to kiss her and she pulls away. Probably for the best, seeing how her last two relationships ended.

Jesse discovers that the company looks legit so the spying must have come from a single person. And as the rest of the workers are dead, the only way for the story to go anywhere is if Jay was the culprit. Wow, Shalimar sure does know how to pick em!

Brennan drops by to the safehouse and tells them the GSA got to Jay’s apartment before him. Jay tries to call the police but they stop him. Suddenly he mentions his sister. Now if he isn’t the culprit, he at least has something wrong with him that gives him a lack of empathy and a poor memory. Shalimar goes with him to find his sister.

Proxy Blue has nothing to report, and is now saying it may have been a false alarm. Harvey thinks he has done enough to diffuse the situation, but Mason insists he finds Jay. I noticed something about one of the panels in Mason’s office, the one that is X shaped. It looks like a Western Blot, which will mean nothing to the non-scientists in the room. Neither will this: I miss the smell of agar in the morning.

Emma looks for Jay’s sister but can’t find her in the database. There is no mention of her being a New Mutant, so this suggests something very sinister: does Adam have a database on everyone in the country?

Predictably, Jay tricks Shalimar and locks her in his apartment. She escapes, but not before he disappears. Harvey finds her and uses her power to try to torture her into telling him where Jay is. Emma sneaks in and uses her extra power of illusion to trick Harvey and the other GS Agents into thinking she is Mason and does a remarkable job of persuading them to leave Shalimar alone without giving away what she is doing.

Jesse finds some info on Jay. Which means Adam’s database must include regular humans as well as New Mutants. So he must have stolen this from another government agency. Which is a rather odd thing for someone supposedly supporting freedom and liberty to do. Jay is apparently a journalist. Surprise surprise. Jesse makes an offhand comment about him packing computer chips. Is this actually one of the US’s exports? But anyway he was fired from a job as a journalist.

Proxy Blue reports that the “explosion” was an accident. Mason video calls Harvey to congratulate him, and he is confused because he just saw him. Mason’s reaction to this is quite hilarious. And they are both still none the wiser.

Adam tells Shalimar that Jay lied about having a sister and is also the one who set them up. The girls want to go after him, but Adam isn’t keen. They go after him anyway. And I have to say I love the yellow and lime green lighting in the warehouse. It’s not realistic in the slightest but cool anyway. Jay plans to give the disc to Proxy Blue but the girls ambush him. Shalimar grabs the disc and hits him. But he grabs Emma and holds a gun to her. Emma has clearly learnt to use her powers even in stressful situations, and she makes him think the gun is too hot to hold.

Shalimar gives him a beating and they are about to leave victorious but the GSA arrive and ruin it. Interesting thing about Harvey’s powers: why is it that when he hits things it sets them on fire, but on people he just makes them painfully hot? Emma redirects one of his heat blasts and hits him with it. So she’s also a telekinetic now? And why does it appear to be deadly/severely disabling on him when other people seem to be merely in pain from it?

Adam grabs the disc and they are about to leave when Mason shows up with the most GS Agents we’ve seen all together. They have the most tropey standoff. Then decide to destroy the disc and set fire to the warehouse.

Later, Brennan sort of admits he has feelings for Shalimar. Emma and Shalimar complain about their bad luck with men. I mean, sure, they are young people, but in the circumstances dating is probably not a great idea. They are looking through a rail of Emma’s clothes and Shalimar makes fun of them. And nobody really thought this through because Emma is always seen to be ultra fashionable (for the time).

[sending-the-message]

Why I stopped hacking. For good. Finale. by Menmaro

Allow me to preface the finale by thanking once again all the readers that have followed this story till this final chapter. I'm glad I got to share my friend's experience with you all and hopefully you enjoy this chapter as you did the rest of the story.

Part 3

I step into the room, knife raised, steadying my breath. I look around the room, it’s dark and I wait for my eyes to adjust. I start to make out a chair with someone seated in it, a stand with what I'd assume was the camera from Sarah’s description, and a figure standing opposite to me. A female figure, I couldn't quite see her face yet, my eyes were taking forever to adjust. I turn to face this figure whilst glancing at Sarah.

“Sarah are you ok?”, I ask sternly. I need to make sure she's fine before whatever whatever is about to go down does.

“Yeah, I'm starting to feel my legs again, but I still can't move. There's another girl here, red hair. But she's passed out.” She sounds relieved, I guess she thinks I'm a fit detective with dashing hair and stunning eyes. Oh I do not envy her for the disappointment she's in for. The red haired girl was probably Liz. So this is the ‘grand battle’ then? At least it’s almost over. Just as I'm about to address the figure who I could only assume was James, I hear a familiar voice coming from her.

“Hey Danni.”

I freeze. That voice… it can't be… no, it’s impossible. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense, but also terrified me. Who was the one person I kept no secrets with, who was the one person that knew everything I'd ever done, who was the one person that had access to my address, PC, apartment, phone, everything I ever owned? Who was the one person I shared my heart with? My one true love;

“Angela”, I whisper softly. The thought that my girlfriend, my heart and soul, had done this, crushed me. I felt tears rolling down my face, of course, it all made sense. This “supreme hacker” never did any hacking at all. She had installed cameras in my apartment, because she was always there, she knew I didn’t have any of my own. She had her address spoofed as my own because, she knew what it was. She added “James” to my facebook account because, she had my login details for facebook. I shared everything with her, and the thought of her doing this never crossed my mind.

“W...Why? Why are you doing this? What are you doing? I don’t understand… what did I ever do to you?”, I’m speaking through tears and can barely string together the sentence. My eyes start to adjust and I see her. Angela. Is she crying as well? Or am I hallucinating? No, those are definitely tears. Is she really James? Or did James threaten her to do this?

“Tadaaa” she sings through tears. “Are you proud of me yet Danni? Did you enjoy our little game?”

At this point I’m angry, confused and tired.

“WHY?” I scream, the tears don’t stop, instead they increase in intensity. “Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting innocent people? Why are you hurting me? I’ve only ever loved you and cared for you! Why???”

She laughs. Her laugh is fake I can tell, but she still laughs.

“Why?” She says in a mocking tone, “don’t you know why Danni? Don’t you know why your lovely girlfriend is doing this? Danni, did you not find it odd that I didn’t introduce you to my parents? Ever?”

I did find that odd, she was always reluctant on telling me who her parents where. But I didn’t mind, I loved her for her, not for her parents.... What has this got to do with anything? As I’m searching for answers, it hits me. Her dad must have been a victim of one of my attacks. And I confessed it all to her. But still, if he was a victim to an attack from me, he must have been a criminal. Why is she doing this?

“Oh, it seems like you understand” she says, still in her mocking tone. “My dad was David Jessington, you know, the drug dealer you put behind bars. I loved you Danni, I still do. But when my dad was arrested, he made me swear to make whoever did this to him pay. I tried and looked for whoever did it, but after a year I gave up. Then I met you and fell in love, I thought we could live our lives forever together. Then you had to tell me that you wanted there to be no secrets between us. You had to tell me everything you’ve ever done. Including getting my dad arrested.”

She takes a breath and wipes away her tears, then continues.

“I spent weeks fighting with myself internally, I tried to forget that I was in love with the man responsible for me not being able to see my father. I tried, but I couldn’t. Eventually I went and visited my dad. I asked him if I still had to make the one who did this to him pay, even if it was someone I loved deeply. I pleaded with him to forgive me, but he looked at me and told me that if I had the power to avenge him and didn’t, he’d disown me as a daughter and never forgive me.”

Her tears had returned and she started to stutter as she spoke.

“Danni I love you, I always will. But I swore to my dad. And if he ever finds out I let you go, he’ll kill me. At least, if I make it look like I made you pay, he’ll let you go. I don’t care if I’m arrested, I don’t care if you hate me forever. I love you Danni, and that’s why I’m doing this.”

My heart ached, I felt her pain, I felt her struggle. I wanted more than anything to just go to her and hug her, to tell her it’ll all be ok. I dropped my knife and started walking towards her. I didn’t care if she killed me, I didn’t care if the whole world was against me. I loved her and I wanted to fight for her. With every step I took towards her, my heart began to flutter. It was like I was falling in love with her again. But she kept crying, and raised her knife toward me.

“Danni stop, please stop. I don’t want to do this, I can’t let you get close to me again. Please Danni, stop.” She pleaded, but I didn’t care. I kept walking. She realised I didn’t care if I died, so she raised the knife to her neck. I stopped and stared at her eyes, her beautiful hurting eyes.

“Please Danni, I don’t want to hurt you anymore, I can’t do this anymore. Please stop.”

I run to her and as she is about to drive the knife into her neck, I hold the blade with my bare hand. Blood starts dripping from the fresh wounds, but I don’t care. I stare into her eyes and softly whisper, “I love you Angela. I always have and always will. I don’t care who your dad is, I don’t care if the whole world is on his side. I will fight for you, I would die for you. Stop this madness, let’s face the world together.”

She continues to cry and drops the knife as I lean in to kiss her. I hear sirens in the background, someone must have seen me breaking into the building and alerted the police. But I didn’t care, I was in my own world, with the other half of my heart.

What happened next was a blur, first it was the police, then it was an ambulance. Angela and I were arrested, but thanks to the witness reports by Liz and Sarah, I was released immediately. I attended Angela’s hearing and she looked happy to see me there. Her sentence wasn’t too long, less than her father’s. But I didn’t care, I promised her I’d fight with her until the end, and I meant every word.

I keep visiting her, every time I get the chance. Each visit with a new gift. Each visit with more stories to tell each other. She will be out one day, and I will always be there for her. Once she comes out, we will move away. I’m working hard, taking every shift I can, earning every penny I can.

I won’t ever hack again, I won’t ever take justice into my own hands again. Because even though I may have helped someone, I have also hurt another. And maybe they deserve it, maybe what I did was right. But I am not justice, I have no right to claim to be. I have made some mistakes in the past, and maybe James was my justice. For now though, I know what I must do, and I have my heart set on the path I have chosen.

Maybe I made the wrong decision, maybe I should have let her die and continued my vigilante run, maybe there is no place far enough for us to run where her father can’t find us. But I don’t care. My fight isn’t over, it has only just begun.