Chapter 1

    I’m sure you’ve see the shows and movies about the future. Flying cars, robots walking around, drones flying about, and neon signs? It seems like it’d be a pretty cool time to live in. But the problem is that it isn’t. With all this new technology there are people to abuse it. And with people that abuse it are other people to keep things from getting chaotic. Now if you are thinking the first “people” I mentioned are hackers and the second “people” are the police then you and I are on the same page. In this...future there is crime but it’s far more advanced since criminals have more at their disposal. Before, the threat of hackers being criminals were at a minimum. Now, hackers are some of the primary sources of criminal activity. Everything is done through the web now. Paper is considered an old tool for writing. Now things are done on tablets and electronic transferring. It’s easy for the common folk to go through and is pretty safe. But for the hackers and organized criminals they have something a little further to access. It’s Cyberia.

    Cyberia is what was referred to as “the deep web”. It’s pretty much the same; explicit sites, criminals, child pornagrophy, hitmen and women, etc. are all located here. You can’t find or access any of these sites on the regular web. Or at least not easily. Access to Cyberia is risky to even browse around. With the number of hackers doing their hobbies well and more of them becoming a part of Cyberia, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise if your computer got hacked into just for going to one of the many Cyberia websites.

    To lessen these chances there are a lot of unspoken rules. It’s common sense, really. If you are on a streaming video site that has a chat box and you are seeing something...illegal, then don’t type anything like, “I’m calling the cops.” If you do that you’ve pretty much signed your death warrant. People of Cyberia don’t mess around and will take immediate action. Your name, address, phone number, etc. will be made available to them and they will find out exactly who you are in about a few seconds. Did i mention hitmen and murderers being pretty common on Cyberia? You can expect one or some of them to come to your door or through your window in only a matter of hours.

    Why am I telling you all this? Well, I was stupid. I did something stupid and now I’m being sought after. I’m just giving you all a warning. So you don’t end up in the same situation as I am now. I definitely stuck my nose where it doesn’t belong. If I told you this much then I mind as well tell you my story, right? If you read up to this point then you must be interested…

-Cassandra Lenotte



    “Are you sure this is a good idea? What if they take our money and kill us?” A man asked his boss.

    “I don’t think they would be that stupid. What’s the point of doing this whole transaction if he was killed? If I die, he dies. There are safety precautions to make sure he’s not ghosting a cyborg or android body.” The leader answered calmly. He stood in the middle of a parking garage on the top floor waiting for his merchandise to show up. There was a lot on the line. But nothing worth killing each other here and now over. It was a mid term investment and if things worked out then he would be a very rich man and put his organization towards the top. But first he needed his product.

    Just as the man looked at his watch he could hear a vehicle approaching, making its way up the floor levels. He looked around to make sure all of his people were in position. Not even an armored car would be safe if the people he was meeting with decided to go back on their deal or play rotten.

    A sleek black car pulled up a good little distance and stopped. A tall bald man in a good looking suit stepped out of the car and turned the vehicle off. Several others followed him in exiting the car; all carrying automatic rifles. The bald man smiled as he approached his business partner.

    “I trust you have the money, Mr. M?” Mr. M held up a suitcase with handcuffs attached to him and it.

    “I have the money discussed but I do not see the product I’m supposed to be purchasing.” The tall man nodded pulled out his phone but paused before using it.

    “I’d like to see the money inside the case before we do this. Quality assurance.” The man said as Mr. M unlocked the case and showed the money inside. He then quickly called someone and said the deal was ready to move on. Another vehicle shortly pulled up in reverse. It was a large van. It opened and a large metal crate was pulled out by the people in the van.

    “I trust I may check to see if the contents inside is what we agreed upon.” The people that rolled out the crate stepped aside after opening it as Mr. M’s own people went to scan the contents. After a few moments they nodded to their boss and Mr. M took off the handcuffs and handed the briefcase to the bald man as the others closed the crate and rolled it to their own van.

    “A pleasure doing business with you, Mr. M. I hope you will remember us in the future as a reliable business partner if things work out for you.” Mr. M smiled and nodded. As soon as the crate was loaded and the doors to the van were closed the lights in the parking garage shut off. Shortly after the van holding the crate sped off. People from both parties opened fire on the van but of course it was bullet proof. The lights came back on and Mr. M waved his hands in the air ordering for everyone to stop firing. He then turned to the bald man, outraged.

    “What is the meaning of this?” The tall man’s normally calm face now had his brow furrowed. Mr. M knew either he was good at acting or he was just as surprised.

    “I don’t know anything more than you do. But apparently there’s a third party involved and they also want what’s in the crate.” He pulled out his phone and after glancing at it cursed under his breath. “Hacker fried my phone.” He turned around, towards his people, and whistled while spinning his finger in a circular motion above his head. His people got back in the van and vehicle he arrived in.

    “So that’s it? You’re just going to leave?” The bald man walked back towards his car and turned to Mr. M before getting in.

    “The trade was completed. Whoever that is took your merchandise and sped off with your van. Everything is happening on your side of the court and I’m out of the game. Besides, I can’t afford to waste my own resources on something that’s not my problem unless you make it worth my while. Mr. M paused for a bit. He knew exactly what the man was getting at. But at this point giving out a little extra money would be well worth it. It would be mere change if his plan succeeded.

    “Fine! I’ll add a third of the amount I have already paid you to help me get my crate back.” The man smiled and was immediately calling someone on his phone. Mr. M turned to his own people. “Well, what are you waiting for?! You should already be tailing that van.” Mr. M swore that when he caught the rodent he would give them a slow death. They chose the wrong people to steal from.