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“What does it say?” Scarlett leaned over to look.
“Eeeww. It says,I think you’re really pretty.Blech.”
“Yeah, that’s disgusting.”
Me:Awww, thank you. That’s so sweet of you.
Hacker:Do you know who I am?
Stef:Not directly. Care to tell me?
Then we waited. And waited. “He’s not replying.”
“Maybe he’s just busy.”
“Considering that he’s a world class hacker, the fact he’s busy right now is not at all comforting.”
“Sorry.”
“Fuck. I pushed too hard, straight up. I’m definitely not spy material.”
Just as I was about to give up hope, my phone pinged. “Oh fuck, he’s replied.”
I read the message out loud.
Hacker:I can’t tell you that, lol.
Scarlett sighed with relief. “Okay, okay. Let’s be really smart about this. This guy is uber bright, right? Like, probably a genius. You’re not going to trick him into doing or saying anything he doesn’t want to.”
I nodded in agreement. “He’s looking for attention. From me. He wants a connection.”
Scarlett nodded. “Sounds right.”
“So I just have to play along. Don’t push, but maybe kind of flirt and shit?”
“That could work.”
Me:Of course not. Silly me.
The hacker:You know about me though?
“He’ll be happy if he knows I know. Like, if I talk that up. Right?”
“I think so, but you’ll have to be careful. The only reason you know about him is because of Grayson, and I don’t think you want to bring him into it too much. You just want to keep things between you and this guy.”
“That makes sense. So I’ll just keep it simple, maybe stroke his ego.”
“Good plan.”
Me:I know a little bit. And I must say, I’m very intrigued.
Scarlett smiled. “Yes, that’s perfect.”
No reply. Which at least left Scarlett and me to think things through a little more.
“You have to let someone know that this guy has contacted you.”
I nodded. “Was literally just thinking that. But who? How?”