Vol.1, Ch.2 - Act 1

Sticking a crisp twenty-dollar bill into the tip jar, the familiar stranger picked up his large black coffee, gave a nodding gesture to the grinning cashier, and made his way further into the café.. Not too far towards the back, avoiding the corners. But also not too far towards the front either, avoiding the bustle of the busy morning. He sat in a booth against the wall just past the middle of the café, with a good view of the television, currently showing the news, mounted above in the far-right corner. Close enough to make out the words on the screen, but far enough away to make it seem like he wasn't paying too much attention.

"Still no answers from Dream Co. on the recent crashes. And while none of the players of their game have reported any problems or reactions to the sudden disconnections, there is still a looming concern that something catastrophic is just one crash away," the news anchor reported from the studio desk.

Setting his coffee down, he took off his sunglasses, not wanting to seem out of the ordinary, but kept his fitted cap on, the brim low enough to make getting a good look at his face difficult if he wanted it to be. Placing his back against the wall beside the booth, he lifted his leg to rest his ankle atop his knee, unzipping the case to his laptop. Plugging in its power cord into the outlet provided against the wall of his booth, he set up his laptop accordingly, facing him and making sure that it's screen was out of site of any possible curious café-goers.

"Head of Operations at Transcendence Inc., the Dream Co. division in charge of manufacturing their patented D0ME technology, had this to say."

Nicolas Meyers – "Server crashes aren't something that's new to us. And by that, I mean that we've run numerous tests on the durability and safety of our technology in the face of possible server crashes before they started happening. Before the D0ME was even launched to the public. We wouldn't dream of putting this product in our customer's hands – in our children's hands, without testing its functionality against one of the single most occurring problems in MMO-style games worldwide. This isn't some mass-produced product whose company shies away from responsibility once it reaches its client's hands. It's science, with cause and effect – all of which we take responsibility for, and that we pride ourselves in perfecting."

After securing his internet connection, he started his process of checking local servers and tiptoeing his way into the once thought to be secure Dream Co. system. It was always an interesting dance, pivoting his way around firewalls and boobytraps to get to the files and resources he wanted. Last week, it was to find out the strength of their signal towers. This week, a list of all current employees. Full names. Addresses. Phone numbers. Email addresses. Hell, he could have gotten their social security numbers if he wanted to. Scrolling and taking various screenshots of the information, he kept going until he had enough to work with – a few names from each department, enough to make any series of attacks look spread out enough for them not focus on a single department. Cause a panic, he thought. Put them on edge. Make them desperate.

Tiptoeing out of the server almost as quickly as he had entered, he took a moment to sip from his still-too-hot coffee just before feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. Sighing, he pulled it out, glancing at the caller ID that read "Dream Co.", and cleared his throat before answering.

"Yes?" he answered calmly. But the voice on the other end of the line was anything but calm. He let the man vent, his voice booming through the speaker of the phone and making him inch away from it slightly as he leaned his chin into his curled hand, his expression dragging as he waited for the man to finish yapping. "Increased security. Yeah, I heard," he almost mocked, having just hacked his way back in for the second time that week, and that being after the claim to strengthen their security. "I'm not worried, so you shouldn't be."

Another pause. More ranting. His employer was beside himself, per usual. He'd warned him time and time again that he had been hacking into Dream Co.'s servers far too often. That they needed to be spaced out, less frequent. He may not have been caught when hacking into their main servers for information, but each and every time he had gone into the game for something, Dream Co. had a conniption. And they were only getting worse with each news report that demanded answers to an increasing number of questions. Answers they didn't have. But he was convinced that in order to make the progress his employer was looking for – that he was looking for, they had to move faster. They had to take risks.

"I haven't sabotaged anything, nor am I trying to," he insisted, almost insulted by the accusation. "You're – … No." His jaw clenched, as did his free hand, into a fist against his jawline. "No, I understand. I'll proceed with phase two. The increased security won't be an issue. Yes. Yes, the equipment is ready. It … Well, no, it hasn't been tested yet, but –" He grit his teeth as his employer's voice raised yet again. "Yes, I understand. Yes. I'll have it tested and operational before proceeding." His employer hung up.

He sighed in exhaustion and damn near seething frustration as he lowered the cell phone from his ear, fighting the urge to slam it down onto the booth's table, and instead placing it back in his pocket and leaning back against the wall with a scowl. He wasn't used to taking orders. To depending on someone else for the answers, and what's more, the threat of having them withheld if he were to step out of line. He couldn't afford to lose them – not when he had come so far. Not when he was so close.

He could feel his nails digging into the skin of his palm as his fist tightened in his lap, his other hand's fingers drumming away at the glossy surface of the booth's table. It was almost loud enough to drown out the sound of heels clicking their way towards him, but the placing of a small muffin next to his laptop was more than enough to draw his attention. It took more effort than usual, but he managed to smooth his features into something more inviting before looking at the waitress – the flirtatious cashier from earlier.

Pull it together, Quintin, he silently coached himself before offering a grin to the smirking girl.

"Looked like you were having a rough time over here" she cooed, gesturing to the muffin as she folded her hands behind her back, feigning innocence.

"Keeping tabs on me?" Quintin scoffed with a wry smirk, though not making any moves to accept the muffin. The cashier shrugged, her torso swaying slightly.

"It's kind of my job to tend to my customers, you know," she teased.

"I'll be sure to leave you a glowing review," he sighed somewhat sarcastically as he closed his laptop, readjusting himself in his seat to focus on her and the inescapable banter.

"Or you could just … thank me personally? I get off in two hours." she said, making yet another bold offer.

And instead of politely finding a way to decline in so few words or gestures, this time, Quintin smiled. It was tight-lipped and somewhat remorseful, but he smiled, taking a breath.

"You know what …" He took a glimpse at her nametag. "Claire? I might just take you up on that. Maybe you can finally show me a thing or two about this game."