The Love Hack

Chapter 3

"They've been in there a long time. What do you think they're chatting about?" Lexi said to no one in particular as she was pacing the length of the spacious living room. The large, plush white couches and big TV screen easily made it the most lived in room of the house.

Mindy and Cole had settled to play a game on the Xbox when her parents went into the garage to talk to the strange man that had come in. He had been briefly introduced as Scarlett and Jason's friend from college before they left to speak in private.

"Lexi, for the hundredth time, I have no idea," Cole said in between shouts at the TV screen. "Mindy! That's against the rules!"

"Well, I did it, so it's not!" she shot back.

Lexi sighed and looked out the window. She saw a black SUV with a driver standing outside, likely the ride of the man that was in her house. For the next hour, she tried to busy herself by watching Cole and Mindy's game, cleaning up the kitchen, and reading up on advanced hacking techniques.

After what felt like an eternity, her parents emerged from the garage with wide smiles and the tall man in a suit in tow. Lexi jumped up from the couch as her parents walked him out. "Cole, Mind, turn the game off. They're coming back in and I feel like it's going to be big news."

"Okay, let's just say I won," said Mindy as she set her controller down.

"There's no way in hell you won," Cole said after setting his own controller down and exiting the screen.

"Kids! We have big news!" Scarlett yelled across the room as soon as they came back in. Lexi could've sworn she saw her dad skipping to stand in front of them.

"What is it, Mom? Tell us! Who was that man?" Lexi shifted on her feet and made her way back to the couch where her parents motioned for her to sit.

"Kids, our prayers have been answered! We just got assigned a very, very large case!" Scarlett's words drew out wide smiles around the room.

"That man was Hasan Mohammad. You guys know Hasan, right?" Jason asked as he lifted a hand towards the door.

"I've never heard of a Hasan in my life," Cole responded.

"Same. Dad, we don't know your friends."

"Hasan! He was my best friend in college! That Hasan!" Jason paused to let his words sink in but the silence prompted him to move on. "Well, anyways. Hasan owns a large national, billion-dollar conglomerate that just got hit with a large ransomeware attack. So far, it's only hit one of his companies, but he fears each will get hit soon and he'll lose out on millions of dollars."

"Isn't that just wonderful?" Scarlett jumped in and clapped her hands together.

Jason nodded along with his wife and continued. "He's desperate. We need to stop whatever is happening as soon as possible and put the crook behind bars."

"What? Why us? Why not go to the police?" Lexi glanced between her parents.

"He did go to the police but they've been no help at all. He saw my ad on Facebook and he wanted to try everything before giving into the hacker's demands."

"This is a big one, kids." Scarlett clasped her husband's hand and continued. "We're going to need all hands on deck. Mindy," Scarlett turned to Lexi's best friend before continuing, "Jason and I discussed it, and you're hired."

Mindy shrieked and jumped up from the couch. "Oh my God! I cannot wait! You will not be disappointed! I'm going to crush it!" She hopped up and down and Lexi jumped up too, giving her a big hug. Mindy's wide smile faltered and she settled before speaking again. "Wait. What's a ransomware attack?"