Broken Enagement

by Gage Grayson

  "Bye, Marcus. Thanks for the jail time," I say cheekily, pulling away from his amazing lips.

  He kisses my hand. "You made it worth it, Katy. I'll see you later."

  With that, he speeds off and I'm left to my own devices. I feel kinda bad that my black market shopping trip landed Marcus in jail. It's a good thing he knows me so that I can wipe his record clean. The judicial system is not hard to hack.

  I get to my place, immediately undress, and take the longest shower possible. I need to wash the jail off of me. I think of Marcus touching me and the way it sends shivers down my spine. I start to masturbate in the shower, and I imagine it's him in here with me and that he's got me pressed up against the wall, dominating me with his hard cock.

  It takes all but a minute of envisioning this for me to come. And I come hard, multiple times.

  When the mere thought of a guy can send you over the edge so easily, it's a sign...that's he's a fucking god in bed.

  I get out and drip dry before pulling on my black silk robe. I've got work to do.

  Being with Marcus has thrown me off my cause. I haven't stolen money for a while now, and people are suffering. So even though I don't exactly have the right equipment, I can still try to infiltrate the systems that I have targeted.

  It occurs to me as I log in and there are no available chat rooms with people for me to commiserate with and to exchange tips with, that I'm alone again. There are no fellow hackers to talk with, there's no Marcus here, it's just me.

  I like being alone. I even prefer it. But ever since knowing Marcus, I also like being with him.

  I miss his company already.

  I've been hacking for a few years now and I should be able to get this done without the best equipment. It's gonna be harder for me to do, but I'm always up for a challenge.

  The bank I've had my eye on for a while is called Pinnacle Financial Group. It's one of the largest banks in the country, and I know that I can steal from them and it won't even matter because they're overflowing with money.

  I make myself a pot of hot tea and start to browse around the website. It's gonna be a long night hacking into a new company by myself and transferring the funds properly.

  I've had my eye on these guys for a while because I know that they recently fired a lot of employees for virtually no reason. The people are out of work, and they're angry.

  There's been rumors of protests going on in front of the bank. I think these people deserve to be compensated well, considering the people at the top make so much money and that it's undeserved.

  I fish around on the website because I like to be familiar with the company before I go into their system. I look at all the details and everything looks normal.

  But then just before I move to the online system, I notice the page where you can see the other executives at the bank. It might be nice to have faces to match the names. I might as well know whose lives I'm about to ruin.

  I open the screen, and guess whose familiar face is at the top?

  It's Marcus...my Marcus.

  His ruggedly handsome face is staring at me from the screen. His name is listed as Marcus Hall even though he introduced himself to me as Marcus Layman.

  I freeze because I can't believe what I'm witnessing. Marcus has been leading me on this entire time because he knows I was out to get his firm. Everything with him has been a hoax, fake, not even real.

  This is quite a blow for me considering my fierce, independent nature. The minute I let up and started to trust that life was giving me my dream come true, I'm snapped back to reality by the pain of a knife in my back.

  First I got pummeled by the people in the chat room who turned out to be insane bomb terrorists, and now I find out that Marcus isn't even real.

  Here's a guy I've been with many times. Here's a guy that I could truly fall for. And it turns out he's been spying on me since the beginning.

  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hurt. In fact, I'm crushed.

  I'm so upset that my body's shaking involuntarily. I can't seem to find a calm within the storm.

  Just to be sure, I go to the website that lists his activist organization. I need to investigate it more to find out if it's even real. Maybe Marcus has a chance yet to come out on top. But as I dig further into their website, I realize that it's just a dummy site. There's no actual activity going on within it even though it looks legitimate on the outside.

  I feel so betrayed that suddenly anger and fury overcomes all sense of betrayal. I want to get back at him...badly. I want to make him suffer as he has hurt me. I will inflict pain.

  Whereas before I was just gonna steal several hundred thousand dollars, now my plan is to take everything from him. I want him on his knees. I want him to understand that he can't treat people this way.

  I use every talent I have available in my arsenal to hack into Marcus's bank. I am so filled with rage that nothing can hold me back now. It's my mission in life to ruin this man who got me into bed and even used my body for secrets.

  He wanted to know my game plan, and I damn near gave it to him. I told him I'm a hacker. I told him everything. Now he's gonna pay.

  First I get a list of all the fired employees. I get their account numbers and everything I need to make this plan happen.

  Then I get into the online banking system and I shut it down immediately. I steal an unbelievable amount of money and divide it between the accounts of the fired employees.

  I have their accounts open and waiting to receive vast amounts of money. These people are not gonna know what hit them. They're gonna think it's Christmas. And it is...only I'm Santa.

  After the job is done, I pack a bag, grab my laptop, and I leave my apartment in a hurry. I have a feeling Marcus is gonna be looking for me after this. I hope he understands that I'm not the kind of woman that you can double-cross.

  I'm too good for that.

  And then I'm on the run.

  38

  Marcus

  I wake up to the sound of my phone going off.

  I'm immediately pissed off.

  I hate to be woken up by anything other than a woman going down on me.

  I look out the window and realize it's still dark. It must be 5:00 a.m. What is my secretary doing calling me at this hour? She needs to understand her place.

  I groan and pick up. "What are you doing calling me like this? Have you any idea what time it is?"

  She sounds like she's in a panic as she says, "Sir, I'm so sorry to bother you like this, but something happened. Something has happened to our online system. It's all shut down and someone stole into the account. The bank is under siege. I didn't know who else to call."

  Her words wake me up like nothing ever could. I hate to think that it was Katy who did this, but I have a sinking suspicion it was her. How many other hackers do I know that have their sights set on making big banking corporations pay?

  Maybe it was just a coincidence. Maybe it wasn't her.

  "I'll be right there," I say. "Make sure security's at the building."

  I hang up with her and feel absolutely dismayed. How could this have happened? I knew Katy had eyes on my business. I guess she wasn't as reformed as I thought. She obviously went through with her mission.

  I get up and take a quick shower before dressing in my finest suit. I'll likely have to deal with press and all manner of police today depending on the situation and how far she took it.

  I get in my car, and even though I know I should go to the office immediately, somehow, I find myself meandering the car to Katy's part of town. I'm gonna go to her apartment and check on her first.

  I get to the aged building just as the sun is starting to come out. I wonder if she's even awake.

  When I get to her door, I take a deep breath before knocking. This is gonna be the moment when she learns the truth about me. Whether she hacked into my system or not, she's gonna know the truth today.

  I'll reveal everything and then she'll fix whatever she did and things will g
o back to normal.

  I wait and I wait and I wait. And then I determine it's time to go in. The door is not locked, and it swings open easily. I peer around and see that Katy is not there. This tells me everything I need to know.

  I'm crestfallen. She's left. And I know why.

  She's somehow discovered my dirty little secret...that I'm the owner of the bank. I lied to her, and now I've been caught...or rather, I've been had.

  She obviously hacked into the bank to show me that she's over it, independent, gone.

  Her apartment is left tidy as always. The bed is made and her few belongings are there, but she isn't.

  I feel absolutely devastated. I feel like someone just kicked me in the stomach. I feel sick. And I feel like I know that Katy will never forgive me.

  From her perspective, it must look like I used her. Every moment of our time together will look fake to her. She doesn't know that I have feelings and that I care. Maybe she never will know these things if I can't find her.

  In this moment, being in her apartment alone without her, I know that the truth comes to light no matter what. I can only imagine the betrayal she must feel from me.

  I sink onto the bed and hold my head in my hands for a few moments trying to discern my next steps. My phone is buzzing over and over again.

  The secretary keeps calling and all manner of other people are calling me, trying to get the bank up and running. It's the last thing I want to think of.

  All I want to think of is Katy. All I want to do is to go find her.

  Maybe I should feel enraged that she robbed my bank. Maybe I should feel lucky that I'll never have to see her again. But none of that exists for me. Only the fact that she's possibly on the run, out of my life forever, is real.

  Time slows down, and I realize the enormity of what I've done. I should've told her the truth earlier. Maybe if I just told her, we could've avoided this fate.

  I stay in Katy's apartment for a while until I finally drag myself up and go to work. The last thing I want to deal with is the logistics of the situation.

  I don't want to know how much money was stolen. I don't want to know how badly she got me back for betraying her. All I want, and all I need it is Katy.

  I think I just made the worst mistake of my life, and there's no going back.

  I drive slowly because I know it's gonna be an absolute shit show once I get there. Everyone is going to be up in arms about catching a criminal, and what am I going to say? I'll never turn her in.

  I love her.

  I take the VIP elevator up to my VIP penthouse that contains my VIP life and suddenly it all seems less important than before. Money was my passion.

  All I cared about was making more and more income. But by meeting Katy, I've been the one to be reformed.

  She taught me, no, she showed me how the underprivileged people of this nation really live. I know her work is all about granting them freedom. And now she sees me as the enemy—she sees me as a creepy spy who used her body, mind, and soul.

  All I can think about is how I've lost her. I've lost the one thing, the one person that I've ever cared about.

  The elevator doors open to absolute chaos. Everyone's panicking and nervous and running around.

  They ask me any number of questions that I can't answer. I tell them that the IT department should be handling it. I give orders for that to happen and for security to be increased around the building, then I lock myself away in my office to brood.

  My secretary once again interrupts my private time. "Sir, the IT department is doing whatever they can, but it's hard because whoever did this seems to have been extremely well-informed. They're having trouble getting the system back up and running. What should I tell them? All we know is that the person who did this must've been very good at the destabilization work."

  I smiled bitterly and answer, "Yeah, she is good."

  My secretary casts me a weird glance. She doesn't what I'm referring to.

  My company is in a tailspin. I try to manage everything as best I can even though my thoughts are elsewhere.

  Katy occupies my thoughts all day. I know she did this and I know why. I can't take back what I did. I can't take back withholding the truth from her, but she certainly paid me back for it.

  After four hours, they're finally able to restore the online banking system. The IT team has managed to find the exact amount that was taken plus all the money lost because of transactions that didn't go through during the morning.

  This whole fiasco has cost me millions of dollars. I should be reeling over that fact. Instead, my mind and heart are with her...always her.

  I feel like I don't have closure. I still need to explain everything to her. She deserves to hear the truth from my side.

  With that in mind, I give my investigators a call. I have Mark on the line in no time.

  "You need to find her," I say to him sternly.

  "No problem. We'll have her soon enough. Don't you worry."

  He doesn't know when or why I need to find this girl. He likely thinks that I'm sleeping with her, but my investigator is nothing if not trustworthy. He won't tell my secrets to anyone.

  I pour myself a very stiff drink. It's only midmorning, but I need it.

  I look out at the open view I have of the city. My skyscraper towers over all the others. I have an unobstructed view of what's going on down below and also I'm so high in the sky that I'm untouchable.

  Normally I like to be up here like this. But without Katy, all seems lost. Nothing seems quite right in my life knowing that she is out there somewhere, running from me.

  I know that she's an escape artist. This is my worry. Katy's so good at hacking her way in and out of situations that I know if she doesn't want to be found, there's a very good chance I may not be able to.

  I could never see her again. Our love affair may have ended just as abruptly as it started. I'm just not okay with that.

  I determine that if my investigative team can't find her, I personally will comb the streets day after day until I have her in my arms again.

  This is my solemn vow.

  39

  Katy

  The stale air does nothing to brighten my mood.

  Nothing can bring me out of the state I'm in.

  I gave my heart and it got trampled on. Now I feel disenfranchised, used, and abused.

  The pain won't go away. I've tried drinking a bottle of wine, taking a bath, and even running away to this one small motel at the outskirts of town.

  Nothing helps.

  When I shut my eyes, all I see is him. When I open my eyes, all I dream of is him. There's nothing anyone can say or do to take away my pain. It's always there.

  And most of all, I feel as though I've been taken advantage of. I dared to put my heart out there. I dared to trust. And look what happened.

  I thinking of myself as weak—but that’s not who I really am. He stole not only my heart, but also my identity. I no longer know myself.

  A knock on the door startles me.

  I go to the window and peek out between the blinds to see that it's only my pizza delivery.

  Damn. I should've remembered that.

  I pull up the hood of my sweatshirt so that I'm somewhat unrecognizable.

  What I did to Marcus's bank, Pinnacle Financial Group, has made the national news. It's the biggest bank in the country, so I wasn't expecting otherwise. But aside from that, because the bank is so big, the whole country's financial status has been put in jeopardy.

  This is why I've been in hiding at this seedy motel somewhere off the highway for the past couple days.

  I open the door, push some cash into the deliveryman's hand, grab the pizza, and shut the door in one fell swoop.

  I don't want to see anybody. I just want to be alone, to console myself. It's not like I have friends or family to lean on. Times like this remind me why I do what I do.

  You can't trust anybody in this world.

  I've learned that the hard
way too many times. This last instance with Marcus was just the icing on the cake.

  I let a hot guy sweep me off my feet and I forgot that I don’t depend on anybody. I don't let anybody in. I wasn't careful, and now look at the situation I'm in.

  The motel has peeling wallpaper and lamps from the 1970s. The little box TV rarely works and the walls are so paper thin that I can hear most of what goes on next door.

  I've come to know my neighbors so well that I know everything they fight about and that they have mundane sex.

  My only consolation here is that I have my laptop. At least this way, I can continue hacking, and I can read the news and stay connected.

  Luckily, my time here is almost done. I can't stay in one place too long. I plan on making my way down the road. Maybe I'll go west. With my skills, it’ll be easy to create a new life anywhere.

  I can become a different person. I can erase my old identity and just morph into somebody else. At least, that’s the plan.

  But first, I need the news to die down enough so that I'm not recognizable in the streets. The last thing I need is to go to prison. That might be harder to break out of than just the local jail.

  And then I find myself thinking mostly about Marcus. I wonder if he is so angry at me that he wants to smash a wall or something. I wonder if I've ruined his business so badly that can never recover. I wonder if he understands why I did this.

  I watch the news online and, after a couple of days, a bank representative releases a statement. She tells the media that they have no knowledge as to who did this and why it was done, but that they're doing their best to capture the culprit.

  This surprises me. Marcus knows I did it. He should've told the police about me.

  That's why I've been in hiding. But instead, the company says they know nothing. What is that about?

  I'm resigned to my fate—that I have to leave New York City. I’ll miss this place, but I know that I can be myself anywhere.