chapter 5

Rosalie

I never really went off to sleep. I simply did what sleeping people do, taking deep, consistent breaths, moving to get comfortable, and sighing.

I’ve observed enough sleeping people to know how to copy them.

So, when Felix falls asleep, I wake up and gingerly step out of bed, my heart beating like a grinder on full power. My one fear? He shouldn’t hear how nervous I am.

I reach his bedside table and grab his phone, holding it against his sleeping face to unlock it. I risk waking him up — but he stays still, and with a sigh of relief, I start scanning the apps.

My fingertips fly across the keys as random letters light up the screen.

I’m looking through Felix’s phone for hidden cameras or other surveillance systems he might have set up around the house.

I have to shut them down so I can’t be identified once I get what I need and run the fuck away from here.

After a few minutes of deep rummaging — thankfully without incident — I turn off all the cameras and let myself relax a little without its watchful glare.

I decide to search deeper, so I tiptoe out of his room and walk down the hallway.

I open door after door. Finally, I found the study. This has to be where Felix stores all his secrets.

The walls are covered with documents, with shelf after shelf full of books in various languages. My stomach turns as I take it all in — this is too much for me.

Where should I even begin?

There’s very little time and so much to do. I take a deep breath and force myself to focus.

I know I need to hack into Felix’s computer. Sitting in front of the desk, I open up the laptop and begin what I must do.

But, to do this, I need to call them.

I grab my phone and use an encrypted number to call Incognito.

“Long time,” she says as she picks up.

I don’t know who she is, and the truth is, I never will.

That’s how this anonymous hacking group works - a group of women, or perhaps a sole vigilante, teaching and guiding other women in need.

No one knows about them, and you don’t choose them. They choose you.

They chose me.

Rule number one - they call you.

I never asked how they knew to call me when I ran for my life from New York, for rule number two was simpler - you never ask or speak of the what, when, where, how, or why.

It was a code of silence so intact that after all the help I got from them, I’d never want to dishonor it.

“Hi,” I whisper. “I need your help hacking into a very secure system. Operations.”

“Why?”

“It’s for my safety. I wouldn’t ask the Illuminati if I didn’t believe it to be life.

“Safety comes first,” she says. “Describe the computer.”

I whisper all the details I can find. Where the master server is located, the model and make of the computer, the port placements, and the IP address.

“Good,” she says in her monotone. “Run the port scan till you identify which services are running. Check if they are open to attack.”

“I found one,” I gasp.

“Which one?” she asks.

“The SSH server.”

“Go with the brutal attack. Fire up Ncrack and attack the SSH. That will be your entry point.”

She waits silently while I follow her instructions word for word.

Within half an hour, I have all the pieces arranged in front of me - parts of code, command lines, IPs.

I enter them into the computer and wait as the screen flickers and then turns blue.

“Give it time,” I say, not knowing what to do. “Please, give it time.” There’s so much at stake if I fail now. My safety, and perhaps life, rests on getting those route files for Redneck at my heels.

“Yes,” I whisper shakily. “Yes.”

She cuts the call.

Once I’m in, I start my deep search through the file system and all the directories, trying to find anything that may interest me.

I’m blown away by how much information is stored in Felix’s computer and confused. Look for a sign.

Then, I see it. Images of graphs. Geographical graphs. That has to be it!

My heart is racing now as adrenaline courses through my veins. Taking a USB stick from my pocket, I start downloading Felix’s most important files onto it.

As soon as that is done, I pull out an extra memory card from my bag and copy them onto there, too — just in case anything goes wrong with the first storage device.

Now that both copies are safe on backup devices, they’re ready for me to take away with me when I make my escape — which won’t be long now...

Except, I come across a photograph. Felix, laughing amidst a group of children. Who were these kids?

If photos could speak, I’d ask them so many questions. But alas, they do not.

The kids look ... like they come from backgrounds different than ours. Their clothes are dirty, some with rags in them.

They look impoverished. What was Felix’s role in this? Then I find receipts. Donations to orphanages. Large amounts beyond my comprehension.

My dynamic with Felix is getting more and more complicated. The more I get to know him, the less I want to hurt him.

Am I hurting him if I go through with this?

Yes.

What other option do I have?

"Hai sempre delle opzioni, Rosalia," my mother used to say to me.

You always have options.

But in this case, with Redneck George in on my secret getaway, do I still have an option? What would that even look like?

I sigh and flick the USB stick through my fingers, over and over and over again, lost in thought.

I could run away again and go to a different state entirely. Find a new passport, maybe leave the country.

I could join Incognito, find out where they are, and hideout somewhere with some of those girls.

After all, there’s always rule number three - once you’re in, you’re always in.

That’s it. I’ve decided. Doing the right thing is always harder, but it’s the right thing.

Felix Carlisi has been nothing less than a gentleman to me.