Chapter 44：Who

I find myself slowing as I try my best to watch Alec but when I see the police vehicles coming into view my heart sinks. Alec sees them as well and decides to shift away. I look over to him in the seat next to me and shake my head.

I accelerate again putting as much distance between us and the police that I can. "Maya, the police have stopped with the other black cars. It looks like we've gone unnoticed." Chip says and I nod my head as I look for the next exit.

"Do you have anyone who would know where you are?" Alec asks in a low voice bringing me back. I sigh and say "No, but there seems to be another player in the making and they seem to know more about me than I care to admit." he looks out the window but doesn't say anything else as he loses himself in his own thoughts.

I take the next exit and pull into a large gas station. I don't say anything else as I get out to pump the gas. My thoughts are completely occupied by this new player. They have clearly found me and my real identity. I bite my lip as I try to think about the last few times I've moved.

Had I missed something? Left some kind of clue? Or had I come face to face with them without even knowing it? "Chip, I want you to search the entire system. Look for even the smallest changes. I don't know who this bastard is but they've already found us... I need to know how much they've seen." Chip beeps in agreement and says "It will take a few hours."

I nod and grab my receipt but as I open the door I notice Alec was gone. I frown and look around but when I don't see him I decide to just head back home. It's not like the guy can't go anywhere he wants.

When I finally make it back home I pull off my boots and crash on the large white couch. Whoever was lurking around was definitely playing around. Today's events were to say "hello" and unfortunately they caught me off guard. I tighten my fist in anger.

I hate that they've gotten so close and I hate to admit that if they had not done the things they have I wouldn't have even noticed. That means I have to be extremely careful from now on. "Maya, the scan is complete but I haven't found anything." Chip says causing me to frown.

After hours of searching, Chip says "Maya, you haven't eaten... you need to take a break." I lean back and run my hands through my hair as I take a deep breath. "I can't right now Chip. I need to find this bastard and I won't do that by eating. They've been in here... still might be..."

"But.." I ignore Chip as I lean back over and continue searching. I won't be able to sleep until I find them. I run several programs at the same time to help keep things moving but what I find has my blood running cold. I lock on and say "Chip!" he beeps and quickly catches on.

"This bastard is really something..." I say as my anger threatens to get the best of me. Whoever this was, really knew what they were doing. They were constantly moving, making it nearly impossible to find them.

A normal program would plant itself and could be found, no matter how well they were disguised but this guy didn't even bother blending in! No, he just keeps moving and never leaves a trace. I begin trying to lock on this guy and find out where he was coming from but anytime I got too close he would move again but after another hour or so I began noticing a pattern.

"Chip, back off a bit. I want you to send him straight to me okay?" I say setting up a trap. Chip beeps and does just that as I begin preparing. This guy wasn't normal that's for sure but he was clearly human... this wasn't just a program.

Every hacker has a "signature" of sorts but I have never come across someone like this before. They have properly gotten my attention. Just as he was about to run straight into my trap he completely disappears leaving me pissed.

I push away from the computer "Son of a.." Suddenly the pressure changes and Alec appears right behind me causing me to jump. Alec wore a smirk when he saw me jump but it quickly fades when he looks behind me. I sigh and shut the screens off as I say "Chip... I want everything locked down okay?" Chip beeps and gets to work as I walk to the kitchen.