Chapter 138
“Not today p>
Claire glanced at Dane. He was wearing the same kind of mask she always carried around, blending in perfectly.
Greenie followed her gaze and spotted Dane.
“Whoa, Claire, where did you pick up such a hottie? Is he your boyfriend p>
Greenie’s eyes lit up with curiosity.
Dane, looking totally out of his element, frowned. He clearly didn’t get why Claire had brought him to an internet café.
“That’s right. He’s good-looking, isn’t he?” Claire answered on purpose, catching Dane’s annoyed look.
“Seriously, he’s a knockout,” Greenie agreed.
Claire grinned. “You’ve got great taste. Open up the booth in the back for me p>
“No problem!” Greenie knew exactly which one she wanted. It was her usual private room, more like a mini apartment than a booth, soundproofed and way more comfortable than the main area.
The owner had told Greenie Claire was on a yearly plan, so she never had to worry about paying for internet time.
She grabbed the access card. Noticing Dane still frowning, she explained, “There’s a back door here. If you go out, you’ll end up at the market. Makes it easy to make a quick exit if you need one p>
“As for the place itself, just bear with it for now p>
Once they were inside Claire’s private booth, Dane realized it really was a world apart from the noisy café outside. Even the sofa felt like it belonged in a lounge, not a gaming den.
“Just relax for a bit,” Claire said, turning on the computer.
Dane didn’t look impressed. “So you skip class to come here and play games p>
Otherwise, why wouldn’t they have headed straight to the university?
“I’m not here for the games.” Claire didn’t bother to explain further. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she hacked into the city’s surveillance system, pulling up footage from earlier. She quickly edited out any trace of herself and Dane.
Dane stared, speechless, watching her work.
“You’re a hacker p>
Claire set up a program to track anyone who tried to break into the system again. She wasn’t just- covering their tracks. She wanted hind out who was after them and maybe get ahead of the trouble.
Whoever was on their tail might have already found something. You couldn’t spend your whole life waiting for the next attack. Claire liked to deal with things head-on.
When Dane realized what she was doing, he sat up straight, eyes fixed on her
screen.
“If you trace them, won’t that put you at risk p>
He really didn’t want Claire getting dragged into this. The people after him were dangerous.
It all started after he exposed a spy. The guy had infiltrated Vertex International, but Dane figured him out and called the police. Ever since. then, trouble kept coming for him. Vertex International had also become a target for several foreign financial groups.
Luckily, the company didn’t rely on overseas business, so Dane wasn’t actually scared of them. Still, it was a huge headache.
Claire’s eyes sparkled as she typed, totally in her element. “Not a chance. Unless the person on the other end is even better than me p>
Dane raised his eyebrows, giving her a look. “And just how good are you p>
Claire realized she’d said too much.
“Kidding. If anyone tries to track me, their computer is toast p>
She didn’t mean it would literally explode, just that her virus would wreck their system completely.
She said it so casually, but Dane saw her in a whole new light.
This girl was something else.
Meanwhile, the people chasing them really were trying to access the surveillance system. As soon as their hacker broke in, he realized someone was tracking him and him and s instantly cut the connection.
“Shit!” he swore.