Crossing the entire Atlantic and a few thousand more kilometers, in the center of India, in a computer room, a group of men quickly typed on their keyboards while countless codes and locations constantly flashed across the monitor in front of them.
Their bodies were sweaty, but their eyes were focused entirely on the screen.
At the back of the room, a middle-aged man was pacing with an anxious expression.
"Why haven't you captured this bastard yet?!?! It's been a few hours and nothing!!" Cold sweat trickled down his back. His expression became more and more somber.
"Boss, it's just impossible to locate this guy's IP. Every time we can find him, he just disappears out of nowhere. It's like magic!" One of the men in the room yelled at the middle-aged man. He was one of the men in charge of administering the operating room.
A few days ago, someone, an anonymous from the internet, offered them a program. This program seemed to work miracles for them, as it fixed the points where their systems were faulty and managed to improve on them.
The anonymous said clearly that they would regret it if they tried to break the code and use it without authorization. But because they couldn't stand the idea of giving in to an idiot, they ignored the warning and broke the code anyway.
Everything seemed to be fine at first, but the moment they broke the code, small problems started to happen.
It didn't look like anything, but the databases started to shut down on their own and the computers just crashed in some light parts or they were slow to respond, but nothing that their own team, very renowned in the region, could not fix.
After just two days, as if someone had purposely done it, the databases simply started a mass deletion process.
While everyone was asleep after a long day at work, the computers turned on and off by themselves without anyone seeing. This all led to some system crashes and even some power supplies burned out due to short circuits.
Since no one in the room was dumb, they simply deduced that this was done by the anonymous one, and that if this continued, the losses to the company would be enormous.
He also learned that some companies around the world faced the same problem, but mostly small companies.
Hiring some of the best tracking professionals, the middle-aged man decided to locate the culprit and sell the information to these same companies, which may reverse some of their losses.
These things were very common in this type of work, and many of the dumbs who tried to venture into this world ended up dead.
Especially since a while ago, hiring a mercenary was much easier. And since they were dealing with cybercrime, they would have no problem getting the job done.
When they finally managed to track the IP of this anonymous, as if it were a ghost, he disappeared again. And after a little effort, they found it again, thousands of kilometers away from the last one. Knowing what this meant, the hackers tried to trace the original IP.
But even after a few hours, they couldn't locate. That's because every time they were about to get it, that new IP would be erased again and soon any information about it.
This did not happen at first, but it started to happen after one of the professionals tried to perform the same technique. Knowing it didn't work anymore, they simply tried numerous tactics to capture the original IP, but to no avail.
This anonymous was like a ghost, as if he was watching what they were doing and then attacking back. The disappearance and reappearance times were decreasing, locating would be more difficult and soon these professionals began to lose hope.
"It's like this guy knew what we were going to do…" That same kind of thinking crept into the minds of these trackers.
They were the ones predicting the anonymous patterns, but soon the situation was reversed and they entered a cage.
***
In different parts around the world, similar scenes were taking place in small rooms. These small companies, which were the disgraced for trying to do something illegal, lost everything or almost everything.
Some were even starting, but those who already had more or less a firm foothold in the market had the courage to invest everything as a last resort to find the bastard who had done this to them.
Many didn't know what to do if they captured him, just wanting revenge. But those who had some knowledge of the underworld knew what they could do.
***
Thomas, who was now less sweaty than when Arthur arrived, was still typing quickly on the keyboard. His fingers were already used to typing, but he was definitely not ready to spend so much time typing incessantly.
He knew he should be ready for some consequences, but he actually looked forward to it. Hiring some of the best tracking professionals, the middle-aged man decided to find the culprit.
Unfortunately, he was always poor and only recently could he have freedom, however limited. He could finally see if he could find someone who could make him feel more emotion than usual.
He doesn't like to socialize or anything like that in real life, often feeling sick or even angry about being around people.. The only one who escaped this was Arthur, and if not for him, Thomas would have no contact with anyone.
But on the internet, in this virtual world, where everyone was anonymous, he could express himself with complete freedom! He didn't feel anything about talking to other people and even showed himself to be a person who dominates conversations. He learned this from seeing how Arthur got off some complaints with his lip.
When he was learning a few things in the morning, when he had just arrived, an alert notification sounded on his computer.
With the knowledge he recently acquired, he was able to program a beacon in case someone tried to track his IP, or even try to access his personal information. As soon as that beacon sounded, Thomas began his concealment operations.
He was sloppy at first as he didn't have much practice. But as people attacked him and using techniques and tactics, like a sponge, he absorbed everything and started using them himself.
Instead of the difficult things that people normally saw, everything in this technological world was like patterns for Thomas. A pattern he could identify and imitate if he tried.
Anything else might not make much sense to him, but this was his world, one he clung to like his lover.
Time passed and more hackers and trackers tried to locate Thomas' original IP, but they never managed to get it. These people were from other companies that also improperly tried to break Thomas' code.
When everyone saw that they were just fooling themselves into thinking they could catch him, they stopped trying. They didn't have the resources to spend on it, and, if they still wanted to, they would need money to get the companies back on their feet.
Thus, in addition to Thomas coming out victorious at the end of the chase, he still gained the fear of these companies.
When it was finally over, like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces slowly fell into place and he managed to figure out a way to nullify his IP, and, if that wasn't possible, spread it to the corners of the world.
As soon as he finished his task, Thomas sat back in his chair. He was completely sweaty and his fingers were sore, barely able to move.
After he got up, he decided to go take a shower. But, before he reached the bathroom, he saw a small note on top of his bed.
"Once you're done, take a shower and ask the Hotel to give you some food. I left without saying anything because I saw that you was focused. I'll only come back at night." That's what was written.
'Has he left again? Is he dating anyone recently?' These doubts popped into Thomas's mind, but he soon ignored them.
He was already getting used to Arthur's outings. Although he didn't like being alone, since he had someone to stay with, he knew that Arthur would come and watch cartoons with him at the end of the day.
Once he entered the bathroom, it wasn't long before he came out, with a new set of clothes.
But when he stepped out of the bathroom, he noticed that the room was filled with smoke.
Thomas didn't even take long to figure it out before looking at the cluster beside the table. It was smoky like crazy from the fans that had already stopped spinning. No lights were blinking as before.
'I still thought it was amazing that he lasted this long.' An anguished smile spread across Thomas's face. He knew there was no way the cluster would work tonight.
After several minutes of hesitation, Thomas decided not to call room service until this mess was sorted out.
After covering his nose with a shirt, he dismantled the entire cluster, putting what was left over to one side, and discarding the burned devices in the trash.
With what was left it was not possible to make a computer turn on, as the four processors burned out, and Thomas gave up on the idea of doing anything else. He would use the money he received to make a new and better one another day.
So while Arthur didn't arrive, Thomas decided to go watch cartoons while he ate a snack from the fridge.
***
Somewhere unknown in the world, in the basement of a house, lights were glowing brightly and someone with a hooded coat covering their entire body could be seen in front of the computer.
You could see thin, delicate black hands typing softly on the keyboard. Her proficiency was immense, and although she didn't type at high speed, all her touches were correct and fluid.
Some images were playing on the monitor, like flashing lights and codes beside the screen.
"Although it's decent, it's still far from my level." A perfectly white-toothed smile could be seen forming through the darkness inside the hood.
She typed just a little and instantly the dots of light faded away and only one was left.
"Coast of Brazil? Interesting..."