5 hours earlier.
It was 7 a.m., and Anushka was already at the company. If it were up to her, she'd spend her nights there, surrounded by her newfound "babies"—the sleek, high-tech workstations that had become her sanctuary.
The reception desk was empty; Janice usually arrived around 7:30. Without hesitation, Anushka made her way to the elevator, heading to her shared workspace with Mark.
As she approached the door, she fished her key out of her pocket but stopped short. The door was slightly ajar. Someone was already inside. No!! it couldn't be Mark, the earliest he'd made it to office was 8:30.
Her second thought was that she'd forgotten to lock up the previous evening. But as she gently pushed the door open, the scene inside startled her. Mark was there, engrossed in his work. He wasn't in his usual office attire but dressed casually in jeans and a plain shirt, his focus locked onto the glowing screen in front of him.
"Good morning, Mark," she whispered, not wanting to startle him.
Mark glanced up briefly. "Oh, Ruhi. Good morning. How are you?"
"I'm doing fine. Hope you are too," she said, rolling her chair toward her desk.
"Never been better," he replied with a faint smile. "What brings you here this early?"
"I should be asking you the same thing," she retorted, raising a brow. "You're not exactly an early bird."
Mark chuckled softly, a rare sight. "I had some pending work to catch up on. Besides, this place gives me peace."
For a moment, silence filled the room, broken only by the hum of machines. Then, Anushka spoke again.
"Mark," she started cautiously, "I'm really sorry about your mom."
Mark paused but kept his gaze steady. "You don't need to be. It wasn't your fault," he said softly.
"The girl at the funeral," she continued, her voice hesitant. "How is she?"
"You mean Dorcus?" he asked, his expression softening.
Anushka chuckled lightly. "I didn't catch her name."
"She's our baby sister, Mom's last born," Mark explained. "She's doing better now. She'll be discharged today."
"It must have been so hard for her," Anushka said thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Mark admitted, his voice tinged with emotion. "Really hard."
For the first time, their conversation felt easy, natural. Mark seemed warmer, almost unrecognizable from the cold, distant person she had first met. Anushka found herself enjoying his company—a side of him she hadn't expected to see.
"Anyway," Mark said after a while, "I'm sure you have work to do, and so do I. I don't want to waste your time."
"Yeah, sure," Anushka replied with a small smile.
The room fell quiet again, save for the occasional beeps of their computers and the rhythmic clicking of keyboards. Then, Anushka's phone chimed, pulling her attention away. It was an email from BYTEWAVE.
"Oooh, another assignment," she muttered to herself, grinning. "Hope it's a hacking one."
Her excitement faded as she scanned the details. "Ah," she scoffed, disappointed. It wasn't a hacking job, just another scanning task. Hacking was her true passion, and it had been weeks since she'd had a chance to dive into it. Even Mark's assignment from the other day had been a simple scanning task.
Pushing her disappointment aside, she engaged her beloved workstation to tackle the job. The silence stretched on, both of them immersed in their work. Occasionally, their gazes met when one glanced at the other's desk, but neither said a word. It was a comfortable silence, filled with mutual focus and an unspoken connection.
Scanning was a piece of cake for Anushka. She was already analyzing the results, pinpointing vulnerabilities, when she sensed movement nearby. Mark had left his desk and was now leaning over her chair, resting his head lightly on the back of her seat. His breath tickled the strands of her hair.
"Still busy?" he asked, his voice calm as his eyes scanned the dual screens she had engaged.
Anushka jumped slightly, startled by his sudden presence. "Mark, that's gross. Why are you sneaking up on me?" she said, her voice a mix of irritation and amusement.
"Sorry about that," he said with an apologetic smirk.
"No need," she replied, chuckling. "I was just working on some assignments from BYTEWAVE."
"Mind if I help?" Mark offered, taking her by surprise. She stared at him for a moment, unsure if she had misjudged him all along. Mark—serious, aloof Mark—was offering to help her?
"Sure," she finally managed to say.
Mark grabbed the chair from the opposite desk and rolled it over to hers. Settling in, he studied her scan results on the screen. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.
"I can see SQL injection vulnerabilities," he said, pointing at the data.
"Phishing attack vulnerabilities," Anushka added, nodding.
"And... malware and ransomware vulnerabilities," they said in unison, which sent them both into a fit of giggles.
For the next 30 minutes, the room was filled with an easy camaraderie as the two worked through the report together. Mark's expertise complemented Anushka's enthusiasm, and before long, they had compiled a thorough analysis. Anushka hit send, submitting the report back to BYTEWAVE.
"I guess I owe you a percentage of my salary," she teased, leaning back in her chair.
Mark laughed softly. "No, no, don't worry about it. After all, you're my trainee."
"Was just kidding," she giggled, then leaned forward with a more serious tone. "But at least accept a meal as thanks. My treat."
Mark looked at her for a moment, smiling. "You're really something," he said, extending his hand for a handshake—the first handshake he'd ever offered her.
"Deal," he said.
Their handshake lingered just a moment longer than necessary, and Anushka couldn't help but grin.
"Can you hack into a phone?" Mark asked, breaking the moment.
"Yeah, why?" she replied, intrigued.
"In the near future, I might have some tasks for you," he said cryptically.
"Ooh, I see," she replied, her excitement bubbling to the surface.
"Can you track down a phone?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Anushka hesitated, her confidence faltering slightly. "Not really," she admitted, embarrassed.
Mark let out a hearty laugh. "Quite peculiar... you can hack into one, but you can't track it down?"
She laughed along, her embarrassment fading. "Guess I still have some things to learn."
"You'll get there," he said warmly.
Mark leaned back in his chair, smiling at Anushka's enthusiasm. "Alright," he said, rising from his seat. "I'll take you through the basics first."
He began to explain. "First of all, you'll need a few essential tools: Aircrack-ng, Nmap, DNSRecon, and Maltego—all installed on a Kali Linux machine. Fortunately, I already have them installed here. Now, the first step is knowing the phone's MAC address or IMEI number. I assume you already know how to find those?"
"Yep," she replied confidently.
"Good. Once you have that, use Nmap to scan the available network for connected devices," he said. For the next thirty minutes, Mark walked her through the commands and processes step by step. Anushka, being a fast learner with an insatiable curiosity, grasped the concepts quickly. By the time they were done, she was already proficient in tracking down a phone using those tools.
"This is actually quite easy," she muttered, her eyes still glued to the screen.
Mark chuckled. "It is once you get the hang of it. But if you ever want a simpler alternative and don't feel like working with commands, you can use third-party apps. Want me to show you?"
"Never been so eager," she replied, her excitement evident.
"Alright. There are apps like Lookout, Life360, or GadgetTrack. The catch is that these apps often require you to set up a connection between the tracked phone and the tracking device. Personally, I find them less effective for professional use," he explained.
"Then I don't want to hear any more about those," she said, waving dismissively with a laugh.
Mark glanced at his watch and suddenly stiffened. "Oh no, it's already 9:30," he muttered. "I need to be home before 11 to welcome Dorcus back from the hospital."
He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Care to come with me?"
Anushka was caught off guard. "To where?" she asked.
"Home," he replied. "To welcome Dorcus. She's finally being discharged."
Anushka thought for a moment, conflicted. "Oh… I'd love to, but…" she trailed off.
Mark smiled, understanding her hesitation. "It's alright," he said warmly. "But hey, make sure you practice tracking. Start with my phone—track it down whenever you like. You should always know my location," he added teasingly as he grabbed his jacket.
"See you later," he called as he left the room, closing the door gently behind him.
Anushka leaned back in her chair, reflecting on their interaction. She couldn't believe how much had changed since their first meeting. The Mark she had initially thought of as cold and distant had revealed himself to be kind, patient, and even playful. Their dynamic had shifted completely.
A connection had undeniably been established between them. What had started as a tense first encounter had blossomed into something warm and easy—a friendship filled with mutual respect and comfort. Anushka smiled to herself. "I really did misjudge him," she thought. "He's not the monster I thought he was."