Night

They are here.

Sumiko typed the words as fast as she could and pressed Enter as if she wanted the key to go through the table. As soon as the line was confirmed, she turned off the notebook, slammed it shut and threw it into the garbage chute. The noises coming out from the shaft as the computer slammed against the walls and got torn in pieces in its long fall were painful to hear, but there was no other option. She had been preparing for this.

Through the window she could see the men stepping down from the police car and walking into the building. They would be in her apartment in just a minute, and they would find Sarah lying inside the tank.

Sumiko knew this could happen, but she hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. It had barely been three days since they had broken into the Digidream building and she hooked Sarah into the game. Three days of trying to figure out how to get her and Mike outside of the Anderverse, and those other people too, whoever they were.

And today, just a few hours ago, the hackers had contacted her out of the blue.

We know you’re watching us.

* * *

Eight hours earlier

We know we’re watching us.

She hadn’t been as careful as she thought, or the hackers were smarter than she had anticipated, Sumiko thought as she stared at the laconic message written on her screen. She felt the cold sweat on her face and hands as she wrote back, waiting for an answer.

Who are you?

The reply arrived almost instantly. That doesn’t matter, they said. And after a while: The police are coming for you. A few seconds later, yet another message: They are coming for her.

Sumiko had so many questions that she didn’t know what to ask first. She had the intuition that these people wouldn’t hold the connection for long — she didn’t have much time.

Are you playing the game? she typed.

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No, the answer came back. Some of our friends are. They were trapped, just like your friend’s bf.

Sumiko was about to press on for more information on who the other players were, but a new message from the hackers appeared before she could start typing. This time she was certain the conversation was just about to end.

We’re not here to chat, they wrote. We want to warn you. The police can’t know about us. Destroy everything you saw. Leave no trace of us anywhere.

But they’ll think it was me, Sumiko objected. They will say I am the hacker.

The next few seconds felt like an eternity. When Sumiko was about to give up, a new message appeared on her screen. It was the last one. A farewell and a warning.

Live up to your name. Be a smart girl.

* * *

Night

The cops knocked twice, then blasted the door open before Sumiko had time to even get there. A man and a woman entered the apartment. Sumiko spoke as soon as they made eye contact.

“Open the tank and she dies.”

“We know. We’re not morons,” the man said, producing a badge. “Detective Veggips. This is detective Clooper. Nice sweater, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

“I was being ironic. It’s stupid. Clooper,” he called out, “go to the basement. We need to do a fsck.”

“To the basement?” Clooper asked stupidly. “A filesystem check? Of what?”

“Clooper, Clooper,” detective Veggips said, losing his temper. “Haven’t you heard that terrible noise when we were coming upstairs? Go to the basement. Find the remains of this genius’ notebook. Recover everything that can be recovered.”

Sumiko opened her mouth to say something, but detective Veggips commanded her, “Take me where she is.”

“Over there,” Sumiko pointed. “Remember not to—”

“I know,” Veggips said, irritated. “Do you think she’s the first person we find in a tank? There are five more out there. We are taking care of them.”

“What’s happening?” Sumiko asked.

“Maybe you could tell me,” the detective retorted, entering the room where the tank was. He leaned over it and examined Sarah’s face and body like a surgeon, his face acquiring a green tint from the light coming out of the capsule. He crouched and inspected the control panel beside the tank door. “This is one of the old models,” he said, looking at Sumiko. Then, without waiting for an answer, he got up and took a good look around the room. “Where did you get the drugs?”

“The drugs?”

“The drugs.” Veggips pointed at Sarah with a quick nod.

“Oh. They came with the tank. I have the papers if you—”

“Nah,” Veggips cut her off. “We’ll have to take her, you know.”

Sumiko knew that, of course. That was what she feared the most: that they would take her tank with Sarah inside and something happened before they could plug it again. The charge would last about three hours while it was unplugged. Losing power would mean she would kick it.

“We have done this before,” detective Veggips told her, as if he could read her mind. “I told you, there are five more we’re taking care of. She will be safe with us.”

“And what about me?” Sumiko said, hesitant.

“You? Depends on what Clooper finds in your harddrive. Also on how cooperative you decide to be.”

Be a smart girl, the hackers had said. Live up to your name. And now Sumiko needed to think long and hard about what would be the smart thing to do.