private jet I could use, and I wasn’t waiting
a moment longer. I would head for Vegas tonight.
7
Amsterdam
Jack and Ricki had met under less than auspicious circumstances: she appeared in a hacker’s chat room when he was still in
New York City, looking to trade piracy software for counterfeit DVDs. Jack didn’t think film piracy was really very cool,
he knew it wastheft, but in her postings Ricki was funny and charming and she was Dutch and so he thought she was hot. No one on the hacker
discussion group knew he was Jack Ming, the guy the New York police wanted to bring in for questioning.
I got to run and hide. My parents are so uncool
, he’d written.
Come and hide in Holland
, she wrote in answer.
So he had, just on impulse, and he and Ricki had met for coffee in Delft after he arrived on a fake passport a friend back
in New York helped him get. Instead of the dainty Dutch girl he imagined, Ricki was half a head taller than him and an immigrant
from Senegal. She was funny, smart, pretty, and oddly tough. He was thoroughly overwhelmed and intimidated by her. He didn’t
know what to say. Their coffee dates became fewer; he figured she was disappointed in him. He was a geek on the run. And he
kept too much hidden in himself for her taste. How unappealing was that?
The hacker community tended toward what Jack thought of as a distant tightness. They stayed close online but they didn’t hang
out much in real life. A person who was socially nimble behind the cocoon of a screen could be one who consistently missed
normal interaction cues in a café or a pub. Ricki was one such individual. She arrived at the coffee shop thirty minutes late,
stuck a wad of cash into one hand and a bag of cheap clothes into his other hand and said, ‘You owe me.’
‘Where’d you get the clothes? All the stores are closed.’
She shrugged. ‘Old boyfriend before you left them behind, but I think they should fit. You’re about the same size.’
He tried to ignore the stab of jealousy he felt. ‘Yes, I know. I’m going to owe you more. I need a place to stay. Just for
tonight.’
‘Please.’ Ricki rolled her black-lined eyes. ‘Now you’ve decided to talk?’
‘Just one night.’ He glanced in the bag; the clothes were a lot more colorful and stylish than he would have selected.
‘What kind of trouble are you in?’
‘Nothing major, I just need a place to crash.’
‘Do the police know you’ve checked yourself out of hospital?’
Information was currency. ‘Look, I’ll write a program for you, a Trojan that’ll send you back information from the infected
computer. Could be valuable.’
Ricki touched the corner of her mouth with her tongue. Please be greedy, Jack thought. Please.
‘You don’t need to bribe me to help you, Jack!’ She looked wounded. ‘I took a huge risk to find you.’
‘Oh,’ he said. ‘No. I didn’t mean … I didn’t mean that. I was going to give it to you as a gift. For helping me.’ His voice
trailed off.
She sighed. ‘So smart, so clueless. Buy me a coffee with the money I brought you and we’ll go back to my place. I’m just glad
you’re okay.’
‘You are?’
‘Duh. No, I’ve often wished you dead. Honestly, you are dumb as a rock.’ But Ricki smiled at him. A short, sweet flick of
a smile and it nearly made him cry, he was so happy to see a friendly face.
He changed clothes in the tiny bathroom of the café. He bought her a coffee to go. He wanted to put as much distance between
him and the hospital as possible. He felt he’d nearly gone insane waiting for her.
The first thing he thought when he saw her apartment was blink and wonder where she actually lived, because there was hardly
space for her in the rooms. When they’d dated months ago, she’d never let him come to her place. She was in Amsterdam, he
livedin Delft and she came to see him, not the other way around. The apartment was small. One entire wall was full of
a moment longer. I would head for Vegas tonight.
7
Amsterdam
Jack and Ricki had met under less than auspicious circumstances: she appeared in a hacker’s chat room when he was still in
New York City, looking to trade piracy software for counterfeit DVDs. Jack didn’t think film piracy was really very cool,
he knew it wastheft, but in her postings Ricki was funny and charming and she was Dutch and so he thought she was hot. No one on the hacker
discussion group knew he was Jack Ming, the guy the New York police wanted to bring in for questioning.
I got to run and hide. My parents are so uncool
, he’d written.
Come and hide in Holland
, she wrote in answer.
So he had, just on impulse, and he and Ricki had met for coffee in Delft after he arrived on a fake passport a friend back
in New York helped him get. Instead of the dainty Dutch girl he imagined, Ricki was half a head taller than him and an immigrant
from Senegal. She was funny, smart, pretty, and oddly tough. He was thoroughly overwhelmed and intimidated by her. He didn’t
know what to say. Their coffee dates became fewer; he figured she was disappointed in him. He was a geek on the run. And he
kept too much hidden in himself for her taste. How unappealing was that?
The hacker community tended toward what Jack thought of as a distant tightness. They stayed close online but they didn’t hang
out much in real life. A person who was socially nimble behind the cocoon of a screen could be one who consistently missed
normal interaction cues in a café or a pub. Ricki was one such individual. She arrived at the coffee shop thirty minutes late,
stuck a wad of cash into one hand and a bag of cheap clothes into his other hand and said, ‘You owe me.’
‘Where’d you get the clothes? All the stores are closed.’
She shrugged. ‘Old boyfriend before you left them behind, but I think they should fit. You’re about the same size.’
He tried to ignore the stab of jealousy he felt. ‘Yes, I know. I’m going to owe you more. I need a place to stay. Just for
tonight.’
‘Please.’ Ricki rolled her black-lined eyes. ‘Now you’ve decided to talk?’
‘Just one night.’ He glanced in the bag; the clothes were a lot more colorful and stylish than he would have selected.
‘What kind of trouble are you in?’
‘Nothing major, I just need a place to crash.’
‘Do the police know you’ve checked yourself out of hospital?’
Information was currency. ‘Look, I’ll write a program for you, a Trojan that’ll send you back information from the infected
computer. Could be valuable.’
Ricki touched the corner of her mouth with her tongue. Please be greedy, Jack thought. Please.
‘You don’t need to bribe me to help you, Jack!’ She looked wounded. ‘I took a huge risk to find you.’
‘Oh,’ he said. ‘No. I didn’t mean … I didn’t mean that. I was going to give it to you as a gift. For helping me.’ His voice
trailed off.
She sighed. ‘So smart, so clueless. Buy me a coffee with the money I brought you and we’ll go back to my place. I’m just glad
you’re okay.’
‘You are?’
‘Duh. No, I’ve often wished you dead. Honestly, you are dumb as a rock.’ But Ricki smiled at him. A short, sweet flick of
a smile and it nearly made him cry, he was so happy to see a friendly face.
He changed clothes in the tiny bathroom of the café. He bought her a coffee to go. He wanted to put as much distance between
him and the hospital as possible. He felt he’d nearly gone insane waiting for her.
The first thing he thought when he saw her apartment was blink and wonder where she actually lived, because there was hardly
space for her in the rooms. When they’d dated months ago, she’d never let him come to her place. She was in Amsterdam, he
livedin Delft and she came to see him, not the other way around. The apartment was small. One entire wall was full of
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