Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Hacker Zi ❯ Part Two ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

“You must be Nicks friends, come on in. We were about to have lunch, but you’re free to join us.”
When they entered the kitchen, Nick was somewhat surprised to see her friends. Jesse and Tiff were usually out together on the weekend. As for Zack, he tended to spend the day in his pajamas, playing video games. Luckily, he had changed out of them today.
“Hey guys, this is Marc.”
Jesse looked over at him. It was hard to tell the two were related at first glance. He noticed a slight resemblance between the two, especially in the eyes. The same shade of blue. Nicks hair however, was a lighter shade of black.
“I’m Jesse, this is Tiffany, and Zack is the one sitting on your couch.”
“Do you play video games?”
“A few.”
“Great! We can play later then...what's for lunch Zi?”
“Zi?”
“Its a nickname. I made hot-dogs and fries.”
Once the food was finished, they each filled their plates. Afterwards. They took a seat in the living room. Jesse, Marc, and Zack took turns racing each other in a game of Need For Speed. The race was close, but Marc and Zack lost by a few seconds. They later moved on to watching movies. A few hours later, the three of them departed for home. As Nick was heading up to bed, Marc asked her a question.
“Would you like a ride to school tomorrow?”
“That’d be great. I wouldn’t have to walk.”
“You walk to school?!?”
“Yeah. Usually the bus driver forgets to pick me up.”
Nick said goodnight to her brother, then went upstairs. Before going to bed she changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth. After turning on her stereo, she began to fall asleep.
An hour after his sister went to bed, Marc called his grandparents. He assured them that everything was fine, and that his sister was doing well. After ending the conversation, he headed to bed, first stopping to check in on Nick. Seeing that she was fast asleep, he turned off her stereo and closed the door.
The next morning Nick awoke earlier than usual. She took her time getting ready, then carried her backpack downstairs. After setting it by the door she headed into the kitchen. Marc had made pancakes and was now skimming the morning paper.
“Sleep well?”
A small groan was heard as Nick sat down, placing her head on the table.
“Its too early for conversations.”
“Pancake?”
Marc held the plate beside her. She lifted her head, while taking the plate. After setting it down she poured syrup onto the fluffy pancakes and slowly ate them. Ten minutes later they were driving down the road in a black Tiburon. When they reached the school it was almost seven. Zeke was walking on the sidewalk by the school. He stopped when he saw Zi. As the black drove away, he approached her.
“Was that your brother?”
“Yeah, he’s a dick.”
“...Pardon?”
“A detective.”
“That sucks. I wonder how many people he’s pissed off.”
“Probably a lot. Lets go to homeroom.”
There weren’t many people in homeroom yet. It was still early. Zeke and Nick took their usual seats in the back of the room and waited for the others. Jesse and Tiff showed up a few minutes later.
“So at heart, he’s pretty much one of us?”
“Yeah, he almost beat me at NFS.”
“He’s cute Nikki.”
Jesse gave Tiffany a look that seemed somewhat strange. It wasn’t a hateful look. It were as if he was confused or curious. Tiffany failed to notice this look. When two girls walked into the room, Tiff left the group and went to breakfast with the girls. Jesse stayed behind.
“You’re not going with her?”
“Nope.”
“Was there a fight between you two?”
“Just drop it.”
He stood up and moved to the other side of the room. Dylan and Jacob passed him as he left. They watched him go, then looked over at Zeke and Nick with a puzzled face.
“What’d we miss?”
“The same thing we did.”
“...can I see someone’s math homework?”
During Music Appreciation Nick noticed that Tiffany and Jesse were sitting on opposite sides of the room. Jesse sat alone in the back. He seemed to be avoid his girlfriend. And more importantly, his friends. He remained like this for most of the morning.
When lunch came around, Tiff sat at another table. To avoid any form of conversation, Jesse listened to his mp3 player.
“Hey guys, Mr. Tenney brought his PS2 today. He has it set up in his room.”
“Are we allowed to play games?”
“Yeah, I asked him about it this morning.”
“Then lets go.”
Zeke, Dylan and Jacob stood up, holding their empty trays. Nick and Jesse were still seated. Nick hadn’t finished her lunch, and told the others to go on without her. After they left, Jesse removed his headphones.
“Nick, can I ask you something?”
“Uh...sure.”
“Why is it that you don’t date? Did something happen?”
“...nothing happened. I just never really thought about dating I guess.”
“What about David? Did you two ever do anything?”
“Not really. You remember last year when I stopped speaking to him for a while? Well I was mad at him because the night we went to that haunted house, he kissed me. But it was stupid of me to be mad at him for that, so I forgave him...Did something happen with you and Tiff?”
There was a pause. Jesse had turned his head and was watching Tiffany. She was talking with a few football players. Jesse then turned back to Nick, but he was looking down at the table.
“Tiff...cheated on me. With a football player. I went over to her house to see her, and that's when I walked in on them.”
“I’m so sorry Jesse. Is there anything I can do?”
“Just don’t mention it to the others. Jacob would probably side with her, and hate me.”
“I promise.”
Jesse gathered his stuff and left the table, waving goodbye as he left. The afternoon classes began a few minutes later. The rest of the day seemed to drag on for eternity.

Marc sat at his desk, which was littered with various files and cases he was investigating. In his lap lay a suicide case. The victim was David Bell. Bell was your average student. Good grades, lots of friends. His father had been laid off a few months ago. Mr. Bell spent his time drinking booze with others who had suffered the same fate.
“What's up, partner?”
He looked up from the file in his lap to find a somewhat overweight man beside him. His name was Robert Cormeir. Robert was married with two children. Over the years he had developed a few bad habits, such as smoking and eating a lot of fatty foods.
“Just looking over a case. You remember the Bell case?”
“Yeah, the poor kid. His father was an ass. Still is. Used to beat the kid everyday. The boy never reported it though. One time his dad but a knife through the kids hand.”
“...A knife?!?”
Mark took out the autopsy pictures. He looked carefully at each picture, paying close attention to the boys hands.
“Sick shit, isn’t it? A father does something like that to his own child...”
“Which hand was stabbed....and how long ago was this?”
“Hmm...maybe a year or two ago. I think it was his right hand.”
Picking up the file, Marc placed it in his bag and stood up. After making sure he had his car keys, he headed for the door. Robert was curious so he followed his partner out the door. When they reached Marc’s Tiburon, he asked.
“Where are you going?”
“To school. I know some of Bell’s friends. I figured I’d do an interview. Wanna tag along?”
As they pulled into the school parking lot, buses were lining up. There were a few minutes left before the students would be released. Marc climbed out of the Tiburon and looked over at his partner.
“Is it alright if you wait in the car?”
“No problem, I’m fine here.”
“And no smoking. This is school property, after all. I won’t take long.”
Marc had made it to the sidewalk when the bell rang. Students began to rush out of the doors and onto different buses. Nick and a friend had exited the school, and Marc began to walk through the crowd towards them.
“Nick, Jesse, do you mind if we talk?”
“About?”
“David.”
The three of them headed back to the car. After getting in, Marc started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. He was heading to a diner not far from the school.
“Guys, this is my partner Rob Cormeir. Rob, I’d like you to meet Nick and Jesse.”
“Glad to meet the both of ya.”
“Jesse are your parents going to mind if you’re not home for an hour?”
“They know I’m going to your place after school, but I should probably call and let them know where I am...where are we going?”
“A diner. We can get you guys something to eat. Nick, there’s a cellphone in my bag. It should be near your feet...”
Nick found the phone in the side pocket of her brothers bag. She handed the phone to Jesse, who began dialing the number. There was a short pause.
“Hey mom? Yeah. I just called to let you know that Nicks brother is taking us out to eat. No. Probably not. We broke up. Yes. No. Hold on, I’ll ask. Hey, my mom wants to know if you’ll speak to her for a minute.”
“Sure.”
Jesse handed the phone to Marc. He held the phone up to his ear.
“Hello? As far as I can tell. Just a little, but it’ll probably pass. She’s good. I don’t think she is. Well, teenagers can be like that. Tomorrow? We probably can. That's fine. Would you like to talk to Jesse? Alright, it was nice talking to you too. Bye.”
Marc closed the phone as they pulled into the diner entrance. He parked close to the doors, and grabbed his bag out of the back before getting out. As soon as Rob got out of the car, he lit a cigarette. Jesse and Nick laughed, while Marc shook his head. Once he had finished getting his fix of nicotine, they headed inside.
“My mom invited you to dinner, I take it?”
“Yeah. She seems nice.”
“She’s overprotective.”
“Parents can be like that.”
Once they were inside, they found a booth near a window. The two detectives sat across from Jesse and Nick. When the waitress came, Jesse and Nick both ordered chicken stripes and fries. Rob ordered a greasy hamburger and onion rings. Marc asked for a medium Sprite. After the food arrived, Marc got straight to the point.
“We want to ask you guys a few questions about your friend. You don’t have to answer, and we can stop whenever you like.”
The two nodded. Marc removed the case file from his bag, and placed it in front of him on the table. He opened the folder and removed the autopsy photos. Marc held them out to Nick, who took them and set them between her and Jesse.
“Just don’t remove the sticky notes. Are there any marks or cuts that weren’t there when you last saw him?”
The two of them looked at each photo very carefully.

Nick couldn’t sleep. Too many thoughts were running through her mind. Thoughts about the diner, about David. And his hand.
Two years before David died, his father had stabbed him with a knife. The scar on his hand went from between his index and middle fingers, to the middle of his palm. It was a somewhat smooth cut, unlike the scar in the picture. This scar looked as though it had been made with a dull blade, and it appeared to have been made more recently.
Nick did not mention this to her brother, or anyone else. The chances of anyone believing her were slim. She wanted to believe her friend was still alive. But why would he fake his own death? Was it to get away from his father, or was he in some kind of trouble? What kind of secret did he have that would make him do something like this?