I’d refrained from that for the most part, content with engrossing myself deep into my studies. It just wasn’t me.
Beyond wanting to do well in school, deep down, I continued to hold out hope that I’d someday be with Mason, forgoing the wild parties and, a lot of times, drunken sex.
“It feels weird to be back on campus,” I said as we walked past a couple who were chatting, giggling and carrying on.
Mason kept his head low. “If that makes you feel weird, how does abetting a fugitive feel?”
I snapped my gaze around on him. “You’re not a fugitive.”
Mason snorted. “I’m not? I stole footage from secure servers. You know what that makes me? A fucking criminal. Even if Mayor Bradley gets what he deserves, I could get jail time.”
I shook my head as we crossed an intersection that had a fountain in the center with a bunch of students lounging around it. “No way,” I said as we sidestepped the crowd and continued on. “You’re doing the right thing. There would be public outrage if they tried to charge you.”
Mason grinned. “I’m touched. I never knew you thought so highly of me, Carly. I should quit now while I’m ahead.”
“Stop it,” I growled.
Mason chuckled. “Anyway, you know as well as I do that the courts aren’t going to see it that way. They’ll make an example of me, especially with Anonymous sometimes being involved in some shady shit. I could be wrong . . . but I wouldn’t hold your breath.”
“They won’t make an example of you,” I said determinedly. “I’ll make sure of it, if it’s the last thing I do.”
Mason tossed me a wry smile from beneath his hood. “You kill me, Carly, all determined and shit. But don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
We reached the library steps a minute later and Mason pulled me aside at the entrance for a last warning.
“Remember,” he said, his deep voice low and ominous sounding, “don’t talk to anyone. I need you on the lookout. Come get me if you see anything suspicious.”
“Can you please stop that? You’re making me nervous as hell. I wouldn’t even know what looked ‘suspicious’ anyway.”
Mason was being more uptight than I was. But I suppose he had a right to be. He knew more of what we were dealing with than I did.
He gave me a look and walked over and opened the library door, motioning for me to enter first. “Seriously. Remember what I said. Anonymous has eyes everywhere.”
It was a chore to not roll my eyes as I walked inside. I knew these so-called hackers were a powerful group, but Mason made it seem like they wielded power that you would see in one of those fake action movies, where they tap into security cameras everywhere and can see everything.
It was hush in the library with groups of students sitting at tables, huddled in study groups. It was a familiar sight for me, as the library had been like a second home when I was slaving away for my degree.
Mason made a beeline, following the signs to the computer room, which was near the back of the library.
“Keep watch for anything unusual. Trust no one,” Mason warned, glancing around the library as we reached the entrance to the room. With a doorless entry and glass for walls, you could see right in. There were several students inside, two girls and one guy engrossed with pecking away at their keyboards. “I’ll try to be fast as possible. Twenty minutes at most.”
Giving me one last warning look, Mason entered the room and sat down at a computer that was furthest from the other students and then began typing.
His fingers flew so fast across the keyboard that they were just one big blur.
“Okay,” I muttered to no one in particular. “I’ll go sit and watch for the boogeyman.” Looking around, I doubted we had anything to worry about here. But when we left, that might be another story.
I walked over to a row of shelves where I could pretend to browse books, but still keep my eye on the library and Mason.
Drifting from isle to isle, I wound up in the non-fiction women’s health section. I picked up a book about the dangers of unplanned pregnancy, fortunately something I never had to worry much about.
I’d become engrossed in a section that detailed a girl’s harrowing experience of having to choose between having her baby or losing her career when her deadbeat boyfriend left her with no support, when a deep voice startled me.
“Interesting, isn’t it?”
I looked up into frosty, blonde hair, hazel eyes and an easygoing smile. Dressed casually in white khakis and a preppy shirt, the stranger was tall and handsome with straight pearly whites.
Instead of responding, I glanced over at the computer room, uncertain. Mason warned me not to talk to anyone, but looking at the guy in front of me, he seemed harmless.
He’s obviously a student here, I thought, noticing how he seemed to just blend in with the surroundings.