Still standing and admiring the beauty of a laptop Eric got , but there was just one more problem. I needed access to a server, I couldn't possibly just use a fancy laptop to hack into Twitter's backend.
And then I felt a little bad for Eric, that's one thing he didn't plan ahead, and we'd still have to go back to my uncle's house.
"Uhm... Just one more thing. You didn't get a server... This beauty isn't strong enough to do the job...," I wasn't done talking when Eric started walking towards the trunk of the car with a smug on his face. "Ain't no way!" I thought.
"Ain't no way, he couldn't possibly"
He popped the trunk and stepped aside. Inside, tucked neatly under a false panel, was a compact but powerful-looking server rig.
I blinked. "You've gotta be kidding !."
Eric grinned. "What? You think I was gonna let you run this on a bloody laptop alone? Please. This baby's got more processing juice than most corporate offices."
I let out a low whistle. "Wait... Wait, tell ... Why are you doing this?"
"30 percent," he said, slamming the trunk shut.
"30 percent? What's that?" I asked.
"I get to keep 30 percent of the settlent you get," he said casually.
I stared at him, baffled. "You're doing this for the money? Dude, your dad's one of the richest n I know."
"Bullshit," I scoffed. "It's not just about the money... there's more to this that you're not telling . And I'm not doing anything until you tell the truth."
"Alright, don't be a fuckin' twat... I'll tell ya when this is all done, yeah? Bloody promise," Eric said, raising one arm.
I stared at him for a few seconds, squinting as I tried to read his expression. For once, it actually felt like he was telling the truth.
Without another word, I turned around and slid into the backseat of the car. A mont later, Eric opened the other door and dropped into the seat next to , exhaling like he'd been waiting for this mont all along.
I exhaled sharply, cracking my knuckles as I leaned over my new laptop. "Alright, let's see what we're working with,"
After about 30 minutes of typing furiously, running scripts, bypassing firewalls, and tracing digital footprints.
"There's no trace of it anywhere. It's all gone," I finally broke the silence. "They even went as far as making it difficult to trace whoever made the initial post... I have to admit, whoever did this outdid themselves."
Eric frowned. "So we got nothing, then?"
"Of course we got sothing," I said, shaking my head. "I said it was difficult, not impossible. I managed to pull an IP address, but narrowing it down to an exact house address is tricky."
I exhaled, leaning back. "Whoever posted it lives in the estate, though... so I guess that's sothing."
Eric scoffed. "Oh, brilliant. So what, we just go knockin' on every bloody door like a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses? 'Scuse , mate, did you happen to post mate's video on Twitter?' Yeah, that'll go well."
I sighed. As much as I didn't like it, he had a point. I still had to narrow it down and find the exact house address. So I kept searching, my fingers moving across the keyboard.
Another mont of silence followed.
"So how'd you do it, then?" He broke the silence, stroking his chin and looking out the window.
"Do what?,"
"Get that smokin' bird to shag ya? Ain't she like five years older than you, ya cheeky little shit?" He responded turning to look at .
"Oh... that's what you ant,"
I told him everything, how Esther completely misunderstood the situation, how she thought I was spying on her, and how she must have thought I was touching myself in the living room. As I was recounting the whole ordeal, my eyes suddenly widened as a mory hit . The video.
I had co across a clip of Ken punching , and I had sent it to my email using Esther's tablet.
"Wait a minute!" I blurted out, holding up a finger to pause my story. I reached for my phone, quickly opening my email. And there it was... The evidence we'd spent almost two hours searching for, sitting in my inbox the entire ti.
Now ca the hard part. Telling Eric.
There was no way I was about to break this news without him at least yelling at or, worse, absolutely tearing apart with insults.
"Uhm... so, slight update," I said, letting out a nervous chuckle.
Eric turned to , eyebrow raised. "Yeah? What's that?"
I took a breath. "I'm just gonna say it... I've had the video this whole ti." I flipped my phone around, showing him the screen.
Eric's eyes darted to the screen, then back to . His expression remained unreadable for a second, it was way too calm for my liking.
Then he blinked. Once. Twice.
"You what?" His voice was eerily even.
I swallowed. "I, uh... I sent it to my email from Esther's tablet. Forgot all about it."
Silence.
Then, with a slow, deliberate nod, Eric exhaled. "Right. So, just to be crystal fucking clear, you've had the bloody video this whole ti? After we've been running around like a couple of headless chickens for two sodding hours?"
I winced. "Yeah, pretty much."
His nostrils flared as he slapped my shoulder. "Jesus Christ, mate... You are testing my patience today."
He grabbed my phone and got out of the car, I dropped the laptop on the seat and got out too.
I was almost too afraid to say anything but then I was curious. "So... what now?," I asked.
He didn't say a word at first, just stared at my phone before slowly looking up at .
"What do you think?" he finally asked.
I sighed. "I don't know... I guess we contact the Savages and let them know we're about to blackmail them?"
Eric gave that sa unsettling look... The one that always ant he'd already done sothing mischievous.
In that mont, the realization hit . Eric wasn't just a step ahead. He was ten steps ahead, he'd perfectly planned everything even before he contacted the day before. All he needed was the evidence and now he's got it.
I let out a nervous chuckle. "No, you didn't."
There was no way he had already contacted Ken's family. I wanted it to be a lie so badly, but the grin on his face told otherwise.
"Yes, I did," he said, still grinning.
I just stood there, mouth hanging open, both hands on my head as I stared at him in disbelief.
"Are you crazy,?" I finally blurted out. "What else have you done?,"
Eric shrugged. "Mate, the last thing I did was text you. Everything else? I handled before that."
In that mont, I knew there was no backing down from this, he'd made up his mind.
We were really going to blackmail a governorship candidate.
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