Ste''s eyes lit up, but then she frowned.


    "But didn''t you just say that ''Q'' is ranked number one? Can he really beat Q?"


    Joshua replied, "He doesn''t like being in the public eye, so he never takes part in the rankings."


    Ste studied him. "Is this person trustworthy?"


    "He is."


    She continued, "Are you two close?"


    Joshua nodded. "We grew up together."


    Ste blinked in surprise. Joshua had a friend like that? She couldn''t remember anyone evering to see him. In fact, ever since she''d met Joshua, he''d always seemed alone-no friends, no one dropping by.


    Though, thinking back, it made sense. He''d lost his memory back then. Now that he''d regained it, she still hadn''t heard him mention any friends.


    Ste said quietly, "No wonder you know a thing or two about hacking."


    Joshua remained silent.


    She decided not to press further; asking more would only make it seem like she didn''t trust him.


    Joshua seemed to sense what she was thinking, his long darkshes lowering slightly.


    "He''s busy most of the time. We don''t keep in touch that often."


    Ste nodded. "Alright, then I''ll trouble you to contact him for me."


    "Of course."<fn2075> ???? ????s? ???????s ?? fι?dnοvel</fn2075>


    The next morning at work, Joshua stopped her.


    "I''ve reached out. We can meet him today."


    Ste was surprised. "That fast?"


    Joshua answered, "The sooner we sort this out, the sooner we can move forward."


    Something urred to Ste. "By the way, what''s your friend''s name?"


    "Harold."


    "Does he go by any sort of handle?"


    Joshua hesitated for a moment. "...J."


    At the café, Ste found herself facing a striking young man. She hadn''t expected the legendary hacker someone said to be even more skilled than Qto be so young," barely in his twenties, with a boyish face that made him look like a college student.  s


    Ste ventured, "You''re J?"


    Harold grinned as he stood and shook her hand, shing a pair of endearing dimples.


    "Ms. Cameron, nice to meet you. I''m Harold-Joshua''s friend. And, yes... I''m J."


    Ste smiled. "If you''re Joshua''s friend, that makes you mine too. No need to stand on ceremony."


    Haroldughed, happy to y along. "Well, in that case, I''ll drop the formalities."


    Ste continued, “Joshua tells me you''re a genius withputers. I''ll be counting on you for this."


    Harold hesitated, a little uncertain. "I''ll have to take a look at the situation first, before I can say for sure if I can help."


    "Of course. Thank you for doing this."


    Harold hade prepared, pulling hisptop from his bag. After exchanging a few more words with Ste, he flipped it open and began typing putting on a show of intense concentration. The screen fitted withplicated lines of code and technical data that even he didn''t fully understand. He managed topose himself with a look of grave seriousness.  s


    About ten minutester, he stopped.


    Ste looked at him expectantly. "Is it possible?"


    Harold nodded. "It''s doable, but it''ll take some time." He thought for a moment,


    putting on a mysterious air. "At least three days."


    Ste studied him closely. "You really can do it? And in just three days?"


    Honestly, she hadn''t held out much hope. After all, the person who''d attacked thepany''s security


    Finding


    one thuhe hacking world. Someone who could outmatch him seemed almost impossible-a one-in-a-million chance. Thest time, the architect who built their security system had taken over two weeks just to set up the defenses.  s


    Yet Harold was saying he could fix it in three days?


    Scratching his head, Harold added sheepishly, "Well... if it''s really urgent, I could pull an all-nighter and get it done in two."