Cryptomining Supervillain Chapter 84: 084 LOST A FORTUNE

084 LOST A FORTUNE

Dan and Dorin walked into the Six O'Clock Diner dressed like they were heading to prom. The waiter's expression barely flickered; important custors had beco a common sight here.

"Your table is over there. Please place your order on the tablet nu— our restaurant is self-service," he said.

They sat. Dorin flipped through the nu, her lips twitching. "There's nothing suspicious about this."

"Just get on with it," Lander told her through her comm.

She stuck a slim button onto the tablet's fra — a hacking pad that would siphon every packet of data the device sent or received.

"Any sign of the Black Cockerel yet?" Dan whispered.

"No hits yet," Lander replied.

"Maybe there's a secret code we don't know," Dorin murmured.

"Open sesa," Dan joked.

"This isn't funny," she hissed.

They scrolled. The tablet was just a plain, clumsy interface: categories, prices, a pen tethered to the side. Nothing that shows it was ant for an assassin-for-hire.

A waiter hovered. "Have you decided? It's busy tonight.. there's a long queue outside."

"I don't know how to use the nu," Dorin said loud enough for the waiter to hear.

"You can order from the interface… even a school kid would know how to order", he replied rudely.

A man at the next table chuckled. "Just write it down. I saw a guy do that earlier when he didn't know." He mid scribbling with the tablet pen.

"The pen is for writing complints", the waiter inford angrily before walking back to the reception area.

"That's what the pen is for- writing complints…. More like writing complaints?" Dan said.

Lander's voice cut in: "Each of those VIPs used the pen. They wrote sothing on it and its definitely not complints or even complaints."

Dorin handed the pen to Dan. "What should we write? You try…"

Dan hesitated. "What would you put on a nu if you wanted to kill soone?"

"Try it," Dorin urged.

He wrote, testing the joke: "Open sesa". Nothing happened.

"Stupid," he muttered.

Dorin rolled her eyes. "Just write it plainly."

He scrawled, "Kill Director Ambrone lrose."

Dorin snatched the tablet back. "Are you insane? That's our director." Then she smiled.

"Although I'll probably write his na down if I want to kill soone", Dorin added humorously.

"Just testing the system," Dan said. "See how it reacts."

Their letters suddenly vanished from the screen as if eaten.

"What the hell?"

A prompt blinked up:

"Do you want an assassination contract on Director Ambrone lrose? Y / N"

They stared at the tablet, shocked.

Lander laughed softly over the comms. "Press Yes. Of course, press Yes."

"You can't be serious," Dorin said.

"It's a test. Nothing will happen if we won't pay," Dan shrugged.

He tapped Yes.

A bill flashed: "OUR PRICE: TEN MILLION AURS. PLEASE PAY IN FULL."

"Now what?" Dorin whispered.

"Now we pay …. slowly," Lander said. "Use small-limit cards. I'll trace where the funds go."

Dan slid a tiny thousand-Aur test card into the reader. The tablet pulsed before ta-energy was siphoned off.

"Card limit utilized. Please insert another card."

He fed another card with six thousand. The machine drained it in the sa silent instant.

"You better make sure SIA reimburses for this," Dan muttered, half-grinning, half-worried, as the tablet awaited the next paynt.

Soon, Dan had burned through all his low-limit cards.

"Have you got them yet? I'm broke because of this," he complained into the comm.

"The transfer amounts are too small—I can't trace where the ta particles are going," Lander replied.

"Then put in more money," Dorin urged.

"No way." Dan crossed his arms. He still had his million-aur card, but there was no way he'd use his own fortune to chase a secret assassin network.

"Co on, I almost have them," Lander insisted.

Dan didn't move.

"Don't be stingy," Dorin said. "If we don't catch these people, they'll co for you next."

She had a point—and she knew it. With a long sigh, Dan pulled out his jade card. "That's all my savings. Make sure the SIA reimburses for this."

"Yeah yeah."

The mont he inserted the card, he watched in horror as the balance began to drain. The jade shimred faintly, its green hue fading.

"My money…" he groaned, his eyes wide. "I can feel it leaving."

"Almost there," Lander said. "Just a little longer."

"Be done with it soon!" Dan barked, watching the numbers vanish faster than he could blink.

Then, disaster struck.

The screen blinked.

"Card limit utilized. Please insert another card."

Dan froze. "No… no, no, no!" He slamd his fist on the table. "Lander! Did you get the trace?!"

"Just—one more minute!"

"I don't have one more minute!" Dan snapped, slumping into his chair. His card was empty… completely drained.

"Paynt incomplete. Please insert another card."

"This stupid thing wants more money," he muttered, staring at the tablet like it had just robbed him… which it had.

There was only silence from Lander.

Then, the ssage changed again.

"Sorry. Paynt incomplete. Your contract has been terminated. No refund is available."

"Terminated? What about my money?" Dan shouted.

"Forget it," Dorin said, tugging his arm. "We have to go before they bust us."

As she dragged him toward the exit, Dan looked back at the screen, mourning the glowing numbers that used to be his fortune.

"My money!!!" he cried, loud enough for half the diner to turn and stare.

-----

They returned to the unmarked van parked across the street from the Six O'Clock Diner.

"I want my money back!" Dan yelled the mont he stepped inside.

"Don't worry about your money," Dorin said, sliding into the seat beside him. "I'll get it back for you from the director."

Dan gave her a doubtful look. "You're serious? Promise?" He understood it was extrely difficult to make a claim from managent, especially if the sum was astronomical.

"I promise. First thing in the morning."

Dan slumped into a corner seat, his arms crossed, sulking like a child who just watched his savings vanish into smoke. A million aur wasn't just pocket change …. It was a fortune.

"Did you get a trace?" Dorin asked, turning to Lander.

"Almost," Lander muttered, his eyes glued to his data pad. "But since the paynt didn't complete, I lost the trail before the ta stream stabilized."

Dan let out a dry laugh. "Great. So, I'm broke and we got nothing."

"We'll get them next ti," Lander said calmly. "We'll wait for the next assassination order to appear. When it does, I'll be ready to intercept the paynt stream."

Before they'd left the diner, Dorin had discreetly stuck a micro-tag under their table—an SIA hacking node that would feed any new data from the restaurant directly to Lander's system.

But Dan was already tuning them out.

He was no longer interested in the operation. His thoughts were filled with nothing but the empty balance on his card.

He finally stood up. "I'm done for tonight. Need so air… or a new way to make money before I starve."

He pushed open the van door and stepped out into the cool night.

Dan took a walk on the street to calm himself over the loss of over a million aurs. Soon, he realized he'd gone far. The street was dim, lit by old lamps and the fading sign of the diner.

Then…. his instincts were prickled.

Soone was following him.

He slowed his pace, scanning the glass reflections along the sidewalk. Footsteps echoed behind him—there were two, maybe three shadows.

"Damnit," he muttered under his breath. "Who is it this ti?"