20 Du Lu tries a little rescue (1/2)
An Ning went to work the following morning accompanied by Matt. She grumbled and pouted but Richard had been adamant: Matt goes with you or you don't go out at all.
Even then Richard was unsatisfied. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously when An Ning introduced Matt to him, glaring at her like she was at fault or something. Having no experience at all of the darker side of jealousy especially when its venom was directed at her, An Ning was uncomfortably puzzled.
It was Matt who caught on to Richard's gathering frown and put himself in the firing line with a grimace.He made sure to mention An Ma's name, explaining to Richard that the elder man had been worried for him, hence the invitation to recuperate in his house for a few weeks. Richard's knitted brows eased a little especially when he stared at the bandages wrapped around half of Matt's face. The boy looked pale and haggard. He was obviously still in pain but he met Richard's unfriendly stare placidly and with a composed smile.
An Ning snarled at him to sit down because he's depressing her mood.
”You look like a mummy,” she grouched.
”And you're in a bad mood,” Matt did as she asked, his eyes looking around the room. ”This place looks like a CGI's wet dream. Wow.”
”Thanks.”
”Didn't you used to be a gamer yourself?”
An Ning was startled.
”Why do you say that?”
”I don't know. Maybe because you're the type of person who would go on a bungee jump naked just to get a tan.”
”You make me sound like a nut,” An Ning laughed uproariously.
”Don't you know how cool you are, lady?” Matt asked, surprised. ”You incinerated that creature single-handedly and without even breaking a sweat. I think I would have been dead if it weren't for you.”
”I dislike people trying to kill me,” An Ning said, shrugging off the compliment. ”Pisses me off. And it wasn't courage or bravery. I was scared stiff but I also didn't want to die.”
She stopped and considered Matt with a frown.
”You're going to be okay. The surgery went well and the doctor said you'll be good as new after he takes the bandages off. So, what are you going to do after that?”
”Worried about me?” Matt teased. ”I'll be fine. I'm good at my job so I'll be going back to it, I suppose.”
”Why don't you work for me?”
The question hang in the air. Matt's eyes lit up like stars. Then the joy in them dimmed as hopelessness replaced hope.
”That's not possible,” Matt said after a moment with a strained smile. ”I'm very grateful but I think that's out of the question.”
An Ning leaned back in her chair and studied him in silence. She then reached down and pulled a drawer open. She took out a square object and threw it unexpectedly at Matt, who didn't blink as he caught it in one hand. He looked at it and at her and waited.
”You have two minutes,” An Ning said.
Matt held the Rubik's cube in his hand then his fingers moved. The puzzle rotated and flipped; the cubes changed colors; the combinations assembled and disassembled. A minute passed. The seconds ticked by.
Matt placed the completed cube on the table and looked at An Ning.
”You beat your previous record by 19 seconds,” she commented.
Surprise gleamed in Matt's eyes.
”You had me investigated?”
”Of course,” An Ning smiled.
”So you know about my background?”
”Yes.”
”Why hire me then?”
”Because I need a hacker,” she said simply.
Matt sat on the edge of the table and bounced the Rubik on his hand.
”They told me not to use any computer ever. In fact, the agreement was don't go near any computer.”
”You didn't read the fine print. It said don't go near any computer unless supervised.”
”What exactly does that mean?” Matt was bewildered.
”Exactly what it means.You just need someone to supervise you that's all. Then you can hack to your heart's content.”
Matt stared blankly at her.
”Security, Matt. Hardware security,” An Ning said.”Game design is highly competitive and everyone is looking out for the next Warcraft. We're not into that yet but we're going there when the company expands. As I said, competition is a bitch and everyone wants to be first in line. You can imagine the rest.”
”And you trust me to help you?”
”You built your own computer when you were thirteen and firewalled it so tight it took the authorities 10 years to catch up with you. And they did that only because your own mom ratted you out.”
The Rubik flew up and down. Up and down.
”She was worried about me,” Matt said after a while. ”She didn't want her only son to end up in jail for the rest of his life so she made a deal with them. In hindsight, she probably saved my life.”