through her window.
A further salvo of loud rapping peppered the door, reverberating in Caseyâs ears.
âIâm coming!â she called out gruffly, scrambling drunkenly from under the covers. She searched for a T-shirt and shorts to pull on over her naked form.
A third volley of knocking caused Casey to squint incredulously at the door.
âIâm coming! Jesus !â
Padding barefoot across the floor, Casey rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she went up to the door and peeked through the peephole.
She recognised the woman standing on the other side.
âDammit!â she hissed.
Hesitating before the door, she eventually flipped the lock and grabbed the handle. Sliding the rumbling door aside, Casey revealed the woman standing there, one arm leaning against the door frame while her other hand remained raised, ready to knock again.
Dressed in a grey pantsuit, her raven hair pulled into a bun, the woman wore a dripping smile as Casey levelled a glare at her.
âWhat do you want, Prishna?â
Caseyâs eyes dropped down to the womanâs waist; she saw the gold of the detectiveâs badge glint in the sunlight from the window behind her.
âNothing special,â Detective Sergeant Prishna Argawaal replied. âJust thought Iâd drop by and see what you were up to.â
âIâm sleeping,â Casey shot back, standing against the door, her arms folded.
Prishna took her hand off the door frame and inspected her watch. âAt 1PM? Wow, things must be good in your line of work.â
Casey rolled her eyes. âModerately good. But you canât expect me to rely solely on the work you guys send my way.â
âHmm,â Prishnaâs eyes narrowed slightly. âIâll grant you, our budget doesnât stretch far to remunerate you more generously. I see youâve been making some influential friends in the corporate sector. They speak highly of your skill set.â
Casey stared at Prishna.
Checking up on me again.
â Others are delivering similar praise,â Prishna continued.
Casey clenched her teeth. She didnât respond.
âIâve been working hard too, Casey, and making some friends in interesting places. Youâll recall our talks in the past about this mystery hacker called Octagon.â
âCracker,â Casey hissed, correcting Prishna. She hated it when people who should know better referred to the common misnomer that was applied to her kind.
Prishna laughed haughtily. âMy mistake. I really should know better, shouldnât I. Well, the cracker âOctagonâhas apparently been active in the underground again.â
Casey nodded curtly. âInteresting.â
âAnd weâve managed to secure some fragments of the work,â Prishna continued. âIâve been showing it around and the consensus seems to be that the programming language is rather shall we say⦠unique . No one seems able to interpret it, however your name keeps coming up as someone who might.â
âYou want me to look at it?â Casey asked.
Prishna shrugged.
âPossibly. There is something curious about it, though. Iâve been doing a little comparison study of my own.â
Here it comes.
âThe programming language appears to have many of the characteristics of your own.â
Casey retracted her head. A sardonic smile lifted her lips. âLook, Prishna, Iâll ask you once more: what do you want?â
âIâm just thinking out loud, I suppose. I like you, Casey, and I know that youâve been one of our finest assets. You have helped us solve more cases this year than we have at any other time in Cyber-Crimeâs history. Butâ¦Iâm not convinced that youâre completely untainted.â
Prishna stepped forward into the doorway until she was very close to Caseyâs face. âI think you and this Octagon have more in common than anyone is willing to