Cyber security Story teller

Mel was used to the power being out. Brownouts were as regular an occurrence as shootings in the city. The missing concrete chunks of the wall from the bullets helped her track the years gone by. The wind storms weren’t really a surprise when they started. When winter came, she’d be ready for that, too. The nights were already drawing in.

Regulars always groaned when she wouldn’t make their favorites. “Got a feelin’,” she said.

“You always have feelings,” Ed groaned.

“She ain’t ever wrong,” Nikki, sat across the bar, piped up.

“Yeah. If Mel’s got a feelin’, I best be gettin’ along,” Frank added, from the bar center, in the middle of the other two. He exchanged a nod with Mel, who tapped on a nearby screen.

“You’re good, Frank,” she replied.

“Aw, Mel,” he complained. “You ain’t gotta do that.”

Mel’s eyes flashed a blinding blue-white as she accessed the Watch reports. Data flowed over the illusion of light she saw when she closed her eyes. She absorbed the words as much as read them. When she opened her eyes, the radar image of the storm clouds floated in front of her. “That storm’s rollin’ in fast.”

Their eyes locked for a moment before Frank nodded. Tipping his hat, he left. He had his own storm routine, Mel knew, same as her. Least she could do was waive his tab for the night.

The wind slammed the door shut behind him, just missing his billowing coat.

“It’s not like I’m closin’,” Mel said. “Just stickin’ to the basics, that’s all.” She wiped down the spot where Frank had sat. “Want another?”

Ed nodded, and Mel grabbed his glass. Right on cue, the lights flickered, the wind slamming the signs against the sides of the glass. Mel gestured at the camera to activate a pre-programmed sequence she’d worked out. The signs retracted into the storefront while metallic shutters rattled over the windows. She’d painted big arrows pointing at the door and brightened the outside lights as much as she could.

With the other hand, she poured the beer. She always kept a full keg on her storm line, just in case.

She’d been in her spot close to a decade and seen her share of storms. Over time, she’d figured out tricks to stay open. Each time, more and more folks stumbled in. The community knew it was going to be a bad one if she ever closed.

Her first storm was only a month after she’d opened. She’d barely survived better than her neighbors, saved only by some quick thinking and a lucky location. Still, she didn’t have much, but got creative with what she did have. It was just her, so she focused on opening up, fast. Just a few booths were clear and only one griddle worked, but it was enough. The first family stumbled in not five minutes later, grateful.

She’d welcomed them in, fixed a hot plate, and served a pint. Their clothes were sliced in places, stuck to their skin in spots by dried blood. “Looks like you need a rest,” she’d said, and they’d slumped in their seats.

“Sure do,” the oldest replied. “We’ve been outside, mosta the night. We barely survived.”

“Stay as long as you need. Rest up.” The storms weren’t that bad, back then, and she suspected they’d been surviving outside much longer than overnight, storm or not.

They were just passing through, bound for the south, and only stayed a few days. In exchange, they’d helped her clear the rest of the damage and even fixed the kitchen wiring.

Mel shook her head, unsettled by the sudden flash of memory. Strays came and went, faces shifting but circumstances unchanging. She set Ed’s new pour in front of him, and he’d saluted her before taking a sip. “Obliged.”

Before she could respond, the door blew open and a lanky teenager half fell onto the floor. Nikki was on them in a flash, Mel following a blink later. Ed turned on his stool to watch. Mel lifted their face to find a young man with his eyes lolling in his head. “Get the kit, Nik,” she said tersely.

“On it,” she said as she vanished.

Ed looked around. “Don’t see none followin’.”

Mel nodded. “Good.” She scooped the boy up to lay him flat on a nearby table.

He coughed, curling on his side, eyes blinked fast at the light. “Where am I?” he rasped.

“You made it inside, kid. You’re safe.”

Nikki reappeared with the med kit. Mel took it, humming as she checked the kid over. “Looks ok,” she said. “Bruised up. Means the hail is bad this time, and I didn’ get the roof repaired after the last round of damage.”

“It’ll hold,” Nikki responded. “Kid, what’s your name?”

“Benny.” He tried to push up, but coughed again. “It’s mixed with ash.”

Nikki and Mel shared a look. “Ash is new,” Nikki said.

“Maybe one of the Westies blew,” Mel reasoned. She hadn’t seen an ash cloud from one of the western volcanos, but that meant little with the heavy summer smoke lingering. It was going to get worse as the deep cold of the winter set in. “Ok, Benny, we’re gonna sit you up, ok?”

The two women wrestled him into the bench seat. The red vinyl creaked under his weight. Ed handed over a bottle of water and the boy gulped gratefully.

Once she was sure the kid wouldn’t collapse on her, Mel issued orders to Nikki and Ed. The three of them had weathered a few storms together now and only bumped into each other a few times. “He doesn’t look local,” Ed said to Mel, quietly.

Ed was a stray that stuck around. His partner hadn’t survived a nasty storm; Mel still regretted not closing that night. Ed had barely stumbled into Mel’s place himself. She’d set him up in a nearby tenement; he came by three times a week and helped when it was busy.

“It’ll be ok, Ed,” Mel said, putting a hand on his arm. “He’s beat up, and I’ll keep him here for a bit.”

Ed nodded. “Yeah, ok.”

The double doors blew open with a gust of wind, whipping in gray ice pellets. Two more black figures appeared against the glow of the streetlights. “Where’s Benny?” one demanded, full face ski mask muffling the voice.

“Close the doors!” Nikki yelled.

Mel dove. One shut quick enough, which only funneled the wind through the more narrow opening. A hail pellet scratched across her cheek, creating a thin red line. She ignored it. In a brief break, she rolled across, wincing as her shoulder went over a pointy rock. The pain was sharp and brief, gone as soon as it arrived. The next moment, she was behind the other door, activating the mechanical hinges to force closure.

Everything froze.

The two newcomers lunged for Benny. Ed grabbed the kid’s wrist to yank him behind the counter. “Get down!” In another quick motion, he had the shotgun Mel kept under the counter in his hands. “What do you want?”

“He stole our ride!” one of them replied.

Nikki laughed. “That it? Kids, any ride out there now is trashed.”

“We had it under a tarp!” he replied. “It was gonna be fine,” he added, almost petulantly.

Nikki didn’t bother to respond.

Mel popped the hidden compartment under the first booth where she kept a stash. She brought out a pair of pistols and aimed one at each darkened figure. “I can either fry you up a coupla’ fake eggs, or I can spend some lead. All I got, given the storm and all.”

One turned. “Surprised Benny found you, Mel.” She pulled off her mask, freeing a mess of dark, curly hair and an olive complexion. “Got the lights lit bright enough to attract trouble.”

“Lexy. Had a feelin’ this would be a bad one,” Mel shrugged.

Benny stared. “You know Lex?”

“Kid, I know mosta this sector.” Mel and Lex bumped along all right most of the time, content to stay out of each other’s orbit. Occasionally, their interests overlapped; Mel never asked questions when she knew she wouldn’t like the answers.

“Mel, this idiot took my second-best rig,” Lex explained. “Just took payment, client was coming in the morning. This kid said he watched his brother boost it and claimed he knew how to get it back.”

“Means you patched one into workin’ for a few hundred miles ‘fore it gave out.”

The other figure pulled off his mask. It was another kid, this one younger than Benny. “That’s not what you told me!”

Mel smirked and lowered her guns. Ed lowered the shotgun but kept it at the ready. Lex’s shoulders slouched. “Damn you and your strays, Mel.”

The other kid lunged for Benny and knocked him to the ground. Benny threw his arms over his face. “I needed it, ok? I had to get out, take my chances someplace else.”

“Doesn’t mean you can leave me!” The younger kid slammed fists into Benny’s forearms. “I need my brother!”

“Told you to come!”

Nikki stepped in to pull the younger kid off. He was still yelling, “I told you to stay!”

“And since when you hook up with Lex’s chop shop, Charlie?” Benny scrambled to push his back against the table support, quickly pulling his legs under the table behind him.

Mel grabbed Charlie’s other side. Between the two women, he quieted. “No one’s going anywhere in this storm.” Mel said. “Let me get everyone a beer and a waffle, we’ll feel better.”

A while later, Mel was slinging the last plate and pint around to the last empty stool and took it herself. Ed sat between the two boys, nursing a glass of whiskey. Mel had swapped the younger one’s beer for a lemonade. She’d also insisted on collecting everyone’s weapons and locking them in her safe. Her big knife hung at her hip, unsheathed. It was still her place.

She let the comfortable silence build before asking the boys their story. They spun her a typical tale of carving out a decent living in a city that promised the best businesses and the happiest people. Post-riot rebuilds had promised the chance to wipe away the sins of the past and build back better, but it was patchwork at best. The wealthy clustered around the city center while the rest of the city survived, best they could.

Lex added and clarified details as the story progressed.

Before she could stop herself, Mel blurted, “Got a room upstairs you can share. I can show you how to work the griddle, least ‘til you figure out what you want. Be safer than goin’ it alone.” It had been years since she’d taken in a stray, but she’d seen herself in their tale.

“Or, you could come with me,” Lex offered. She’d softened as the tale had progressed. The boys were in a desperate place. “Benny here has a knack for boosting rides.”

He sneered, standing. “I won’t ever go with you. You took dad from us!”

“Your dad was reckless and paid the price for it. Not my fault.” Lex crossed her arms and settled her steady gaze on Benny.

The two stood and stepped closer until their noses almost touched. Benny threw the first punch, a sharp motion that hit Lex in the jaw, making her stumble back. She roared and swung back. Benny grabbed her. The next second, both were screaming as they pulled at each other’s hair. Lex stomped the floor, missing Benny’s foot every time.

Mel focused her attention on her plate, content to let work it itself out. Ed kept a strong arm on Charlie, keeping the kid in his seat.

Lex grabbed a stool and lifted it to swing. Mel grabbed it and yanked down as Lex yelped in pain as her arm twisted back with Mel’s motion. Benny lunged again, knocking Lex to the floor and falling on top of her. Mel set the stool down calmly and took a sip of her pint, watching the pair.

Lex bucked the kid off, flipping them so she was on top. She grabbed a hold of his shirt collar and jammed her arm under his chin, choking him. Benny’s face flushed red as he squirmed, hands pulling at Lex’s arm.

Mel let him squirm until his face was a deep red. “Made your point, Lex.”

The other woman released her chokehold. “Fine. You need to stay in your lane, boy. You don’t know everything about your daddy.”

“Ben, we should go with her.” Charlie’s voice was quiet. “We need the work, without dad.”

Ed, hand still on Charlie’s shoulder, nodded. “Could do a hell of a lot worse, kid. Lex’ll take care of you.”

Nikki frowned. “Mel’s place could use the extra hands.”

“I’m mangin’, Nik. Boys can make their choices.”

Silence fell.

Benny seemed to consider the options, outside of whatever earlier panic had him scramble like a rabbit away. As it dragged, Mel realized the winds outside had stilled. She closed her eyes again to access the new Watch reports. The storms had passed and dawn wasn’t long off. Her place had survived, as it always had. She hadn’t expected picking up another stray, let alone two that, unless she was mistaken, would stick around longer than average. Plans always changed in a storm.

The boys stared at each other. Finally, Benny looked down, shaking his head. He took a step toward Mel. “I can’t, Charlie.”

“I gotta, Ben.” The younger brother stepped toward Lex. “Can I stay with you?” His voice cracked, making the last word a squeak.

Lex reached for Charlie’s hand. “Welcome to the crew, kid.”

The boys shared a look before Benny turned around, tears glistening.Mel slung an arm around Benny’s shoulders. “All right, kid, let me show you how to make a waffle.”