Chapter 18

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“Ready?” I ask myself in the mirror. Baby-duck colored lipstick and black eyeliner, it’s all a girl needs. I even run a brush through my hair and note the inch of dark roots of my green streak. Time to change colors. Gray? White? Maybe I should just let it grow in my natural, near-black color.

Today’s a big day and the dyeing of hair will have to wait. Three hours sleep isn’t much to run on, but it’s all I have. Everything is lined up: Fix Chippy’s servers. Then classes and Jonny apology. Followed by the police and soup kitchen. It’s weird that I can’t go to the police first, but Principal Wolzowski was crystal clear. I cannot be missing classes.

Either my father’s death—murder—hasn’t hit me yet, or I already muddled through the mourning period these past three years and hadn’t realized it. I’m okay. I’m holding up. Maybe subconsciously I knew and prepared for this. Janus’s subconscious is so strong. I feel as though a pot of coffee courses through my veins and I haven’t drunk a drop.

Ten minutes later I’m at the hospital and on the psych ward.

“Bless you, my son,” I say to the bearded black Jesus as I pass. He tugs at his facial hair, but doesn’t respond. I giggle and keep going. I’m a rollercoaster of emotions today!

It was a shock treatment morning for my mom. Peter will be at her side and I have to make like everything’s normal, because I don’t want him to know that I know—What do I know? That he is an Internet Consultant, aka hacker, and that he’s mixed up in my father’s business. Maybe he pulled the trigger on my dad?! Maybe he wants Assured Destruction?! It must have been quite a blow for Bitchain to lose a money launderer. It makes sense that Fenwick could have been involved, especially since he tried to take over the business. But I seem to recall Peter delivering an expert uppercut to the guy. Why would he do that if they’re on the same team? Shivers flow through me and my heart thrums.

I take several deep breaths. Save it for the cops. Save it for the cops. I tell myself to ignore Peter. Beat-Pete.

And he’s here, patting my mom’s head. Did her lips just move?

“Mom!”

“Jan.” It’s faint but clear. She reaches out to me and I land on her, hugging her, wrestling against the tight sheets.

“I missed you,” I say, coming up for air before desperately trying for a better grip. I am foiled by hospital-bed-making experts.

“Janus,” she repeats, and I see the sadness in her face. The film of dullness that lies across her eyes and her expression. This isn’t my mom yet. No matter how hard life became for her, she always faced it with a positive attitude and never dwelled on her illness. The woman before me isn’t someone who can help me with what’s happening. This is someone who needs to be protected from it. But that’s okay, because this is progress.

“How are you doing, Mom?”

“Good,” she manages but in a voice like she’s delivering bad news.

“I’m so glad.”

Her eyes flutter closed and she draws even breaths. I glance to Peter, who is smiling at me.

“She doesn’t stay awake long, but Tina’s back,” he says. “Your mom’s back.”

I can’t help but speak to him. “She is, isn’t she?”

And I can feel it. This is the start of everything coming together for me. If I’m the Roman god Janus, then maybe I’ve spent too much time looking into the past when I should be gazing into the future. Hadn’t Ponytail guy even said that? That every kid deserves to stop waiting?

“Thanks, Peter,” I say and the feeling is genuine, which is weird, but then he’s supported my mom this whole time. “I’ve some extra credit to do this morning at school, but this is amazing. I wish I could stay.”

I lean down and kiss my mother on her cool cheek. I wonder if she knows about Dad. Maybe she didn’t want me to know about his being a gangster—figured it was better for me to assume I was abandoned. Now’s not the time to ask, though.

“Have to run,” I say. “I love you.”

I bite down on my tears and make it all the way to the van before they break free. I lean against the cold metal panel. People pass, but no one slows down or looks over. There’s no physical space for privacy in a hospital, so tears in a hospital parking lot must be nothing new. I breathe sharply out a few times and run my sleeve across my eyes before climbing into the van.

At school, Chippy’s happy to see me in the computer lab.

“Muh,” he says.

“I have a patch to fix the servers,” I reply.

“Muh!” And he lumbers to the side as I take the controls at his desk. I download the small executable file from the link Sw1ftM3rcy provided. It runs briefly before announcing, Zombie Worm Expunged! Bitch’in!

And there it is again. Bitch’in—Bitchain.

“You’ve done it!” Chippy says.

And indeed, I bring up a Word doc, start typing, and the gobbledygook appears as fast as I can type.

“Wonderful.” He claps his hands together.

I’ve never seen Chippy so animated; he’s grinning and dancing left and right on his feet as if he doesn’t know what to do next. He squeezes my shoulder, which is probably totally a no-no, but I don’t care; this is just happy Chippy.

“I have to tell Principal Wolzowski,” he says. “Thank you, Janus.”

Before I can explain that it wasn’t me, it was Sw1ftM3rcy, he’s charging down the hall. Other students stare after him. The halls and atrium are packed today. Everyone’s talking louder than usual.

Soon I hear what the fuss is about. Whoever is behind the Zombie Worm is a genius. Every infected computer has sent whatever was in the Drafts folder—just as Sw1ftM3rcy warned—plus an embedded link to infect the new computer. Just imagine receiving an email from your girlfriend:

Listen, Jack, It’s not you, it’s me. I’m sorry. I wish I could have told you before I started making out with that other guy. This is so hard. But—

And then the virus adds:

>>>Click Here<<<

Who wouldn’t click?

Relationships must be breaking up all over the place!

By noon I have a dozen kids all willing to pay me twenty bucks to clean their home computers of the virus.

“Jan!” Jonny’s huffing with his hands on his knees. I can see the paint spattering his arms and jeans. He’s not in my social studies or calculus classes, so lunch is the first time I’ve seen him today.

“Hi, Jonny,” I say. “Sorry about last night. It’s a really crazy story, but I can’t talk about it here.”

Jonny’s eyes narrow. I’ve earned suspicion. Anytime I can’t tell him something it means I’ve done something wrong or I’m about to.

“I know what you’re thinking and … okay … it’s really bad all right, but it was bad last night, not now. Everything’s going to be okay and my mom’s okay. So really this is the best day ever!” I wrap my arms around him and he stands with his arms tight to his sides and then pries me off.

“What is it? What happened?” He’s holding my shoulders. “What’s this about you having the zombie thingie antidote, or whatever? You’re charging?”

“Yeah, I’m like a … a cleaner now,” I say.

“I’m not getting it.”

“Here’s what I think is happening because I don’t know for sure.” Suddenly, I have one of those spells I’ve been having where everything flashes over to the creepy dude’s apartment and the gun, and yet I’m still here in the real world, listening to myself. I shake my head and focus back on Jonny. “Yeah, yeah, there’s this guy that creates the viruses that infect computers that then act as a zombie army to infect more computers and do whatever they want, send spam, attack systems, anything.”

“Zombies.”

“Hence the name Zombie Worm, sometimes it’s called a botnet. And this guy’s a bot-herder.”

“Weird, but yeah, I’ve heard of those botnets. It can include tens of thousands of computers.”

“Millions!”

“You okay?” he asks. “You look a bit like you did before you fainted, but jumpy.”

“I’m better. A lot better! Just a lot going on. Juggling Janus, you know me, ha, ha, ha. But, yeah, all that botnet, bot-herder, command and control servers, it’s just lingo … Anyways, so then the virus creator gives people like me a script that can clean the viruses from the computers that are infected.”

“Wait a second.” Jonny holds up his hand. “So this guy’s helping you kill the viruses even though he made them.”

“Yes, but he keeps part of whatever I make.”

“Brilliant.” Jonny’s eyes widen.

“I know.” I’m hopping up and down on my cast and don’t feel a thing.

“Terrible.” He backs up a step like I’ve gone radioactive.

“I know that too. But I have to follow along. See?” I’m wobbling back and forth on my crutches and its fun. Back and forth. Back and forth.

“Why? And what are you doing? You’re so wired.”

“Because I think he’s part of a gang but not a yo-yo-yo gang, ya know?”

“No, I don’t. I think the nurse is here today, do you want to see her? Maybe you should go home.”

“No way, I’ll miss the semester. I’ve got it covered. It’s the skull and chain we saw at that place. The guy’s avatar is the same skull.”

“Can’t you let the police handle this?”

“Yup, yup, after class,” I say. “It’s my next stop.”

“All right,” he says and stares at me sidelong.

“What?”

“You’re just so hyper.” His lips purse in a very adult way.

“Didn’t you hear? My mom’s okay.” I grip his bicep.

Hannah’s waving at me from the end of the hall. I haven’t seen her since creep’s apartment and she’s gone all Asian-Goth. Karl’s there too, looming over her with Ellie in tow. They rush toward me and I open my arms like I’m expecting a huge hug.

“Jan,” Ellie says. She’s got her friendly I-want-something face on. “Do you really have a way to stop the Zombie Worm?”

I nod emphatically and give two thumbs up.

“Can you clean mine?” Hannah asks and I embrace her. Bits of leather and pokey-outey metal scratch at me.

“Mine too.” Ellie sidles in front of Hannah. “I’ll pay double.”

“I’ll fix everybody’s computers,” I say, so excited to see Hannah and feeling so good. “No problem.”

I text Ellie and Hannah the link Sw1ftM3rcy gave me with the note: Just download and run!!! :) :) I love you!

And then I head to class, where I’ve never had quite so much trouble focusing on the teacher, my knee bouncing, fingers tapping on the desk. Did I just play Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5? I think I did! And I’ve never played piano in my life! Today is like a great crescendo. I can feel my eyes blink. Blink, blinkety. Blink. I can’t wait to talk to Detective Williams.