The Kidnapper Revealed

What waited for us below was a sack, like the ones used to carry potatoes around to the market. Mimi and I squealed as our naked bodies pushed each other into our linen prison. Honestly, I think we squirmed a bit more than we needed to get more of that sweet scratching release from the itching powder.

But, we eventually did find the opening of the sack, even if we only managed to push our heads out of it. A willowy woman was pulling a small utility cart towards us. She was wearing baklava to hide her identity, which means…

“You are the kidnapper! Incognita!”

“It’s pronounced 1nc0gn1tΛ, but yes. Finally, I have a chance to make good on my threat. Didn’t want to do this with so many people around, but ugh, it’s the only chance those snoopers gave me.”

“What are you going to do with us?”

“Well, first I´ll take you to my van, then to an unmarked warehouse and then, if you don’t play nice, I’m thinking that the Laura girl had a good idea. I’ll dump you both in Times Square in the buff.”

“W-wait, before you do that, just tell me this. You were the one that hacked the other student's bank account, right?” Mimi asked.

“Pftt, if you can call that hacking. When Lily asked for donations from the club’s members, she gave me access to everyone’s names, addresses, dates of birth, phones, and even their account numbers. Since I´m the club´s treasurer, she could not have made it any easier!”

“I knew it!”

“You don’t know the half of it. I have a script running right now to empty all those idiots' money, this time taking the cash directly to my account. Even if you don’t give me the source code of VCSAO I’ll walk out of this campus a rich woman. And all because Lily wanted to raise funds for this little charade.”

“Pfft, stealing from college students? You’ll barely have enough for the dollar menu.”

I could hear jeers coming from upstairs. It seems people were realizing that our disappearance wasn’t part of the show. Incognita approached. I tried to bite her hand like a disobedient dog, but before I could, the trapdoor sprung back up. We were back on the stage again, this time with the hacker joining us.

Laura and Annie were waiting right behind her, a giant speaker at their sides.

“What’s going on?” Incognita asked.

“WHAT’S GOING ON?” the speaker repeated ten times as loud. Incognita looked down at herself and patted her jacket. She pulled a little hidden microphone from her pocket and tossed it to the floor.

“You bugged me?!”

“Yep. We knew you would try to kidnap Mimi so we prepared a little trap for you.”

The hacker tried to escape, but Laura quickly tackled and restrained her. The crowd cheered and loudly demanded that she put a stop to her script, but…

“It’s too late. I can’t stop it, and your bank accounts are already drained…”

“Wait, but can’t we go to the police and ask the banks to revert the transactions?”

“From my offshore account in the Caymans? Good luck.”

The crowd went wild. People were shouting, yelling, cursing. It was pandemonium. The mob threatened to climb the stage and do justice with their own hands. Hell, they already had Lily tied up, a few girls taking her clothes as payment for being victims of the scam. Things were going to get ugly.

“W-w-wait. Can I see the tablet, please?” Mimi asked. “I think I can revert the transaction.”

Annie tossed Mimi the tablet, and she retreated into the sack to work her magic. The mob was getting impatient. Chairs were thrown around, some were climbing the stage, hell, a naked Lily was hanging hogtied from the ceiling, and some of her former friends were hitting her with pool noodles.

“There!” Mimi resurfaced from the sack. “I have access to her account. I’ll wire everyone their money back.”

The mob pacified in an instant. People began chanting Mimi’s name. They grabbed the sack, pulled Mimi out, and carried her above their heads. The naked hacker surfed the crowd like a rock star.

“Err guys, this is nice and all, but can I please get some clothes? And a hot shower?”