Hi. I'm Jay. Just your average guy living an average life, with an average family… you know, normal.
Well… if you count everyone in your family getting arrested at least once as normal.
We're more like your typical crime family. Dad's in jail. One brother's dead. My sister got taken into foster care. And my mom? She's a drug addict who keeps swearing she'll get better.
Yeah. Real normal.
I'm sixteen, by the way.
And before you start feeling bad—don't. I've had this life long enough. You either get used to it, or it breaks you.
I like to think I'm the exception.
I stayed in school. Got a scholarship through high school. Even managed to land a partially paid scholarship to a college I applied to.
Sounds good, right?
There's just one problem.
I'm broke. Completely broke.
And with my family the way it is, I'm getting exactly zero help.
So now I need money. Fast.
Not small money either—I need fifteen thousand dollars in two weeks.
Yeah… I know how that sounds.
Here's the thing though—I'm good with computers. Really good. And I understand people too.
To me, it's all the same. People, systems… they all run on patterns. Codes. And if you understand the code, you understand how to break it. Or better yet—how to profit from it.
Which is exactly how I ended up here.
About to do something I already know I'm going to regret.
Crime.
The kind that lands you in prison… or gets you killed.
Funny thing is, my family might be terrible at crime, but they were great at making connections. And I made sure to keep those connections alive.
Because where else is a kid like me supposed to get that kind of money?
Take care of a house. Take care of a mother who can barely take care of herself.
Yeah… I didn't have options.
So now I'm on a call with one of my brother's old friends.
"Hey, Zack."
"Wassup, Jay? Why you calling?"
"That offer you made… is it still on the table?"
There's a pause.
"You sure about this? Thought you said this life wasn't for you."
"I know. But I need the cash."
Another pause.
"…Alright. Meet me at the café down the street."
⸻
The café smelled like burnt coffee and bad decisions.
Zack leaned back in his chair when I walked in.
"So… you sure about this?"
"Yeah."
He studied me for a second, then nodded.
"Alright. Me and some guys are planning to hit a jewelry store downtown."
I frowned. "Nah. I'm not your robbery guy. If you want me going in there, I'm out."
Zack rolled his eyes. "Relax. You're not stepping foot anywhere. Just listen."
I stayed quiet.
"We already scoped the place. Got everything planned. Only problem is the security system. New, high-tech stuff. Even our guy can't crack it."
I already knew where this was going.
"You want me to do it."
He smirked. "Exactly. You shut it down long enough for us to get in and out before the cops show."
I hesitated.
"I don't know, man…"
"Ten thousand upfront. Another ten after."
Everything went quiet.
Ten thousand.
I'd never held that kind of money in my life.
That alone could fix everything.
I let out a slow breath.
"…Yeah. Alright."
Zack grinned and slid an envelope across the table.
"Good choice. That's your first ten. You'll get the rest after the job."
⸻
Back home, I sat on my bed staring at the envelope.
For a second, I didn't open it.
It didn't feel real.
Then I did.
Stacks of fifty-dollar bills.
Ten thousand dollars.
Just like that.
And I hadn't even done anything yet.
It was insane.
Completely insane.
And somehow… I was already in too deep.
I turned to my laptop and powered it on.
If I was doing this, I was doing it right.
I typed in the name of the store:
ZYX Jewelry.
New. High-end. Built for rich clients—not the ultra-rich, but close enough.
Which meant one thing.
Serious security.
I pulled up their system specs and started digging.
It was advanced.
But not advanced enough.
Not for me.