Work Text:
R4C3R was the plague of Spot Conlon’s life. He had no idea about who they were and quite frankly, he didn’t want to know. The Manhattan Newsies in general were a pain in the ass but R4C3R in particular pissed him off like nothing else did. In all his time as a hacktivist, he had never come across anyone who seemed as insufferable as they did. For as long as he could remember, The Brooklyn Boys and The Manhattan Newsies had been rival hacktivist groups at odds with each other. It was never anything serious - mostly harmless ‘pranks’ trying to rile up the other group as they worked towards their shared goal; freedom of information and to call out all the lying masterminds behind companies that used and abused people’s privacy. They respected each other. Mostly.
Then came R4C3R. Whilst other Manhattan Newsies were mostly harmless in their pranks, R4C3R always took it that step too far. Whether it was hacking into their servers to leave unhelpful messages amidst the source code or locking them out of their own computers via a game of snake, they always seemed to be testing Spot’s patience. He always knew it was them because the asshole liked to leave their ‘calling card’. The same damn photograph of a toad. He didn’t know if it was meant as an insult or what but it was always there taunting him. No matter how much he tried, K1ng0fBrook1yn could never keep up with R4C3R’s exploits. They were always too quick and even Spot couldn’t find a way to hack into their private server. It seemed to have a million and one different decryption keys. As much as he despised them, Spot couldn’t deny that they were smart. Too smart for his liking. It was worse when they tried to taunt him; creating text boxes on his screen that contained some of the most pointless messages Spot had ever seen. ‘You need a better security system, cutie~.’ ‘You look adorable when you get all worked up ;)’. It was just endless teasing that cemented R4C3R as the bane of his existence.
That was why when the Manhattan Newsies wanted him to work with R4C3R, he thought it was some kind of fucking joke. It had to be. He had been left speechless by the message on his screen. The group’s leader, C0TT0N EYE J4CK had contacted him personally. The message had been long with half of it being unnecessary rambling. The gist of it was simple; R4C3R needed to hack into one of The World’s private servers internally and none of the Manhattan Newsies were capable of going with them. There were exactly three reasons Spot agreed; his own campaign for freedom of information, the considerable amount Jack was willing to pay him to do it, and the fact he could finally see what the fuck R4C3R actually looked like. Not that he was expecting much. Just some scrawny looking wannabe that was desperate for validation or some sort of neckbeard. What Spot got when he actually saw R4C3R wasn’t even a fraction of what he expected.
Jack hadn’t given him a description of R4C3R - just a ‘You’ll know them when you see them’. Sure as shit, it took Spot no time at all to spot R4C3R when they reached their meeting point. Unfortunately, Spot could neither confirm or deny his theories on their appearance. Not even remotely. Instead, R4C3R’s face was covered entirely by what was clearly an attempt at a ‘punk’ facemask if the spikes and studs that adorned the lower half were anything to go by. Then came the top half of their face or rather, their lack of. The mask extended upwards, covering their eyes with black screens displaying an ‘X’ on either side. Spot wasn’t even sure what to say as they walked over to him since he was fairly certain ‘What the fuck?!’ wasn’t a reasonable response. “You know, you’ll catch flies if you keep your mouth gaping like that.” He watched as the eyes of their mask changed to display ‘^_^’ for a few moments before changing back to the dual Xs. Great! It did emoticons! Just wonderful!
“Look, I’m not here for whatever sort of idle chatter or bullshit you think I’m here for. I’m here for whatever job Jack seems so desperate for me to accompany you on.” They have only just met in person but Spot had a vendetta with R4C3R and he wouldn’t be quick to drop it. Not for anything in the world. This...menace was only a temporary ally.
If anything, R4C3R seemed disappointed by his response. He watched as their shoulders slumped. “Fine. We’ll walk and talk. Quicker like this anyways, right?” With that, they simply...walked off. Spot couldn’t help but roll his eyes before following them.
“Then talk, dumbass.”
R4C3R had a bounce in their step as they walked; as if this was all some kind of joke to them. It pissed him off. If anything, Spot’s irritation towards them was growing by the second. “The World has been the subject of some...questionable tactics in regards to both the articles they release and consumer privacy.” They began to explain, glancing down at him briefly. “And not just the usual adware shit you expect on news sites. Like, full on hoarding shit they shouldn’t be. We’ve had bots and spyware digging into news sites before - it’s nothing new for us but The World….Their website is the only one that’s actually fighting back.”
He listened carefully, wishing that he could see their expression underneath the mask rather than the near-blank canvas presented to him. As much as it pained him to say so, he found himself invested in what they were saying. “How do you know they don’t just have some sort of new antivirus software?”
“Because it was a live hacker fighting back. Every new script we tried to run was being attacked in seconds. It’s someone new on the scene that Pulitzer must have hired. The closest to a name we’ve gotten so far is ‘delancey’. “ Exasperation flooded into R4C3R’s voice. “Which means we have two options. We can either dick around and waste our time with this dumb song and dance or we can take more...direct action.”
Spot sighed. “...You want to get the information from Pulitzer’s hard drives directly?” He really should have asked more questions before getting into this. “You know how high the security on The World building is, right?”
Even if he couldn’t see it, he knew deep down R4C3R was smirking. “What’s wrong? Is the big bad King of Brooklyn getting scared? If you don’t think you have the skills to get in then you don’t have to come with me…”
He knew he shouldn’t rise to their taunts. He knew he should have just backed down. “I’m in, dumbass.” It seemed Spot had forgotten how to act in his own self interest. “You have a plan?”
“I have a map.” What the hell had he gotten himself into?
Apparently the answer to that question was ‘a big pile of shit’. The duo hadn’t been able to enter the building by its main entrance - it was too obvious. Not to mention R4C3R wouldn’t take off their dumb mask. So, after many assurances that the security cameras were disabled, they had simply...walked in through the employee entrance. It left Spot feeling uneasy. Whilst R4C3R seemed fine, he knew they shouldn’t have been able to get in that easily. No job was that simple!
Any sense of simplicity was very quickly shattered when they actually began to make their way to the server room. Spot had known security would be high but this...this was ridiculous! It seemed as if every corridor had been assigned its own security guard. The way R4C3R led him through different rooms and corridors, avoiding the guards felt like a strange dance but Spot didn’t know the steps. That was, of course, he was forced to change the dance entirely. Despite their previous claim of having a map, R4C3R clearly didn’t have the best spatial awareness. That was why Spot found himself yanking them into a supply closet just in time to miss a cluster of guards walking by. “What the fuck happened to having a map?!” He hissed, keeping his voice as quiet as he could.
“I have a map covering half my vision! I can’t be aware of everything!” They made a gesture to their mask. “Why do you think I needed someone to come with me? Shits and giggles?” R4C3R snorted.
“Y’know, if you just took your mask off and used your phone or some-” He didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence.
“The Mask. Stays. On.” Their tone became deadly serious before switching back to its lighthearted tone. “Besides, we’re getting closer, anyways. Security will be higher here, and not just with guards. Time for you to show me if you really are capable of living up to your reputation.”
Spot couldn’t help but smirk. “Nice to know you keep track of my work.” He was met by a slight shove as the two stepped out of the closet.
R4C3R really hadn’t been fucking about when they said security would be higher. Every wall and corner seemed to host its own camera and every door held an electronic lock. Due to their lack of any key cards, the two had worked together to get through each one with relative ease. He didn’t want to admit it but Spot was actually enjoying working with R4C3R. There was something about their constant teasing that kept him calm. They were opposites in the best way. But things weren’t plain sailing. They never were. This time, Spot couldn’t blame R4C3R’s carelessness on them getting caught.
A sinking feeling filled his stomach as he heard the guard call out. “Hey! What are you two doi-” The guard didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. Almost instinctively, Spot had pulled a slingshot out of his back pocket and launched a metal ball at the guard’s head. As expected, the man went down like a sack of potatoes. It might have been childish but he’d kept hold of the slingshot since he was a kid and it had yet to do him wrong.
Neither him nor R4C3R said a word for a few moments before they finally spoke up. “You...are now officially the coolest person I know! A slingshot! An actual fucking slingshot! And here I am with naught but an emergency taser!”
There was no way of stopping the smile that broke out on Spot’s face. “It’s simple, effective, and non-lethal. Not to mention that it’s a classic. I’m a simple man.” He explained. “I get things done.”
“And it looks like we have a hell of a lot of things to do if anyone heard that guard. First and foremost; Run.” With that, R4C3R grabbed his hand and took off down the corridor. In any other circumstances, Spot would have probably commented on how...nice it felt. It seemed by ‘running’ that R4C3R hadn’t meant running away. They had meant sprinting towards the server room with reckless abandon. If the rest of the guards weren’t aware of them before, they sure as shit were now! It was an absolute miracle that the two had yet to be shot!
Before he knew it, R4C3R was pulling him inside the main server room and slamming the door shut behind them. He took a few moments to catch his breath as he watched them desperately move to lock it. “...Well, that went well!”
“Hey! It could have gone worse! We could have been shot. Besides, it’s not the only door. There are other ways out. We...We’ll figure it out.” Spot reluctantly believed them - not that he had much choice. “I brought a couple of terabyte hard drives with me. They should be more than enough to store all the data on. Now we just have the task of getting everything downloaded before those doors open.” Spot all but snatched one of the hard drives from R4C3R and got to work. The two worked surprisingly well in sync - especially considering how much Spot was used to being at odds with them. R4C3R was a good hacker and there was no doubt about that, but he was determined to prove that K1ng0fBrook1yn was better. Much better. Ignoring the constant banging on the door, he let his fingers dance across the keyboard.
Then the unexpected happened. All he could do was watch as R4C3R began to take off their mask. “Cameras are down in here and it’s too fucking hot to wear this thing.” This was it. This was the moment he finally got to see the scrawny little rat that had been loitering in his life like a bad smell. He could fina- Well, fuck. Spot stared in shock for a few moments. They were hot . That...That was unexpected. He hadn’t fucking planned ahead for them being even remotely cute! Spot shook his head slightly, clearing his head. Now was really not the time to be focusing on how they looked. “...What do you think about leaving a little...goodbye gift for our dear friends at The World, your majesty?”
“Firstly, never call me that again. Secondly, What do you have in mind?” The look that formed on their face in response was positively devilish. He didn’t even try to protest as they pushed him away to begin typing. From the speed of their fingers, Spot had a feeling it was a piece of code that had been used repeatedly. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he watched R4C3R work away. The last thing they added to the list of code was a png file; the same picture of a toad that had been haunting the screens of the Brooklyn Boys for months. “What’s the deal with the toad, anyways? There some reason you always leave it behind?”
To his surprise, R4C3R laughed. A look of pure amusement crossed their face. “Oh! That’s Horse! He’s my pet toad.” Spot just stared at them for a few moments in pure shock before he found himself joining in their laughter. “Nothing makes a more personal calling card than a beloved pet, right?”
“You, R4C3R, really are one of a kind.”
“Race.” They corrected softly. “My name is Race. You’ve already seen my face so why not go the full mile, right?”
“Race.” He tested out the name on his lips. It suited them - probably in part to it being so similar to their username. Though, he had a feeling it was more a nickname than anything. There were many layers to R4C3R and he doubted he had even scratched the surface. “Spot.” He introduced.
“I know.” The smirk on their face didn’t even remotely surprise him. Then Race’s attention turned back to the screen as they worked. “...The official name to this file is AToadNamedHorse.exe. My own special concoction of malware and all sorts of nasty things. Not to mention it leaves a backdoor into The World’s servers” He wouldn’t say it out loud but Spot was impressed. Actually, he was a lot more than that. Finally, Race seemed to hit the enter key. “That should be everything on the hard drives now. What’s your stance on escape via air vent?”
Spot stopped their hand as they reached for their mask. “My stance is that it’ll be hot as fuck and I ain’t dumb enough to let you wear your mask through it. Stuck in your bag with the drives and let’s just get the fuck out of here. Who knows how long until security gets in?”
Standing on a chair, it didn’t take long for R4C3R to make their way into the air vent. As much as it shamed him to admit it, he needed their help to climb into the vent. It wasn’t his fault Race was practically as tall as a tree! “...Didn’t expect you to be the type to want to look out for me.” And the teasing side to Race was back.
Spot was thankful the heat of the vents was enough to disguise the blush making its way onto his cheeks. “Yeah, well, it wouldn;t benefit either of us if you passed out from heat stroke. Don’t be so shocked I act in self interest!”
“Sure, you do.” In any other circumstances, he would have been quick to wipe the smirk off of their smug face. How could someone so cute also have the ability to be the most infuriating person he had ever met?! Barely another word was spoken on the way out after that. There was too much at stake to risk that sort of ‘trivial’ distraction. That, and the heat of the vent left Spot feeling more than a little breathless.
The second they got outside, Race fixed their mask in place.Then the two tried to walk away from the building as if they hadn’t just caused the biggest security breach The World had ever dealt with. As tense as it had been, he couldn’t deny he’d enjoyed it. It was a hell of a lot different than his usual work from the safety of home. This felt more real somehow. It reminded him that what they did had an affect on the world. It was all far more than a few lines of code.
When the time came to split ways with R4C3R, Spot tried to ignore the sense of disappointment that flooded through him. “I have a feeling that is the start of something beautiful, polka-dots.” The eyes of Race’s mask switch to display ‘^_^’. Spot couldn’t help but wish he had the chance to look at the face underneath once more instead.
Though, Race’s words made him snort. “You spend months harassing and mocking me, yet you think this is the start of something beautiful?” Disbelief filled his voice.
“And here I thought I was doing a good job at flirting. I really wasn’t joking when I called you cute.” With that, R4C3R walked away as the K1ng0fBrook1yn was left spluttering.