Nolan was still asleep in bed, unconcerned, unaware that his grandfather, Raiden, had just climbed in to cuddle close. Feeling the heat radiating from behind him, he repositioned himself in the direction of his grandfather without opening his eyes and replied, "What are you doing in here, Papa Rai? How'd you even get in here anyway? If Mom and Grandma knew that you were moving about the house past your slumber time, they'd find a way to further limit your movements. The worst thing that could happen to you is that they both lock you up in the basement and chain you to the wall."
"I may have taught you everything you know, but not everything I know, kiddo," stated Raiden. "Plus, I wanted to visit my favorite grandson and see how he's doing." "Mmmhmm, I bet, Papa Rai," said Nolan. "Don't get cocky, sport, no matter how good you are; never let anyone see you coming," said Raiden. "You must always be two, three steps ahead; otherwise, people will get wise to what you're doing. The last thing you want is to be exposed by leaving yourself wide open. That's the last thing anyone wants to be doing."
"Grandpa, even if they were to get wise to what I was doing, it'll be too little too late before they put two and two together," Nolan told his grandfather. "Especially with the way you taught Chess and Shogi to me." "Maybe so, kiddo, but still be careful," Raiden warned his grandson. "Because chances are you'll encounter an opponent who'll match a majority of your moves the moment you make them." "I'm saying this from experience." "Oh, really, gramps? Prove it with a personal experience of yours," Nolan challenged his grandfather.
"Five years ago, I was part of a hacker group known as "Black Cell", Raiden said as he regaled his personal experience to Nolan. "I've heard of Black Cell," said Nolan. "Wasn't that the hacker group that resolved to safeguard the freedoms of American citizens and their neighbors at any and all costs?" "Yes, in a way, Scout," replied Raiden. "But they were also resolved to ensure that people who were less fortunate than the 1% of America and everywhere else in the world were able to afford what they needed, as well as giving their loved ones a chance at a better life, and I was one of their best hackers."
"Plus, a majority of the corrupt businesses and banks that were controlled by the same 1% of the entire world were determined to ensure that they owned the world and everyone in it." "Little did they learn that we weren't going to allow that to happen, so bit by bit we struck where they were most vulnerable, siphoning their money into the accounts and businesses of honest, hard-working people who valued each other over money."
"Eventually, the corrupt businesses and banks caught wind of our endeavors and were determined to wipe us out, but we weren't afraid of them, so we met their challenge but at the same time had a contingency plan that would cover our tracks and expose all the illegal activities that were happening behind the scenes." "We discovered that they were operating from an abandoned hotel and with impunity. As we watched them discussing how best to eliminate us, one of our number took it upon himself to be the decoy long enough for us to deep-six everything to our system and delete their files in the process. So far, the plan went off without a problem until one of them took the liberty of calling the authorities on us." "What happened next, Grandpa?" Nolan inquired. "We covered our tracks and got away, or so we thought. The police showed up and arrested every single one of us and took us to jail. While we were sitting on our hands waiting to be processed, one of the corrupt businessmen came to visit us and said, with a wicked grin on his face, " With you and your hacker entourage behind bars, our livelihood will return. You've lost." As he walked away, I said, "If anyone has lost, it's you and your associates; you just don't know it yet." He chuckled loudly, thinking I was bluffing, but he didn't know that the officers who arrested us were part of our group and that he was in for it big time.
"What happened next, Papa Rai?" Nolan inquired. "As soon as he made it to the door, the officer arrested him on the spot," Raiden said. "Not only did he and his associates lose all of their assets and their illegitimate businesses, but they were facing 5 concurrent, if not consecutive, life sentences if they were convicted of Grand theft larceny, bribery, as well as conspiracy to obstruct justice. That literally meant that their goose was cooked big time." "Wow, I bet that they looked like total fools thinking they could get away with it," Nolan said. "Indeed, kiddo, but the joke was on them," Raiden replied, then added: "So, the point I'm trying to make is this: no matter what endeavor you dare to initiate, always make sure that your bases are covered completely and always avoid utilizing the same pattern even if it's familiar to you because eventually someone will pick up on it and be prepared to use it against you in all its aspects. Always remember that, kiddo, always." "I will, Grandpa, I will," Nolan promises. "I love you, Papa Rai." "I love you as well, Scout," Raiden tells his grandson. "Same goes for the rest of our family, especially that little brother of yours, Koda, and your father, Abraham." With that said, Nolan and his grandfather fall asleep in each other's arms, feeling secure in the comfort only a grandfather and his grandson can share. But as Nolan and Raiden slept together, a thought crept into Nolan's mind: "What did Grandpa mean by 'make sure that all your bases are covered'?" Is there something that Papa Rai knows that I don't? That just doesn't make sense to me. I understand that Grandpa is trying to make sure I'm safe and don't get in trouble with the law, but he doesn't realize the law is easily corrupted by self-absorbed politicians who care more about their wealth than the well-being of the people they serve. If he only knew what these politicians did behind closed doors, he would agree with me. As Nolan drifted back to sleep, he found it easy to rest and not worry too much about it.