Zero Days

Jack approaches Cole’s flat, weak and shaking. She marvels that she and Gabe never considered how different Cole’s luxury accommodations are from their “modest” home. Before entering Cole’s building, Jack pulls out her laptop, sets up a hotspot with her old phone, and logs into Gabe’s social media accounts. She then posts that an “unpatched vulnerability” exists in Cerberus’s app and that she believes Gabe was murdered to keep it quiet. She begs users to demand a fix immediately.

Jack buzzes someone else’s apartment, claiming to have a pizza for Cole Garrick, and the woman angrily lets her in. Pushing into the building, Jack is energized, feeling once again like “predator, not prey” (318). She takes the fire escape and, on the roof, sees Cole’s balcony below, a 10- or 12-foot drop. She creates a makeshift rope with her sleeping bag and extra clothing. It’s too difficult for her to grip the sleeping bag, though, and she falls hard onto the balcony. The pain from her wound is so excruciating that she cannot even cry out. She puts the burner phone in her pocket, camera facing out. Jack forces open the balcony door, and she’s in.