Caught by the Fortune Cookie

Anne was staring at the door of her living room in anticipation while exchanging pleasantries with a nice elderly couple from next door. To most people in her neighbourhood, she was just a normal woman in her thirties. She had moved into the neighbourhood five months back after her divorce and was an amiable woman. Her friendly and outgoing personality helped her make a lot of friends in the neighbourhood. As the Christmas season arrived, Anne had invited all her neighbours to a cookie exchange at her house. But the cookie exchange was just a disguise, a means to the end. Her motives were completely different.

What the people in her neighbourhood didn’t know was that Anne was an undercover cop investigating the case of a hacker who had infiltrated their system and had sensitive information in his possession. After a long and painstaking investigation, their team of detectives pinpointed that particular neighbourhood as the location of the hacker. But catching a hacker was never a straightforward task. He, or she, could be anyone. That is when Anne had to go undercover and build relationships with the people in the neighbourhood. This would help her gain the trust of people, and eventually, she might get some information regarding the mysterious hacker.

The air was filled with the aroma of fresh-baked cookies and the merry chatter of people. Everyone was having a great time, except Anne. Though she kept up a cheerful mask, her pleasant exterior belied her impatience. She was waiting for Matt, a famous private investigator with whom she had grown particularly close. Matt was quite famous around the neighbourhood for his witty sense of humour and easy-going personality, but underneath that, he was extremely observant. It was rare for any detail to miss his watchful eyes. Anne hoped that his instinctive intellect could do what she could not.

While everyone was busy exchanging their cookies and gossiping, her entire attention had been diverted towards the front door. Every time some would open the door to enter the house, she would turn her head to peek at the new guest, hoping that it would be Matt. Anne was feeling unusually jittery, for the information he was about to bring was sensitive and very important. Her paranoia had taken over, and she grew more and more anxious.

Anne’s living room was spacious and beautifully furnished. The wooden flooring, the fireplace and the wall to wall bookshelves gave it a rustic and welcoming aura. There was a long table set in the adjoining dining room, where everyone would place their cookies.

“Oh! your house is just lovely. Did you get a new sofa set?” Maria who lived two blocks away from her house tried to start a conversation with her while her 16-year-old son sat in a corner, looking extremely bored.

Yes, she replied in a hurried tone, still unable to hold any conversation with others, but quickly correcting herself she added a small thank you as well. After what felt like years, Matt finally arrived at the party. Completely ignoring Anne, he went straight to the table and picked up a chocolate chip cookie. From the corner of her eye, she saw him moving towards a large flower vase and discretely drop something inside. After his work was done, he went on to interact with everyone else as usual.

Anne sighed in relief. So he did get some information. That was good, right? Now all she had to do was wait till the cookie exchange ended and then she would have the identity of the hacker. And yet more anxious thoughts were rising in her mind. Talking a long, calming breath, she resolved to ignore them and enjoy the party. After all, finding the clue would mean the end of her undercover mission, and in time to go back home and enjoy Christmas with her own family. She went ahead and joined the ongoing conversation about random things, the gifts they were going to buy and the decorations that they had put up.

After the farewells were over, and the party had ended, she was finally alone at home. Anne went and closed all the blinds in her house and locked the doors properly. After checking everything a second time, she rushed towards the vase and emptied the contents on the floor. Among the water and scattered flowers was a fortune cookie that Matt had dropped inside. She picked it up and was about to crack it open when suddenly she saw a black figure running towards her. She immediately ducked and blocked her attacker, then rolled her body to stand facing him. The attacker had a short build and was covered completely in black clothing. She couldn’t make out the gender of the person. But looking at the way he (or she) was standing, she could make out that whoever this person was, had little experience in fighting. Anne could see the jittery hands of the attacker held before him in a fighting pose. Clearly, this was an impromptu decision rather than a well-developed plan. Anne had the advantage here, though she did not want that idea to get to her head. She started speaking in a slow, calm voice, trying to settle the issue without any actual fighting,

“Are you the hacker?”

She had already made this assumption in the back of her head, and the sudden alertness in the attacker’s body on hearing the question proved that she was right. The hacker had come to her himself, now she just had to see who it was.

“It’s okay, we don’t have to fight. We can do this the easy way. Just stand down.” She said, her body still in a defensive stance. But the hacker wasn’t willing to give up so easily. She launched himself towards her with all his force and collided with Anne. She felt her breath leaving her body for a split second, but quickly regaining her footing, she tackled the hacker and pinned him to the floor. A task easier said than done, for he was flailing his hands in the air like a fish. After a lot of effort, she pinned his hands under her feet as well and pulled the mask off his face.

“Maria?” she gasped in surprise. So it wasn’t a ‘him’ after all.