The Hidden Enemy

It wasn't particularly hard to do it.  All you have to be is patient.  Most of the time, they come to you seeking your open gates, revealing all the treasures within your walls to ally and enemy alike.  I don't exactly remember the first time I did it, or if what I did was a complete accident, but I remember the day I became a millionaire overnight.  All it took was an address, somewhere so random from my own location that I had no connection to it whatsoever. Next is the bait, you. You walk right into the pack of wolves of the world, spotless and pure white, with no shepherd to protect or guide you.  You wait until you hear the growls and howls.  Wait until they have your scent. After that, you walk them slowly back into the pen, knowing that they'll follow.

"What a fool", they'll think, "Look how free they are!  They must feel so safe".  That's okay because, for the most part, they're not wrong.  I'm blind to the fangs and the scent of blood surrounding me.  What am I going to do if they decide to prey on me?  I never know who my enemy is, really.  I just know that it's me they want.  I leave all the money I own in a bank account I manage with a smartphone, easily accessible with the correct swipes of my thumb. Boom. You have all-access to what you came for.  Golden coins from the princess herself.  The thing is that I would never expect or suspect another person to be a wolf among us, so I never feel the fear you would expect one to feel should they find themselves in the company of such intelligent creatures. If you don't feel fear, you can't show it.  If you don't know fear, or more specifically what or whom to fear, you can't feel fear.  Sounds pretty simple, right?

I believe my favorite part is the negotiation part. As soon as the bait's taken, I know.  Whether they let me know by having an undetermined amount of money removed from my account, or I receive a chime on my device alerting me of use of my IP address, I get a surge of adrenaline through my heart.  That's when I play the music. Everything I do is out in the open.  Part of me feels like they aren't listening; get the money and get out, covering your tracks, etcetera.  But I do it anyway. Every song I play comes from an open-source, accessible to anyone who wants to know.  I make playlists, I type a journal entry, and I leave more than two devices running on the same profile if it allows me.  I like being in as many places as technology allows.  I never bounce my IP anywhere or try to disappear.  I'm exactly where I want to be. More importantly, so are they.  I tell them all the same thing: I see you.  I know you're here, or were here, or still here.  I watched you do what you did and run off like a master thief.  I try to tell you that I'm looking at you, right now.  Don't turn around.  You won't see me.

Yes, I'm talking to you. Of course, you don't know me, how could you? All you did was tap into my phone less than forty-eight hours ago. Remember? I was walking