Artemis Zlater was a smart kid. School smarts and early life smarts. He knew that he couldn't do whatever he wanted and get away with it. He knew there were levels you had to reach before starting to waver left and right. That's why he didn't disrespect his authority figures, didn't skip school, didn't do drugs. He had seen some of his friends over-indulge in their youthful kicks, dropping out, shooting up, and he knew that doing that would keep them from reaching the life they would have liked to live.

Some called him a nerd, some called him a suck-up and a loser, but the mouse knew what he was: doing the right thing. He graduated as fast as he could through high-school, college and technical school, teaching himself on the side. It helped he loved understanding how computers worked so much. Having a passion that didn't destroy you sure gave an edge. He knew what he needed. He needed to give himself a unique set of skills, that people would pick over any other person. Making himself valuable would give him the freedom he had kept himself from using all his life. This is what the other kids didn't understand. Their rebellion wasn't supported by anything worthwhile. No one wants to give a chance to someone who acts out and has nothing to offer.

Artemis took the job in the firm he wanted, among all the offers he had had. A small, up-and-coming software firm financed by large corporations, designing the code behind all the next generations of electronic gadgets. When he sat down in the comfy reclining chair on his first day, stared at the four monitors before him and perked his round ears to listen to the humming of the powerful set of processors, he knew he had finally reached his goal. He was set.

The first thing he did was buy all the skull accessories he fancied. He got his ears pierced, got himself a more comfortable wardrobe. He had his own office, and his boss didn't give a shit about dress code. Artemis quickly decorated his office the way he liked, and metamorphosed himself into a punkstar, finally letting his real self blossom through. This was exactly what he wanted. He was doing what he loved; he was getting paid highly for it; and he could do whatever the hell he wanted.

Of course, word got around about his talent, and one day, these two businessmen stepped into the office. Both were tall, strapping and highly intimidating. The rhino stayed in the background while the zebra stepped up, squeezing the mouse's narrow shoulder in his strong grip. "Mr Zlater... we had our eye on you for quite some time now. We're big fans of your... extracurricular activities, and we have one hell of a job for you"

Artemis had been doing some white hat hacking for a while now. He was part of a group called SCOPA and had done on and off work, shutting down fraudulous credit websites and the occasional CP shit. He had backed himself up a dozen times and was pretty certain he had covered all his tracks. Anyway, he told himself, if people were skilled enough to crack him, they would know there was better things to do with his skill than sell him to the feds.

"A single contract. Depending on how much you exceed our requirements, we'll get back in touch" The rhino groveled. The two studly businessmen seemed to know exactly what was Artemis's style. After toying a little with the piercing through his tongue, he looked in the zebra's eyes and said, "Hit me up".