Franklin pulled up to Lester’s nondescript house in Murrieta Heights, the faint hum of his car engine cutting through the quiet suburban street. As he killed the engine and stepped out, he adjusted his jacket, glancing around. The neighborhood always had this eerie, "too quiet" vibe, like something shady was brewing behind every door. Then again, that’s why Lester liked it here—off the grid, low profile. Franklin climbed the creaky wooden stairs and knocked on the door twice, waiting for the familiar sound of shuffling from inside.

The door opened with a groan, and Lester greeted him with his trademark sarcastic smirk. “Right on time. For once,” Lester quipped, stepping aside to let Franklin in. Franklin ignored the jab, his eyes immediately drawn to a figure sitting at a small desk in the cluttered living room, hunched over a laptop. The person was dressed in a loose hoodie that covered most of their face, the rest of it obscured by the glow of multiple monitors. Franklin raised an eyebrow.

“This the hacker?” Franklin asked, jerking his thumb toward the figure. The person didn’t look up, their fingers moving rapidly across the keyboard, the sound of typing blending with the hum of hard drives and fans. Lester nodded, limping over to his chair. “Yeah. Don’t bother asking their name. They don’t talk. At all. But trust me, they’re good.. enough. Hacked into the IAA’s database last month just for fun.”

Franklin crossed his arms, studying the figure, who briefly turned their head to glance at him. Their eyes were sharp, calculating, and silently appraising him. Franklin smirked, leaning against the wall. “Alright, cool. As long as they get us into that vault, I don’t care if they write me notes on sticky pads. Let’s get to it.”

The hacker gave a small nod and turned back to their screen, their fingers dancing across the keys as Lester leaned forward. “This one’s gonna be big, Franklin. Bigger than anything you’ve done before. You ready?” Franklin grinned, the prospect of another heist already lighting a fire in his chest. “Man, you know I’m always ready. Let’s hear it.”