Reality Bites

This was a sight new to Jane.

She had known her superior officer, Sgt. Marianna, for months now, and had admired - even respected and worshipped - her for her poise and ready-mindedness.

Jane was not used to watching Sgt. Marianna sweat, but she was sweating now. Surely it was the two criminals who were being handcuffed who should've been sweating, not the arresting officer?

"I will not remain silent," Code-name Charlie declared, attempting to shove the policeman who was hand-cuffing him.

"Nor shall I," his wife, Slippery Sally put in. "And by the time we're through, you lot will wish you'd never charged us with anything. Anything."

They spoke with so much conviction that Jane had to consider the possibility that maybe they were innocent. The hunt for them had gone on long enough, and no one knew for how long they'd actually been carrying out their nefarious activities. They had probably invented the crime they were involved in, and safeguards had been put in place very recently.

These two were professional hackers of reality TV show websites and computers. They could announce the names of the winners, they could find out quiz questions beforehand, they could tamper with the amount of votes received ... in short, they could alter anything on reality TV for money.

With the big bucks involved in reality TV these days, their clients ranged from grandparents hoping to 'win' a million to aspiring models making competitors' photos look warped.

Surprisingly for ones who were so slick, they'd been tracked thanks to an act of carelessness. Charlie had dropped a photocopy of their tariff card (yes they had one) at the pub they'd been entertaining their prospective clients. (A pair of sisters who wanted to look like twins for The Twinnie Tangle.)

Sgt. Marianna had been detailed to nab them on their next visit to the pub, and Jane and the team to assist her. The two had stared coldly at the team as they had walked to their table, refusing to stand until ordered to. Now, they were asserting their innocence confidently and clearly. All the other customers and staff were staring except the bartender, who never stopped mixing drinks, whatever else happened.

"Anything you say can and will be used ..."

"In my favour," the lady completed, coolly. "In my favour. You have the wrong people. You have no right to make such a scene and I'm going to sue for defamation of character."

Jane spoke for the first time. "Your fingerprints were found on ..."

"Prove it," the man snapped. "Prove they're mine. If this damn cop hadn't cuffed me, I would've held out my hand for you to take my prints."

"Anyway, you have to come with us," Sgt. Marianna said. "You can tell it to the judge."

"You'll have to pay our tab here, then, won't you?" Slippery Sally smiled. "Dear, I told you we should order the most expensive stuff, now it's courtesy the taxpayers, bless them."

They were out now, on the sidewalk, heading for the police cars. Two boys selling newspapers on the corner saw them, did a double take, dropped their wares and ran up.

"Miss Sally, Mister Charlie, what you doing out of there? We thought you'd be in there for an hour more yet."

"Yeah, we haven't had time to sell all those printouts you gave us."

"Printouts?" Sgt. Marianna asked. "What printouts?"

Jane ran to where the boys had been and gathered up the papers they'd dropped.

It didn't take much to get the boys to blurt that the Entertainment Page was fake, replaced by the couple with things they wanted the public to believe about a current events show to be aired that evening.

"I guess it's news to you that you're under arrest, and it isn't fake news either." Sgt. Marianna informed them.

"Just turn your better profile to any camera you come across," Jane added with a grin.