Pavel, Filip, and Kuba never expected their first meeting to involve a police chase, a hacked tram system, and a mysterious briefcase. But sometimes, the best friendships are forged in chaos.
It all started on a gloomy autumn evening in Prague. Filip and Kuba, both students at FIT ČVUT, had spent the past week debugging an AI model that was supposed to optimize public transport schedules. Frustrated and exhausted, they decided to take a break, heading to a local gaming bar near I.P. Pavlova. Unbeknownst to them, their model had a small yet disastrous bug—one that would soon change their lives.
Meanwhile, Pavel, a cybersecurity enthusiast with a talent for ethical hacking, was on his way to the same bar. He had recently transferred to the Faculty of Informatics and Statistics at VŠE, eager to meet like-minded tech geeks. What he didn’t know was that fate had a much more exciting introduction planned for him.
As Filip and Kuba entered the bar, a news flash appeared on the TV above the counter: “Trams across Prague have been disrupted due to an unidentified software malfunction. Authorities suspect foul play.” Filip nearly choked on his drink. “Dude, that sounds like our AI project!” he whispered to Kuba. “We need to check the logs, now.”
They rushed outside, opening their laptops on a bench. The moment they accessed their cloud server, sirens echoed in the distance. “Shit,” muttered Kuba, “someone must have traced the bug back to us.”
Just as a police car turned the corner, Pavel, who had been observing their panic from nearby, instinctively grabbed their laptops, slammed them shut, and hissed, “Follow me if you don’t want to get arrested.”
Filip and Kuba exchanged looks but had no time to hesitate. They bolted after Pavel, who led them down a maze of alleys, through a backdoor of an old bookstore, and into a hidden basement filled with monitors, wires, and a half-eaten pizza. “Welcome to my lab,” he said, smirking. “Now, tell me why the hell the police are after you.”
After a rapid exchange of explanations, Pavel cracked his knuckles. “Alright, let me see your code. If you’re lucky, I can erase any trace leading back to you.”
As Pavel worked his magic, the news update blared: “Authorities are investigating a mysterious briefcase linked to the tram malfunction, found abandoned near the FIT ČVUT campus. It contains encrypted data files with unknown origins.”
Kuba’s face went pale. “Wait… wasn’t that the briefcase our professor left in the lab? The one with the top-secret research files?”
“Oh… oh no,” whispered Filip. “We are so screwed.”
Pavel grinned, the adrenaline kicking in. “Not necessarily. You two clearly know how to code, but you need someone who knows how to clean up messes. Lucky for you, I enjoy a challenge.”
And just like that, the trio was formed—bound by bad luck, talent, and a shared love for coding. What started as a night of catastrophe turned into the beginning of an unstoppable team. Because if their first encounter involved hacking, police, and a missing briefcase, who knew what their future adventures would bring?