MF1.0 - 18 - Computers

Jones opened the door to his lab and let them in. He noted Ryan’s awkwardness at once, but assumed that since the girl wasn’t in handcuffs, that all was well.

He hefted the evidence box from a side bench and brought it over to the main table. Inside were several laptops, along with numerous data devices and phones. A typical haul when it came to investigating a Solstice set up.

The technology was undamaged – no more so than when it had been collecting – as a couple of the laptops were no longer functional – bullets through the screen tended to put a dent in function. Still, the thought of it simply thrown in a box – as the clean up crew were not particularly gentle – made his stomach turn.

He hadn’t had a chance to sift through this lot yet, the clean up crew had deposited them there barely two minutes before. There would be more, there was always more – from what had been described to him, it didn’t sound like a one-box day, it sounded like at least three.

The girl looked up at him, then back to Ryan, then threw her hands into the box and retrieved her laptop, staring in disdain at the others. ‘Guess I should be glad you’re a good shot,’ she muttered to Ryan. She opened it and he noted a happy smile when it beeped. ‘So what do you need?’

He stepped forward. ‘Could you show me the data you were working with?’

She nodded and spun the laptop in his direction. The code was as he had expected, but the manipulation of it wasn’t. He pressed a few keys, and looked at a few different sections of the code.

It looked suspiciously skilled. Beginners rarely got this much right on their first try. If they did, it would make teaching his recruits a lot easier.

He looked up. ‘What were you attempting to do?’

‘Find the right castle.’

By themselves, the words made sense, he even had a fair idea of the reference she was making. If it was a reference. It could be that she spoke in riddles, as a psychological defect or such. Occasionally, there were recruits like that.

They never lasted.

She crinkled her nose and pulled the laptop back across the table. ‘I’ve got to hit two more keys, then it’ll be finished compiling. I’m not exactly sure what it’s going to compile into, it could be nothing, it could be the meaning of life, or a bowl of petunias.’

He was beginning to understand Ryan’s posture and bemused expression.

‘Go ahead.’ Even if something did happen, this was the best place in the Agency for it to happen. The room was completely sealed, and had more sensor equipment than even he could recall hidden away in the walls.

She took a deep breath, then spun on her chair to look at Ryan. ‘You’re still not going to shoot me?’

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">Ryan looked over at him, asking for an analysis. He shook his head up and held up a single finger. One strike.

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">‘Go ahead,’ Ryan said to the potential recruit.

<p style="color:rgb(189,190,190);font-family:Verdana,'CenturyGothic',Tahoma,sans-serif;line-height:normal;">He shook his head as she showily pressed two keys.