by Alex Siegel
"That's crazy."
"It wasn't hard to find disgruntled employees," Min Ho said, "but Mr. Liu is particularly angry. He was once ten minutes late, and the company marked the whole day as a vacation. He's still at Soulfriends, but he's quietly looking for a new job."
Marina found Liu's phone number in the window full of information. She unclipped her phone from her belt and made the call.
"Hello?" a man answered in a Chinese accent.
"Jim Liu?" Marina said.
"Yes."
"I can't state my name or the nature of my business over the phone. This line isn't secure. I would like to meet you in two hours and make a business proposal."
"I'm at work," Liu said.
"It's a very lucrative proposal. Trust me. You'll be happy when you hear it. I'll only tell you it involves an exciting employment opportunity."
There was a pause. "I'm interested."
"Where do you want to meet?" Marina said.
"There is a burger place at the corner of Airport Parkway and First Street. How will I know you?"
"I'll know you." She hung up.
* * *
Marina, Hanley, and Ipo were sitting in the back corner of "Divine Burgers." The restaurant was obviously trying to elevate the humble hamburger to fine dining. The interior walls had dark wood paneling which created a subdued mood. The tables and chairs were made of lacquered oak. All the lights were inside little boxes made of brass and glass.
The restaurant didn't have much of a menu. Instead, customers went to a counter where "burger artisans" crafted hamburgers according to the diner's specifications. French fries and onion rings were also available, but there was no other food. In addition to the usual drinks, the restaurant offered a "classic" milk shake. It was a very focused culinary experience.
Marina was munching on a hamburger, and she had to admit it was delicious. The patty was as thick as a decent cut of steak. The lettuce and tomato slices were so crisp and fresh, she had to believe they had just come from the farm. A little horseradish tickled her nose.
Hanley and Ipo were also eating, and they seemed equally satisfied with their meals.
"When Aaron visits," Marina said, "I'll definitely bring him to this place."
"He's coming here?" Ipo said in a tone of surprise.
"That's the plan, and I'll go back to Chicago occasionally."
"How often?"
"Not very," she said. "A couple of days a month."
"Isn't it extremely unusual for commanders to travel like that?"
"Yes, and the legate told us she doesn't want to hear about it. She'll let it go as long as the trips don't interfere with our duties."
Ipo frowned.
"I love Aaron," she said, "and he loves me. We're not going to let our relationship die no matter what it takes. This team will just have to survive without me once in a while."
A short, Chinese man walked into the restaurant. Marina recognized him as Jim Liu from a picture she had seen. He was wearing a plaid shirt and khaki slacks. He had cut his hair so short, he looked like a monk.
She put down her hamburger, wiped her hands, and straightened her clothes. She and her legionnaires were wearing dark business suits. She was worried she had overdressed for the occasion because Silicon Valley fashion seemed to be extremely casual.
"Go get him," Marina told Hanley.
He stood up and walked over to Liu. After exchanging a few words, they returned to the table together and sat down.
"Who are you?" Liu said suspiciously. "What is this about?"
"I'll be blunt," Marina said. "We work for a competing social media company. This is about corporate espionage."
His eyes widened. "Oh."
Ipo picked up a briefcase off the floor. He placed it on the table in front of Liu and opened it up. It was full of gleaming gold bars, and each was stamped, "10 OUNCES FINE GOLD."
"Each of those is worth about eighteen thousand dollars," Marina said. "As you can see, we have plenty. Are you interested in doing business with us?"
Liu stared at the gold with his mouth open. "Yes."
"Take one."
He quickly snatched a bar and slipped it into his pocket.
Ipo closed the briefcase so nobody else would see the gold.
"Good," Marina said. "Now tell me the deep, dark secrets of Soulfriends. If I like what I hear, you'll get more gold."
"I suppose the deepest, darkest secret is the matching algorithm," Liu said.
"I've heard about that. It picks friends for users."
"I don't know how it works. None of the engineers at the company do."
"Strange," she said. "Who wrote the algorithm?"
He shrugged. "That's the big mystery, but whoever did it must be an absolute genius. The code runs on a computer that none of us have access to."
"A secret computer?"
"Yes." Liu nodded. "The corporate network has many internal firewalls. Employees can only get the information they need for their job. The matching computer is the most secure of all."
"Where is it?" Marina said.
"That's another good question. I suppose it could be anywhere in the building, but the most likely place is the red server room."
"What is that?"
"The regular server room is in the center of the building on the first floor," he said. "That's where we host the Soulfriends Network. A red door leads to a second room, and everybody assumes it has more computers. We don't know though. Nobody is allowed to go inside."
She shook her head. "Somebody must have access."
"I have no idea who that somebody is. The door is always locked, and there is a big warning sign on it. Just touching that door will get you fired."
"Interesting." Marina raised her eyebrows.
"The whole company is spooky. There are all kinds of crazy rules which change randomly. I hate working there. Did you know the president disappeared yesterday, and the CFO committed suicide?"
"I think I heard about that."
"Soulfriends is a dirty business," Liu said.
"Oh?"
"The system collects a lot of data about the users. We're talking about private, personal information. I don't know what the company intends to do with all that data, but it can't be good."
"Do you have a theory?" she said.
He shrugged. "No. The scary part is people give up this private information freely. They post their deepest secrets, and Soulfriends slurps it all up."
"Why don't you get the word out?"
"The company would sue the shit out of me. I had to sign a whole stack of NDA's when I was hired. If I'm caught saying anything publically, my life is over. Can I have more gold?"
Marina nodded. Ipo briefly opened the briefcase, and Liu grabbed another bar.
"So," she said, "a secret computer in a secret room running secret code is the heart of the operation, and you think we'll find it behind the red door."
"Yes," Liu said. "The rest of the software is boring, standard stuff. Anybody could write it. It's not even worth stealing."
"Who owns Soulfriends?" Marina said.
"No idea, but somebody is definitely in charge. New rules come down from above every day."
"William Terman is the president... or was."
Liu shook his head. "I've heard Terman speak, and he's an empty suit. The guy writing the rules is a hardcore engineer. You can tell by the way he puts sentences together: very precise and structured. He's always making tweaks. The same guy probably wrote the matching code."
"Where is he?"
Liu shrugged. "I wish I could tell you. I should head back. People will start to wonder where I went. Leaving the office in the middle of the day without the permission of a manager is against the rules."
Marina made a dismissive gesture with her hand. "Go on. We'll be in touch if we want to talk more. In the meantime, keep your eyes and ears open."
"Sure."
He hurried off.
After he was gone, she said, "G
entlemen, we have a specific objective: look behind the red door. If we find a computer, we'll take it home with us."
"We'll need a great cover story, ma'am," Ipo said.
Marina smiled. "I already have one in mind. We'll dress as Santa Clara County deputies again, and we'll go in with a search warrant. Our story will be we're investigating William Terman's disappearance. The security guards will have to let us through."
He raised his eyebrows. "Nice and straightforward. It could work."
"Don't we need a judge to issue a search warrant?" Hanley said.
Marina chuckled. "It's just paperwork. Min Ho can make one up, and he should be able to hack the county computers so it checks out. As long as we're going inside Soulfriends, we might as well check out a few other things, too. Let's finish our hamburgers and get moving."
* * *
Marina was sitting in the back seat of a Santa Clara County Sheriff patrol car. Ipo was driving and Hanley was riding shotgun. The vehicle was an SUV instead of a regular sedan, so Marina had plenty of space and didn't feel like she had been arrested.
The team had obtained the car by simply requisitioning it. Min Ho had gone into the county computers and had submitted all the appropriate forms, so picking it up from the sheriff's office had been no trouble. The interior was clean and in good condition. Marina intended to keep the car under the tent at headquarters in case she needed it in the future. The collection was growing nicely.
Ipo parked in the spacious lot of Soulfriends. It was still the middle of the work day, so the lot was nearly full of shiny cars. Plentiful trees broke up the sterility of the asphalt. Bushes and grass looked recently clipped, and there were no weeds.
This was the first time Marina had seen the Soulfriends building in person. The front was made of reflective, blue glass which formed a circular arc. The corporate sign showed two white hands clasped together against a black background with a halo of lights over the hands. How pretentious, she thought.
Everybody got out of the car. She took a moment to stretch, and her muscles were stiff from all the driving. She was already getting overly familiar with the highways in the Bay Area.
"Don't forget we might be entering enemy territory," Marina said. "Stay on your toes. Don't hesitate to shoot if you're threatened. A quick trigger finger is better than a slow one."
"Yes, ma'am," Ipo and Hanley responded.
She checked their disguises. All three of them were wearing the tan and green uniforms of the sheriff's department. The outfits still hadn't been cleaned from yesterday, but the sweat stains gave them authenticity. The team openly carried pistols in holsters like real cops, but other weapons were hidden under their clothes. Marina had a VBR-PWD stashed under her Kevlar vest, and the large gun was loaded with armor-piercing ammunition.
She also had the search warrant paperwork. Hanley was carrying a forensics kit.
"Let's go," she said.
Marina led her legionnaires to the front door and into the lobby. Four security guards in black uniforms sat behind a black desk.
She went straight to them and presented her paperwork. "We're here to investigate the disappearance of William Terman. We need to search his office and some other areas for clues. All the details are on the search warrant."
The guards examined her papers closely. Eventually, they called the chief security officer, and he arrived after a few minutes.
He was a big, tall man with a puffy, white face. He had a military-style crew cut, but a receding hairline made it look a little strange. He was wearing a black business suit with a white shirt and a black tie instead of a guard's uniform.
"I'm Mr. Dohman," he said.
Marina shook his hand. "I'm Deputy Reynolds. Glad to meet you. We'll start with Terman's office. Would you mind showing us where it is?"
Dohman frowned. "We already talked to the police this morning."
"And we're coming back for another look. Do you have a problem with us trying to discover the whereabouts of the president of your company?"
"Just keep in mind everything you see is proprietary and confidential."
"That's understood," Marina said. "Can we get started?"
Dohman's shoulders slumped in resignation. He ordered two regular guards to accompany them as the group walked through the building.
She looked around. Most of the rooms were very large and full of office cubicles. Employees were engaged in individual tasks in their personal cells. There was very little conversation or eye contact. The floors and cubicles were black, and the walls were white. The only color was from people's clothes, and even that was muted.
The environment struck Marina as very inhuman. She expected she would be homicidal by the end of her first day at work.
* * *
A chirping noise woke up Peter Hastings, a.k.a. Ice Crusher, and he opened his eyes groggily. He had been sleeping on the narrow bed in his secret chamber. He didn't work regular hours or sleep at regular times. For him, it was the middle of the night.
He stumbled over to his computer to see what the problem was. Audio alerts were always serious.
Three of his enemies, a woman and two men, were in the building. Peter had put their pictures into the facial recognition system. They were dressed as police officers, but such a thin disguise couldn't fool his software. He studied the surveillance video.
The woman had short, red hair and unusual green eyes. She looked strong and tough in her police uniform. Long, black fingernails came to sharp points at the tips.
One male intruder was huge and appeared to be Hawaiian. Peter had never seen beefier arms. The enemy's black hair was tied back in a little ponytail, and his round face revealed no emotion.
The third intruder was a more normal-sized man with short, black, curly hair. He had a fierce expression as if he were in the middle of a fight. He was lean and moved with aggressive energy. His right hand hovered near the handle of his gun.
Peter's heart beat faster. He watched the surveillance video closely.
* * *
Marina, Ipo, Hanley, Dohman, and two security guards went up an elevator and eventually reached Terman's office. Marina immediately recognized the same design style as his home in the mountains. All the surfaces were hard, shiny, smooth, and clean. His desk was made entirely of sheets of frosted glass held together by stainless steel clips. Curved, metal bars formed the chairs, and they had just a thin rubber pad for comfort. The office had glass walls on two sides with nice views of the surrounding neighborhood. There were no books or papers anywhere. The environment was so sterile, it was hard to believe anybody actually worked here.
The Spears immediately began to search the room. It was partly for show, but there was a possibility of finding something interesting, so they took the search seriously. Marina focused her attention on the desk. She went through the drawers one at a time and discovered they were almost empty. Terman just had a baseball glove, a box of pens, scissors, and a yellow highlighter. She couldn't find a single piece of paper, not even a sticky note.
After a while, Marina grew impatient. "Nothing here," she said. "Let's move on. The security control room is next."
"What do you expect to find there?" Dohman said.
"I don't know. It's on the list."
"The CEO never went there."
"We didn't write the search warrant," she said in a tone of annoyance. "We're just executing it. The warrant clearly states the security control room must be investigated, so that's where we're going."
He rolled his eyes. "Follow me."
The group took the elevator back down to the first floor. As they travelled through the large building, Marina peeked through open doorways into private offices. The people inside didn't look any happier than the ones slaving in the cubicles. The black and white theme persisted with relentless monotony, and she wondered if Ice Crusher had chosen it. If so, it told her something about his personality.
Dohman used his badge to get through a locked door, and the group ente
red the security room. Surveillance monitors covered an entire wall. Four guards had separate stations, and each station had additional monitors. The guards could switch surveillance feeds using a computer interface. It looked like a setup suitable for a Las Vegas casino. Cameras were located throughout the interior of the building and the surrounding parking lot.
Marina was impressed. She was reminded that her own headquarters needed similar security, and that project was behind schedule.
"Satisfied?" Dohman said.
She made a show of looking around, and then said, "Sure. Our next stop is the server room."
"Why the hell do we need to go there?"
"It's on the list." She shrugged.
"Who wrote this damn list? I don't see how the server room has any bearing on the disappearance of Mr. Terman."
Marina gave Dohman a stern look. "Just show us the way. This is official police business. It's not your job to tell us what we should look at."
He gritted his teeth. "Come on."
The group continued its tour of the building. Eventually, they arrived at a large window, and Marina could see the server room beyond. It was packed with computers from floor to ceiling. Racks held them in neat, precise stacks. Blue network cables ran up to the ceiling and formed bundles two feet thick. She could hear the fan noise through the glass.
The window was thick and reinforced with wire. She didn't think it was bulletproof, but it had definitely been chosen with security in mind. The wall was made of painted concrete.
Dohman swiped his company badge across a sensor and typed in a code. Marina surreptitiously observed and memorized the combination. He pulled open a thick, metal door using two hands.
The group followed him inside. There was so much fan noise from the machines, it was like standing in a hurricane. Chilly air made Marina shiver.
"Go ahead and look around," Dohman said. "Just don't touch anything. This is the Soulfriends Network."
She quickly spotted the infamous red door. Bold, black letters read, "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY - KEEP OUT." The door was made of metal and had hinges thick enough for a safe. Six bolts held the door in place on all sides. It had its own badge sensor and keypad.
"What's in there?" Marina pointed at the red door.