He entered the greenhouse and pushed through his jungle. As he made his way towards his desk, he strained to see if Asherah was there. He had some questions for her and it was time for answers that made sense. But he was distracted and in a hurry. Perhaps he’d have to address that issue later.
While pushing through the last fronds of his palms, he noticed someone standing in front of his laptop looking at it. At first he thought it was Asherah, but the shape was wrong. It was a man. "Hello?" Steven wondered if one of the guests had gone in there and was playing with his laptop. Not that he could do much. He kept his secret network hidden and his programs were cryptic enough that only he knew how to use them. He did have regular wireless access on the laptop, but that was usually turned off and unused nowadays. With no games or silly gimmicks on there, most people would find his laptop pretty boring.
The man looked over his shoulder, then turned around and smiled. "Hi!" He pointed to the laptop. "Is this yours?"
"Yes." Steven walked up and looked at the laptop. The man hadn't changed anything, however, and Steven breathed a sigh of relief. Usually guests stayed out of the greenhouse. It was warm and sticky in there and they preferred the cool patio. At least until winter comes. Steven may have to relocate the laptop then. But now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. "I'm sorry, but I'm in a real hurry," Steven said.
"I think that's amazing. I've never seen anything like that before!" The man gushed as he got out of Steven's way. "And believe you me, I know computers."
Steven looked at him. "Really?"
The man nodded and held out a hand. "Jacob Bradly."
Steven shook it and mumbled his name as he looked back at his laptop. He needed to get to work right away so he started accessing the scanner. Steven was able to find its network easily enough. Now to identify the network it was using and hack into their software. "Wow, you're really good at that!" He looked over Steven's shoulder as Steven worked feverishly, trying to ignore the distraction until he was safe.
"I've taken a few classes," Steven said, trying to avoid more questions.
"More than a few. I think you've got a lot of untapped potential there, Steven," Jacob said as he watched Steven break into his network and redirect his satellites. "It's absolutely amazing watching you work."
Steven grinned. He had never looked at what he did from anyone else's perspective and to him it was like breathing air. Nothing special. He couldn't find his active signal, but found his history. He took that and copied it into the system as active. A few more keystrokes and he stood there waiting. He watched as his signal was duplicated thousands of times over the continental USA. He then excluded his actual location from that list and sat back. Let them chew on that. Later on he would start playing with that to lead them where he wanted them to go and he would start to have some fun with these morons.
"Wow. Just wow. I can't believe how easy it was for you to do that," Jacob was beside himself. "You know, I do a little hacking too, but I've never seen anything like that before."
Steven turned around an looked at him. He was grinning widely and shaking his head, clearly in admiration. "You know," Jacob continued, "...there was this one time when someone even trapped me in a sandbox. Pulled me into a honeypot and clamped it down on me. Can you believe that? That guy was a complete ghost."
Steven frowned. That sounded familiar. Jacob patted him on the shoulder. "But I sure am happy to finally meet you in person. You have got to be the number one hero on my list."
"What?" Steven was confused now. Had they crossed paths before? Then it dawned on him. He did trap someone in a honey pot and sandboxed him in as he evaded being tracked. That was long ago, however. "Uhm, I think you have me confused with someone else." Steven started edging for the door.
"No way, Steven. You are a legend. You just don't know it because you're always cooped up in your hole." Jacob laughed as he followed Steven out. "But then, aren't we all?"
"A legend to who?" Steven asked over his shoulder as he reached the door.
"Well, I belong to a group of people who are really geeky. You have no idea just how famous you are. Like a cult hero." Jacob walked up beside him. "I can say for a fact that I am your biggest fan."
Steven felt uncomfortable with all of the attention and looked around. His friends and their friends were still sitting over in a corner with their backs to him. Brandon sat looking down at his knees. He wanted to go console Brandon, but now there was this obnoxious guy hanging all over him. Maybe he was drunk. "Look, I don't know who you are and I really need to get to my friends."
"Oh, I understand perfectly. Really, I'm not trying to creep you out or anything." Jacob held up his hands as Steven walked toward his friends. The man followed a few steps behind him. Steven almost tripped over his pile of wood and new raised beds and the nail gun he was using. Someone had moved the pile while he was gone. He was distracted by the man behind him and looked over his shoulder at him. Steven was starting to get a bit creeped out. He was going to have to have a discussion with the guys about who they let up here on the roof.
As he got closer he frowned even more. They had not turned around or looked up to greet him. "Hey guys. What's up?" Steven walked over then noticed something that alarmed him. All of them were zip tied to their chairs. Stopping, he looked around at Jacob who was wearing a huge smile. "What is this?" Steven backed up a little, his eyes darting around into the shadows. A half dozen agents seemed to materialize from the various places they had sequestered themselves in and Steven's alarm level went to the roof.
"Really, did you think it was going to be that easy?" Jacob said. He walked past Steven and sat down next to Brandon, putting his arm on the back of the seat that Brandon sat on. Steven looked at Sarah and Charley then with a gut wrenching realization recognized the other two. "Sally! Jonah!" He yelled involuntarily. They both didn't move, staring at the ground.
"Don't mind them. They aren't ignoring you but we've kinda told them not to move or make eye contact or say anything." Jacob leaned forward, "I think it would kill the mood and ruin the moment. Don't you think?"
Steven suddenly felt sick as he backed up, shaking his head. Sally was crying, trying hard not to sob out loud and Sarah was biting her lip, trembling in fear. "This isn't happening."
"Oh yes it is," Jacob said. "Did you expect any different?" He leaned back again then got retrospective. "But perhaps you did." He shook his head. "I really have to apologize for Laurence. He's got a big heart and is really motivated, but he's like a tornado in a China shop. He really is."
Steven looked around, trying to find any way out. The agents stood at their posts silently and all were heavily armed. The elevator was well guarded, as was the fire escape. Those were the only two ways out. And even if he left, what about his family and friends?
"Now me, I'm a big believer in working smarter and not harder." Jacob was clearly enjoying himself. "I think you agree, don't you? I've seen your garden beds here and they are genius. Almost self maintaining. Why work hard when you don't have to?"
Steven's heart was racing, trying to find a way out but coming up blank. No matter what he thought of, he didn't see any way where his family and friends made it out unscathed.
"Now, we are very interested in you, Steven. It doesn't have to be hard, you know. We do appreciate and reward cooperation." Jacob squeezed Brandon's shoulder and looked at him. "Your friends and parents would definitely appreciate your cooperation. Wouldn't you?" he asked Brandon. Brandon didn't respond but glowered. Jacob mussed his hair and stood up.
"Why? I am no one," Steven asked, desperation and foreboding filling him to the core.
"I disagree. You have accessed alien technology and we are intensely interested in that. I think we can help each other out a lot." Jacob said as he crossed his arms, looking at Steven.
"Aliens? This is still about... aliens? Are you guys nuts?" Steven was incredulous. He thought it was just Laurence for the most part. But now this Jacob fellow was also spout
ing that lunacy.
"Oh, I'm sure we're all pretty nuts, Steven. My mother even had me tested. But I'm sure once I get you back to our base you'll see things differently. Area 51 doesn't hold a candle to what we've uncovered, my friend." Jacob grinned.
Steven began to get furious. "You have tormented me, chased me across town, killed people, killed my friends, destroyed their homes and all that because of... aliens?" he asked, yelling.
Jacob thought for a second. "Mmm, yep. That about sums it up."
Steven shook his head. How do you reason with people like that? He was completely spent. Looking down, he saw his nail gun. Gritting his teeth he picked it up and put it to his temple and looked at Jacob. "If I am so valuable to you that you would go through all this effort, then I'm sure you'll appreciate this. My family, my friends, they go free or I die right here and now. Do you understand?" Steven looked at Jacob as he moved over to the ledge and stepped up on it. No one was going to sneak up and tackle him there.
Sally screamed and sobbed then bit her lip as she tried to hold it in. She looked at Steven and he started crying, too. He had no other way of bargaining. There was simply nothing else he could do. He was the prize. The only thing they valued. What they were willing to kill and cause wanton destruction to get. That was his only bargaining chip left.
He felt Asherah in him and amazingly she wasn't yelling at him like she usually was when he was in danger. She was resigned to whatever Steven did and he felt a flood of melancholy wash over him. "I love you, Steven. We will go together," Asherah whispered softly. He could feel her pain and yet now he felt her relief. Shaking his head, he refocused his attention on Jacob, blinking away the tears.
Jacob was silent for a long while giving Steven a calculating stare. "You know, Steven. I believe you. You never cease to surprise me. But yes, you really are very important to us."
An agent walked over to his friends and family and pulled out a pair of wire cutters and cut their zip ties. Jacob watched them as they huddled together in the corner holding each other. He turned to Steven and held out his hands. "See? I'm not unreasonable. We're not interested in them. Just you. It's always been you, Steven."
Steven was gasping, holding back his tears as he put his nail gun down. "I want you to know right here and right now. If I get a hint that they are even remotely being threatened, it's over. I'm done."
Jacob nodded. "Your friends will be okay, Steven. That was the original deal from the minute you walked out of the elevator. You have my word." He walked up to Steven and held his hand out toward the elevator. Steven stood there looking at his friends and family. His heart broke that he may never see them again, but he tentatively thrilled that he had hopefully somehow purchased their safety. He glared at Jacob and started toward the elevator.
The elevator door opened and a handful of men walked out carrying briefcases and toolboxes. Some of them went to the greenhouse and the others walked over to Steven's apartment. "What are they doing?" Steven asked stopping as he approached the elevator.
"Don't mind them, Steven. They're just here to gather up your belongings. You'll be living with us for a while and I'm sure you won't mind having your stuff, right? Especially that remarkable computer of yours," Jacob said amicably.
Steven looked him in the eye for a moment then turned and walked toward the elevator again. The agent guarding it stepped to the side then followed him in. Jacob nodded to the other agents then got in and the door closed. Steven fumed and felt utterly defeated.
Jonah held Sally tightly as she sobbed. He kept her from running to Steven, knowing that these guys were still a threat to all of them. Charley likewise embraced Sarah and they looked at each other. Their situation was still precarious. Jonah knew better than the rest. Cutting their zip ties did not free them. It just gave the illusion so they could capture their target and leave. But he was already captured the instant he stepped out of the elevator.
One of the agents took up station nearby, watching them. The others fanned out, digging through the beds looking for anything Steven may have hidden, and several went into Steven's apartment. Sally flinched as an agent walked near her and started pulling the pile of wood boards apart to see if anything was under them. She looked up at what they were doing and then at Jonah who looked back at her. Sally suspected the same thing Jonah did and she put her head on his chest while he stood there watching the hubbub around him.
"You're not going to let us go, are you," Jonah asked the agent. He looked at him expressionless for a moment then shook his head slowly.
"Why?" Sally asked.
"Loose ends, ma'am," he answered frankly, but politely.
Sally just looked at him, her mouth open.
"If it's any consolation, you won't feel a thing." The agent actually sounded sympathetic.
"What are you waiting for?" Charley asked, embracing Sarah.
"The cleanup crew needs to complete their task so we are certain you are no longer needed, sir," the agent answered curtly.
Sally shook her head. "You're acting as if you're building a birdhouse or something. We are people and you are just going to kill us?"
"Yes, ma'am." The agent gave no indication of emotion and remained firm in his resolution to complete his orders.
"But you could let us go. We are no threat to you or your organization," Sarah pleaded.
"You are not a threat today, but could be tomorrow. We don't leave loose ends," the agent said, as if trying to mollify her. Sally was appalled at just how impersonal the agent was about it, as if he was fixing a sandwich.
"Do you know just how ridiculous that sounds?" Sally was getting angry and Jonah restrained her, pulling her back. "You guys waltz in like you own the place and give and take whatever lives you choose as if you're all that. But you're not! We know people who would hand you your butt on a napkin!" she screamed at him, almost breaking free of Jonah's grasp. She sank down, sobbing, crying for Steven and for them all.
The agent looked at her impassively and held his ground, maintaining guard on them.
The laptop was definitely a curiosity. The technical analysts examined it as it sat on the desk. They decided it would be prudent to gather its information before moving it or turning it off, just in case it had any fail safes built in that would brick it.
"Create a VPN to base and lets get this copied over," Ned instructed the other technician as he opened his bag of computer tools. "I'll ghost the hard disk." He pulled out an external hard disk and plugged it into the laptop.
"This system is completely whack, Ned. I don't see where to connect it to the network." Mark said as he examined the menu options.
"There, try that." Ned pointed to something that looked like a list of networks. Mark pulled it up and saw an extensive list of nearby wireless networks. Most of them were unsecured.
"Wow. That's impressive," Mark exclaimed. He chose one and established a connection then got down to setting up a virtual private network with their systems back at base. "The kid designed all of this?"
"They say he did. Look at this. Carbon fiber, metal frame. I bet it's water resistant. Look at that rubber o-ring around the base. And wow, this thing rocks." Ned was surprised at how fast it was copying files over. He'd never seen any wireless network accomplish the copy so fast. "We may as well be tapped in on a hard line. Look at the bandwidth this laptop has opened up!"
"I can't wait to get this back home and crack into it. If it's anything like his little flashdrives, I'm sure we're going to learn a few things," Mark said, restraining his drool.
"Lohet!" Sirel yelled. She was jumping up and down like a little girl. "Look, look, look!"
Lohet rushed out of the bedroom to see what Sirel was so excited about. She stood back, still jumping up and down. What the little floating screen displayed was unmistakable. Lohet passed his hands over the screen and the virtual screen expanded in the air before them so they could all see better. Sirel was squealing. "We found him! We found him!"
Penipe rushed o
ut, startled by all of the racket. Migalo came in from the porch, picking fur from his teeth with a shard of bone from his latest meal. Penipe frowned at him as he spit the fur to the side, but she returned her attention to Sirel who was now rolling on the ceiling in extreme delight. She got on all fours on the ceiling, looking at Penipe while upside down. "We found him, Penny!"
"What?" Penipe walked over to Lohet who was narrowing down the location.
"It would seem that he has accessed the regular network and now we are triangulating on his laptop," Lohet said, concentrating.
Sirel floated down and landed on his shoulders. "There." The triangulation wasn't done but she instinctively knew what it was going to find. True enough, as their software closed in around the laptop, its center was squarely in an apartment high-rise.
"What floor?" Penipe asked. The triangulation was still working that out. The laptop was accessing a wireless network in a neighboring building but they were able to ascertain signal strength and use other wireless devices in the area to capture the signal and further refine the triangulation.
"Roof," Lohet said. He wasn't surprised that Steven would have chosen somewhere high. He was a tree loving person after all. He shut the computer's display down and handed the brass tube to Penipe who put it in her belt and followed Lohet outside and Migalo and Sirel joined them there.
Sirel smiled broadly, and held out her hands. "Shall we go?"
All three grabbed Sirel's hands and in an instant they were high above Seattle, rocketing toward a highrise and a major step closer to finding Steven.
"We're done here!" Ned called out to the agents.
Crow - The Awakening Page 57