But Those Are MY Secrets! ((Semi-Open))

[Vesper Fiend]

((Semi-Open: Please see this thread for more information))

"How bad is it, Carl?" The man boasted an impeccably pressed suit as if he had stepped from the pages of GQ. He had short, neatly trimmed sandy hair, a dazzling smile, and a shine to his shoes that could be used to signal passing airplanes. His left hand held an open manila folder before him as he reviewed its contents.

Carl ran a wrinkled handkerchief along his receding hairline, before stuffing it into a back pocket. He was slim, with baggy clothes and unkempt graying hair. His sneakers seemed out of place beneath his dress slacks, his tie was pulled loose, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbow. His clothes bore the wrinkles of having been slept in. He was perspiring slightly despite the chilled air in the room. "It's not good. Somebody got past our security and gained access to the files of several registered heroes."

The two men stood apart from the others in the room, their conversation obscured by the whir of fans. In the lower level of the Freedom Corps headquarters in Galaxy City, the room was filled with racks of electronic equipment and alive with the blinking of a multitude of activity lights. Several men in business attire sat or stood around access terminals reviewing data, perusing logs, and trying to make sense of the inconceivable conclusion before them.

"How did they do it?"

"We don't know yet, Jonah. They covered their tracks pretty well, but we're working on it."

A brief flash of irritation flashed across Jonah's face as he considered the implications. "Put everyone you have on it. No one rests until we recover the data and find out where it went and how it got out of here."

"Understood." Carl nodded, and fumbled for his handkerchief before wiping the left side of his face.

Jonah turned to leave, but then paused. "Carl? The encryption was intact, yes?"

"Absolutely! If they try to open those files, they'll send an alert back to us. Hopefully we'll be able to track it to their location."

"Alert me immediately if that happens. Do you have idea why the theft was focused on these individuals."

Carl shook his head. "None at all."

********************

Jonah looked around the conference room at the heroes that had been called before him. Most of them were kids. In fact, he considered as he made a second sweep, all of them were kids. Still, they had distinguished themselves admirably for their ages, and they had a stake in this.

"You've been summoned here, because there has been an unprecedented theft of information from the Freedom Corp records. As you might know, we keep loose tabs on most of the city's registered heroes. Those files have been accessed and some of them have been stolen. The files are encrypted, so there is a period of safety before which any data will be accessible. We don't know how long that window will last. Any attempt to open them triggers an alert that will be sent here if the computer that is trying to access them is connected to the Internet. Just before I contacted you, we received such transmissions from two different locations, so the clock is now ticking."

"The files that have been compromised… are yours." Jonah paused and glanced around the room again, letting the implication sink in. "Since you have a vested interest in seeing those files recovered, we're giving you first crack at finding them. You will need to split into two teams, and one team will check out each location. Each team will be assigned a contact that will help coordinate your efforts with ours. Good luck."

[Storm Scream]

"The files that have been compromised… are yours."

Up until that point, Jessica had been leaning against the back wall, her arms crossed. Kierin was standing next to her, equally annoyed. Up until that point, both had no idea why Freedom Corps had called in two people from Vanguard for a mission briefing, even if they were just cadets. She had been listening, regardless, more just out of disbelief that they had lost some files and thought that this group of kids would even care. But when Jonah paused, watching for their reactions, she had stood straight up, her mouth open in shock.

The man continued. "Since you have a vested interest in seeing those files recovered, we're giving you first crack at finding them. You will need to split into two teams, and one team will check out each location. Each team will be assigned a contact that will help coordinate your efforts with ours. Good luck."

Jessica turned to Kierin and tapped her elbow. Kierin nodded. Then, she turned around when her shoulder was tapped. It was Kalie.

"Hey, I want you with me."

Jessica raised an eyebrow. "Umm...ok. Who put you in charge of a team, though?"

Kalie pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. "I've got one of the higher security levels. And besides, " she added, with a smile, "I'm not Vanguard."

Jessica rolled her eyes. The distrust between Vanguard and Freedom Corps. DID go both ways, apparently. "Allright...but Kierin's with us too, k?"

Kalie looked at the other white-haired girl behind Jessica and shook her head. "They want her going on the other team...Sorry, Jessiy." Then she turned back around and started pulling people who were still without a team toward her. Kierin looked at Jessica and sighed, then with a shrug walked over to the right side of the room.

Slowly, the room was divided. Jessica looked at her teammates who had gathered on the left side of the room.

Kalie was closest to her, forward from the rest of the team to receive more instructions from the man Jonah. Diego and Kelly were together, whispering to each other, Kelly no doubt trying to explain the full implications of a breach like this to the Spaniard. Diego had his full attention on the red-haired girl in front of him, but his eyes darted every now and again to a girl on the other side of Jessica: Ayima. Jessica sighed...it would be "interesting," to say the least, seeing these two trying to work TOGETHER. Then, there was Ty and Dimitri, talking with a new student Jessica had seen maybe once or twice, in passing and in the halls. Cody...that's right.

Kalie turned to team, handing each of them Freedom Corps. navigation units. "These will display the coordinates where an alert is triggered by someone trying to access our files."

Jessica looked at the navigator in her hand. A red dot glowed on the map.

Cody noticed the dot too. "Looks like we've got a hit."

Kalie looked at her navigator and shook her head. "That’s our contact…she’s waiting for us. Let's move out, guys. Go change into whatever...we'll meet there in 10 minutes." Kalie looked to see if anyone had any questions. When no one said anything, she gave a thumbs up and a small smile.

"Let's kick some tail!"

[El Nuevo Diestro]

His team moved mostly individually towards their first task, and the cold calm of combat washed over Diego. The presence of Kelly only enhanced the effect; it felt....right, having her by him, sword and bow, working in tandem.

Unfortunately, the normal quiet that washed over the voices when focused on a mission was absent. This time, they felt there was plenty to say, and they were going to say it.
"The implications could be disastrous" "There are enough clues to lead to greater discovery" "A knowledgeable enemy could take you apart at your current level of skill" "A veritable catastrophe" "Your grouping must succeed" "You must succeed" "You must excell" "Prove you are worthy. Go. Fight."