But Those Are MY Secrets! ((Semi-Open))
Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 1:15 am
((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."
"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."