Joseph Lin
Yoh-Lin Tee should be desk bound. But they're short on operatives so he's back on the field working as a Computer Tech in the university's server room. "I have control," he informed Spike the minute he logged on as Joseph Lin, "just like in the movies."
The two enjoyed an easy friendship not bound by decorum or falsities; bound only by mutual trust and many similarities. Mostly, they bantered and played the movie version of spies. The good thing about these two guys was that they didn't take themselves seriously but when push comes to shove they'd be the guys you'd want to have your back.
Sometimes it worried the powers that be that Yoh-Lin had so much free time in his hands, "he seemed too relaxed". Most agents looked stressed out or fatigued, not so this guy, once he came to a "meeting" dressed like Charlie Chaplin. But his place at CSIS has been cemented long ago with an excellent track record. When he was just a young recruit, his immediate superior said in his defence, "It's all about results" when Human Resources challenged why Yoh-Lin didn't obey protocols as "outlined in the manuals" or why he didn't even follow the dress code.
As a proby, he was once called to the Division Head's Office for a severe dressing down, after an exasperating five minute of rant, Yoh-Lin said, "Boss, your face puffs up like a balloon when you're angry." The Director was momentarily shocked into disbelief, "leave my office NOW." That was the last time he was lectured; from then on, it was his immediate superior who got summoned. He has a sneaking suspicion he got promoted to have his own Desk because no one wanted to be his immediate superior. Nonetheless, he had his own Desk with no agents under him. It suited him just fine. He's Boss and yet not responsible for anyone other than himself. If the Top Brass thought this was a punishment, he thought of it as a reward.
Yoh-Lin wasn't just the funny guy who could do Trivial Pursuit with a head set. Not just the guy with dimpled smile, another characteristic he shared with Spike, he was also a self-defence trainer for the intelligence agency. From early on, he wasn't into guns though he was an excellent marksman, he once told his young recruits, "There's no point aiming a gun at anyone if you don't intend to fire it." The implication was clear when I do aim it you're as good as dead.
His preferred method was up close and personal, close quarter combat (CQC). CQC has a lot of upside, he told his students, "No collateral damage. You can be sure of the outcome. You can't miss up close. You don't have to reload and you just have to be quicker than the other guy."
He made it clear however there was one downside to this method, "You have to make sure it's all over in two strikes. If it takes you more than two you're dead." A five minute fight scene was just Hollywood, "they want to make it cinematic and all exciting, nothing to do with real life." And because there's no room for error in close quarter combat, Yoh-Lin practiced his art every day.
So now Yoh-Lin was Joseph Lin, another one of his many personas but it didn't matter to this good looking genius, because regardless of what role he's playing, his adopted personality didn't change. He always took on the personality of the "quiet guy." If he could get away playing the part just saying "yes" or "no" the whole time, he'd do it. That's smart! The less he said the less likely he'd make a mistake and the more people talked. After one such role play one of the suspects was overheard saying to another, "I thought he was mute."
Joseph Lin came in early for his day shift, 9 to 5, so he hummed the song mentally. He was going to be the temporary replacement for the morning techie who was currently on an all-expense paid 18-day holiday cruise in Europe. A "prize" for a contest he didn't even remember participating in, but whoever refuses a cruise, especially when it's fully paid for two.
When told of the ploy, Spike asked Yoh-Lin what CSIS planned to do if the case wasn't cracked in 18 days, "send them away for another cruise?" Yoh-Lin thought about it for a second and said, "probably to the bottom of the ocean," Spike showed mocked horror. It's a good thing they don't muck around much when other people were around.
Joseph nodded to the Supervisor, smiled and handed his credentials. He was unceremoniously shown the interior of the server room and given his log on identification. Yoh-Lin became Joseph, quiet, calm, introspective. Yoh-Lin was gone, he would be back after 5pm every day till this assignment was over.
It didn't take long before Joseph "pinged" on a very unusual activity in fact, on just his first day. He noticed five people inside the library has signed on using the same username and password, what's the chance this individual was at five library computers at the same time in different parts of the library. Unless he's Flash there wasn't a chance. Another characteristic he shared with Spike was a love of comic book super heroes.
Joseph watched the terminals. There were no sent or received items, but the draft box was close to full. The penny dropped, instantly! They were communicating by leaving messages in the draft box. And wait for it, he observed, they weren't the same five people every time. There's a whole army of them retrieving and leaving messages this way. Interesting.
Messages were written in Mandarin. Fine, he spoke, read and wrote in the language. Bring it on! He accessed the entries, downloaded them securely and it's puzzle time.
Then, he also noticed something. Someone was piggybacking on him. Now who'd do that? Who could that be?
Who indeed? The plot thickens some more.
