Chapter 13

Programming, A Second Language?:

The scene opens with the camera behind and above Chuck by a few feet. He is standing in front of the computer typing. The camera swings to the front of Chuck. He appears to be in quite a bit of pain. His jaw is tight, forcing his lips into a grimace as he is typing. He seems to be swaying slightly on his feet. His is obviously having trouble focusing as he is squinting and blinking a lot. Beads of sweat have formed on his forehead.

Chuck had logged back into the computer system using the Doctors login ID. He was going to wait to see if Sarah and Casey would come back before attempting to hack the system. Unfortunately he was feeling pretty bad and getting worse by the minute. Rather than wait any longer he figured it might be a good idea to try now, while he was still mobile and could think.

It hadn't taken him more than a few seconds to determine that they were using a proprietary operating system. The upside was that it had been built on a recent version of Linux. He figured even bad guys liked free stuff, hence their use of Linux. He had been able to bypass the security control passwords by using undocumented keystroke commands that were built into the very core of the operating system.

He corrected himself. Ok, not documented for public or commercial use but available to him, thanks to the CIA and NSA.

In a couple of seconds he was able to bring up the command line interface. The fancy term for what looked like an old DOS window. Once the blinking command prompt appeared, he could use it to access the system core, or kernel as it was called by the technical community. By getting control of the system kernel directly he could create his own extensions or mini programs. Easy as pie he thought. Little did he realize that his painful grimace had been replaced by a small grin.

It only took a few moments to build the necessary mini programs that he could execute with simple keystrokes. He had also created a new login using his name and a password. With it, he would be able to log into the whole system later for complete access. He had hardened the security system and encrypted his data and programs to ensure no one else could find it unless they knew exactly where to look and had the tools to attempt to crack it.

Chuck finished up and started logging out of the system. The next thing he needed to do was get them back in here. He couldn't wait any longer for them. He had to know what their next move was; preferably before he couldn't move anymore.

He was beginning to find it hard to concentrate and stand. His heart was racing as he tried to stay standing while he finished. He worked his way back out of the areas he was in and shut that down. He didn't want them to find the hacks he made. While modifying the system, he noted that there were several system alarms set to go off if someone penetrated specific areas.

All he had to do was hack the one of those areas and that would alert them. He would make it easy for them to trace it back to him and force them to check on him.

The camera pans back out from Chucks face and he is sweating profusely and looks like he is about to throw up then the scene fades to black.

--

Camera opens back up with Mary and the Doctor talking in the lab. Mary is sitting with her back to the monitors sipping on coffee while, the Doctor is pacing back and forth.

They're interrupted by a loud beeping coming from the computer. Mary spins back to the computers and begins typing on the keyboard. The beeping stops.

"What is that?, asked the Doctor.

"Someone has breached our security system", replied Mary as she types. "I have turned off the audible alarm."

The Doctor is astonished, as they are functioning under the radar of all the known agencies. "Who is it?", he demanded.

A flicker of annoyance crosses Mary's face. If she knew she would have said already, instead she responds with, "Checking now."

It is a couple of minutes before she pin down the source. The individual is fairly good at hiding. Suddenly the location pops out at her. It's coming from inside the building. More specifically, from inside their facility network.

Mary's surprise is evident in her words, "Holy shit, its Charles! He's hacked the system in his room and already through the first 2 levels of firewall security."

The Doctor's eyebrows rise slightly at hearing the news. Maybe he should've asked for more money. "What? It was my understanding that he was only an analyst."

Mary, "I'm not sure what he is trying to accomplish, but he has broken through the firewall. Maybe he is trying to get outside access. Either way, you should probably get back there. I will try to slow him up here."

The jog back to Charles room was less than pleasant. The Doctor had downplayed his reaction to Mary's astonishment at Charles hacking their network. In reality he had completely underestimated his prisoner. He seemed like such a textbook analyst. He had potential, but was undervalued and lacking confidence. Nonetheless, it was unrealized potential and that made him pretty much useless. He was beginning to think that maybe he shouldn't have taken their information at face value. He would have to re-evaluate fault later. Right now he needed to get the situation back under control and fast.

The schedule set was very exacting and any deviations must be handled quickly or the data collected would be ineffective. When he released Charles later it wouldn't be an issue, but for now, he needed to be under control or he would ruin everything.

--

After the Doctor left, Mary began redirecting Chucks hacking attempts from the firewall. After a couple of redirects she realized that he wasn't actually hacking any specific target. He was simply triggering the alarms. This surprised her. Why would he want to activate an alarm? As she thought she swung her view from the monitor displaying computer code, to the ones displaying Chuck from different angles.

It took only a glance for her to figure out what was going on. He was calling them for help. He looked terrible and could barely stand. She wondered how he was even able to type, having seen victims of the drug first hand, let alone ones with a triple dose in them.

A pang of remorse and guilt swept through her. Normally she was cold and aloof, but something about Charles seemed to bring out her softer side. Then there was the Doctor observations and comments about Charles. This mission was different than the others. The Doctor was hiding information from her and it wasn't a little bit, but something big was going on. She hadn't quite figured out what he was up to yet, but she would. Looking back at Charles she made a decision.

Without a second thought, she sent a text message to Chuck on the computer.

/Charles – the Doctor is on his way back. ETA about 2 mins. Be careful. Mary.

She could only hope Charles was smart enough to log out.

On past jobs, the Doctor had been known to terminate all the prisoners and take a loss, simply because the data was corrupted due to scheduling problems. She preferred that it did not happen in this case; she really did like Charles.

--

Chuck was about to log out when he saw the message from Mary. At this point it didn't really matter. He had accomplished what he wanted...he got their attention. Without thinking he automatically replied, almost as a thank you.

/My friends call me Chuck.

He was a bit surprised that Mary sent him the message, but he was in enough pain that he couldn't really be bothered to think about anything other than sitting down. He just couldn't stand any longer.

He finished with the computer, logged out and stumbled over to his chair; falling into, rather than sitting on it.

--

The Call:

The Doctor entered the room slightly winded. It had been a long time since he had done any real exercise. Yet another reason he should have asked for more money. While trying to regain some semblance of control on his breathing, his eyes scanned the room for Chuck. Apparently, scanning the room was not necessary.

Chuck was sprawled in the chair leaning to one side and almost in a fetal position. It was very apparent that he was experiencing considerable discomfort.

It was blatantly obvious that, he wasn't even aware the Doctor was in the room. His breathing appeared laboured and he was emitting small grunting noises as he tried to stave off the waves of pain the Doctor knew he must be experiencing.

In retrospect, it probably wasn't a good idea to triple dose him, as it could easily affect his life expectancy, but he did need to collect data on this subject and they had only agreed to let him use Charles and the friends for a short period of time.

A period that he planned on making the most out of.

A look into the other room provided him with confirmation of what they saw in the monitors in the Lab. The co-workers/friends were gone. He had successfully helped them "escape". In doing so, results were now in, on how his resistance was holding up after his friends were out of danger. The next phase was ready. Using the headset that he had not taken off, he called for support.

Mary acknowledged and told him it was on the way.

Time had seemed to stop for Chuck. All he knew was pain; in his muscles, in his bones, in his head. It even felt like his blood hurt as it ran through his body. It felt like something was different about the room, but he was no longer cognisant of anything other than the pain.

Within mere moments of the Doctors request, two very large masked men appeared in the doorway. The Doctor simply nodded to them and motioned his head in the direction of Chuck. One stood in front of the chair, while the other man stood slightly to the right of it facing Chuck. Both men watched the Doctor, waiting for a signal of some kind.

The Doctor walked over to Chuck and crouched by the chair in a position where Chuck could see him as he spoke. "I see our other guests have left. That is fortunate. I know I promised to keep you comfortable, but in light of our current situation, I will need to append that agreement in order to move forward. You will experience a momentary discomfort as we proceed."

The Doctor stood and stepped away from Chuck nodding to the men as he backed away.

One of the men placed a large hand on each of Chuck's arms, easily lifting him from the chair. Now that he was no longer in the chair, the second man moved behind Chuck, pinning his arms behind him in such a fashion as to hold Chuck up, while keeping him immobilized.

Chuck was so disoriented with the pain he could barely stand and was somewhat thankful that they were holding him up, as he would have collapsed without support. He was lucid enough to know something bad was going to happen, but he hurt so much that he hardly cared at this point. He knew someone had spoken a moment ago, but the pain was so all encompassing that he couldn't understand them.

The Doctor walked to the computer and pressed the record button on the screen. Addressing the computer and in a clear voice he said, "Well, it appears that with our other guests missing, we will have to shift the emphasis to you, Charles. Gentleman you may begin with instructional discipline."

At the Doctors statement one of the men stepped directly in front of Chuck and, in what appeared to Chuck as slow motion, pulled his fist back and brought it forward into Chuck's lower ribs. Chuck had thought he was in quite a bit of pain before. This felt much worse. It was like having a white hot spike driven through his chest and out the back. The pain then radiated to the rest of him. He couldn't stop himself from screaming...loudly. It took more than a couple of seconds for the pain to fade back down enough to stop screaming.

"As you can no doubt hear, Charles is paying for your indiscretions."

The Doctor nodded to the man. Another blow to the lower ribs. Another scream. Chuck was barely conscious. When it was an overall pain, it was bearable, but when it was an instant stabbing pain it was all he could do to stay conscious.

The Doctor tapped the screen to end the recording and addressed the men. "Place him back into the chair. Don't bother with the straps, we won't need them. You may leave."

Crouching near Chuck he spoke again, "I am sorry Charles but it was necessary. Try to catch your breath. I will be back shortly".

The Doctor exited the room and walked briskly back to the Lab where Mary was busily tapping away at a keyboard. As The Doctor entered the lab, he asked, "Did you get it?"

Mary: "Yes. I already remixed it as you requested. The original recording is still intact, but I remixed his scream slightly in intensity and length to simulate a multiple series of blows instead of only two. It should continue for about 5 or 6 minutes before the recording ends." Pausing slightly, before she continues in a slightly skeptical voice, "Do you actually believe this will work?"

The Doctor was quite experienced in dealing with people and had no trouble hearing her skepticism or seeing her slightly aggravated expression. Something was bothering her. While he didn't appreciate subordinates questioning his methods, he had worked with Mary for several years and offered her more leeway in his responses. "My dear, you need to have a little faith in me. This is one of my fields of expertise, after all. This will definitely work. Guilt is a strong motivator, especially when there is a possibility to remove it."

He paused for a moment, breathing a small sigh before continuing, "That being said, I am becoming concerned about the increased dosage and its effects on Charles. We need to reactive his resistance soon or he may expire prematurely on us. I noticed that while he is under affect of multiple doses the pain can cause unconsciousness which is the direct opposite of the designed result. The compound should ensure the subject cannot become unconscious from pain. At this point I can only surmise that it's the multiple doses causing the failure. Remember to note that on the listing." He breaths out a slightly frustrated sigh followed by silence.

Mary waited for the Doctor to continue. When she sees he is lost in thought and no response is forthcoming she takes initiative to stay on schedule. "I have the recordings set up for the call. Just press touch the screen when you're ready to play."

Shaking off his thoughts the Doctor spoke, "Let's proceed. I'm not sure how much more time Charles has. Better to complete this while he is still alive."