Authors Note: Even though today is my birthday, I couldn't leave you guys without an update. This chapter, including the character of Kim, are dedicated to LCDRFireFly your extremely kind words and praise are much appreciated.
Billy and Lissa's Safe House, New Orleans Area
"Three and a half days, quickly approaching four since we last had a visual on Lissa." Billy says as he paces the computer lab in the safe house. It was something Lissa set up months ago and much more advanced the makeshift lab at Toll's house. "Chaos! Four days! Where is she? They've moved prisoners to the camps since then and the morgue is empty other than Koreans. So where is she?"
Chaos looks up from the silver communications case that they had stolen the night Lissa was captured. "Billy." He says with a hoarse voice. His eyes are blood shot and his hands shaky from too much caffeine. He blinded reaches out on the main keyboard hub where soda bottles, energy drink cans and quick-to-eat food wrappers are scattered about. He grabs a lukewarm orange soda and chugs at it. "I'm doing everything I can. You tell me to find Lissa, I'm working on that. You tell me to break the encryption on the box, I'm doing that. I'm one person, one hacker. I can't do everything on my own. I'm not Lissa. I need help."
"Then is there someone you can trust?" Billy asks, "Some we can get to help? Someone close."
Chaos looks up from his soda thinking, "There's one person. I don't know if they have her yet. HACKimER." He says, "Kim, for short. She's one of the best in the area. She can handle finding Lissa while I work on the box."
"Get an address. We'll get her." Billy says, "You have half an hour." He then leaves the lab.
Chaos lets out a breath, closes his eyes for a few seconds and then begins typing.
Interrogation Room #17, New Orleans Police Department
Like Chaos, Lissa is finding the lack of sleep draining. Her hair fluffs around her face in many directions, a side effect from trying to use to cover her ears to allow for a few seconds of silence. Her eyes are blood shot and she looks pale. There's been aspirin hidden in her food, a gift from Maggie, but it does little to combat the constant noise causing a headache. Especially when combined with the knocking on the wall next to her.
"Stop it!" Lissa screams forcing her hands over her ears.
"Easy little sister." A voice says from the middle of the room.
Lissa looks up and finds herself blinking to see if the figure in front of her is real. Despite multiple blinks, he is still there. "Derek?" She asks. Derek Hollis, her foster brother who taught her how to hack years ago. The same Derek who was killed helping her escape from Sedov and Garret when she first met Barney and the others. "Did the Koreans take you?" She asks, confused. Things aren't adding up but her mind is too tired to focus on it.
"Something like that, Liss." Derek says with a grin. He doesn't look different from when she last saw him a year before she got busted by the FBI. His black hair hangs just a bit on his forehead and his green eyes are bright with life. His jeans are clean and the short sleeve flannel shirt shows signs of being worn at least overnight. Classic Derek."We need to get you out of here. Don't you think?"
"No use." Lissa says and flops back on the spot in the corner of the room she's made her bed. Well as much as a bed the floor can be. "It's no use. It's too much, Derek."
Derek lets out a laugh, "You told me that about the first solo hack I put you on. You were so nervous you could barely hit the right keys, you remember that? But you did it. This is just like that." Derek says and then steps beside her, putting his hands on her cheeks, forcing her to look into his eyes. "You need to focus on the problem and tune out the distractions. Tell me the problems."
"The zapper in my stomach. It would need to be cut out or disabled at the very least. I'd need a way out that door, not just one gun from a downed guard will do it. Plus they have the camera watching me; they'd see a surprise attack coming. So that option is out. Not to mention we're in the headquarters of the North Koreans in this area. This isn't finding a backdoor into Pizza Place's online ordering system to get free pizza Derek."
Billy and Lissa's Safe House, New Orleans Area
"Kim, meet Billy." Chaos says looking to the largest video screen where a video chat session is set up with HACkimER. She's a petite red head who looks young for her age.
"It's a pleasure to meet a friend of Chaos'. I didn't know he had any." Kim says with a grin.
Billy can't help but grin, Chaos having friends is a stretch, "Glad to hear you're safe in London. Looks like you picked the perfect time for a vacation."
"Right, a vacation." Kim says looking to Chaos, sharing a glance, "More of a working vacation, but I'm freed up now. Chaos says you need my help?"
Billy wants to ask if her working vacation has anything to do with a robbery at the Henley Musem in London but decides against it – they need her help. Instead he grabs a picture of Lissa off the nearby whiteboard, it has all of the information they know leading up to when Lissa was taken and the North Koreans standard protocol for prisoners. "My wife was taken during a raid at the North Korean base. That was four days ago and she hasn't surfaced the re-education camps or the morgue. She should have been moved by now, so we don't know where she is. Chaos is working on a project of his own. We need someone watching for Lissa, facial recognition, tracking, everything. The police station, where we believe she's being held, has a secured connection we can't crack but Chaos is working on that. For now I need someone looking for Lissa, can you do that?"
Kim pauses thinking it all over, "It's a big mess over there in the States. I don't want to be dragged into it. I'm lucky to be here in London." She gives Chaos another weary look, this wasn't what she signed up for. "If your wife is the type of person who the Koreans want to keep, I don't know if I should be getting involved with this. Who knows if they'll come for London next…"
"Kim, you know Lissa, well of…." Chaos says, "Lissa Hollis is Anyanka, the hacker. She's one of our own, she needs us." There's a sense of revived life in him, the exhaustion fading away.
"Send me the picture and enough funds for takeout and coffee. I'll get working." Kim promises.
"Thank you." Billy says and can't help but think, there really is honor among hackers.