Title: Untitled [TBA]
Author: §arah
Summary: After meeting and falling in love on assignment, Byers takes his three friends Langly, Frohike, and Jimmy on a trip of romance, humor, action, and a lot of computer hacking.
Synopsis: After a year, Byers and Melissa have grown closer and she is now living with the guys and is a normal member of the group but when Langly encounters some technical problems, it's time to call on some other references.
Rating: PG for language
Date: 5-12-2001
Chapter One: One year later
Washington D.C. 3:38 p.m.: The Grassy Knoll
"Damnit! What the hell is wrong with this thing?" Langly slammed down on the keys of his laptop computer. Frohike walked by.
"Trouble there buddy?" he asked sarcastically.
"Why can't any of you guys help me?" he questioned sitting back in his chair and flailing his hands in the air.
"Well you know I would…but I'm just not the hacker type." Byers shook his head squinting at the computer screen.
"Why did Kimmy have to go to Australia for that story anyways? We're the ones that need him!" Langly crossed his arms over his chest and thought for a moment. "How much to you think long distance costs these days?"
"No! You're not calling Australia for twenty bucks just for some computer codes." Byers shook his head and pointed at him sternly.
"Well how else do you suggest I get into the National Service Leagues data base? It's impossible!" He sighed and pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose.
"Can't you just… punch it out?" Byers shrugged.
"If you think it's going to be that easy then you've got things all wrong." He shook his head. "Kimmy's the only one I know who has access those governmental files…especially in the area of sociology."
"So are we sure that this guy…" Byers looked down and the personnel file. "Mike Halen, is gonna be in there?"
"Well…it says that his first major was sociology, and everyone that takes the pre-test to get admission into some of those courses has to be entered into the data base at this place. It tracks everyone from the second they write their name on that twenty two page final exam."
"Unless he got his degree illegally, we should be able to hunt this guy down." Frohike explained.
"Is there any other way to do this?" Langly shook his head.
"Not that we know of. Guys like this aren't exactly easy to get a hold of…"
"Well…keep working. Try everything you know. Until then, I'm gonna make some calls." Byers walked over and grabbed the phone.
Suddenly a young blonde burst in the door, struggling to carry three grocery bags
"Help!…Guys?" she spoke through a set of keys clenched between her teeth. Frohike came to her assistance.
"Didja get it?" he asked eagerly. She sighed and walked in.
"Yeah…I got your Cheetos Frohike." He smiled and grabbed the bag.
"You're the best!" he walked off.
"I swear if it weren't for me you'd all starve!" she commented.
"Hey! I resent that!" Langly replied looking up. "Besides….if it weren't for us Dunkin' Donuts would be totally out of business!"
"You're totally and incredibly insane, have I ever mentioned that…" she told him.
"Byers! Do we really have to keep her around?" Langly looked back at him. "I mean, she really has no purpose. She's just you're girlfriend."
"Oh, but you forgot about our hot steamy affair. Oops! Did I say that out loud?" she said sarcastically. Langly rolled his eyes and looked back at the computer.
"Only in my wildest dreams…" he joked. She laughed.
"So guys! Where's our good friend Jimmy Bond off to today? To save the world no doubt."
"Oh, he's just…" Frohike began, speaking through his full mouth. "Probably after Yves." He shrugged. "But you never really know with that kid…He could be half way across the world in a canoe with a pineapple and an extra pair of socks and none of us would know." Melissa grimaced.
"Uhg… Suddenly I'm a bit suspicious about this…" she continued to put the groceries away.
Byers set the phone down and dashed over to her.
"Wait! Hold on there! Those are my cupboards now." He told her. She made a face.
"Excuse me?"
"I'm storing some ideas and supplies up there… I told you last week." He explained.
"What? You never told me!" she replied. "I would have remembered! I have the memory of an elephant!" Langly snickered from behind. "Hey! They have good memories!" she swung around and looked him in the eye. "It must have been a dream or something 'cause you never said that…"
"Well you're gonna hafta find some other place to put this 'cause I need this space…." Byers told her reluctantly. She sighed and began to stash everything below the counter top.
"Look a this… I'm dating one and I still get no respect!" she mumbled as she worked.
"Hey! You don't happen to know code CF891G section two do you?" Langly asked her.
"What?" she asked sitting up and hitting her head on a cupboard door. "Ow!" she rubbed the soar spot. "No! What are you talking about?…"
"Oh, just some hacking…" she shrugged.
"Oh god… what are you trying to mess with now?" she asked as if this was only routine.
"Oh, just some college grading main frames… nothing much…" She laughed quietly.
"God that reminds me of my sister…" she shook her head in thought.
"Whoa, whoa , whoa! You've got a sister?" Frohike held his hands in the air in shock. She nodded.
"Older or younger?" Langly leaned back and looked up at her.
"Younger…"
"Damn!"
"How come you never told us?" Byers asked. She shrugged.
"It never came up…"
"Never came up? What do you mean? I've known you for a year now and you never told me!" he stepped closer.
"Well you don't have to get mad or anything…"
"I'm not…I'm not mad I'm just…shocked."
"I think he speaks for the rest of us too… You? Little sister? God no…" Frohike shook his head.
"What? What's so bad about that?" she looked back at forth between the two.
"Well come on, this must be some sort of devil child or something." Langly said. Melissa sighed.
"Oh you… Hush up! She's not a child! She's twenty three." She replied.
"Twenty three, eh?… Hum…legal." Langly remarked. Melissa reached over and slapped him in the back of head.
"Don't be such a perv Langly!... Not that you can help it." He smiled.
"So tell us more about this mystery sister you got…What's the deal with her?" Byers crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter.
"Well, she moved down to Florida once she turned eighteen. Mostly just to rebel against the 'rents, but to go to college too…" she explained.
"So why does my hacking remind you of her?" Langly questioned.
"Well… back in high school whenever the teacher left the room, she's always sneak to the computers and hack her way to a higher grade. Not too much of a change, but good enough to get into whichever college she wanted…and to keep our parents off her back…She actually works for the government now… Some big time administrator, computer person with access to a lot of strange stuff like that…" she shrugged.
"Wow… Quiet a resume there…" Langly commented. She nodded.
"She gets into all sorts of stuff that no one really cares about any more…"
"Like college grading main frames?..." Langly asked curiously.
"Maybe… I dunno…" He looked side to side, in mischievous thought.
"I have an idea." He declared.
"Oh god help us…" she replied. Langly cleared his throat.
"Could you possibly get that sister of yours here? I wanna see what she can do…She could quiet possibly be the answer to all our prayers."
"And what do I get in return for this favor?" she asked him. He though for a moment.
"Well…what do you want?" he asked.
"You know what I want from you Langly…" He sighed and tightly shut his eyes.
"Okay… One date but that's all." She groaned.
"Langly! Get real!" He sighed.
"Alright. Alright…" he gave in. "I'll… I'll lay off on the smart mouth comments for the rest of the month. How's that?" She smiled.
"Works for me… Lemme just finish these groceries and I'll find that number."
Suddenly, the door swung open. Jimmy stepped in and looked around.
"Guys…I think I'm on to somehtin'…" he announced slowly. Groans came from the group. "Listen, this time, it's big stuff…" He walked in and sat down next to Langly. "It's all about the Bermuda Triangle. Maybe it's really a world wide domination plans designed but super natural powers!"
"Jimmy… It's just a bunch of points on a map… Aliens are not taking over the world. That's what you said last time, and the time before that… Listen to me… It's not gonna happen." Langly said. "I, on the other hand, am hot on the trail of a psycho killer who's using governmental regulated degrees to get by… Poor sucker… Doesn't even see this coming…"
"Well… if weird creepy dudes fascinate you more that space aliens, then… suit yourself. But remember… the truth is out there…" he slowly rose to his feet whistling the X-Files theme song. Langly sighed and continued work diligently.
"Alright Langly. I'll do your dirty work for you…" Melissa said punching in a phone number. "But if this doesn't work…"
"Oh, trust me… It'll all be worth it… Weather we get into that main frame or not…"