PART 8
What's happened so far: Jeff Anderson, 'retiring' super hero, has come to Nerima for reasons involving a dead colleague and Mishima Heavy Industries. He has arranged a cover as a student teacher at Furinkan High. He's met the Ranma cast and learned about Jusenkyo. He thinks Ryoga is a meta-human like himself. He also figured out Ryoga is P-Chan. Some detective work lead to a battle with Poison 02 near Natsume Kyusaku's apartment building. Scratch Poison 02. Yesterday, Ranma caught Jeff floating in the dojo. Jeff explained a bit about himself and swore Ranma to secrecy. Continued computer work is leading to some of the information he needs to complete his mission.
-----
Well it finally happens. I wake up from a dream in which all the dialogue is in Japanese with English subtitles. They say you can't read while you are dreaming. I can, but that doesn't mean it makes any sense. Anne says it's because I'm too right brained. I guess it could have been worse. It could have been dubbed.
Unfortunately, the reason I'm awake is my phone is ringing. For the first time ever. Hopefully, this is a wrong number. Heck, I didn't even give my _wife_ this number. My phone number is on record with Furinkan High because of my student-teacher cover, with the phone company because they gave it to me and that's _it_. More out of reflex than any desire to talk, I answer the phone.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Are Atsuko and Eimi there?" asks a middle aged male voice with a trace of nervousness.
"Iie." It's four frigging thirty five in the expletive deleted morning and I get a call from some guy who can't dial straight.
"Have they been there at all?" If anything, a little more nervous than before.
"Iie." And if this _is_ from the school, I don't remember any of my students being named Atsuko or Eimi.
"Sorry to bother you Anderson-san. Good bye." Click.
Like I'm going to bring two female students to my room. Yeah right. I'm a very married man. I hang up the phone before my brain starts working.
Uh oh.
If that call had come from the school, they would have used family names.
I go from groggy to alert in .23 seconds. I *69 the phone, but the call came from a blocked line. Back home, that wouldn't be a problem, but I haven't hacked the phone company here yet. Within moments I get the laptop up and running. I direct dial Anne at her dad's place on Long Island. Ring... Ring... C'mon answer. Ring... Ring... C'mon. Ring...
"Hello?" Great. My father-in-law. Shouldn't he still be at work?
"Is Anne there? I need to speak with her _now_."
"Jeff? Is that you?" But I guess when you're the boss, you get to set your own hours.
"Yes, now put my wife and your daughter on. This is an emergency."
Even though he takes the receiver away from his mouth, I can hear Big Bill shout, "Anne! It's Jeff, he says it's important!"
Two seconds later, I hear another phone pickup.
My beloved wife says, "Got it Dad. What's up?"
"Wait till your dad's off the line," I state flatly.
"Well, I know when I'm not wanted. Guess I'll go play with my grandson." Big Bill hangs up. I'll apologize later.
"Anne, I need a process interrupt on Monster right now. Call the office and have somebody go do it. Don't use this phone or any phone in the house. Or your cell phone." She knows the only reason I'd ask for a process interrupt is because Monster has been compromised.
"Janet's here visiting the baby. I'll use hers."
"Good. When I can secure a line, I'll call the office myself. Love you. Bye." I hang up with somewhat more force than necessary.
I start checking the laptop. No hidden or altered files. Benchmark tests come back in spec. Damn it. I know you can't prove a negative, but after running every diagnostic I have and a few I make up on the spot, I can't find any signs of tampering or viruses on the portable. Most of the real work was being done by Monster anyway.
Sort of leaves me with the paranoid's dilemma. What evidence do I choose to believe? The evidence that shows Monster got penetrated to the point where I was able to be traced? The evidence that shows the portable is clean? The two are not mutually exclusive.
If Monster was penetrated, could whoever did it have followed the e-mail I sent to the external computer system at MATRIX HQ? Since the only way to add data to the internal computer system is through the gatekeeper system, that should still be safe. The external system can be replaced for about ten grand and few days of my time. If I just replace all the memory systems and processors, I can do the job for less money, but it'll take longer. Can't even charge it to the MATRIX account, because it's my own damn fault.
Monster, on the other hand, represents a good chunk of all the spare cash I've had for the last four years and who knows how many man-hours. Parallel processing has always been my big thing. Not one super chip, but lots of (much cheaper) second line chips and co-processors. It's how I produce computing miracles on a budget. Of course, the hard part is writing programs to divide tasks in the most efficient manner. But then, I've put lots of effort into doing just that.
Did Monster even get penetrated? Sufficient access to the phone company computers could trace call origins and destinations, even without understanding the encoded data. Traffic analysis is an important part of intelligence work. While it's true that anything that can be encoded can be decoded, I do use 192 bit encryption for crying out loud. I upgraded after the 'squeamish ossifrage' challenge got beat. At current rates of progress, I shouldn't have to upgrade my encryption standards again for 20 years. Well, probably more like 10. All right, 5 if those rumors I heard are true.
Judging the options, hacking the phone company seems the more likely of the two. I've done it often enough myself, just not here yet. Damn, can't take the risk. As much as I hate to lose the resource, I'm going to have to finish this mission off without the use of Monster.
"C'mon... Think damn you" I say to myself. In order to distract myself, I start doing my morning pushups. Let the problem run around in my subconscious for a bit. I don't think it was Mishima calling. Despite what that file said, I expect my next run in with them to involve lots of guns and other military ordnance.
I doubt that anyone from the high school has the skills to do what has been done. The voice sounded too old to be a student. Anyway, a teacher or staff member would almost certainly have used family names. It would be really funny if I'm just over-reacting to a simple phone call from the school, but I sincerely doubt it.
Hmm. Nabiki is vindictive enough to have someone call as a prank. She might have been able to get access to the school records to get the phone number. She's resourceful enough. But she doesn't seem the type to go for mere annoyance. But having already taken one figurative swing at me and missing, she might feel the need to try again.
My subconscious finally gets back to me after I finish off the push ups. I've been tracing a backdoor from Natsume Kyusaku to Mishima Heavy Industries. Since it was a phone call and not a military assault, I've reason to believe it's not Mishima. It's Natsume's backdoor, he must have caught the access attempt. Duh. Took me long enough. It's got to be him. As far as I can tell, the Mishima people don't suspect a thing on the computer front.
Now, I have to decide what to do next. I spend a few minutes going over all the data I have on Natsume before I do anything else. Information provides the phone number. Blocks *69, but not Information. Sheesh. I jot the number down and decide if he's willing to call me at 4:35 AM, I'm willing to call him at 5:17 AM.
He answers on the first ring.
"Moshi moshi," answers the same voice from earlier.
"Good morning Natsume-san."
"Did Atsuko or Eimi show up?" he asks hopefully. Guy has a one track mind. Apparently, details of how I figured out it was him calling aren't important.
"No, but shouldn't you tell me why you expect them to? Not to mention what they look like. Or who they are for that matter."
"Atsuko is my daughter, Yoshikawa Eimi is her... friend." I notice the hesitation before the word 'friend'. Makes me wonder what he really wanted to say there. Hold up.
"Your bio says you have a son, not a daughter."
"Ryu is my son, Atsuko is... adopted." Again with the weird pause.
"And why would they be here?"
"I noticed an attempt to enter the Mishima Network through my access path. I traced you from there, but it wasn't easy. Even for a genius such as myself."
Modest little bugger. At least he admitted it was difficult for him. "And why would they be here?" I ask again.
"Atsuko knew I had located you. She may have tried to investigate. Eimi-chan just tends to show up around Atsuko sometimes."
"O.K. What do they look like and what do you want me to do if they show up?
"If Atsuko arrives, tell her that 'Papa-san' says for her to go home. Ryu-kun is worried about her. Atsuko is about 165 cm, has green eyes and long pink hair. She's a very nice girl. Eimi-chan is about 135 cm, with brown eyes and dull blonde hair." Suddenly, I hear a loud crash in the background. "Nevermind, they're here." Another crash comes through the hand-set before Natsume hangs up.
Green eyes, long pink hair and 165 cm. That fits the description of the bicycle girl who was in that computer file. Which, as usual for things that happen in Nerima, leaves me with a lot more questions than answers.
Normal people can't ride bicycles at 90 kph while carrying a passenger. (They don't leap over trains either.) Therefore Atsuko is not normal. The computer file was labeled "Die Catgirl Die" and had Atsuko's picture. For a brief moment I wonder if Atsuko is a super hero named Catgirl. I do try to keep up with these things, but the name doesn't ring a bell. There are supposed to be some meta-humans in Tokyo (besides Ryoga), but unless I count Jusenkyo curses, I haven't seen anything besides this.
At least some degree of super human strength. Since she is referred to as "Catgirl", she's probably agile as well. The wind in her eyes at 90 kph didn't seem to bother her. I know she wasn't wearing a helmet or goggles. That could imply something, but I'm not exactly sure what. Not enough to make a full report to MATRIX, but I'll file what I've got. Oh geez, I've got to call them anyway to make sure Monster was shut down.
Even though the sun isn't up yet, I pack my things for school and hop on my bike to go look for a pay phone. Then I get a better idea and decide to ride over to Natsume Kyusaku's place.
-----
The crime scene tape from the fight is gone, but a hole in the wall on the top floor tells me what I need to know. The door requires a passcode for entry, but a little TK bypasses that. I start up the stairs to the sixth floor. I normally use stairs whenever possible. Elevators are just too easy to trap. Once I reach the sixth floor, it only takes a few seconds to spot the door to the Natsume apartment. A sign on the door is labeled in English lettering, Natsume Kyusaku, Ryunosuke, Nuku Nuku. The last is a tacked on addition.
Hmm. Atsuko isn't listed. Odd. Gathering my resolve, I knock on the door. After a moment, a boy in pajamas who looks about 11 or 12 cracks it open a bit. Definitely the passenger I saw on that bicycle last Thursday. He gives me a quick glance before turning and shouting "Dad! It's for you!" He then heads off as his father approaches.
A few seconds later, Natsume Kyusaku arrives himself. I didn't get a good look at him Saturday night, but his appearance matches the photo my prep work turned up. He's a skinny guy of average height wearing a lab coat over a blue shirt and black tie. His dark bangs are so long that they cover his eyes. How he can possibly see anything like that?
I bow and begin speaking. "Good morning Natsume-san. I'm Jeffery Anderson, we spoke on the phone earlier." Beyond him, I can see several crates full of broken masonry and chunks missing from a couple of walls.
"Oh, my apologies about that, I sometimes forget that other people do not keep my hours. Please come in." There's a little edge to his voice as if he hasn't slept. Understandable, if my child was missing, I wouldn't sleep much either. I pull off my shoes and enter.
"Sorry about the mess," he says guiding me to the living room.
Waving vaguely at the room, I ask, "Did this happen during the attack I saw on the news?" We sit down at a low table.
"No, this happened when you called."
"Are they all right?" I haven't seen this much non-fire damage to an apartment since the time Cheshire Cat faked his death. Never did forgive him for doing it in my building though.
"They are both perfectly fine. I sent Nuku Nuku to the 24 hour lumber yard for repair supplies."
Nuku Nuku? Must be Atsuko's nickname or something. "What about Eimi?"
Natsume gives a nervous laugh before saying, "Oh, don't worry about Eimi-chan. She'll be just fine."
Once the amenities are taken care of, we get down to serious business. I explain why I was trying to hack Mishima. I don't give him the whole truth, but nothing I tell him is a lie. Because I can't see his eyes, I can't read him well enough to know how he's taking all this. It seems he is treating it seriously though.
I also find out that Monster did _not_ get hacked. He went through the phone company as I figured. Unless he's lying. But the longer we talk, the less likely I think that is.
I can hear Ryu-kun rummaging in the kitchen getting his breakfast and hope there will be enough time to stop at Ucchan's for my own breakfast.
Natsume asks for more details. I give him what I can. Info about the refurbished submarine, sales records for six power suits. He sits quietly for a minute and I think he may have fallen asleep on me when he shoots to his feet.
"I have to get Ryu to school, but I promise I will look into this when I return home. Call tomorrow around dinner time."
Climbing to my feet, I bow and tell him, "Thank you very much Natsume-san. Your assistance is greatly appreciated." He shows me out.
The other reason I like stairwells is, that in apartment buildings, not many people use them. So I'm quite alone as I bounce down the stairs several at a time, a smile on my face. It's like that quote from Lois McMaster Bujold. "Never do yourself what you can con an expert into doing for you." Not that I'm conning him and I do consider myself an expert computer hacker. It's just he may be better. Besides, he already has a backdoor in place. Gives him a major advantage.
There isn't enough time to stop for breakfast. Barely enough time to get showered, changed and to class. Kuno mutters "foul sorcerer" when he notices me upon his arrival. He is however, not stupid enough to try anything else. Nabiki neither seeks me out or avoids me, merely saying "Ohayo Anderson-sensei" when she enters moments before the bell.
Serizawa-sensei has failed to arrive, and an intercom call indicates he will be late. I can't read the majority of his lesson plans, but I do know that a History test is the first thing up after homeroom. Unfortunately, he must have the test with him, because I can't find it in his desk. I give the class the good news and tell them they have the period to themselves. But if Serizawa-sensei isn't back by time for English Lit, I will still be teaching that class.
The students take the news with good humor. They should considering they are getting out of a test. Unfortunately, the happiness is short lived as Serizawa-sensei arrives a few minutes later and the test is given anyway.
English Lit rolls around, but I'm not really into it. I ate my last energy bar on the ride to Natsume's and I missed breakfast entirely so by now I'm pretty hungry. The look on Serizawa-sensei's face indicates he's not pleased with me, but with the end of the mission approaching, I can't make myself care.
Just before the lunch bell, the door explodes inward. It's Shampoo. She has replacement bonbori, or she found where I ditched the last set. Maybe that's what took the extra day, or maybe it was the rain. I was expecting this attack to come yesterday. When it didn't happen, I had hoped I was off the hook.
After the dust settles, Shampoo begins her spiel. "Shampoo not know how foreign man beat Shampoo." There are a couple of murmurs from the class. A few people must not have heard about what happened Monday. "Shampoo not lose again!"
I look to the back of the classroom. "My apologies Serizawa-sensei. I'll try to keep the property damage to a minimum." Then I turn to Shampoo. "All right, let's get this done." With that, I throw up a repeller field and dive through an open window.
As Shampoo crashes through an adjacent closed window, I hear a voice shout "We're three stories up!" Apparently that guy wasn't here when I did this last week.
My strategy is the same as last time. Stay out of her reach and get her wet. Since she is chasing me and not the other way around, it should work again if I can get her to follow me to the pool. I use TK to soften my landing. Shampoo's leap takes her to a convenient tree. A bola comes flying out a split second later and wraps around my chest and right arm. The repeller field prevents it from actually touching me, so it takes only a second to get rid of it. By then two more bolas are launched but I simply spring away from them. The lunch bell rings in the background.
Shampoo leaps from a lower branch of her tree and starts covering the ground between us with long strides. I turn and run. As I round the corner of the school, I see a brace of knives, chains and other dangerous hardware heading straight at me. I dodge some of it, and the repeller field deflects the rest. Without the repeller field, I'd have been shish kebabed.
Mousse shakes his arms, drawing the various chains back into his sleeves. How the heck can he hide that much stuff in there? He shouts in a determined voice. "First Saotome, now you! No one will keep me from my beloved Shampoo!"
Shampoo takes advantage of my distraction to close the distance between us and launch an attack. Not even close. She's slipping. Mousse relaunches his chains, but I jump up and avoid them. Shampoo uses her bonbori to smash away any that come near her. Mousse starts to draw his chains in again, and once I land, I charge in after them. Shampoo follows right on my tail.
I launch a flying kick that catches Mousse square in the chest. As he falls down, I use him as a springboard. A mid air half turn allows me to see what happens next. Mousse pops back up just in time to get in Shampoo's way. He shouts "Shampoo!" like an addict greets his next fix and attempts to hug her in the same manner Kuno tried to grab 'Ranko' yesterday. It works about as well. Shampoo shoves her bonbori out in front of her and lets Mousse crash into them.
"Stupid Mousse! Stay out Shampoo's fight!" She then bashes him once with a bonbori. Mousse drops like a sack of spuds. I guess they weren't working together. After a final glance at the love struck man, she returns her attention to me.
I get to the edge of the pool and Shampoo can see it behind me. Unlike last time, she doesn't hesitate and moves in. I leap up and back and crank my repeller field to the max. Grabbing my ankles I cry out "CANNONBALL!" Once I'm in the pool, the weight of the water will overwhelm the repeller field forcing it to collapse. It should be safe, if messy.
The splash hits Shampoo squarely, drenching her from head to toe. Unfortunately, it doesn't turn her into a cat. Gee, what a wonderful time for her to find a cure.
Shampoo sputters for a bit before shouting, "Ha! Shampoo no fall for same trick twice! Great-Grandmother give Shampoo water proof soap!"
Water proof soap? Sort of a contradiction in terms. Oh well, there's more than one way to skin a cat. I set a repeller field up behind her. It's more than strong enough to shove her in the water. The look of shock on her face as she falls in is priceless. I backstroke to the far edge of the pool. Shampoo can't swim very well while carrying her bonbori, so she lobs them out of the pool and starts swimming to the nearest edge to climb out.
By this time we've managed to gather quite the audience. Ranma is looking at Shampoo in shock. Akane and Ukyo are doing so as well. I'd say Nabiki isn't in shock, but looks very interested in the proceedings. Dozens of other people, students and teachers both, are watching as well. Mousse staggers over to help Shampoo get out of the pool. She pulls him in as she gets out and it's duck season. This gets a major reaction from the crowd and breaks Ranma out of his stupor for some reason.
I pull myself out of the pool while Shampoo retrieves her weapons. I raise my voice so I'm sure to be heard. "You willing to talk about this!"
"Shampoo not want marry foreign man! Shampoo want marry Ranma!"
"I don't want to marry you!" Moron. "I'm already married!" And the dip in the pool has probably ruined the picture of my wife and son. I notice Mousse fly out of the pool and into the building. Literally into the building as he just misses flying through an open door.
"Amazon law! If outsider man defeat Amazon woman, must make outsider man husband!" Shampoo shouts out, looking as if she's ready to cry.
"THEN WHY DID YOU ATTACK ME?!" I scream. If Ranma puts up with this crap all the time, he must be some kind of saint.
Shampoo screams back "IF SHAMPOO DEFEAT FOREIGN MAN THAN NO HAVE TO MARRY!"
"IS THAT ALL?!"
I know what to do now. I walk around to the other side of the pool. As I get closer, Shampoo drops into a combat stance and looks ready to attack. I simply lie on a more or less dry piece of ground and say "O.K. You win." One hundred twenty six jaws drop to their limits. I might as well have some fun with this. "Here I lay, defeated by the mighty Amazon warrior Shampoo. I'm far too feeble a fighter to be worthy of being her husband." I've got a repeller field up, just in case.
Shampoo stomps over to me. "Get up! GET UP! Foreign man no make fun of Amazon law!" She gestures animatedly with her bonbori.
In a voice not meant to be heard by anyone else, I tell Shampoo, "Play along, this way you get what you want and I get what I want." Returning to my previous tone, "Such power, such skill. I never truly defeated you, I was just lucky!"
Several conflicting emotions cross Shampoo's face as I wait for her response. There's anger, disgust, thoughtfulness, surprise, and joy before she winks at me. She carefully puts a look of anger and disgust back on her face before speaking. Whispering, Shampoo informs me, "Water proof soap wear off anyhow, foreign man just get Shampoo wet again."
Returning to her prior voice, she continues, "Coward foreign man waste of Shampoo's time." She turns to where Ranma is standing and asks loudly, "Airen take Shampoo to date soon, yes?" Not waiting for an answer, she turns and bounds away.
As soon as she's out of sight, I climb back to my feet and tell my audience, "And _that_, ladies and gentlemen, is the difference between strategy and tactics."
The crowd breaks up and Ranma walks over with Ukyo and Akane. "I can't believe you did that," Akane and Ukyo both say.
"There's no way I'd've done sumthin' like that," Ranma states.
"Ranma, you have more pride than is good for you," I point out. Akane and Ukyo laugh. "I couldn't win by beating her, that would have just made things worse. But I could win by losing, so I did."
Ranma stammers out, "But ya looked so... so... so..."
"Stupid? Cowardly? Silly? That was the point. I'm not going to hurt Shampoo for being subject to a bunch of idiotic laws." I never laugh at someone else's religion, no matter how stupid I think it is. "No way I'm going to marry her either. So I lost a little face, big deal. The opinion of anyone who thinks I really lost isn't worth anything." But if she tries again, the gloves come off. I figure anything further on this will be coming from Cologne anyway. Just like with Kuno and Nabiki, this attack was a put up job.
Ranma just shakes his head. "I still couldn't've done it."
"Jeff, how come Shampoo didn't turn into a cat?" Ukyo asks. "I could see she was wet." Ranma and Akane nod their agreement.
"She said something about 'water proof soap' but she also said it had worn off." All three of them file that factoid for future reference. My stomach makes an audible growl. "Sorry, I was busy this morning and missed breakfast. Ukyo, can I buy lunch from you?"
My face falls when she says "Sorry sensei," but she's smiling when she continues, "this time it's on me."
I scarf lunch at a pace that makes Ranma take notice. "It's all your fault," I tell him around a mouth full of okonomiyaki. "You and your father have been a terrible example for me." Another round of laughter. These are good people, even if they've got more relationship problems than the average Jerry Springer show.
When the warning bell rings, Ukyo goes to put away her grill while Ranma, Akane and I walk back to the building.
"I missed sparring with you yesterday," Akane says in a quiet voice.
"That's Nabiki's fault, not mine," I state flatly.
"Do you want to come by after school? To spar I mean?"
"Akane, don't take this the wrong way, but because of what Nabiki did, I will never spar in your dojo again. Someplace else, I'd love to. There, never." My sense of honor may be different from Japanese standard, but I still have one.
"You could spar out by the koi pond like me and Pops do," Ranma puts in.
"That would work." Thus allowing me to get in some practice, Akane to be happy and at the same time, blow smoke up Nabiki's butt. Damn near a perfect solution. "Not today, though, I've got a few things to do. Tomorrow all right?"
"Sure! Thanks sensei!" Akane exclaims, smiling brightly. I notice Ranma getting blown away by Akane's smile. Maybe she does have something going for her after all.
I get my clothes dried out and the rest of the day goes quietly. My math class goes much better than English Lit did. After final bell, Serizawa-sensei motions me over for another 'chat'. Total damage, one door (not really my fault), one window (also not really my fault, she could have jumped through an open one), and a little torn up grass. I guess Shampoo was trying to be subtle when she attacked this time, because she only broke down a door instead of several walls.
He indicates that he doesn't care about the damage total. It's my irresponsibly jumping out the window he's mad at. Hypocrisy at it's finest. I mean, I've jumped out the window before. Nobody said anything then.
Since I've been here, I've seen a pillar destroyed (Ranma and Kuno), holes smashed in first floor walls twice, (Ryoga bashing Ranma and one that I'm not sure about), and a large hole in the stairwell (presumably Shampoo). My 'duel' with Kuno did _no_ damage and compared to the rest of it, the damage total from the fight today was negligible. But no, I'm a teacher, so I shouldn't jump out of third story windows because it sets a bad example for the class. They could get hurt if they try it. I point out that by leaving the classroom the fastest way possible, the danger to the students was minimized.
Got him there, he doesn't have a real answer to that. He indicates that he is going to mention this incident on his weekly report to CUNY. By great strength of will, I avoid laughing at him. If Natsume-san gets me the data I need, I'll be out of here by the end of the week anyway. Eventually, Serizawa-sensei runs out of steam and dismisses me.
The rest of my day is filled with an after school snack at Ucchan's, the ride home, a couple loads of laundry, dinner at a fast food place called Skylark and a couple rubber monster movies on TV. By my standards, a nice dull evening. The kind I like, but so seldom get.
END PART 8
In Part 9: The conclusion.
What's happened so far: Jeff Anderson, 'retiring' super hero, has come to Nerima for reasons involving a dead colleague and Mishima Heavy Industries. He has arranged a cover as a student teacher at Furinkan High. He's met the Ranma cast and learned about Jusenkyo. He thinks Ryoga is a meta-human like himself. He also figured out Ryoga is P-Chan. Some detective work lead to a battle with Poison 02 near Natsume Kyusaku's apartment building. Scratch Poison 02. Yesterday, Ranma caught Jeff floating in the dojo. Jeff explained a bit about himself and swore Ranma to secrecy. Continued computer work is leading to some of the information he needs to complete his mission.
-----
Well it finally happens. I wake up from a dream in which all the dialogue is in Japanese with English subtitles. They say you can't read while you are dreaming. I can, but that doesn't mean it makes any sense. Anne says it's because I'm too right brained. I guess it could have been worse. It could have been dubbed.
Unfortunately, the reason I'm awake is my phone is ringing. For the first time ever. Hopefully, this is a wrong number. Heck, I didn't even give my _wife_ this number. My phone number is on record with Furinkan High because of my student-teacher cover, with the phone company because they gave it to me and that's _it_. More out of reflex than any desire to talk, I answer the phone.
"Moshi moshi?"
"Are Atsuko and Eimi there?" asks a middle aged male voice with a trace of nervousness.
"Iie." It's four frigging thirty five in the expletive deleted morning and I get a call from some guy who can't dial straight.
"Have they been there at all?" If anything, a little more nervous than before.
"Iie." And if this _is_ from the school, I don't remember any of my students being named Atsuko or Eimi.
"Sorry to bother you Anderson-san. Good bye." Click.
Like I'm going to bring two female students to my room. Yeah right. I'm a very married man. I hang up the phone before my brain starts working.
Uh oh.
If that call had come from the school, they would have used family names.
I go from groggy to alert in .23 seconds. I *69 the phone, but the call came from a blocked line. Back home, that wouldn't be a problem, but I haven't hacked the phone company here yet. Within moments I get the laptop up and running. I direct dial Anne at her dad's place on Long Island. Ring... Ring... C'mon answer. Ring... Ring... C'mon. Ring...
"Hello?" Great. My father-in-law. Shouldn't he still be at work?
"Is Anne there? I need to speak with her _now_."
"Jeff? Is that you?" But I guess when you're the boss, you get to set your own hours.
"Yes, now put my wife and your daughter on. This is an emergency."
Even though he takes the receiver away from his mouth, I can hear Big Bill shout, "Anne! It's Jeff, he says it's important!"
Two seconds later, I hear another phone pickup.
My beloved wife says, "Got it Dad. What's up?"
"Wait till your dad's off the line," I state flatly.
"Well, I know when I'm not wanted. Guess I'll go play with my grandson." Big Bill hangs up. I'll apologize later.
"Anne, I need a process interrupt on Monster right now. Call the office and have somebody go do it. Don't use this phone or any phone in the house. Or your cell phone." She knows the only reason I'd ask for a process interrupt is because Monster has been compromised.
"Janet's here visiting the baby. I'll use hers."
"Good. When I can secure a line, I'll call the office myself. Love you. Bye." I hang up with somewhat more force than necessary.
I start checking the laptop. No hidden or altered files. Benchmark tests come back in spec. Damn it. I know you can't prove a negative, but after running every diagnostic I have and a few I make up on the spot, I can't find any signs of tampering or viruses on the portable. Most of the real work was being done by Monster anyway.
Sort of leaves me with the paranoid's dilemma. What evidence do I choose to believe? The evidence that shows Monster got penetrated to the point where I was able to be traced? The evidence that shows the portable is clean? The two are not mutually exclusive.
If Monster was penetrated, could whoever did it have followed the e-mail I sent to the external computer system at MATRIX HQ? Since the only way to add data to the internal computer system is through the gatekeeper system, that should still be safe. The external system can be replaced for about ten grand and few days of my time. If I just replace all the memory systems and processors, I can do the job for less money, but it'll take longer. Can't even charge it to the MATRIX account, because it's my own damn fault.
Monster, on the other hand, represents a good chunk of all the spare cash I've had for the last four years and who knows how many man-hours. Parallel processing has always been my big thing. Not one super chip, but lots of (much cheaper) second line chips and co-processors. It's how I produce computing miracles on a budget. Of course, the hard part is writing programs to divide tasks in the most efficient manner. But then, I've put lots of effort into doing just that.
Did Monster even get penetrated? Sufficient access to the phone company computers could trace call origins and destinations, even without understanding the encoded data. Traffic analysis is an important part of intelligence work. While it's true that anything that can be encoded can be decoded, I do use 192 bit encryption for crying out loud. I upgraded after the 'squeamish ossifrage' challenge got beat. At current rates of progress, I shouldn't have to upgrade my encryption standards again for 20 years. Well, probably more like 10. All right, 5 if those rumors I heard are true.
Judging the options, hacking the phone company seems the more likely of the two. I've done it often enough myself, just not here yet. Damn, can't take the risk. As much as I hate to lose the resource, I'm going to have to finish this mission off without the use of Monster.
"C'mon... Think damn you" I say to myself. In order to distract myself, I start doing my morning pushups. Let the problem run around in my subconscious for a bit. I don't think it was Mishima calling. Despite what that file said, I expect my next run in with them to involve lots of guns and other military ordnance.
I doubt that anyone from the high school has the skills to do what has been done. The voice sounded too old to be a student. Anyway, a teacher or staff member would almost certainly have used family names. It would be really funny if I'm just over-reacting to a simple phone call from the school, but I sincerely doubt it.
Hmm. Nabiki is vindictive enough to have someone call as a prank. She might have been able to get access to the school records to get the phone number. She's resourceful enough. But she doesn't seem the type to go for mere annoyance. But having already taken one figurative swing at me and missing, she might feel the need to try again.
My subconscious finally gets back to me after I finish off the push ups. I've been tracing a backdoor from Natsume Kyusaku to Mishima Heavy Industries. Since it was a phone call and not a military assault, I've reason to believe it's not Mishima. It's Natsume's backdoor, he must have caught the access attempt. Duh. Took me long enough. It's got to be him. As far as I can tell, the Mishima people don't suspect a thing on the computer front.
Now, I have to decide what to do next. I spend a few minutes going over all the data I have on Natsume before I do anything else. Information provides the phone number. Blocks *69, but not Information. Sheesh. I jot the number down and decide if he's willing to call me at 4:35 AM, I'm willing to call him at 5:17 AM.
He answers on the first ring.
"Moshi moshi," answers the same voice from earlier.
"Good morning Natsume-san."
"Did Atsuko or Eimi show up?" he asks hopefully. Guy has a one track mind. Apparently, details of how I figured out it was him calling aren't important.
"No, but shouldn't you tell me why you expect them to? Not to mention what they look like. Or who they are for that matter."
"Atsuko is my daughter, Yoshikawa Eimi is her... friend." I notice the hesitation before the word 'friend'. Makes me wonder what he really wanted to say there. Hold up.
"Your bio says you have a son, not a daughter."
"Ryu is my son, Atsuko is... adopted." Again with the weird pause.
"And why would they be here?"
"I noticed an attempt to enter the Mishima Network through my access path. I traced you from there, but it wasn't easy. Even for a genius such as myself."
Modest little bugger. At least he admitted it was difficult for him. "And why would they be here?" I ask again.
"Atsuko knew I had located you. She may have tried to investigate. Eimi-chan just tends to show up around Atsuko sometimes."
"O.K. What do they look like and what do you want me to do if they show up?
"If Atsuko arrives, tell her that 'Papa-san' says for her to go home. Ryu-kun is worried about her. Atsuko is about 165 cm, has green eyes and long pink hair. She's a very nice girl. Eimi-chan is about 135 cm, with brown eyes and dull blonde hair." Suddenly, I hear a loud crash in the background. "Nevermind, they're here." Another crash comes through the hand-set before Natsume hangs up.
Green eyes, long pink hair and 165 cm. That fits the description of the bicycle girl who was in that computer file. Which, as usual for things that happen in Nerima, leaves me with a lot more questions than answers.
Normal people can't ride bicycles at 90 kph while carrying a passenger. (They don't leap over trains either.) Therefore Atsuko is not normal. The computer file was labeled "Die Catgirl Die" and had Atsuko's picture. For a brief moment I wonder if Atsuko is a super hero named Catgirl. I do try to keep up with these things, but the name doesn't ring a bell. There are supposed to be some meta-humans in Tokyo (besides Ryoga), but unless I count Jusenkyo curses, I haven't seen anything besides this.
At least some degree of super human strength. Since she is referred to as "Catgirl", she's probably agile as well. The wind in her eyes at 90 kph didn't seem to bother her. I know she wasn't wearing a helmet or goggles. That could imply something, but I'm not exactly sure what. Not enough to make a full report to MATRIX, but I'll file what I've got. Oh geez, I've got to call them anyway to make sure Monster was shut down.
Even though the sun isn't up yet, I pack my things for school and hop on my bike to go look for a pay phone. Then I get a better idea and decide to ride over to Natsume Kyusaku's place.
-----
The crime scene tape from the fight is gone, but a hole in the wall on the top floor tells me what I need to know. The door requires a passcode for entry, but a little TK bypasses that. I start up the stairs to the sixth floor. I normally use stairs whenever possible. Elevators are just too easy to trap. Once I reach the sixth floor, it only takes a few seconds to spot the door to the Natsume apartment. A sign on the door is labeled in English lettering, Natsume Kyusaku, Ryunosuke, Nuku Nuku. The last is a tacked on addition.
Hmm. Atsuko isn't listed. Odd. Gathering my resolve, I knock on the door. After a moment, a boy in pajamas who looks about 11 or 12 cracks it open a bit. Definitely the passenger I saw on that bicycle last Thursday. He gives me a quick glance before turning and shouting "Dad! It's for you!" He then heads off as his father approaches.
A few seconds later, Natsume Kyusaku arrives himself. I didn't get a good look at him Saturday night, but his appearance matches the photo my prep work turned up. He's a skinny guy of average height wearing a lab coat over a blue shirt and black tie. His dark bangs are so long that they cover his eyes. How he can possibly see anything like that?
I bow and begin speaking. "Good morning Natsume-san. I'm Jeffery Anderson, we spoke on the phone earlier." Beyond him, I can see several crates full of broken masonry and chunks missing from a couple of walls.
"Oh, my apologies about that, I sometimes forget that other people do not keep my hours. Please come in." There's a little edge to his voice as if he hasn't slept. Understandable, if my child was missing, I wouldn't sleep much either. I pull off my shoes and enter.
"Sorry about the mess," he says guiding me to the living room.
Waving vaguely at the room, I ask, "Did this happen during the attack I saw on the news?" We sit down at a low table.
"No, this happened when you called."
"Are they all right?" I haven't seen this much non-fire damage to an apartment since the time Cheshire Cat faked his death. Never did forgive him for doing it in my building though.
"They are both perfectly fine. I sent Nuku Nuku to the 24 hour lumber yard for repair supplies."
Nuku Nuku? Must be Atsuko's nickname or something. "What about Eimi?"
Natsume gives a nervous laugh before saying, "Oh, don't worry about Eimi-chan. She'll be just fine."
Once the amenities are taken care of, we get down to serious business. I explain why I was trying to hack Mishima. I don't give him the whole truth, but nothing I tell him is a lie. Because I can't see his eyes, I can't read him well enough to know how he's taking all this. It seems he is treating it seriously though.
I also find out that Monster did _not_ get hacked. He went through the phone company as I figured. Unless he's lying. But the longer we talk, the less likely I think that is.
I can hear Ryu-kun rummaging in the kitchen getting his breakfast and hope there will be enough time to stop at Ucchan's for my own breakfast.
Natsume asks for more details. I give him what I can. Info about the refurbished submarine, sales records for six power suits. He sits quietly for a minute and I think he may have fallen asleep on me when he shoots to his feet.
"I have to get Ryu to school, but I promise I will look into this when I return home. Call tomorrow around dinner time."
Climbing to my feet, I bow and tell him, "Thank you very much Natsume-san. Your assistance is greatly appreciated." He shows me out.
The other reason I like stairwells is, that in apartment buildings, not many people use them. So I'm quite alone as I bounce down the stairs several at a time, a smile on my face. It's like that quote from Lois McMaster Bujold. "Never do yourself what you can con an expert into doing for you." Not that I'm conning him and I do consider myself an expert computer hacker. It's just he may be better. Besides, he already has a backdoor in place. Gives him a major advantage.
There isn't enough time to stop for breakfast. Barely enough time to get showered, changed and to class. Kuno mutters "foul sorcerer" when he notices me upon his arrival. He is however, not stupid enough to try anything else. Nabiki neither seeks me out or avoids me, merely saying "Ohayo Anderson-sensei" when she enters moments before the bell.
Serizawa-sensei has failed to arrive, and an intercom call indicates he will be late. I can't read the majority of his lesson plans, but I do know that a History test is the first thing up after homeroom. Unfortunately, he must have the test with him, because I can't find it in his desk. I give the class the good news and tell them they have the period to themselves. But if Serizawa-sensei isn't back by time for English Lit, I will still be teaching that class.
The students take the news with good humor. They should considering they are getting out of a test. Unfortunately, the happiness is short lived as Serizawa-sensei arrives a few minutes later and the test is given anyway.
English Lit rolls around, but I'm not really into it. I ate my last energy bar on the ride to Natsume's and I missed breakfast entirely so by now I'm pretty hungry. The look on Serizawa-sensei's face indicates he's not pleased with me, but with the end of the mission approaching, I can't make myself care.
Just before the lunch bell, the door explodes inward. It's Shampoo. She has replacement bonbori, or she found where I ditched the last set. Maybe that's what took the extra day, or maybe it was the rain. I was expecting this attack to come yesterday. When it didn't happen, I had hoped I was off the hook.
After the dust settles, Shampoo begins her spiel. "Shampoo not know how foreign man beat Shampoo." There are a couple of murmurs from the class. A few people must not have heard about what happened Monday. "Shampoo not lose again!"
I look to the back of the classroom. "My apologies Serizawa-sensei. I'll try to keep the property damage to a minimum." Then I turn to Shampoo. "All right, let's get this done." With that, I throw up a repeller field and dive through an open window.
As Shampoo crashes through an adjacent closed window, I hear a voice shout "We're three stories up!" Apparently that guy wasn't here when I did this last week.
My strategy is the same as last time. Stay out of her reach and get her wet. Since she is chasing me and not the other way around, it should work again if I can get her to follow me to the pool. I use TK to soften my landing. Shampoo's leap takes her to a convenient tree. A bola comes flying out a split second later and wraps around my chest and right arm. The repeller field prevents it from actually touching me, so it takes only a second to get rid of it. By then two more bolas are launched but I simply spring away from them. The lunch bell rings in the background.
Shampoo leaps from a lower branch of her tree and starts covering the ground between us with long strides. I turn and run. As I round the corner of the school, I see a brace of knives, chains and other dangerous hardware heading straight at me. I dodge some of it, and the repeller field deflects the rest. Without the repeller field, I'd have been shish kebabed.
Mousse shakes his arms, drawing the various chains back into his sleeves. How the heck can he hide that much stuff in there? He shouts in a determined voice. "First Saotome, now you! No one will keep me from my beloved Shampoo!"
Shampoo takes advantage of my distraction to close the distance between us and launch an attack. Not even close. She's slipping. Mousse relaunches his chains, but I jump up and avoid them. Shampoo uses her bonbori to smash away any that come near her. Mousse starts to draw his chains in again, and once I land, I charge in after them. Shampoo follows right on my tail.
I launch a flying kick that catches Mousse square in the chest. As he falls down, I use him as a springboard. A mid air half turn allows me to see what happens next. Mousse pops back up just in time to get in Shampoo's way. He shouts "Shampoo!" like an addict greets his next fix and attempts to hug her in the same manner Kuno tried to grab 'Ranko' yesterday. It works about as well. Shampoo shoves her bonbori out in front of her and lets Mousse crash into them.
"Stupid Mousse! Stay out Shampoo's fight!" She then bashes him once with a bonbori. Mousse drops like a sack of spuds. I guess they weren't working together. After a final glance at the love struck man, she returns her attention to me.
I get to the edge of the pool and Shampoo can see it behind me. Unlike last time, she doesn't hesitate and moves in. I leap up and back and crank my repeller field to the max. Grabbing my ankles I cry out "CANNONBALL!" Once I'm in the pool, the weight of the water will overwhelm the repeller field forcing it to collapse. It should be safe, if messy.
The splash hits Shampoo squarely, drenching her from head to toe. Unfortunately, it doesn't turn her into a cat. Gee, what a wonderful time for her to find a cure.
Shampoo sputters for a bit before shouting, "Ha! Shampoo no fall for same trick twice! Great-Grandmother give Shampoo water proof soap!"
Water proof soap? Sort of a contradiction in terms. Oh well, there's more than one way to skin a cat. I set a repeller field up behind her. It's more than strong enough to shove her in the water. The look of shock on her face as she falls in is priceless. I backstroke to the far edge of the pool. Shampoo can't swim very well while carrying her bonbori, so she lobs them out of the pool and starts swimming to the nearest edge to climb out.
By this time we've managed to gather quite the audience. Ranma is looking at Shampoo in shock. Akane and Ukyo are doing so as well. I'd say Nabiki isn't in shock, but looks very interested in the proceedings. Dozens of other people, students and teachers both, are watching as well. Mousse staggers over to help Shampoo get out of the pool. She pulls him in as she gets out and it's duck season. This gets a major reaction from the crowd and breaks Ranma out of his stupor for some reason.
I pull myself out of the pool while Shampoo retrieves her weapons. I raise my voice so I'm sure to be heard. "You willing to talk about this!"
"Shampoo not want marry foreign man! Shampoo want marry Ranma!"
"I don't want to marry you!" Moron. "I'm already married!" And the dip in the pool has probably ruined the picture of my wife and son. I notice Mousse fly out of the pool and into the building. Literally into the building as he just misses flying through an open door.
"Amazon law! If outsider man defeat Amazon woman, must make outsider man husband!" Shampoo shouts out, looking as if she's ready to cry.
"THEN WHY DID YOU ATTACK ME?!" I scream. If Ranma puts up with this crap all the time, he must be some kind of saint.
Shampoo screams back "IF SHAMPOO DEFEAT FOREIGN MAN THAN NO HAVE TO MARRY!"
"IS THAT ALL?!"
I know what to do now. I walk around to the other side of the pool. As I get closer, Shampoo drops into a combat stance and looks ready to attack. I simply lie on a more or less dry piece of ground and say "O.K. You win." One hundred twenty six jaws drop to their limits. I might as well have some fun with this. "Here I lay, defeated by the mighty Amazon warrior Shampoo. I'm far too feeble a fighter to be worthy of being her husband." I've got a repeller field up, just in case.
Shampoo stomps over to me. "Get up! GET UP! Foreign man no make fun of Amazon law!" She gestures animatedly with her bonbori.
In a voice not meant to be heard by anyone else, I tell Shampoo, "Play along, this way you get what you want and I get what I want." Returning to my previous tone, "Such power, such skill. I never truly defeated you, I was just lucky!"
Several conflicting emotions cross Shampoo's face as I wait for her response. There's anger, disgust, thoughtfulness, surprise, and joy before she winks at me. She carefully puts a look of anger and disgust back on her face before speaking. Whispering, Shampoo informs me, "Water proof soap wear off anyhow, foreign man just get Shampoo wet again."
Returning to her prior voice, she continues, "Coward foreign man waste of Shampoo's time." She turns to where Ranma is standing and asks loudly, "Airen take Shampoo to date soon, yes?" Not waiting for an answer, she turns and bounds away.
As soon as she's out of sight, I climb back to my feet and tell my audience, "And _that_, ladies and gentlemen, is the difference between strategy and tactics."
The crowd breaks up and Ranma walks over with Ukyo and Akane. "I can't believe you did that," Akane and Ukyo both say.
"There's no way I'd've done sumthin' like that," Ranma states.
"Ranma, you have more pride than is good for you," I point out. Akane and Ukyo laugh. "I couldn't win by beating her, that would have just made things worse. But I could win by losing, so I did."
Ranma stammers out, "But ya looked so... so... so..."
"Stupid? Cowardly? Silly? That was the point. I'm not going to hurt Shampoo for being subject to a bunch of idiotic laws." I never laugh at someone else's religion, no matter how stupid I think it is. "No way I'm going to marry her either. So I lost a little face, big deal. The opinion of anyone who thinks I really lost isn't worth anything." But if she tries again, the gloves come off. I figure anything further on this will be coming from Cologne anyway. Just like with Kuno and Nabiki, this attack was a put up job.
Ranma just shakes his head. "I still couldn't've done it."
"Jeff, how come Shampoo didn't turn into a cat?" Ukyo asks. "I could see she was wet." Ranma and Akane nod their agreement.
"She said something about 'water proof soap' but she also said it had worn off." All three of them file that factoid for future reference. My stomach makes an audible growl. "Sorry, I was busy this morning and missed breakfast. Ukyo, can I buy lunch from you?"
My face falls when she says "Sorry sensei," but she's smiling when she continues, "this time it's on me."
I scarf lunch at a pace that makes Ranma take notice. "It's all your fault," I tell him around a mouth full of okonomiyaki. "You and your father have been a terrible example for me." Another round of laughter. These are good people, even if they've got more relationship problems than the average Jerry Springer show.
When the warning bell rings, Ukyo goes to put away her grill while Ranma, Akane and I walk back to the building.
"I missed sparring with you yesterday," Akane says in a quiet voice.
"That's Nabiki's fault, not mine," I state flatly.
"Do you want to come by after school? To spar I mean?"
"Akane, don't take this the wrong way, but because of what Nabiki did, I will never spar in your dojo again. Someplace else, I'd love to. There, never." My sense of honor may be different from Japanese standard, but I still have one.
"You could spar out by the koi pond like me and Pops do," Ranma puts in.
"That would work." Thus allowing me to get in some practice, Akane to be happy and at the same time, blow smoke up Nabiki's butt. Damn near a perfect solution. "Not today, though, I've got a few things to do. Tomorrow all right?"
"Sure! Thanks sensei!" Akane exclaims, smiling brightly. I notice Ranma getting blown away by Akane's smile. Maybe she does have something going for her after all.
I get my clothes dried out and the rest of the day goes quietly. My math class goes much better than English Lit did. After final bell, Serizawa-sensei motions me over for another 'chat'. Total damage, one door (not really my fault), one window (also not really my fault, she could have jumped through an open one), and a little torn up grass. I guess Shampoo was trying to be subtle when she attacked this time, because she only broke down a door instead of several walls.
He indicates that he doesn't care about the damage total. It's my irresponsibly jumping out the window he's mad at. Hypocrisy at it's finest. I mean, I've jumped out the window before. Nobody said anything then.
Since I've been here, I've seen a pillar destroyed (Ranma and Kuno), holes smashed in first floor walls twice, (Ryoga bashing Ranma and one that I'm not sure about), and a large hole in the stairwell (presumably Shampoo). My 'duel' with Kuno did _no_ damage and compared to the rest of it, the damage total from the fight today was negligible. But no, I'm a teacher, so I shouldn't jump out of third story windows because it sets a bad example for the class. They could get hurt if they try it. I point out that by leaving the classroom the fastest way possible, the danger to the students was minimized.
Got him there, he doesn't have a real answer to that. He indicates that he is going to mention this incident on his weekly report to CUNY. By great strength of will, I avoid laughing at him. If Natsume-san gets me the data I need, I'll be out of here by the end of the week anyway. Eventually, Serizawa-sensei runs out of steam and dismisses me.
The rest of my day is filled with an after school snack at Ucchan's, the ride home, a couple loads of laundry, dinner at a fast food place called Skylark and a couple rubber monster movies on TV. By my standards, a nice dull evening. The kind I like, but so seldom get.
END PART 8
In Part 9: The conclusion.