Ed suddenly stopped her keyboard calisthenics and pushed her goggles onto her head, looking curiously at Faye, who now stood with her hand over her mouth and a shocked expression on her face. Jet was staring at her with a similar expression, and even Spike had a vague shadow of wonder crossing his face.
"Faye Faye knows about class 5 encryption? How does Faye Faye know about this? It's the most secure encryption in the whooolle galaxy!" As she spoke, Faye's eyes welled up with tears.
"Faye! What is it?" Jet snapped out of his initial shock and surprise and leaned over to the stunned woman.
Faye stood motionless, staring at the ground with wide eyes. Her hands trembled as she balled them into fists at her sides, and her face blanched white. The towel she had been holding fell to the ground, and her semi-damp hair stuck to her face like wet spaghetti. When she finally looked up, she made eye contact with a partially startled Spike before whirling her shaking body around and running back towards the bathroom. Spike jumped at the sheer terror in her eyes, his own orbs widening to match her terrified gaze. As she ran from the room, he felt his chest tighten.
'I've never seen her like this before', he thought to himself. 'What could have scared her so badly? And how did she know what Ed was doing? She's always stayed away from the tomato.'
Glancing at the gaping Jet and Ed, he nodded and hurried to the bathroom. "Faye!" he called through the metal of the door. "Are you alright?"
Faye lay on the bathroom floor in a huddled heap. Her mouth stung from the taste of bile that had involuntarily sprung from her churning stomach, and her hair hung limply across her pale face. She shuddered to think of the feelings that she had experienced in the living room and mentally cursed herself for reacting so harshly in front of the rest of the crew.
'They'll just think I'm crazy old Faye again' she thought sadly. 'The crazy shrew woman with no memories. The crazy bitch who remembers things at the most inopportune times and ruins everything by her stupid outbursts.'
She closed her eyes as she tried to drown out the visions that flooded her mind. Crawling to her feet, she staggered over to the sink and plugged the drain. Filling the basin, she plunged her face into the icy cool of the water. She lifted her face up and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
The water dripped down her face in streams. Her ice cold hands trembled as she struggled to hold the device before her. 'Come on Valentine' she thought as she fumbled with a small switch on the object.
The switch gave way and a small compartment opened, exposing three strands of wire with white plastic ends. She grabbed the red wire and held it up to a switch plate on the metal door ahead of her. Cursing, she fumbled with another lever on the plate, her numb hands uselessly slipping and sliding over its smooth surface. Angrily, she slammed her finger into the switch, finally causing it to give way to another compartment, similar to the one open on the device in her hands. Faye examined the wires within the plate, and gingerly took a black wire in her hand. Matching her wires with those of the plate, she pressed a button on her device. 'Come on, damn it.' She grumbled. The small device suddenly hummed to life, illuminating her face in a soft glow. Smiling for the first time that night, she concentrated on the flashing characters on the tiny display.
'Damn, this is a bitchy hack! What the hell are they protecting in here that is that important? Don't tell me a warehouse is worth this class 5 shit…' Faye swore to herself as her finger flew over the small touchpad. As she pored over the lines of data, she became vaguely aware of the distant hum of a motor. 'Shit! Not now not now…' Faye's efforts became more frantic as she scrambled to break the code before whatever or whoever was approaching reached her. She thought of the strength of the encryption and guessed that someone would be very unhappy at her attempts to break their security.
As she worked faster, she could hear the hum of the motor grow louder and louder and eventually the sound of crunching gravel and splashing water was added to the noise. 'Damn it come ON!' she swore, oblivious to the pain of her now-cracked fingertips continuously grinding on the rough keypad. As her blood mixed with the rain, her heart grew heavy with fear. She could now see the faint glow of approaching headlights illuminating the wall in front of her.
'Great' she thought. 'What a quaint way to die…' Suddenly, she heard a long tone and a faint click. Gasping in relief, she quickly unhooked her equipment and swung open the door. Stepping within, she froze at the sight…
"Faye! Are you alright?"
Spike's voice rang out from behind the door, snapping Faye away from her vision. She shuddered violently and opened her mouth to call out to him, but the words seemed to be frozen in her throat. Gasping for air, Faye slumped against the counter and slid to the floor. Her memories faded and all went black.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It's a cliffie!! More updates soon…I promise. Please let me know what you think ;)
"Faye Faye knows about class 5 encryption? How does Faye Faye know about this? It's the most secure encryption in the whooolle galaxy!" As she spoke, Faye's eyes welled up with tears.
"Faye! What is it?" Jet snapped out of his initial shock and surprise and leaned over to the stunned woman.
Faye stood motionless, staring at the ground with wide eyes. Her hands trembled as she balled them into fists at her sides, and her face blanched white. The towel she had been holding fell to the ground, and her semi-damp hair stuck to her face like wet spaghetti. When she finally looked up, she made eye contact with a partially startled Spike before whirling her shaking body around and running back towards the bathroom. Spike jumped at the sheer terror in her eyes, his own orbs widening to match her terrified gaze. As she ran from the room, he felt his chest tighten.
'I've never seen her like this before', he thought to himself. 'What could have scared her so badly? And how did she know what Ed was doing? She's always stayed away from the tomato.'
Glancing at the gaping Jet and Ed, he nodded and hurried to the bathroom. "Faye!" he called through the metal of the door. "Are you alright?"
Faye lay on the bathroom floor in a huddled heap. Her mouth stung from the taste of bile that had involuntarily sprung from her churning stomach, and her hair hung limply across her pale face. She shuddered to think of the feelings that she had experienced in the living room and mentally cursed herself for reacting so harshly in front of the rest of the crew.
'They'll just think I'm crazy old Faye again' she thought sadly. 'The crazy shrew woman with no memories. The crazy bitch who remembers things at the most inopportune times and ruins everything by her stupid outbursts.'
She closed her eyes as she tried to drown out the visions that flooded her mind. Crawling to her feet, she staggered over to the sink and plugged the drain. Filling the basin, she plunged her face into the icy cool of the water. She lifted her face up and stared at her reflection in the mirror.
The water dripped down her face in streams. Her ice cold hands trembled as she struggled to hold the device before her. 'Come on Valentine' she thought as she fumbled with a small switch on the object.
The switch gave way and a small compartment opened, exposing three strands of wire with white plastic ends. She grabbed the red wire and held it up to a switch plate on the metal door ahead of her. Cursing, she fumbled with another lever on the plate, her numb hands uselessly slipping and sliding over its smooth surface. Angrily, she slammed her finger into the switch, finally causing it to give way to another compartment, similar to the one open on the device in her hands. Faye examined the wires within the plate, and gingerly took a black wire in her hand. Matching her wires with those of the plate, she pressed a button on her device. 'Come on, damn it.' She grumbled. The small device suddenly hummed to life, illuminating her face in a soft glow. Smiling for the first time that night, she concentrated on the flashing characters on the tiny display.
'Damn, this is a bitchy hack! What the hell are they protecting in here that is that important? Don't tell me a warehouse is worth this class 5 shit…' Faye swore to herself as her finger flew over the small touchpad. As she pored over the lines of data, she became vaguely aware of the distant hum of a motor. 'Shit! Not now not now…' Faye's efforts became more frantic as she scrambled to break the code before whatever or whoever was approaching reached her. She thought of the strength of the encryption and guessed that someone would be very unhappy at her attempts to break their security.
As she worked faster, she could hear the hum of the motor grow louder and louder and eventually the sound of crunching gravel and splashing water was added to the noise. 'Damn it come ON!' she swore, oblivious to the pain of her now-cracked fingertips continuously grinding on the rough keypad. As her blood mixed with the rain, her heart grew heavy with fear. She could now see the faint glow of approaching headlights illuminating the wall in front of her.
'Great' she thought. 'What a quaint way to die…' Suddenly, she heard a long tone and a faint click. Gasping in relief, she quickly unhooked her equipment and swung open the door. Stepping within, she froze at the sight…
"Faye! Are you alright?"
Spike's voice rang out from behind the door, snapping Faye away from her vision. She shuddered violently and opened her mouth to call out to him, but the words seemed to be frozen in her throat. Gasping for air, Faye slumped against the counter and slid to the floor. Her memories faded and all went black.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It's a cliffie!! More updates soon…I promise. Please let me know what you think ;)