Mr. Dankles was the quiet sort. He kept his shop clean and well
managed, happy to help an entering customer. But beyond these brief
interactions he mostly kept to himself. He was a short, stumpy little man
with keen eyes and rather quick mind. That evening, before he closed up,
he carefully took inventory of all his electronic toys, computers, and
other techy equipment - he was proud of his merchandise, best in the whole
city of Redding. At last he waved goodbye to the security camera and
turned the old silver key in the lock. Never did he feel the watching eyes
or see the sly smile that grew as he drove away.
****
Teli's sly smile grew as the dumpy little man drove off. Quickly and silently she made her way across the dark roof. Her entry point was a small window that faced a back alley. Slowly Teli lowered herself down, glad for the strong rope Zane had left her. At the window she hung, cautiously peering in. A single security camera swept its way across the room, a little red eye blinking. Teli quickly lowered herself below the window as the recording eye swept over the window. Slowly she counted the seconds, thankful that the window lay at the end of the camera's sweep, not the middle.
At ten seconds Teli peeked again, seeing the red eye just past her point. Quickly she punched a little hole in the window, wincing at the shattering sound. Reaching quickly in, Teli found a latch, lifted, and let the window swing open above her. Glancing at the menacing camera Teli judged she had another ten seconds to get in and undercover before the red eye swept over her spot again. She hoisted herself up, undid the carabineer, and dropped silently in.
She landed in a crouch, finding herself behind the main desk of the shop. Quickly she rolled under a ledge and counted again, patiently. After a moment Teli rose and made her way along the wall, getting effectively under the camera where it could not see. She breathed a small sigh of relief, but remembering Zane's words, she kept her senses on full alert. From under the camera Teli could safely scan the store for her objective.
It was a small little laptop, but the latest in the line of high speed, high memory capacity with built in wireless Internet. Teli saw it proudly displayed in the little store's front window. Switching to infrared vision, Teli scanned for lasers. Two crisscrossed the room between her and the objective, one more shown near the laptop - as its personal guard. Teli smiled and shrugged her coat off.
A cartwheel to a back handspring brought Teli within reach of her target. Confident that the little red eye couldn't see through her jacket, Teli proceeded. Two little mirrors appeared out of her pack. Teli held her breath and carefully slipped them into the line of the last laser. No alarm went off. Teli breathed again and reached for the little computer.
****
Dear Angel, It's been a really interesting few days. First off, I love my motorcycle! That was quite a fun little adventure. I am never going back to regular old cars again!
Okay, secondly. Zane left yesterday. So, now I'm here, on my own. It's a very. alone feeling. I'm not sure if I like it or not. Leaning towards not, but it does have some perks. I guess I'll just have to get used to it. The trip to Redding wasn't bad at all. Like I said, never going back to cars!
Completed my first solo mission - if you could call it a real mission. Stole a 'communications device.' Well, that's how Zane put it. I'd call it a regular old laptop - wireless Internet of course. It was pretty fun actually. Getting around the camera was my main concern, after that the little lasers, but it all worked out as I'd hoped. I skipped out of there pretty quick once I'd gotten the computer in my backpack and viola! Teli has her own, personal laptop computer. Got back to my room and crashed. I can go a while without sleep, but 62 hours is a long time even for me.
So, anyway, I think I'll use this wireless Internet so see if I can get a message to Kat. But first, I've gotta check for my new instructions. Time to head up to the roof. Write more later.
--Teli
****
Night was falling as Teli pulled herself out onto the roof. It was obvious that no one had been up there for many years; the upper floors of the 24- story building were rickety and old. 'No wonder the hotel is only on the first few floors.' Teli mussed as she slipped along the rooftop, a silhouette against the darkened sky. The chimney like structure was her objective. Once there Teli tapped on the bricks, listening hard for that hollow clunk. She was soon rewarded and pride the brick from its spot.
Behind where the brick had been were many papers. An old passport, a card labeled 'sector pass,' and a note.
'Your destination is Seattle. There you will need the sector pass and Passport. Go to sector 9 and find Foggle Towers, PT level. Be quick, but watch your back. They're closer then you think. Good luck. - Zane.'
Teli nodded as if she had heard Zane speaking. Putting the note aside Teli opened the Passport. A small gasp escaped Teli's lips in wonder as she first saw the picture. The girl looked almost exactly like Teli, save for a slightly tanner complexion and wariness in her eyes. She was a few years older too. Teli looked at the date, but her keen eyes told her the year had been carefully updated to make the Passport current. Teli glanced at the sector pass. The same wary eyes looked back at her. Curious, Teli looked back at the Passport, which she saw had also been carefully tampered with. 'So,' Teli thought, 'my alias is now Penny Smith. I wonder who she was.' Teli mussed as she read the name.
Teli glanced up at the starless night sky. She quickly replaced the brick and shoved the papers into her backpack. Then, on silent feet, Teli made her way back inside and dropped lightly down to the 24th floor. Here Teli set her bag down, pulled out the computer and flicked it on. As it booted up, Teli pulled out a short piece of phone cord and took off her silver bracelet. Cautiously, Teli plugged the phone line into the computer, started up the Internet from the main screen, and plugged the phone cord into the outlet embedded in her wrist. With a deep breath, Teli closed her eyes and entered the online world with her mind.
****
Twenty minutes later Teli opened her eyes again. Something had called her back, yet she was unsure of what. The computer, new as it may be, had old software and Teli, try as she might, had been unable to locate Kat or hack into her e-mail. Teli's only concern at that moment was making sure whomever 'they' were, that they didn't get to Kat. Zane has said 'they're closer then you think' and that meant Kat was in danger too. Teli blinked her green eyes in frustration and slammed the laptop closed.
That's when she heard it.
(Return to Chapter One)
****
Teli's sly smile grew as the dumpy little man drove off. Quickly and silently she made her way across the dark roof. Her entry point was a small window that faced a back alley. Slowly Teli lowered herself down, glad for the strong rope Zane had left her. At the window she hung, cautiously peering in. A single security camera swept its way across the room, a little red eye blinking. Teli quickly lowered herself below the window as the recording eye swept over the window. Slowly she counted the seconds, thankful that the window lay at the end of the camera's sweep, not the middle.
At ten seconds Teli peeked again, seeing the red eye just past her point. Quickly she punched a little hole in the window, wincing at the shattering sound. Reaching quickly in, Teli found a latch, lifted, and let the window swing open above her. Glancing at the menacing camera Teli judged she had another ten seconds to get in and undercover before the red eye swept over her spot again. She hoisted herself up, undid the carabineer, and dropped silently in.
She landed in a crouch, finding herself behind the main desk of the shop. Quickly she rolled under a ledge and counted again, patiently. After a moment Teli rose and made her way along the wall, getting effectively under the camera where it could not see. She breathed a small sigh of relief, but remembering Zane's words, she kept her senses on full alert. From under the camera Teli could safely scan the store for her objective.
It was a small little laptop, but the latest in the line of high speed, high memory capacity with built in wireless Internet. Teli saw it proudly displayed in the little store's front window. Switching to infrared vision, Teli scanned for lasers. Two crisscrossed the room between her and the objective, one more shown near the laptop - as its personal guard. Teli smiled and shrugged her coat off.
A cartwheel to a back handspring brought Teli within reach of her target. Confident that the little red eye couldn't see through her jacket, Teli proceeded. Two little mirrors appeared out of her pack. Teli held her breath and carefully slipped them into the line of the last laser. No alarm went off. Teli breathed again and reached for the little computer.
****
Dear Angel, It's been a really interesting few days. First off, I love my motorcycle! That was quite a fun little adventure. I am never going back to regular old cars again!
Okay, secondly. Zane left yesterday. So, now I'm here, on my own. It's a very. alone feeling. I'm not sure if I like it or not. Leaning towards not, but it does have some perks. I guess I'll just have to get used to it. The trip to Redding wasn't bad at all. Like I said, never going back to cars!
Completed my first solo mission - if you could call it a real mission. Stole a 'communications device.' Well, that's how Zane put it. I'd call it a regular old laptop - wireless Internet of course. It was pretty fun actually. Getting around the camera was my main concern, after that the little lasers, but it all worked out as I'd hoped. I skipped out of there pretty quick once I'd gotten the computer in my backpack and viola! Teli has her own, personal laptop computer. Got back to my room and crashed. I can go a while without sleep, but 62 hours is a long time even for me.
So, anyway, I think I'll use this wireless Internet so see if I can get a message to Kat. But first, I've gotta check for my new instructions. Time to head up to the roof. Write more later.
--Teli
****
Night was falling as Teli pulled herself out onto the roof. It was obvious that no one had been up there for many years; the upper floors of the 24- story building were rickety and old. 'No wonder the hotel is only on the first few floors.' Teli mussed as she slipped along the rooftop, a silhouette against the darkened sky. The chimney like structure was her objective. Once there Teli tapped on the bricks, listening hard for that hollow clunk. She was soon rewarded and pride the brick from its spot.
Behind where the brick had been were many papers. An old passport, a card labeled 'sector pass,' and a note.
'Your destination is Seattle. There you will need the sector pass and Passport. Go to sector 9 and find Foggle Towers, PT level. Be quick, but watch your back. They're closer then you think. Good luck. - Zane.'
Teli nodded as if she had heard Zane speaking. Putting the note aside Teli opened the Passport. A small gasp escaped Teli's lips in wonder as she first saw the picture. The girl looked almost exactly like Teli, save for a slightly tanner complexion and wariness in her eyes. She was a few years older too. Teli looked at the date, but her keen eyes told her the year had been carefully updated to make the Passport current. Teli glanced at the sector pass. The same wary eyes looked back at her. Curious, Teli looked back at the Passport, which she saw had also been carefully tampered with. 'So,' Teli thought, 'my alias is now Penny Smith. I wonder who she was.' Teli mussed as she read the name.
Teli glanced up at the starless night sky. She quickly replaced the brick and shoved the papers into her backpack. Then, on silent feet, Teli made her way back inside and dropped lightly down to the 24th floor. Here Teli set her bag down, pulled out the computer and flicked it on. As it booted up, Teli pulled out a short piece of phone cord and took off her silver bracelet. Cautiously, Teli plugged the phone line into the computer, started up the Internet from the main screen, and plugged the phone cord into the outlet embedded in her wrist. With a deep breath, Teli closed her eyes and entered the online world with her mind.
****
Twenty minutes later Teli opened her eyes again. Something had called her back, yet she was unsure of what. The computer, new as it may be, had old software and Teli, try as she might, had been unable to locate Kat or hack into her e-mail. Teli's only concern at that moment was making sure whomever 'they' were, that they didn't get to Kat. Zane has said 'they're closer then you think' and that meant Kat was in danger too. Teli blinked her green eyes in frustration and slammed the laptop closed.
That's when she heard it.
(Return to Chapter One)