Chapter 2: Objective Accomplished
Summary:
Reveling in a job well done.
This is chapter 2 of a longer piece that will travel into MSR territory. I guess its 4th season…
Disclaimer:
My cousin tells me that I'm crazy. Brett tells me I should write more. Copyright laws tell me that the X-Files are not mine.
A/N: Please read and review. I am a real person (I think).
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He was unsure whether it was instinct or tactical skill that enabled him to see the red glow in the door frame of the room she had inhabited. It hardly mattered now. As he secured the weight on his shoulder, he knew that this was what he was born to do. He had the feeling that the Commander knew as well. It must be that clairvoyance kicking in again.
He never actually had met the Commander, but that was common in his field. Each party had their identities to protect. The partialities of emotion often times even undisclosed to themselves.
It was a code on Pentagon files; a processor with a DOD Ethernet connection which rendered the streaming video sent to him biweekly. Scheduling variations depended on the moon: waxing, Monday and Thursday; waning, Wednesday and Friday; new or full, two videos redirected over the encryption to an anonymous email account on Tuesdays. It seemed his operator enjoyed his weekends free.
The encryption was virtually untraceable, unless you had Level 6 clearance and knew exactly what you were looking for. On top of that, an advanced degree in cryptographic theory from MIT might be useful, as one so determined would find it necessary to sift through 128 million lines of binary while decoding a 24-byte algorithm with a rotating cleartext. If that wasn't enough, the probability of an accidental discovery was nil. No one would have cause to explore vaccination records.
So when his videos won presented him with a figure sheathed in smoke, it served to ironically imitate the penchant for genius that the Commander possessed. The figure had made first contact, requesting the completion of his lifelong odyssey. Realizing the truth and lying store to the detachment fate had allotted him, he acquiesced to the proposal. He was the best and he had been liberated to do his job again.
Under the streetlight he held her as a lover might carry his beloved over the threshold. Placing her almost reverently in the backseat he surveyed his work. Perfect. Pride is a weakness and with his job not yet complete he chose to relinquish the indulgence. Though, as he shut the door, he did allow himself bask in the privilege of enlightenment: destiny had invested in his skill and issued him the keys to secure his future.
A/N 2: Please feel free to yell at me that I know absolutely nothing about cryptography. I know I'm a techie-poser.