The blonde sat on the table, laptop clattering onto the wood off her lap in an uncharacteristically clumsy movement.
"It's not a square cypher. It's a cube. Divide the grid into six parts and add four blank spaces into each square. The first number of each square should stay the same- there!"
She pointed to several numbers that were the same, regardless of which picture they looked at.
"That should give the order in which the squares come in the net. First one, I assume is the top. Fifth is the right, sixth should be the left, according to my calculations. Draw up a 3D grid of a cube, 64x64x64 and input the values so that the net is formed. If all is done right, it should form a shape resembling a 64 cubed character cube, with a 4 cubed character cube missing from a corner. Filling in that corner. That's the key. A cube within a cube."
She murmured to herself, lost in the confines of her own mind again, while the rest of them contemplated what she said. Pearce had already gone to map out what she said. However, Skye, Krusty and Romeo were slightly slack jawed. She mapped out the code in her mind, in 3D no less. Just when they had thought she had finally lost it, she sprang back out, spitting out an answer. She was the deep web equivalent of a miracle worker.
Having been put through her paces for the past few days, not to mention a certain grueling nightmare, Crystal went back to eating her doughnut, looking pointedly at the other three men as if to tell them to haul ass and get back to work. They immediately complied. It was during moments like these that really spelled out for them why she was leader and why they were never caught. She had the brains, the guts and the luck of the Devil.
The girl was now busy on her code, the kitchenette void of everyone else. Though it was a breakthrough of sorts, she was certain that it was a dead end- the excitement was short lived. The code changes every twenty odd seconds- there was no way they could predict the next encryption code and figure out the key in time, though they knew how. Their fingers only moved so fast.
Back in the living room, Pearce and the rest realized the same thing.
"Hey. Call Crystal won't you? This is truly a dead end. We need to think of something else."
Just then, her computer beeped, indicating the arrival of a file over their VPN. She clicked on it. It was from Crystal.
No use. We have to take the other initiative. Pearce, regarding what I told you earlier- this is more your speed. Our next best bet is to find out the encryption software itself. It should be somewhere within the mainframe. The program attached here is one I've been working on for a while now. Proof read it and upload it. It's malware. Deploy it once we breach the firewall during a time of high network traffic, just as when a new account file is saved. The virus will put a tracer cookie on whatever files intercept it in a two second window. You then have to keep a close eye on the file, to see which program it goes through. Chances are that it will be the software we're looking for. Once located, Trix and I will receive the packet data.
You know the risks, I'm sure. But this is the only way. Plan is a-go in three days- Trix and I have to complete the retrieval program.
-ScarletWIDOW-
Talk about timing. Pearce read through her instructions and then clicked on the malware file attached. It was simple, but it'll do the trick. She fiddled with the stud in her tongue. Maybe, just maybe, she could make it a bit safer for them. Network security and anonymity were up her alley anyway. Not so much Crystal's. She was a head-on, breakthrough, hack-and-steal kind of girl. She could break in and cover up after the act immaculately. Yet, her expertise didn't come in during the crime. That was where Pearce came in.
She sighed. Being a black hat was so much easier. But somehow, this felt right. Although the job was complicated, she felt as if she was helping the little guy, making a change. She dropped out of college too- she never belonged anyway. With her attitude, intellect and sometimes eccentric attire, she stuck out and not in a good way. Always the odd one out. But when Crystal found her, she belonged. She finally found her home. Smiling slightly to herself, Pearce put on her game face and cracked her knuckles. The dangerous ones were always more fun.
Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Crystal leaned back against the wall. She was relieved, now that most variables were reconciled with and a definite course of action had been traced. Her work wasn't quite done yet- she needed Trix to wake up. But their program can easily be finished in the next three days- she was in no rush. The risk was great, but their plan put them back on track, time wise.
Her laptop beeped.
Battery is Critically Low: 9%.
Crystal sighed and after checking that she had affirmations from everyone but Trix, saying that they understood their part in the mission, she shut her laptop down. It's had a rough day- the casing was burning up. Placing it down gently on the counter, she hopped off the table and filled a giant mug full of coffee. It was lukewarm, but she didn't care. Sloshing in sugar, she took a sip and walked back out into the main room.
The time was nine in the morning. Everyone had worked through the night. And now, it was time for most of them to get to school.