Background music suggestion: The Avengers (from Avengers Assemble)

Chapter 7 - ...Baby One More Time

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"I've created the messages now," Orfeus said.
They would be pointing out to false sources, first claiming the sprinklers were malfunctioning because of a work done at a construction site close by. Ultimately the messages would lead to a group of virtual anarchists they had fabricated for this purpose, the "TrollingPops".

"Mitsuko, could you buy us some time?" Ian asked.
"Sure."
Mitsuko was actually at the construction site, next to the fuse box. She fried it with a small gimmick she liked to call 'Thunderstruck'. It was rigged so that the electricity went out approximately five blocks around the venue.

The lights went off in the main hall but in about five seconds later they returned as the backup power went on. People were getting restless but only very few were leaving.
"I'm am sorry. We are experiencing some problems with the electricity because of a construction site nearby. We will continue in a few minutes so just remain seated. Or please enjoy some refreshments," the person who was currently talking, another game designer from NV, spoke as he received info from security personnel. So people assumed the program would soon commence and many refilled their caffeine sources.

Orfeus had kept the rest of the Agents posted on Vanya's meeting with Helena Magnusson. It had just ended.
"So scenario five point one then...Is the high frequency still on in the space?" Ian asked.
"It shut down when the electricity went off," Orfeus replied.
"Erik, could you shut down the backup generator now?"
"Sure."
He had sneaked to the electrical centre.

For a second the lights went out again but soon they returned. And now also the presentation image came back on the large screen.
"So they did have the backup of the backup…" Orfeus muttered as he was looking at the Agent's camera feed in his screens.
"Jo, could you look at the screen again?"
Her focus was on the screen now.
"Yep, I just got a glimpse of that freaky thing they're sending. You can't see it with your bare eyes but it's there. Also the frequency is now back."
He paused for a moment.
"And there the image was again...Everyone look away. They're sending it more frequently now."
Ian considered. They could enter the control room, stop the presentation, and possibly blow their cover.
"This is definitely no longer a recon mission. Plan five point three it is ," he said.

Whatever the strange transmission was, it had to be stopped. Ian and Jo exited the hall. The corridors would be soon swarming with security personnel so they had to hurry. The control room was right in the other end of hall, with darkened windows. They had memorized a route that would be the most inconspicuous one.
"Gudrun, tell me those cameras we selected are down," Jo said.
"They're trolling as we speak," she confirmed.
"But hurry. It might not last long."
The door of the control room was locked as they suspected. Luckily they knew the ventilation duct from the cleaning closet would connect to the one above the control room. So soon they were crawling inside it.

"How do we always end up in these cramped spaces?" Ian muttered.
"Try to see the nostalgic side," Jo whispered crawling in front of him.

They were now above the control room and had crawl extremely slowly. Looking through the grate, Jo felt relief noticing there was just one person in the control room at that time, a middle-aged man in guard-like clothes, sitting in an office chair in front of a set of screens.

Jo aimed very carefully and the dart hit him in the neck and in a few seconds he was out. Jo moved the grate and crawled got out as quickly as she could helping Ian then. They placed the guard carefully on the floor with a paper saying 'sorry' on him. This was the "TrollingPops" style. With no time to waste Ian stuck an USB stick to the computer that was obviously used for the presentation.

"Okay. It's there."

Suddenly the presentation slide was replaced with a picture of a trollface, the famous meme indicating someone was about to be trolled. People were obviously confused, the NV staff too.

"Orfeus, you're also plugged in. And we've left the room now."
Luckily no one had noticed and they sneaked back into the hall.
"So I can choose the song now?" Orfeus asked.
"Feel free," Ian said.
They could hear the first beats.
"What is this...?" Jo asked.
"No..." Ian frowned.
It was the nineties Britney Spears song "...Baby One More Time".
"At least it's not Rick Astley," Mitsuko commented in the earpiece.
Suddenly they all heard Gudrun's voice.
"We sang this at math camp. And changed 'give me a sign' to 'what is cosine'."
For a moment it was dead quiet.
"Must be good memories," Orfeus finally said.
"They were."
"Right then..." Ian interjected.
The trollface was gone and soon in the style of Star Wars there was a text rolling on the largest screen.

DON'T PANIC.

I REPEAT.

PLEASE DON'T PANIC.

THERE MIGHT BE A BOMB.

BUT THEN AGAIN,

THERE MIGHT NOT BE ONE.

ALSO,

I MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN

TO TAKE MY MEDICINE TODAY.

The message looped now. They knew it would cause some panic and it did. This had been the last resort. Luckily most people assumed it was just a sick joke. But everyone had to be evacuated.

And on that bombshell, the crowd, with the Agents among them, were soon out.

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