"Hey Aby, so, what do you think about Canary?" Kriss asked, dropping beside me on the sofa and passing me a canned beer.
It was late at night, and we were hanging out at another party. We didn't have a performance today, and Kriss had invited me to get more familiar with the local art and music scene.
There was a nice deep trance playing in the background, and you could hear people dancing and cheering whenever a good drop happened.
"Why are you asking?" I tried to deflect. I really didn't want to talk about it. It was bad enough just to be exposed to all the talk about the Canary case, like the PRT's decision to reveal my identity to the public after they issued the Kill Order. Not that it was unknown to people in my circle — I didn't do all those cape things, and it was challenging with my appearance changes — but nobody tried to babble about it, and now everyone just knows it.
"Well, I'm curious. I noticed that you avoid talking about it. I bet there's a story behind that."
He was right, of course, more than he knew.
"There's no point in talking about it. It changes nothing," I grumbled and sipped from the beer can.
"It's all government conspiracy. Canary didn't deserve to be locked in the Birdcage or the kill order," I heard a voice from a bean bag. Huh, I hadn't noticed her there before. She had messy black hair in a bun and was short, but her tight shorts made her legs look like they went on for miles.
"Jessy, we know your point already. You've made it clear to everyone," Kriss rolled his eyes and continued, "I want to hear what Aby has to say."
"Asshole," she grumbled back and then turned to me, saying, "New to the gig?"
"A week or so," I shrugged.
"She's great! You should hear her sing; she's really good," Kriss chipped in and explained, "She is replacing Tom, and you know how good he is. We were lucky to have her."
"What happened to Tom?" Jessy asked Kriss, and I was curious, too. I hadn't had a chance to ask before, and it felt wrong to do so now.
"Dunno for sure. He had to leave on short notice. Something about new work opportunities and training that he has to do before starting it, but he said he will be back by November. By the way, where have you been? I didn't see you all summer," Kriss looked a bit nervous while answering. I bet Tom's situation is a bit more complicated than he shared with us.
"Work. Don't ask. NDA and all that shit. At least I got paid well," Jessy replied, groaning and laying in her bean bag even deeper.
"You don't look like you enjoyed it, though," I heard another voice behind me. It was a short guy with long, messy, sand-coloured hair, wearing blue jeans and a black leather jacket. He dropped into the chair next to Jessy, passed her a beer, and said with a soft smile, "Good to see you alive, Jess."
"Same, Alex. Thanks for the beer. And no, it doesn't mean I've forgiven you. I'm just too tired to scream at you. Again."
"They were dating until this summer. They broke up over the Canary case," Kriss whispered theatrically with a wide, shit-eating grin.
"Man, you just had to say it, didn't you?" groaned Alex.
"So, Aby, right? What do you think about the Canary case?" Jess asked from her spot, bringing up the topic I had hoped to skip.
"I don't really want to talk about it," I replied, already annoyed by the topic's constant rise.
"She's a master and had to be locked up," said Alex, giving Jess a challenging glare.
"Fuck off," replied Jess and continued, "Canary — or Paige, since the PRT is full of assholes — didn't deserve what happened to her. I wouldn't be surprised if they either accidentally or deliberately killed her and then concocted that absurd story about her escape."
"Right, it's been what, two months since then, and nobody's heard or seen her anymore," added Kriss.
"She's laying low, I bet," snorted Alex.
"Or she's dead," deadpanned Jess. "And if they shipped her to the Birdcage, even if she didn't run away, with the capes they've locked up there, she would be dead right now anyway."
"It's all Benjamin's fault," I blurted out, surprising myself the most.
"Who is Benjamin?" Jess immediately asked.
"Her ex," I shrugged, already regretting saying anything.
"Wait, her boyfriend's name was Benjamin? How do you know that?" Kriss looked at me with raised eyebrows, his forgotten beer leaking onto the floor and his jeans. "Shit..."
Well, for a penny and for a pound.
"I knew them personally. I went to the same college as Paige," I spun a story on a whim. "They claim he was her boyfriend, but they broke up right after she got her power, about three years ago or so."
"So, why was it his fault?" Jess looked at me intently, all alert now, half sitting up.
"Well, I knew a guy who knew her security detail. He said that Benjamin tried to approach her, claiming she owed him for her success. They got into an argument, and she told him to go fuck himself. Security dragged him out, and the next day, she was arrested by PRT."
"No fucking way," whistled Kriss.
"Well, she mastered him," started Alex, making a dismissive gesture. Something nasty turned inside me, and I was talking before I even realised it: "She had her powers since 2008, and three years later, her ex claimed she mastered him. The same ex who cheated on her, who called her a yellow freak, and who came to her demanding she owed him after she finally succeeded against his wishes. I bet the asshole cut his dick off just to blame or blackmail her, but he messed up somewhere. Woohoo, Master, fuck my ass."
I finished my beer, squeezed the tin can into a pancake, and stood up, saying, "I'm done for today. See you around."
I headed outside, fuming like a steam train, leaving the silence that followed my outburst behind. I needed to get the hell away before I completely lost my cool. I guess I'd had enough of the party for today.
When I arrived at the porch just outside the house, I saw a guy smoking and silently gestured for one as well. It was getting cold at night, and the fresh air helped a bit to cool down my burning rage — a rage that I didn't know what it would take to let go of. I deeply inhaled the tobacco smoke (a rich mix, no pussy mint, good!), trying to burn off and cool down my emotions. The guy handed me another cigarette with a knowing smile before going inside just as Jess stepped out.
"Hey, are you okay?" she asked softly, taking a few steps to stand next to me.
"Just peachy." I lit the new cigarette from the old one and crushed the spent one into the ashtray.
"Sorry for Alex," she began, but I interrupted. "Not your fault. Can we just pretend I said nothing?"
"Sure, no problem. So, where you headed now?" Jess asked. What a good question. Maybe I should write to Minato to tell him I'll be there earlier today.
"Dunno. Probably will go home."
"Need a lift?" she asked genuinely, with a touch of hope in her voice.
I was halfway through the second cigarette by now, and the nicotine had kicked in somewhat. With a bit less tension, I breathed out more smoke.
"Sure."
"Let's go then. I parked over there." Jess grabbed my hand and pulled me along.
Location: Salt Lake City Date: Sep 10 2010"Minato," I called him as we lay in bed. Tomorrow, there will be an open-air concert in Red Butte Garden, and I have wanted to invite him for a while now. I even bought tickets.
"Yes, Paige?"
It was our first night staying at his house. I didn't know he was building it, and I stupidly assumed we would continue staying at my apartment.
"Come with me tomorrow?" Here, I finally asked. It was easier to do so while being at the back of his mind. At least it's hard to blush this way.
"To the concert, you talked about today?" he replied, and I could sense no reservations in his voice.
"Yes, that one." Please, please agree to come.
"Okay," he agreed, and I felt so happy. Silly me, of course, he would agree. He's not like my ex, who was always looking for excuses to avoid it — until I stopped inviting him, and then he started complaining about it.
It took me some time to calm down my excitement, and at night, I dreamt of holding hands, hugging and kissing.
Location: Salt Lake City Date: Sep 11 2010"Hi, Kriss!" I waved dramatically to Kriss and dragged Minato with me.
"Oh, hi, Aby. I thought I'd find you here."
"It's like you don't know my number," I teased, punching him in the arm.
"Ow, woman, don't bite my head off. Gosh, you punch for real." Kriss rubbed his arm, and I felt a bit guilty. Since Minato started training our body, even in the chakra construct, I kept all the sweet results of his hard work and sometimes forgot to measure my strength. At least I'm not a brute unless I consciously use chakra to enhance my strength.
"Dork. Meet my friend, Minato. Minato, this is Kriss," I introduced them.
"Pleasure to meet you, Kriss. I've heard you're a good drummer," Minato replied warmly, extending his hand for a handshake with a genuine smile.
"Ah, you're her secret boyfriend! Nice to finally meet you. I honestly thought she imagined you, you know, to stonewall any date requests."
Oh, fuck. Please don't be mad, don't be mad at me. I needed a distraction: "Jess couldn't make it. Her boss dropped some urgent work on her again. Where is everyone else?"
"Rogers skipped out today as well. Duncan is with his new girlfriend somewhere around," Kriss shrugged.
"Like new new?" I asked. I recalled some scandal from last night after we left Aces High. Gosh, Duncan is a real jerk. I don't know how he can have any girlfriend at all, but he changes them as often as he changes the strings on his guitar."
"Yep. Let's go, I'll show you where I put my stuff. Say, Minato, do you like beer or punch?"
"Hm, it depends. What do you have?"
Crisis averted! Though, I'll probably have to explain myself to Minato later.
"Thank you for inviting me, it was a nice evening," Minato said when we got back to the apartment.
"You really liked it?" I asked, my stupid insecurities surfacing.
"It reminded me of our festivals. While they were on a larger scale, the general feeling of celebration was the same. I really enjoyed it, so thank you."
I couldn't help myself and just hugged him; he was so sweet.
"Next time, you need to come when I sing," I mumbled into his shoulder. He was still in his Minato Henge, and it felt so nice.
"Sure, can do that. Just one question though, since when am I your boyfriend?"
Secrets in Salt Lake City Location: nowhere in Nevada Date: Sep 11 2010It was early morning, and I surveyed the desolate landscape, the barren expanse stretching out in all directions. The isolation was perfect for our purposes, away from prying eyes and potential disturbances.
I pulled out a modified Kibaku Fuda's, based on different mixes of the Senjutsu and elemental chakra, and it is high time I ran tests on it.
After the totally accidental incident with the first Kibaku Fuda, I conducted several experiments on combining Senjutsu and elemental chakra. I wanted to understand its potential uses beyond my extensive knowledge of fuinjutsu. However, many of the experiments were unsafe and often failed dramatically.
I took out a notepad (totally unnecessary, but it had a NASA print on the cover) and a pencil (totally space-grade!) and reviewed the planned test list.
"What do we have here? Aha, test number oh-nine-one"
That was the original nine-to-one with a water chakra mix.
"Let's see how it's going to ..."
KaaBoom
I grinned with my scariest smile. What a fun assignment I got from the Boss.
"Ichi byou keika, Ni byou keika, San byou keika ..." I counted while looking at the rising explosion mushroom on the horizon. A mild soundwave finally caught up to my current location, three miles away from Point Zero.
"Test oh-nine-oh-ten completed. Field application is limited and not recommended unless high area damage is acceptable." I dutifully wrote down the test results.
It was the last one - a mix of nine to ten Senjutsu with fire chakra. It needed to be mixed and saturated over an hour-long period; if I tried to speed it up, it blew up immediately (tested and experienced, no need to repeat again.).
Now it's time to go and check on barrier fuinjutsu. Hopefully, one of them produced unexpected results.
"Huh, that's interesting and promising," I mumbled to myself, writing down: "Barrier oh-alpha-nine-one, showing signs of strength increasing after test oh-nine-oh-ten. Possibility for energy absorption. Neat."
So far, the results are somewhat surprising if lightning chakra is used. Hiraishin markers based on the same mix show signs of time-space alignment, and the oh-alpha-nine-one barrier is no exception in this.
We need to do more tests on this mix.
Location: Salt Lake City Date: Sep 11 2010It was morning, and I sat on the porch of my new house in the mountains of Salt Lake City, looking out over the city, still in the shadows of the mountains beneath me. Three weeks ago, when I sent a clone to take care of the training ground, he went overboard. Not only did he create training grounds, but he also built a classic house with sliding panels and a wooden porch, replicating the look of my home back in Konoha.
It was a nice, secluded place, and I could always jump into the city if I needed anything. Paige came here regularly—for training at first, and later on when I started to stay overnight, she did, too, but never for too long. She dived into her music career with enthusiasm, often returning in the early morning, taking advantage of her ability to stay awake for long hours.
"Morning, Minato", I heard Paige's voice at the back of my mind.
"Morning, Paige," I replied, sipping from my cup of hot green tea. "Ready to come out?"
"Nah, let me enjoy your fancy tea for a bit," she replied with a yawn that I immediately echoed. Even after we moved to the city, we kept our sleeping arrangements and occasionally merged to share something tasty.
It was September, and the night temperature had already fallen below 60F. It was a bit chilly but in a pleasant way. My affinity for fire chakra always kept me hot, and finding a more cold place was always something that I cherished in the past.
The sun was slowly rising, casting a golden hue over the cityscape below. I took another sip of tea, savouring the tranquillity. Paige's presence in my mind was a comforting constant, a reminder of the unique situation we shared. Despite the chaos of our lives, I cherished these moments of peace deeply.
"We have a concert tonight," Paige mentioned after a few minutes of silence. "You're still coming, right?"
"Of course," I answered without hesitation. "I wouldn't miss it."
She seemed pleased, and I could feel a wave of contentment emanating from her. We were moving somewhere, and I hoped it wouldn't turn into something sour later on.
"Okay, I am ready to go", Paige interrupted my thoughts.
With a poof, Paige appeared next to me, stretching and yawning again. I tried hard not to stare at her, even though I was somewhat accustomed to the view by now.
Somehow, after another period of bloody days, we reached the point where I stopped applying my Minato Henge while we were alone, and I didn't need to go through hoops to clone her. Now, she wore the same clothes as me — simple yoga pants and a tank top — which really tested my restraint.
I should have been immune to it by now; after all, I saw her every day. But my upbringing in the more traditional Fire Country didn't make it any easier for me.
"Would you like me to drop you off at your apartment?" I asked, placing my empty cup on the small tea table to my left.
"Sure. Wanna have pancakes for breakfast?" She leaned into a hug, asking with a warm smile. It wasn't strictly necessary to have that kind of contact to jump to her apartment, but I failed to find any will to tell her that.
"Sure, can do that. Just one question though, since when am I your boyfriend?" I asked, still holding her in my arms.
What Paige doesn't know is that every time she merges with me, I receive memories from her clone as well due to my Yin chakra returning to me. So, of course, I know when and why she called me her boyfriend. It was just a convenient excuse to bring this topic up.
"Um, about that..." I felt her posture get all agitated and stiff.
"You don't have to explain if you don't want to. I was just curious." I gently put a hand on her head and stroked her hair a bit.
She sighed with a mix of relief and frustration and said, "It's just easier to avoid certain questions if people think I have a boyfriend. It wasn't meant to put you on the spot." She continued, barely above a whisper, "It's not like I can date anyone."
Yeah, I do understand her feelings. Following her breakup with her ex, I was fortunate not to have to witness her dating anyone. Despite attempting to go on a few dates, nothing substantial materialised, and thanks to Kami for that.
My situation is even weirder. While she is not constantly watching from the back of my mind, she literally couldn't sleep or properly taste food without merging, and, well, it is her body. And it is a female body, no matter how often I wear my Minato Henge. I am not a Tsunade who could potentially Henge herself as a male and make it work in places where it matters most.
Kushina and I did try to experiment with it a few times when we felt daring, but... Well, I promised to forget about that, but the look on her face when it didn't work... Khm.
I glanced down at Paige, nestled in the crook of my neck. It's not like I'm blind and don't notice the way she looks at me when she thinks I don't see. Well, it is going to be weird, I suppose. It's funny how things dramatically change in my life, but it is nothing new from a certain point of view.
"Paige, would you like to go on a date with me?"
Location: Salt Lake City Date: Sep 12 2010When I died, the technology level in the Fire Nation, as a leading country, was just beginning to rise. Right after the Third Shinobi War, a shadow war was happening in the background. Each Daimyō submitted missions to their shinobi counterparts to monitor and, if possible, steal the latest inventions from other countries.
During my last year as Yondaime Hokage, I had to sanction seven assassinations, ten technology thefts (three of which included abducting the person behind the project), and twenty seduction missions. The number of surveillance or intel-gathering missions was in double digits by itself. I had to read and be aware of every single mission.
As a consequence, I had the honour of witnessing rapid technological progress from the front row. Right before the end, before Kushina went into labour, I received a report that the Land of Iron had sent a satellite into space.
I felt like I was living on the edge of a new era, an era where my son would live a life so different from mine that it was hard to imagine. Unfortunately, I wasn't fortunate enough to see it.
And now, I was using something way beyond my wildest dreams back then — a laptop. A computer in briefcase size was blowing my mind — we had a building-size computer for the Cryptanalysis Team, and you had to wait half a day while they "ran the program."
Wireless connections and communications weren't even developed at that point, and we're not even talking about the Internet or anything similar in concept.
That "Internet" is still something I need to comprehend. The closest comparison that came to mind was a mind web, like the one Inoichi-san could make, but scaled to a global network with a bunch of overlaid protocols and interactive layers.
I found the concept so unbelievable that I had a hard time subduing my natural suspicion and trying to find where the traps were. I just couldn't bring myself to trust it at all.
There was no way people would post sensitive information for everyone to see, steal, analyse, and collect intelligence from it.
And yet, as I looked at the gathered information, I could only think one thing: yes, they did it — they posted it.
Over the last three weeks, I made an essential (and sometimes very detailed) threat assessment on major global and local "capes," gangs, criminal, political, and commercial organisations and, of course, bijuu, or, as they call them here, Endbringers.
While PHO was the primary source of most information, the volume of critical information that I gathered on PRT and Protectorate from their own online resources was just absurdly high.
On one hand, I was in intel-gathering heaven; on the other hand, it was the worst nightmare for any shinobi. With our level of paranoia, we would be killing people just to shut it down.
You could be photographed, and your information and images posted online even before you arrived anywhere. Every single shinobi would be "signed up" for updates by "hashtag," and you could literally be dying from exposure to that.
I know a whole department of people who would go ballistic as soon as they learned about it.
This information and computer skills were so critical that I had to dedicate significant time and clone resources to learning everything I could, even putting the Senjutsu project on hold.
At least I didn't start from scratch. I had paid attention to technology all these years; it was just that Paige was not so interested in it: she barely used it herself, and the most advanced thing she did was use music software.
I wasn't content with just that. I aspired to know more, and fortunately, I had plenty of time to learn.
The true challenge, however, lay in protecting Paige and myself in this new world. I could learn all the technology I wanted, but applying it with efficiency was another matter. But, as with everything else in my life, I would tackle it head-on and adapt because that's what a shinobi does.
Location: Salt Lake City Date: Sep 17 2010Using clones to speed up learning was cheating, but I was happy to have it. In one week, I packed six weeks of learning by using five clones all this time. It was a pain to plan it efficiently, but I did it. Perhaps I just scratched the surface, but by applying my shinobi experience, I found the existence of grey or straight illegal groups of so-called hackers and got in contact with them on the shady part of the internet.
Thanks to my new contacts, I acquired interesting and specific knowledge, got a crash course on internet security, learned how to properly apply proxy, VPN, and many other specific tools, navigated the internet, and, more importantly, accessed information that was poorly secured.
However, the most important thing I gained from my foray was contact with the right specialists who were ready to work for cash and had no issues with the legality of their actions.
That was a step forward and aligned perfectly with another project — a local intel-gathering network. I started building it as soon as we got to the city because, honestly, I couldn't rely on the clones alone to stay informed.
That's why I took a page from Jiraiya's book, or more precisely, my clones did. I'm not sure I would have gone down that path so shamelessly, but clones? They had no such reservations.
By now, it was up and running, and I regularly received reports on events hidden from public view. Everything was coming together, and probably just in time. Paige was already intertwined with local people, and someday, someone might decide to dig deeper or somehow make a connection between "Susan" and "Canary."
Then, the time for action would come. My role, as I saw it now, was to ensure she had the protection and support she needed. In due time, they will learn not to mess with us.
My thinking was interrupted, I received the memories of a clone who had been following a lead from one of the butterfly ladies. She overheard something intriguing on a UTAH engineering campus. Her client had accidentally mentioned his work, then became terrified and paranoid before abruptly leaving. She thought it was strange and possibly significant, and so did I.
With a cup of cold, shitty tea in hand, I was slowly making my way through the engineering sections of UTAH, trying to catch a hint of whatever had spooked someone enough to flee before their paid hours ended.
In the end, they found me before I found them. At first glance, it looked like a regular security patrol. They were dressed in civilian clothes and did their best not to stand out. When they noticed me less than thirty seconds after I got close enough, even though I kept my distance, I realised this wasn't a simple patrol. They were way too overqualified for that.
"Miss, can I see your student ID?" the taller one asked, showing his security personnel ID. His partner remained a few steps away, keeping an eye on the surrounding area.
"Oh, I'm not a student; I'm just wandering around. Is that a problem?"
"Do you have any other ID?" He abstained from answering my question, and his partner showed signs of getting alert.
"Sure, here's my driver's license. Is it good enough?" I grumbled, staying in character. I had emulated both the persona and the ID of someone living on the other side of the city, just for a situation like this.
He dutifully checked it and then called someone on the radio to verify its validity.
"Thank you, Miss Henderson. Unfortunately, I have to ask you to wrap up your visit and leave the premises. Let us walk you out. Where did you park your car?"
"Why? Am I not allowed to be here? It's public property." I showed some outrage at the suggestion.
"We have to insist, Miss Henderson. It's a new policy. Please contact the administration if you have any questions. Now, please, let's make it easy for everyone. Your car?"
After my encounter with the patrol, I became more proactive and extended the observation area to determine if there were additional security measures in place. I noticed a significant presence of installed CCTV cameras, and then I discovered stationary, well-hidden security teams around the UTAH campus. Sometimes, they operated from a service van, and other times, from an apartment with well-placed windows to observe the area.
A considerable number of people were dedicated to security and surveillance around UTAH. They were professional and well-trained, and the most intriguing part was their effort to remain hidden, which they executed excellently.
While their patrols and surveillance covered most of UTAH, the security around the west part was especially tight — that's where I encountered the patrol.
Ultimately, I had to follow one of them all the way to his home and sneak in at night to sift through his documents.
So, what is Homeland Security protecting in UTAH?
While the boss was spending his weekend at an open-air concert with Paige, I was tasked with investigating the UTAH situation.
Back in Konoha, we had an extensive card index, and as Hokage, I usually requested ANBU to bring me files related to whatever I was working on. However, before that, I was a regular visitor to the archives. All our mission reports and gathered intelligence were stored there and sorted in particular ways to confuse intruders, and it was a pain to work with.
Now, I have the beauty of data storage, search, and analysis. They call it a database here, and it was already full of threat assessments and anything else we could gather from the Internet.
I opened a new entry - UTAH- and started filling it out.
Okay, first things first. Security told me to contact the administration for more details, so let's start from there.
By the time Saturday night rolled around, I had my next target to proceed with the investigation.
So far, I have found that the UTAH policy has changed twice over the summer. First, they introduced increased security somewhere in June, claiming it was to provide a more secure environment for students. But a month ago, when the Canary case was expedited, and it became public knowledge that they didn't have her in the cell, they raised the security level again, citing the need to protect the next generation from a potentially dangerous Master on the run.
The correlation seemed coincidental, and it looked more like they used the excuse to raise security levels than anything else. And yet, with people like thinkers, I couldn't rule anything out, so I made a note of it just in case.
In the end, it wasn't hard to find out who exactly they were guarding. Old press releases mentioned a partnership between UTAH and a local company, Info Systems, on a communication project a week before the first security policy change.
With a bit more digging and paying one of my shady contacts to hack the UTAH administration server to retrieve the laboratory index with assigned personnel, including their home addresses, who were registered and allowed access to said laboratories, I finally had what I was looking for—the reason Homeland Security was present in UTAH.
Not surprisingly, one of the laboratories provided for the project was on the west side of UTAH.
The night was young, and I hoped to visit all of the listed personnel by the time the sun rose over the city.
My night foray was more than successful. It was baffling. No, I understood that they are civilians and make mistakes, but this was beyond my expectations.
When I found a paper in my first target's lab coat with what looked like random numbers and letters (the login and password, from the look of it), I got really suspicious. It was against any common sense, and I just couldn't believe it.
Then I found report drafts on his personal computer, which was not protected by a password at all.
I quietly left that place, expecting an ambush at any moment, and before approaching the next target's home, I spent extra time ensuring that no surveillance was in place. I was getting extra paranoid and was already looking under the under.
The next guy kept his login and password written on a piece of paper inside a cigarette pack and had a sticker with the password on his laptop. I also found form requests for tests on "THE SOURCE," along with the justifications for those requests and the expected results, on the same laptop. I was really confused but continued with my visits. Maybe I just got lucky with the first two, and this isn't a common practice? I just couldn't believe what I saw.
By now, I expected the worst and approached the next person's home with every precaution I could muster. When I found a locked computer, no visible stickers with passwords, and personal possessions without pieces of paper with credentials, I relaxed a bit. Finally, something that made sense.
Then I found her Homeland Security badge. Well, what a surprise.
Before I went to the project lead, Doctor Mutson, I had one more name — Jessica Portman, his assistant and a PhD candidate in quantum physics. Her face was quite familiar to me from Paige's memories. It was that elusive Jess who had to cancel a few weekend outings because her boss (apparently Doctor Mutson) dropped work on her lap again.
It looked like she had cancelled today again; her windows were lit up when I got to her home address. She was still not sleeping, working on her laptop while wearing tiny shorts and a baggy T-shirt that kept half of her shoulder out. I did my best not to get distracted by the view and focused on the mission.
She was busy working and doing her boss's bidding. It took some time, but I got my chance when she went for extra coffee in the kitchen. That's where I hit the real jackpot.
Her laptop had full specifications on the project with all the details. I copied everything onto a USB flash drive and left a virus in the system to get a backdoor later and to keep an eye on the project's progress, just in case.
From the few snippets I saw while files were being copied, I gathered that the project Homeland Security was so tightly monitoring and protecting was based on Hero tech, specifically the quantum communicator left behind after his death.
It took them ten years of regular scientific development to get to the point where they could make head and tail of what his tinkertech was doing and develop a process to replicate it.
That was what it was all about — a revolutionary communication system that would be free from infrastructure needs, especially a satellite network, and would work everywhere.
I guess there's no need to visit Doctor Mutson anymore when his assistant has all the project files and, from the look of it, is actually the one driving the progress forward. But I need to delve deeper into the files to know for sure.