1998
"There you are!" Quatre exclaimed as he caught sight of the bedraggled pair. "What happened to you guys?" he asked, looking over the two dripping pilots. Halfway back to the complex, the rain had started again and what had started as a slow walk ended as an out-and-out race.
"We...We..." Duo gasped, trying to catch his breath but failing miserably.
"We got caught in the rain," Heero answered calmly, sounding not a bit out of breath even though Duo could see that the Japanese boy was breathing almost as heavily as he was.
"That's...that's obvious...ain't it, Heero?" Duo grinned through wheezing gasps.
"Then why ask?" Heero growled, walking past a bemused Quatre and dragging Duo by the arm.
It had been good to hear Duo sounding almost himself again, Heero thought as he flipped on the computer switch. He had hoped that there would be a few more days of peace and quiet after that morning. Enough time to draw Duo out of the shell he had shied into, enough time to get the braided boy to realise that he did not have to keep everything to himself, that he'd had someone to share with. Duo was generous in so many things but that tiny, little aspect: he could never let anyone share in his pain if he could help it. He'd rather let it eat himself up from the inside rather than let it out for the world to see.
Duo had his pride.
But sometimes that pride was destructive.
The cold light from the computer monitor lit up the darkened room, bathing the two boys in a sickly green glow.
"Did you get anything yet?" Trowa asked, his voice low as he kept an eye out for uninvited company. They had sneaked into the records room, strangely one of the least secure rooms in the sprawling complex that was the heart of the OZ facility they were currently in. It had taken them almost a week of undercover surveillance to map out the rooms and the amenities the complex offered, targeting the most important sections necessary to their current mission.
"Not yet," Heero muttered as his fingers flew effortlessly over the keyboard. "They've got a damn complex security system," he hissed in annoyance as his hacking skills were tested to the fullest. Numbers flew across the monitor screen in rapid fire succession as Heero tapped out possible codes and passwords. Each came to nil as 'ACCESS DENIED' flashed repeatedly in his face.
"Kusou," he cursed after ten minutes of futile attempts to break into the OZ computer system. He glanced at Trowa who was nervously checking his watch.
"We've got another five minutes before the change of guards. Can you make it?" the taller boy queried, all the while glancing up and down the corridor.
"No," Heero sighed. "I need more time, or at least one key code," he grumbled. This mission was not turning out as simple as he'd first thought. "We can't do much tonight," he said, as he stood up. "Unless...Yes!" Heero's dark eyes lit up as he tapped a few more queries into the databank. The facility's local network was nigh impenetrable with the scant data he had to work with but there was one loophole, Heero discovered as he hacked into a separate database. The one vital link into the nexus of the facility's system was inaccessible through the local network but it *was* linked to other facilities, other establishments. There *was* a possibility that the system could be hacked into, but from an outside network. Unfortunately, this information had only just now come to view. And there was still too much to do within the facility for the two pilots to leave. And bypassing outside system security codes from within the facility would only alert OZ to their whereabouts.
Which only left them with one option.
Heero downloaded all the information he could find into a disk, and then proceeded to send it out to their mission base, all the while mentally cursing the genius who designed this particular facility's computer network and hoping that OZ didn't have more like him or her.
The drive whirred with what seemed like infinite slowness as the encoded message made its way out of the local computer network.
"We don't have much time," Trowa hissed, somehow sounding calm but agitated at the same time.
"Just a few more seconds," the Japanese boy said, a little smile playing at the corners of his mouth as the transmitting process was completed.
"Kanryou!" he grinned with satisfaction as he grabbed the disk. "Let's get out of here!" he said as both boys scurried quietly back to their respective quarters.
"It's from Heero," Quatre said softly as the message flashed on the monitor.
"What does he want?" Duo asked, pulling a chair and seating himself beside the blonde boy.
"The mission doesn't seem to be going according to schedule," Quatre muttered, almost talking to himself. "Hmm...they can't get in.."
"Ha! Heero the hacker Yuy can't get into the network?" Duo chuckled. "Are you sure Heero sent this?" the braided boy asked, peering closer.
"U-huh. It's the upload point. He thinks it can only be accessed from an outside network," Quatre sighed. "And we'll have to upload the primary key bits before he and Trowa can proceed with the main bug. How're we going to do that?" The blonde leaned back against the chair, staring at the computer. He could be counted on in the planning and logistics department - Darn it! He excelled in them! - but when it came to computers and hacking into information systems, Heero was still the best. And he hated computer viruses. They reminded him of the day his own computer system crashed on L4.
"Whoa," Duo said, gently pushing Quatre's chair to the side as he sidled in front of the monitor. "Let me try something. Lessee....What would Heero do?" Duo's face was scrunched up in concentration as he entered several access codes into the computer. "Bingo! I knew hanging around Heero would amount to something," the long-haired pilot grinned as a list of establishments came up on the screen.
"What are those?" Quatre asked, running through the list of names. Factories, civil departments, schools - a mish-mash of organizations.
"Saa... according to Heero's source, these have direct access to the facility's local network. If we need to hack in from the outside, we'd have to get through from one of these. Then, all we have to do is find out which one is connected to the upload point, and go from there," Duo explained as he leaned back in satisfaction, fingers tapping out more instructions and queries.
"We can't do it from here?" the blonde asked, even as a new list of establishments came up on the monitor.
"I don't know. I guess we could if we had their access code. But that'd take up too much time, don't you think? And we still need to upload the virus from there. Besides, Heero'd done it by now, if we could."
"Um...you've got a point," the blonde acquiesced. "So...who's going.."
"Who's going where?" Both Quatre and Duo started at Wufei's sudden entrance. The Chinese boy sauntered in, arms full of 'merchandise'.
"There! Enough ammunition for a week!" Wufei grinned as he placed the huge box carefully on the table. "Now, what's this about going somewhere?" he asked, turning towards the other two boys.
Heero turned the small disk in his hand. A few weeks ago, this mission had seemed relatively simple: break in, upload the virus, get out, ninmu ryoukai. Now, it seemed almost impossible. The Japanese boy sighed, tucking the disk into the tiny crevice behind his bunk. Trowa was probably feeling as worried as he was, but since the other boy was stationed at the mechanical department's wing of the facility, he had no way of being sure. Slowly drifting off to sleep, Heero wondered whatever had possessed Dr. J to dream up this virus anyway...
It was as twisted as its inventor's mind.
End Prologue
Shirin
Please send comments to: shirini@pc.jaring.my