A Botched Job, and An Escape

[Aideen Byrnes]

A flurry of file transfers spread across the private network of some unimportant corporation’s financial offices. A packet of data shifted here. A blockchain deleted there. Add in a few names and account numbers, and there you go. You’d never even guess anything had been tampered with.

“Alright. Good shit. Let’s keep this up.”

Now came the tricky part. A red fox jumped across a gap to another server, sniffing out access tokens and metadata to alter. It took time to tunnel in and out of systems and databases, especially when mother was where you expected it to be. Then again, when was it ever? SysAdmins who followed the standard templates were asking for visits from people like her.

“Ah shit. This file structure feels so bass-ackwards. Oh, well. It looks familiar enough. Maybe I’ll just do it manually.”

A figure wearing, of all things, a ninja costume with a kitsune mask ran along behind the fox, letting the helpful critter find its way through the cross-crossing links of data until they’d found what they were looking for. From here, the ninja got to work, using a holographic keyboard to enter and delete data where it was needed.

Of course, all of this was just a representation of the actual, more complicated processes going on in the network. In meatspace, the “real world,” (the idea was rather fuzzy, admittedly, these days) a young woman sat in an abandoned alleyway, sitting cross-legged with her back against a wall and a laptop in her lap. A pair of opaque goggles sat on her face, projecting the scene in front of her, superimposed AR-style over the scenery of the alley. A set of wires ran from the laptop to the goggles, the back of the young woman’s neck, and a power/network port in the wall she was sitting against.

Of course, Aideen wouldn't be a good information broker if she didn't keep a copy of everything she deleted, moved, or accessed. A single transaction at a coffee shop on a personal account might not seem like much. Add in a hotel bill on the company account on the same night, including the expensive champagne, and some executive vice president might be willing to pay a nice bounty for the keys to blackmail his boss with the affair he's trying to hide.

As it stood, she’d have to sort through this batch later. Her client had a deadline, and she was running closer than she’d like. There was just one more database to check on and…

This format looked familiar…

“Oh, fuck me sideways…”

A loud hissing noise emanated from the power port next to her, and the laptop began to heat up. Another hiss grew in volume until a sensor in the wire connected to Aideen’s neck triggered and split itself in half like a lizard’s tail. The offending device slid to the side as the hacker worked to remove the goggles and disconnect the remnant of the wire from her neck.

Aideen shoved the wires and hardware into a pile. She retrieved a device about the size and chaos of half a baseball from her duffel bag and set it on top of the pile. The trigger was armed as she looped the bag on her shoulder, and the young woman turned and ran. In a few seconds, the deceptively small device would go off in a liquid flame like the love child of white phosphorus and thermite, reducing the hardware to slag and smoke. Usually, the buildings nearby were safe, but Aideen intended to be well on her way up a ladder to Level 2 before she could find out.

------

The decks between the main Levels of Mimisportr contained labyrinths of service tunnels and access corridors. Most people didn’t bother to pay any real attention to them. Even MPA, the Mimisportr Port Authority, only really monitored the hatches leading in and out of the various service sectors.

These were the domain of maintenance droids and repair bots. Once inside, an enterprising individual with patience, a map, and some flexibility could move significant distances across the city unmolested.

Aideen came to one such entryway on her way up the latter. The hatch was conveniently opened, and the security was helpfully disabled. She slipped into the tunnel, barely tall enough for her to stand straight in, and pulled the device connected to the hatches control panel back into her bag. The hatch snapped shut, and an indicator light changed from green to red.

Now in the safety of the tunnels, Aideen opened a com channel to her contact. An array of sensors and electronics in her inner ears and her larynx came to life. The voice of a young sounding man came through, audible only to her.

“Hey there, Kit. How’s the job going?”

“It’s up in smoke, Teryl. Literally. I got back-hacked.” The sensors detected the minute motions in her vocal muscles of silent subvocalization, translated that to speech, and sent the message over wireless in her voice.

“Whoa. That’s new. I haven’t heard of you getting hacked.”

“It was Pacific Electric. There was a sleeper worm hidden in the files. They were looking for me.”

“That’s a bit egotistical, isn’t it? How do you even know it was them?”

Aideen audibly sighed. Then she ducked to the side. A passing droid moved on its way to other things. The bots on these stunners rarely cared about intruders, focused as they were on their own jobs. For the moment, however, she thought it's best to be careful.

“I wrote the damn thing. I coped the code in a quarantine partition and looked at it on my way up. It’s definitely mine, and it’s definitely them. What the hell are they doing in RhyDin, Teryl?”

A sigh came through the com. “Bifrost pulled contractors from everywhere. I’ll see what I can dig up. What will you do in the meantime?”

“It looks like I’ll need to get off Mimisportr for a while. Find somewhere to hide out until things cool down.”

“Try RhyDin City. The Port Authority has no reach there. You’ll be as hidden there as anywhere.”

There was a cargo elevator just ahead to Alfheim, and an access hatch next to it. That's where she'd exit. "Yeah, good idea. Anything worth doing there while I hide out?"

"Any jobs worth doing, you mean? Not at the moment. It's not exactly primitive there, by any means, But it'll probably look quaint by your standards."

Aideen mentally shrugged. "Can't be any worse than that trip to Utah that one time."

"Trip to where?"

"Never mind. I'll manage. Just gotta get my stuff. I'll call later." Aideen disconnected as she climbed the ladder to the access hatch. She attached her access override and quickly disappeared into the streets.

------

The Administrator did not keep his office at the top of the Bifrost Headquarters tower, as one would expect. Sure, there was an office up there with his name on it, and one could easily find one of his administrative assistants there. He’d even take the occasional meeting or appointment there, when he did not want to bring his guests to his private office.

No, he preferred to do his more serious work at the very roots of Yggdrasil, down on Level 0. Few people actually had access to this sub-level of Mimisportr. There were rumors, of course, but few who knew conclusively of its existence. None knew its use in the operations of the complex.

The Administrator, for now, sat at his desk, an ancient wooden thing caved from a single piece of wood. It was, in fact, part of the floor, a spacious foundation of smoothed and polished wood. One wall, behind the desk, was itself an extension of the same massive piece of wood. An ancient mural depicting a scene of some great war was exquisitely carved in the face. The Administrator was admiring the mural when a large man in a white suit vastly more expensive than it needed to be bounded into the office.

“Administrator. Pardon my delay. I came as soon as my secretary…”

“You came as soon as you finished your meal.” The Administrator turned to face the portly man. He was no taller than the suited man, but he seemed much taller. White hair and beard were cut close, and an eyepatch rested over his right eye. His voice was deep with some ancient accent and carried across the room like a northern breeze. “In fact, it was only at your assistant’s insistence that you left before another tray of desserts.” He gestured to the chair across the desk from him. “Come. Sit. I do not expect this meeting to take long.”

“Well then.” The executive groused at the accusation, but seeing as it was true, he couldn’t exactly deny it. He stepped forward to stand next to the offered seat. It was too small for him to fit comfortably. “What can I do for you?”

“A young woman has come to your attention. You have dispatched a significant portion of your security team to apprehend this person, and you have even requested assistance from the Port Authority in her capture.” The old man took a glass from a silver tray on his desk. He opened a bottle of some golden liquid and poured it into the glass. “I am interested in what kind of person would warrant such a response.”

“Ah, that.” The man looked as though he’d tasted something sour. “It’s an internal matter. She’s an individual who used to work for us. She… was caught stealing and selling sensitive information from us to our competitors. When we tried to press charges, she fled.”

“Ah. A fugitive, then. A theft of knowledge.” The old man’s eye twinkled. “Still, it seems strange that such a response is needed for a single thief. Surely, no secret could be worth such aggressive tactics as you’ve employed?”

“It was… highly sensitive information.” The executive shifted uncomfortably. “Nevertheless, it is well in hand. The only assistance we really need from your men is to secure the ports. We expect she will attempt to flee the city for the mainland.”

“Very well. Your secrets are your own.” The Administrator took a mouthful of the golden, sweet liquid. “I will contact the Port Authority officer on duty and give instructions to assist in this matter.”

“Thank you, Administrator.” The portly man breathed a sigh of relief. His attention turned to the mural behind the old man. “That is a fine work of art. I would say it is fanciful if I hadn’t been to RhyDin and seen dragons and giant wolves myself. May I ask what it’s about?”

“Ancient history.” The Administrator took another drink and said no more.

“Ah. It is certainly well crafted. By your leave, I’ll go back to my work.” With a nod from the old man, he turned and left through the same door he’d entered.

The Administrator topped his glass off once again and turned to face the mural once more, glass in hand. Pacific Electric was keen to silence this information trader as great expense. That had the old man’s interest. Of course, he couldn’t allow her to be captured before he had a chance to gleam that secret for himself. There would be gaps in the wall a clever rogue could exploit to escape. It wouldn’t even be suspected that he’d let her run. In due time, he would know what was so worth keeping hidden. But nothing stayed out of The Administrator’s sight for long.

------

“You’ve got to be shitting me.”

Across the passage from where Aideen hid, a swarm of Tidal Security goons flooded her safe house. It certainly didn’t take long for them to find this place. Even more disappointingly, she hadn’t been in the city long enough to have more than one hideaway.

She closed her eyes and connected to the camera network in the storage space hidden under the apartment. The lights were off and everything was right where she’d left it. So at the very least, her equipment was still secure.

She’d need to come back for it. Meaning, all she had was the gear in her duffel and what she was wearing. It would have to do. Not that she expected to find work in the Big City. She was more concerned about her supplements. She’d need to call Teryl about getting her a supply sent to the City.

Aideen checked her coat pocket. The bottle had enough to get her by for a week. Maybe two if she was careful. She could make it work.

With a quick command, her storage space silently powered down, the entryway sealed tight, and the cluster of firebombs through the area were armed. At least now, she knew no one would get her stuff for a long while.

Aideen would be back. She doubled back to the access hatch to the service tunnels below Level 3. The next stop would be the port to find a ship headed to the City she could hide out on. From there, well, she’d see what happened. She was due for a vacation.

[Aideen Byrnes]

Beep Beep

Aideen’s phone chirped as she worked on editing a video. Her first legitimate contract since arriving in RhyDin City. Not that she hadn’t been working, but this job came with none of the usual complications. Thou, using the common room of the Perch was far from an ideal working environment.

It wouldn’t work as-is. She’d need to approach Ettyn about allowing a camera drone to follow her on a hunt and get some new footage. Aideen doubted copyright law was as big of a thing in RhyDin, but years of working in North America had trained some deep habits around plagiarism and the like.

Beep Beep

She signed as she turned her phone over on the table, ready to ignore whoever was signaling for her. Once she unlocked the screen, she stopped.

“You are cordially invited to attend the Grand Opening celebration dinner for the full…” Well, this was interesting. Looked like some suits decided to throw a big party and plaster the announcement all over the net. That meant everyone’s attention would be on Idun’s Apple for the next week or so.

More relevant to Aideen, that also meant there would likely be holes in the security as things became more involved with the preparations and with the party, itself.

She has less than a week. Time to save this project and get to work.

------

“Teryl, have you seen the news?”

“Hey Kit. Nice to hear you’re safe. Enjoying your vacation?”

“The news. Have you seen it?”

“What? The new album drop from DJ Drakehorde? That shit is great.”

“No, dumbass. The grand opening thing.”

“Oh! That big party the suits are throwing at the Apple? Yeah, yeah, what about it?”

“I need you to get the security detail on it from Bifrost and the Port Authority.”

“Alright. What? Are you thinking a hack on the casino or something? Bad timing.”

“No, I want my shit back. I think I can get in and out of the city while the party is on. Anything that big is gonna draw attention.”

“I follow. Looks like the Port Authority is on routine stand-by. And Bifrost is contracting with Tidal Security for the-“

“Wait, Tidal?”

“Yeah, that’s what the contract says.”

“You’re shitting me? That’s Pacific Electric’s private army.”

“Your old bosses? That’s weird. Are you sure it’s a good idea to come back if they’re involved?”

“Just get me the security plans for the party, and the deployments since the day before I left.”

“Stop. If you keep giving me jobs this easy, my life will get boring.”

“Just do what you can. I need to find a ship. I’ll call later.”

Click

“O-okay, bye then.”

------

It was better than the Hacker anticipated. Since she left Mimisportr behind, there had been a constant guard on her safe house. A quick check on her security showed the bunker still secure. So, they hadn’t found a way in, and she didn’t have one either for now.

But, on the day of the gala, the guard would be redeployed to a single sentry posted in the area. One mook could be easily dealt with on her way in. Even better, the Port Authority was, in fact, back on stand-by. The docks would be open and available for her to use. The difficult part would be getting her safe house supplies down to Level 1 where her storage unit, rented under the name Alan Smithee, still stood waiting.

Next step, hire a ship. Her short list was ready, so time to do some interviews.