Morning everyone. Still stuffy but plugging away. Lets clear the mental fog from allergy meds by starting the morning prompt./ Timers set to fifteen minutes if you are writing along.
I’m pretty sure something happened to Andy. But I stopped before I got there.
Thursday, February 6th: The level of information was staggering.
The level of information was staggering. Johnny watched the lines of code scroll by. He saw the files decoding and caught flashes of information as they moved between systems, tie ones and zeros turning into words and images. He resisted the urge to click on the link and read any of the details. It was intriguing though. As it flashed by he caught project names, names that had only been brief mentions in redacted files.
Occasionally he saw images. A couple of them featured people he knew. Some were officials he recognized, others were people he knew, worked with, lost. To be so close to finding out what happened to them was agony.
Several times he reached for the mouse and keyboard, wanting to pause and read a file downloading. To know now. Each time he resisted. Johnny backed away from the system, trying to look at anything else. His eyes automatically drifted to his watch. He had time, he knew he did, but watching the seconds tick by was almost as nerve wracking as watching the images scroll past.
He took a deep breath. He checked the systems. They were holding. No one should be able to see he was taking the files. With luck, they would never know they were copied and sent along. A beep alerted him to the completed download. He used the provided encrypted drive to erase all of the digital footprints his download would have left behind. He slipped the data cube into a pocket and zippered it up so no slip ups could occur.
Part of showing no footprints meant that he couldn’t send the files anywhere. No one could figure out how to get past the alarms that sending information would create. Which was why he was here in person. He slipped out of the server room making certain all was as he found it. He had never removed his gloves or mask so there was no trace of him to be found. While he took care of the cameras, he didn’t want to risk being caught.
‘Especially as I have the cube on me.’
If he was caught now, no information would be learned. Nothing would change. He slipped through the dark corridors like a ghost, exiting silently. He made certain the doors sealed behind him and he faded off back into the woods. There was more comfort here. He was more accustomed to moving through the woods unseen than he was the open corridors of the networking station.
Still he was still within the perimeter of the station, still in the fenced off, secure area. He was still not safe. He moved quickly and quietly. His ears strained to hear any sound any twig snap any indrawn breath. He heard nothing. Johnny made it to the perimeter fence and slipped out. He removed the blocking device and counted down as he raced off away from the fence line. He had thirty seconds to get out of the sight of the cameras.
There was no time to waste. He hurried and was safely out of range when he heard the buzzing click of activation. The loop they played was ended now. The guards, should they be watching would resume normal viewing. He kept going. Andy was supposed to meet him at the crossroads.
Ten til Midnight 