Page 42 of Static/Cling

Bjorn tossed it to Roger, who caught it deftly in one hand.

“Outlook Not So Good.” Roger looked at him. “That’s kind of ominous.”

“Been stuck on that since the first time I touched it.”

“Magic 8 Balls are not electronic,” Kassian stated.

“That one is. Or was. Or at least something in my static electric mojo fucked it up.”

“Well, that’s stupid. Nothing wrong with the original. Why mess with it?”

“We carry it as a reminder that anything he touches might unexpectedly fail for reasons,” Leif said. “And we always have a backup plan. Just in case.”

“So we keep it simple,” Kassian insisted. “Use the ID, I go in, find the computer with the file and make sure it gets out of the building with me.”

“And if it’s backed up somewhere?” Leif asked.

“All I need is a network cable and I can send a program into their servers that will wipe them out.”

“Then why can’t you do that from here?” Bjorn asked.

“I’ve tried. It’s slippery. Plus, if this was me, I would have an air gapped computer with this file specifically, to protect it from exactly that kind of attack.”

“Air gapped?” Bjorn asked.

“Not plugged in,” Leif clarified.

“Not even to power?”

“Not if this guy has half a brain, no,” Sal said. “He’d use a battery to charge it from, or a solar array. Something not connected to the grid. We’re on the net and all, but Kassian always has a machine that isn’t attached to the rest or allowed online at all, that carries our important stuff. He backs it up every day.”

“If I can get on one of their machines,” Kassian said, “or even plug into the network on mine from inside the building, I can kill their servers, and take the air gapped machine out with me.”

“No one is going to believe you are an IT guy,” Bjorn reminded him. “Look at you.”

“I can be a military guy.”

“They’ll believe that,” Roger put in.

And yeah, they probably would, given the size and shape of him. “Still. What if you can’t get plugged in?”

“He’s right,” Leif agreed. “If you do manage to grab the right machine, and you’re high tailing it out, or worse, on the run, you won’t have time to stop and program.”

“I only need to install a file. It won’t take more than five minutes.”

“And what is our back-up plan to that?” Bjorn asked.

“We don’t need one.”

“We always need one,” Bjorn and Leif said at the same time.

“Fine,” Kassian snapped. “You be the backup plan. You’re so proud of your power, if I can’t do it, you zap a power line or something, and kill their whole network.”

“On the list,” Sal muttered as they wrote it down. “As for getting onto the grounds, you won’t have a security pass for that. You’ll need to sneak in and get as far as the building where the ID gets you to the more sensitive areas.”

Bjorn grinned. “What kind of security pass? Please tell me it’s a swipe card.”

“It is. I can try to trip it remotely, but that may set off alarms, which is a problem, obviously. Why?”

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