Page 83 of Coldwire
I close the door, heading for the eighth floor. When I open this door, it’s entirely dark, the curtains drawn and the lights off.
“Great,” I say. “Perfect.”
Kieren is grimacing when he follows me through. “I feel as though we’re about to get jump-scared by a ghost.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. That can only happen once.”
In the early years of virtual, someone used an exploit to bring a “ghost” into upcountry for a prank, and it scared their victim so badly they logged out and knocked their head hard against their Pod. The prankster ended up doing time, and StrangeLoom fixed up the back door that allowed the exploit. Over the years, NileCorp has built barriers of every fashion so that nothing unusual can slip through.
Upcountry won’t be a very pleasant place if Chung’s weapon cuts down what StrangeLoom has patched. Suddenly there could be ghosts on every street.
I pull aside one of the heavy velvet curtains, letting in the sunset. The sky is turning pink. Deep orange light cuts through the window beams, feathers onto our skin in uniform lines.
Kieren starts the call, looping me in with a request. I accept immediately, but I still feel as though I’ve missed the opening remarks when Kam picks up and says, “Security alerts are currently high across upcountry Medaluo with concerns that Nile Military Academy has begun their annual cadet postings. Report, please.”
“Uh—”
I glance over to Kieren. Smoothly, he says, “We found a smart key in hisoffice, which directed us to a safe in his home. Opened the safe. Retrieved a disk that came from Threto’s data center.”
He’s summed up our day in as few words as possible. There’s a beat of silence over the line. Then, instead of an affirmative acknowledgment:
“How’d you get into his home?”
I grimace. “We thought on our feet. Launched some attacks to distract security and unlock the doors.”
“Did you wipe yourself from the system log afterward?”
Kieren and I exchange a glance.
“… Yes,” he says, sounding not at all convincing.
“Please confirm,” Kam says, sounding not at all convinced. “You performed it yourself and wiped your log?”
“We recruited help from other cadets,” I say. It’s not against any academy guidelines to do so. In fact, it’s encouraged. It shows we know how to use the resources available to us. “Rayna Ward and Hailey Murray. They’re tasked in Upsie too. Hailey used predownloaded exploits. She shouldn’t be connected to them.”
The line echoes with tapping.
“Kieren Murray, you have an impeccable math record and an application pending for the elite cyber division at NileCorp. Why would you let your sister step in with predownloaded exploits?”
I whirl around, flabbergasted. Even in the fading sunset, Kieren’s gone visibly pale, his cheeks drained of blood. This is the first I’ve heard about this. The first I’ve heard about Kieren having any interest in acyberdivision. Maybe he’s great at math, but so am I. That alone doesn’t put two and two together.
“I have a moral opposition to launching my own exploits,” Kieren replies tightly. “And excuse me, but I don’t think those files of mine are of any relevance to you.”
“I have access to all your files. I am your ground contact.”
“For the posting.” This has clearly pressed one of Kieren’s buttons.A secret exposed, and he’s scrambling by lashing out. “It’s entirely irrelevant here and a complete breach of my privacy for you to judge what I should and shouldn’t use.”
“I think what Kieren means to say,” I hurry to add, “is that we’re sure Hailey did a fine job erasing her work behind her. Now that we have this disk from Threto, we need to get over there.”
More tapping. It goes on for long enough that I grow uncomfortable, shifting on my feet. I feel as though I just watched Kieren get told off by a teacher.
“There will be rail tickets deposited into your display within the next hour for a train departing tomorrow morning,” Kam says shortly. “Do not go buying anything on your own. Transport in Medaluo is registered to your ID and tracked by the government.”
Then the call goes dead.
“Great job.” I swipe the box out of my display. “Our contact is pissed.”
“That’s not my fault,” Kieren grumbles. “She had no right to look at that. That’s my personal information. I might not even get in.”
