Page 72 of Bullied Forced Omega
“Anything,” I smile.
Jace leaves, and I stare at the door, wondering what just happened. I never expected him to react that way. I never thought I had his unwavering support through all of this.
I can’t believe it. He is my mate. Truly.
With renewed enthusiasm to make things right and no longer burdened with guilt, I sit back down to go through the code again. I start testing the program from every angle I can think of, and when Jace returns with Chinese takeout, I am flabbergasted.
“What’s going on?” he asks, noticing my expression.
“I have looked at every part of this system so many times I can recite the code backward. I’ve tested every piece of it, every command, and I can’t see anything wrong. The system is working. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it,” I sigh, throwing my hands in the air.
Jace sets our food on the coffee table near the sofas and then takes my hand to lead me to sit down.
“Let’s eat and brainstorm,” he says calmly.
I don’t argue, because my head is so tired I definitely need food. And even if I were to start testing something else, I don’t know what it would be. I’ve looked at everything. Every. Possible. Thing.
We’re busy discussing the tests I’ve run and enjoying the Chinese food when Miles arrives. He peeks around the frame, knocking on the open door before he steps in.
“Hi, how are things going?” he asks.
Jace gestures for him to grab some food. “Not so well. We’re a bit stumped,” he says.
“I’ve looked at everything,” I sigh in frustration.
“Alright, well, run me through it. Sometimes a fresh pair of ears is all you need,” he says, sitting down and grabbing a bowl of sweet and sour pork balls.
Two hours later, I’ve given them both a very detailed rundown on how the system works and everything I've tested. They’ve thrown questions back at me, asked me from a new perspective, and it's brought us right back to where we started.
The system is working.
There is nothing wrong with the system. No one has hacked our firewall or breached our perimeter.
“Look, I have no idea what half the stuff you told me means, but one thing is glaringly obvious…you’ve thought of everything and you’ve checked everything,” Miles says.
“I agree,” Jace sighs. “So what now?”
“Now I have to start again. I have to go through it again to see what I missed.”
“No, Mira. You’re wasting your time. You’re system is not the issue.” Jace says.
“You really believe that?” I ask.
“I do. Do you trust your work?”
“Yes,” I say after a pause. “I do. I’m always thorough.”
“Then I trust your work. I always did, Mira. That’s what I was trying to tell you.”
“Same here. You’re the smartest person I know,” Miles chuckles.
“So, what then?” I'm at a loss, frustrated about the issues. But I also want to smile because it means so much to me that both of them have such trust and faith in me.
“Well, there’s only one other thing it could be,” Miles shrugs.
“What’s that?” I ask, too tired to think of anyone.
“It’s not a hacker. It’s not someone getting in from outside. So that means someone from theinsideis messing with it. Someone who has access, or clearance, is tripping the alarm on purpose.”
