Page 36 of Silent Night

"Leave it to me," he said, pulling his laptop from its case and booting it up. As he typed away at the keys, he explained his process. "First, I'll access the Birds of a Feather database. From there, I should be able to locate the information associated with the two profiles in question."

Sheila and Natalie leaned closer, watching attentively as lines of code scrolled across Finn's screen, his every movement precise and practiced.

Sheila's curiosity about Finn's skills got the best of her. "Finn, how did you become so proficient with computers?" she asked, observing his swift fingers dance across the keyboard.

Finn paused for a moment and glanced at Sheila before answering. "Well, when I was younger, my family didn't have much money, so we couldn't afford many things," he began. "I found an old computer in our neighbor's trash one day. It was broken, but I decided to fix it. I spent months learning everything I could about how computers worked and eventually managed to bring it back to life."

"Wow," Sheila murmured, impressed by his resourcefulness and determination. She also sensed a hint of vulnerability in his story, which drew her closer to him.

"From there, I just kept learning more and more," Finn continued. "Computers became a safe haven for me, a way to escape from the harsh realities of my life. As I grew older, I realized that my skill set could be useful in law enforcement, so I pursued a career as a deputy and put my abilities to good use."

As Finn spoke, Sheila felt a swell of admiration for him. Despite his dark past and struggles, he had persevered and turned his passion into a valuable asset. His dedication reminded her of her own journey in kickboxing, how she pushed through despite the setbacks. A newfound respect for Finn formed within her.

"Alright," Finn said, breaking the brief silence. "I've traced the IP address to find the computer's physical location. It appears to be at a church called Salvation Springs."

Sheila's eyes widened in surprise, recognizing the name immediately. "Salvation Springs? Natalie, that's the church we visited yesterday!"

Natalie, equally taken aback, nodded. "Yes, it is. I didn't expect that connection."

Sheila clenched her fists, her mind racing with the revelation of Salvation Springs' connection to their investigation. Her gaze flickered between Finn and Natalie, seeking guidance on how to proceed.

"Can you hack into the computer at Salvation Springs, Finn?" Natalie asked, her voice betraying a hint of urgency.

He shrugged. "Shouldn't be difficult. It's just a church computer after all, right? How advanced could the security be?"

Sheila's heart pounded in anticipation as Finn's fingers flew across his laptop keyboard. She watched as he opened a browser window and navigated to an unassuming site that was actually a cover for a series of hacking tools.

"Walk us through what you're doing," Natalie said.

"First, I'm going to use this program to cloak my IP address," Finn explained, pointing to an icon on the screen. "That way, they won't be able to trace our location if they detect the intrusion."

As the program whirred to life, Finn launched another application. "Now, I'll try to find any vulnerabilities in their network security. If there's a weak spot, I can exploit it to gain access."

Sheila's eyes widened, impressed by Finn's expertise yet amazed at the sheer complexity of the task. She held her breath as the program scanned for potential weaknesses, time seeming to slow as they awaited the results.

"Huh," Finn said, sounding surprised.

"What?" Sheila asked.

"It's just more secure than I'd expected. I wouldn't think they'd have much more than a simple password, but this is encrypted."

Was someone trying to hide something, Sheila wondered? If so, what?

"Can you get in?" Natalie asked.

Finn was silent for a few moments. Then he sat up straighter. "Just did. Looks like there's an unpatched vulnerability in their firewall. I'll use this exploit to bypass it and get inside their system."

Sheila nodded, though in truth she understood only a little of what was happening.

"Once I'm in, I'll need to locate the specific computer we're after," Finn continued, his fingers dancing on the keys like a seasoned pianist. "I'll search for any devices connected to the same IP address we traced earlier."

As Finn delved deeper into Salvation Springs' network, the tension in the room grew palpable. What else might they find on the computer? What other secrets might this device be harboring?

"Alright, I've found the computer," Finn said. "Here we go."

Sheila and Natalie leaned in as Finn began sifting through the files stored on the church's computer. Initially, they discovered nothing more than mundane content: newsletters, community outreach plans, and sermon drafts filled the screen.

"Looks like most of this is just typical church stuff," Finn said, his brow furrowing as he continued searching for clues.

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