Grim took out the device that KT had given him a while ago. This device did a few things; it made it seem his computer was located somewhere else in the world. It would randomly pick a computer and start working as if from there. It was also a hacking device, and could get into almost any computer. KT warned him that he probably couldn’t get into government computers. “Call me, then,” he said.
Grim first sat down at the computer and started doing searches for Michael Finley. He first found the Fortune magazine piece on him. He’s owner of record for Clone-o-Mat, a new company offering cloned organs and replacement bodies to anyone with the means. They also listed his membership on many boards, including IBM and Motorola.
He kept on looking around. He searched through the financial magazines, then the papers. The device pulled up a legal announcement that Finley had given half his assets to a man known only as Breakstar. He resolved to look that up later.
He was an extensive manipulator of stocks, buying and selling just when things were right. The man was lucky, Grim thought. “Now, let’s check People.”
He started looking in the society sections of the Paragon papers. He shared a residence with Breakstar – hm…wonder if he’s gay – in Steel Canyon. Otherwise, he’s quiet, and actually pretty reclusive. Surprisingly enough, nobody seems to push or bother him.
He looked into Paragon’s FBSA – they were so shoddy, as if they wanted people to know about heroes – and saw that he had registered as the hero Galvanic Flash. He thought he had heard of him at one point. Then he disappeared for a little while, a few times, and then for a long time. The PPD wanted him for something at Portal Corp – Grim thought they were surprisingly on top of things, there – but he cleared his name.
He tried to look back in the man’s history. He easily hacked into police records, and found nothing there. He got into City Hall records, and found nothing there, either, so he probably wasn’t born in Paragon. No school records, either, so he may not have attended school. No mention of him in any universities.
Grim frowned. What the hell? He set the device and put in a nationwide search for him. He found him, along with other people’s names. He was able to download the document: it was a scanned copy of a typewritten request for funds. He downloaded the page before and after. The page before was a series of black marks, obviously classified information. The second page stated something about attaching this project to the military. The number was mentioned, but blacked out.
He logged off, and removed the device. He tapped it against his chin thoughtfully. He nodded to himself, then went over to the main reception area.
Grim waited by the phone, and received a call within ten minutes. “Kay.”
“Necro.”
Grim held back a sigh. KT was paranoid and wanted to use code names. “I need you.”
“Where?”
“Office.”
“Cameras?”
“Not for you.”
“Be there in ten.” He hung up. Grim looked at the clock – that meant twenty. He opened the fuse box and switched off the cameras in the foyer. He sat in the chair, and put his feet up on the desk, watching the doorway. Exactly twenty minutes later, a young man in a basic brown leather jacket and jeans came in. Grim stood up.
“What’s up?”
“I need to get in a government computer.”
KT nodded and walked over to the receptionist’s area. Grim got out of the chair, as KT started peeling off his gloves. KT sat down. Grim stared for a moment, seeing that KT had silvery metal hands that seemed to shoot electricity from them. He poised his hands over the keyboard, and the electricity encompassed the keyboard.
He barely moved his fingers as symbols and letters appeared on the screen. He watched as the logon screen for Bank of America came up. He raced through a series of usernames, then passwords. Then he started typing some more, and going onto their intranet, then out into the internet.
“What did you do that for?”
“That’s so they think it’s coming from someone in BoA,” he explained. “In case there’s a backlash, it’ll shut down their computers first.”
“Won’t that mess up Bank of America’s computers?”
“Yep.” He continued on. “What do you want to know?”
“I found information about Mike Finley.” Grim handed him the printout of the document. “I want to know what this is all about.”
KT nodded. “Got it.”
Grim watched the man work and was totally amazed at the speed of the screens, the speed of his hands across the keyboard. He glanced at the document. “Testing.” He punched in the man’s name. “Military,” he said.
“Military?”
KT nodded, and hacked further. “This the guy?” He pointed to a grainy picture. “Lucky for us they paid some poor intern to scan these files in one summer.”
Grim looked over KT’s shoulder. “Michael J Finley, born 1954 (month unknown) and abandoned at an orphanage before six months of age. At nineteen, a mutation manifested, killing his adoptive family the Finley’s. Could not have others around with out a haz-mat suit. Entered protective custody until June 2010 after significant personal breakthrough.” There were a list of numbers beneath his name. “What are these?”
“Project numbers, it’s how the military assigns things. Some aren’t scanned. Some are.” He moved the mouse and clicked on one of the links. He tried to move the mouse, then the screen shimmered and turned into a series of letters, numbers and symbols.
“Shit.” KT reached behind the back of the computer and unplugged the ethernet connection. “Hope BoA’s got backups, because I just crashed their system.”
“Can you try again?”
“You’ll have to pay me good money, Necro, and I’ll need to use a military computer connected to their net. Somebody doesn’t want anyone to know about those.”
“Maybe himself?”
“Possible.”
Grim drummed his fingers on the desk. “Let me get back to you.”
“Yep.”
Grim let him get up. “Wait.” He went into his office, and pulled out a stack of the money that Finley had given him. “For your time.”
He looked the money over and stuck it in an inside pocket of his jacket. “Thanks, Necro.”
“Welcome. I’ll call you.”
Grim watched him go, a serious look on his face. He hoped this would be enough to satisfy Dymir. He knew damn well it was no where near enough to satisfy James. But then, it seemed the only thing that would satisfy James was the company of untouchable women.
Word count: 1164
Inspiration: discussions with SG mate regarding the direction of a story. This is the details.