"Straight to business. I like that." Victor said, taking the pen and book into his own hands. He quickly and fancifully signed the receipt book as if he was a king signing a decree into law. But, apparently the quick and delicate signature movements had triggered something throughout the muscles in his arm again. "Goddammit, not now," he thought as his hand began to twitch slightly. Victor handed the book and pen back to the Agent and grabbed the first thing he saw, a random letter opener, and clutched it extremely tightly into his hand in an attempt to hide his...ill effects. He tried to play off the random grab by placing his hands on the package as if he was to immediately open it.
"You must be the Physiks security agents Ms. Feynman promised to send me. Lady Gwenivere and I are already...acquainted...but would you give me the pleasure of introducing yourself?" Victor said to the agent. "I will need you to coordinate a plan with my intelligence units so that we can bring this traitor into the open. We will make a public example of him...or her...so that no one dare try to challenge us!" He noticed he was beginning to sound a tad too zelous. He pushed back a few loose hairs and calmed himself...hoping his hand would return to normal...or that they would not notice it.
Agent Rosalyn did not notice Victor's tremors. She was a bit overwhelmed by the opulance of this office. Normally, she could take it all in stride and behave like the soldier she was. ((She's an Invul/Energy Tanker))
"I've been instructed to assist you as much as I can Mr. Jaramillo." Agent Rosalyn shifted her eyes forward, and lowered her head slightly to show respect. She stood at attention and would do so until told to be at ease. She didn't have military training per se, but in her line of work, she learned...when in Rome, do as the Roman do.
"We appreciate your allowing us access to this office for the purpose of a visit. I would be most interested in working with other Legion agents to follow up leads on the traitor. The atmosphere here is condusive to contemplating mysteries, is it not Lady Gwenivere?". She turned to Lady Gwen and nodded.
She resisted the urge to explore this vast, dark space Victor called his office.
((Funny background on Agent Rosalyn...I named her for the Roseline...if you have read the DaVinci Code, some of her nature will be known up front.))
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
((I am somewhat familiar with the DaVinci Code and what not, but not enough to know the significance of the Roseline))
Victor took an immediate liking of the agent. She was disciplined, straight forward, militaristic...she had everything Legion sought in their own employees/forces...too bad she was a woman, though.
"Yes, I'm sure this problem will be resolved swiftly and without incident. It is obvious we've already detected the presence of a traitor, now it's just a matter of time before we find out who it is and who this person works for." Victor stepped behind his desk and gestured towards the chairs in front of it. "Please, have a seat." He sat in his high-backed executive-type chair. "I shall personally oversee this operation, but, of course, Ms. Feynman shall be informed of all actions I take. I shall also call upon my finest investigators to take care of this matter."
Victor noticed that he was still clutching the letter opener and that it probably looked awkward. He placed it upon his desk and took hold of some rosary beads that hung from a small lamp. "I don't know if either you are religious, but I am." He was again covering for his new 'illness.' "God will not favor the enemy, especially since they're using such underhanded tactics."
He noticed Rosalyn was taking an interest in her surroundings, although she was obviously resisting any urge to say anything. "Feel free to look around. Seeing as we are allies now, I have nothing to hide from you." He gestured to the surrounding walls where display cases of various historical artifacts stood. Several bookcases where old books tattered from age were also against the walls. Several sets of medieval armor also decorated the room. "As you can see, I have the development of human weaponry through history surrounding me. I find it quite fitting, considering what we do here at Legion." He smirked slightly. Perhaps he would enjoy working with this newly introduced Physiks employee.
((Below, I have interlaced pictures. I took them while in London earlier this year. Some are from the British Museum that has collected various pieces of architectural historical items. The weapons are from the Tower of London, which has vast collection of weapons. Matamoros, I hope you don't mind this interpretation...if anything doesn't fit with your vision...just explain the deviation so we can get a better mental picture.))
[ QUOTE ]
He noticed Rosalyn was taking an interest in her surroundings, although she was obviously resisting any urge to say anything. "Feel free to look around. Seeing as we are allies now, I have nothing to hide from you." He gestured to the surrounding walls where display cases of various historical artifacts stood. Several bookcases where old books tattered from age were also against the walls. Several sets of medieval armor also decorated the room. "As you can see, I have the development of human weaponry through history surrounding me. I find it quite fitting, considering what we do here at Legion." He smirked slightly. Perhaps he would enjoy working with this newly introduced Physiks employee.
[/ QUOTE ]
Agent Rosalyn took that as a directive to gather potentially valuable information on Legion, as an ally of course. Ms. Feynman would want a fully report in case any details would be of use later.
She strode about the room. Unconsciously, her footfalls were light and evenly distributing her weight as if she were walking about an ancient church. The ceilings were beautifully ornate. . Along one large section of the East wall was the weapons display. Weapons of every style and time period were carefully catalogued museum-style ( weapons pic 1 , pic 2, pic 3 pic 4). After she spent several minutes peering into the cases, fascinated by the rare pieces, she turned north to the door . It was a heavy, hardword door engraved extravagently. Last, she examined one of the statues .
"Truly amazing, Mr. Jaramillo." She turned back to face him. "Wouldn't you agree Lady Gwenivere?"
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
((Wow, the statue is especially befitting...a saint with a sword, lol. Those pictures work very well, actually. ))
Victor was pleased to see someone take such interest in historical artifacts, but he realized that business had to be taken care of as well.
"Tell me, agent...I'm sorry, I don't believe I got your name...what information on the traitor do you have so far? Does Physiks have any general idea on who or what this person may be working for? Once you find out who it is," Victor stood and walked over to the wall and pulled a rapier from a displayed scabbard, "we at Legion have ways of extracting further information," he said, drawing his fingers down the blade.
(( This is the statue of Santiago Matamoros (St. James the Moor Slayer) that stands in his office. ))
[ QUOTE ]
"Truly amazing, Mr. Jaramillo." She turned back to face him. "Wouldn't you agree Lady Gwenivere?"
[/ QUOTE ]
"Yes. Very impressive indeed."
Gwen was standing to one side; on the one hand, she was intrigued by the history of the place, but on the other, the less involved she got with Legion, the better. Her allegiance was to Kashaye and Physiks.
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
[ QUOTE ]
"Tell me, agent...I'm sorry, I don't believe I got your name...what information on the traitor do you have so far? Does Physiks have any general idea on who or what this person may be working for? Once you find out who it is," Victor stood and walked over to the wall and pulled a rapier from a displayed scabbard, "we at Legion have ways of extracting further information," he said, drawing his fingers down the blade.
(( This is the statue of Santiago Matamoros (St. James the Moor Slayer) that stands in his office. ))
[/ QUOTE ]
((Very nice and imposing statue! 
))
"Forgive my manners, I neglected to identify myself properly." She straighted her suit with both hands, stood straighter and extended her hand in what promised to be a firm handshake. "I am Agent Rosalyn. I am assigned to the Heroism is Good Business Project under Ms. Clarisa Feynman. My daily duties are usually to combat crime on the streets of Paragon City, but occassionally, I do special assignments like this one. Being detached from the corporate base can be an asset." One corner of her mouth lifted in a half smile.
The half smile disolved and she brushed the piece of short, coiffed hair from her eyes. She picked up one of the manilla folders and opened it to show evidence. "Since being notified a few days agoabout this transgression, this is what I've found. Someone has been taking electronic data and physical files from the vaults. Not just any data either. We have discerned a relationship between the data taken, but we do know that other, more valuable and accessible files were left alone." She pointed at the printout of the violated data files. There is very little footprint to follow here. No pictures of the perpetrators, no security breeches recorded, no profiles of angry employees. There are no leads and we do not have good cause to interogate employees and business partners further without risking relationships with them."
She pulled back from the folders and rested her hands behind her back in an "at ease" position. "What assistance do you recommend?"
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
"Hm," Victor placed his hand to his chin, the other behind his back, as he looked upon the documents. His tremors had ceased for the moment. "Continue what you've been doing so far monitor everything. Set up security cameras where there were none before. Do the same with guards and security. Have everyone sign in and out when moving into secure areas, if you don't already do that."
Victor pulled several official looking documents from a desk drawer. "I will place the intelligence units I currently have assigned to this operation under your command for now." He quickly wrote several things on the documents, mainly signatures. "I will call up my expert teams for this operation as well, but they're currently tied up with something at the moment, so they'll need some time."
Victor finished filling out his forms and gazed upon his statue for a moment, then towards the weapons racks. "This would be much easier if you let us take care of everything...the Legion way...but I know Ms. Feynman will not have it."
[ QUOTE ]
Victor pulled several official looking documents from a desk drawer. "I will place the intelligence units I currently have assigned to this operation under your command for now." He quickly wrote several things on the documents, mainly signatures. "I will call up my expert teams for this operation as well, but they're currently tied up with something at the moment, so they'll need some time."
[/ QUOTE ]
"Tied up with what, I wonder?" Agent Rosalyn thought...she had a curious nature. It served her well and helped her notice details others overlooked. She nodded and said out loud, "I will add more surveillance cameras to every spot possible and introduce myself to your intelligence units under my command."
Then she turned to Lady Gwenivere, "Is this satisfactory or can you think of any additional items for security? Ms. Feynman values your input and would like your approval before I proceed with these plans."
((PS: I've got a number of typos in my last message, sorry but it's too late to edit them...I shouldn't try to write late at night. 
))
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
Clarisa was up early and walking around her spartan appartment with the cell phone hand-free headset strapped to her ear.
"....Yes, that is fine, please make sure everything on Ms. Parkers list is attended to ASAP." <pause> "...No, I don't care if it will cost more. I can validate the expense." <pause> "...That will be fine, thank you." She disconnected the call and dialed again while fixing herself a protein shake.
She was dialing Ms. Parker to see if she was would mind a visit today. Clarisa was eager to see the lab fully restored. Even though it was only the first day after the chaos, she felt that she could move things along quickly. Also, Agent Rosalyn should be reporting in soon. She would have to discuss increased security with Kashaye.
Ring Ring Ring
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
"Physiks Technologies, Research, this is Parker."
"Oh hello Clarisa! Yes... well, we've got all the inventory done, the requisitions for replacement equipment has been filed... oh you have them?... great. Let's see... we have a work crew finishing up cleaning the bunker and checking all of the wiring and safety equipment, make sure it's back up to code... all we need now is our stuff back.... Yes... I've summarized everything in a report, was having Mallory check it... yes, she's doing great... OK, let me have Mallory send it to you."
She typed a message into the company IM application:
[ QUOTE ]
To:MALLORYS
RE: LAB DAMAGE RPT FINAL
PLS XMIT TO CFEYNMAN VIA EML STAT, CC MAKAVELL, LGWEN, AGT_ROSELYN, KPARKER. THX, U R DOING GRT!! :-)
KPARKER
[/ QUOTE ]
She soon received a reply.
[ QUOTE ]
I'M ON IT...
[/ QUOTE ]
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Mallory was sitting through yet another boring lecture on EM fields in her midlevel physics class, daydreaming about her new fields. She already knew pretty much everything the instructor was saying, and had only written three lines of notes on the pad she'd brought. She'd long ago given up on bringing the little tape recorder to class, finding the lectures to be pretty useless.
After looking at her watch for the hundredth time since the class had started, the little beeper thing that Physiks had given her went off. Mallory had been in such a rush that morning that she'd forgotten to turn it on vibrate. The beeping was surprisingly loud.
The instructor stopped speaking and everyone in the large auditorium turned to look in her direction. She fumbled around in her bag until she found the beeper and saw the message.
To:MALLORYS
RE: LAB DAMAGE RPT FINAL
PLS XMIT TO CFEYNMAN VIA EML STAT, CC MAKAVELL,
LGWEN, AGT_ROSELYN, KPARKER. THX, U R DOING GRT! :-)
KPARKER
When she'd finished reading the message, Mallory looked back up and saw the hundreds of eyes focused on her and turned a violent shade of red.
"Sorry everyone... I uh... forgot I had it." She managed a meek smile as she stood up and walked out of the room. Once she'd gotten back out into the hallway, she pulled the beeper out again and typed a reply. She almost walked back into the classroom, but she decided that she would probably be okay if she skipped this lecture, and she DID just tell Ms. Parker that she'd get started on it now.
In the end, Mallory did decide to skip the rest of her lecture. She went and found a computer and, using the method Ms. Parker had shown her to open a secure shell into the Physiks servers. She quickly accessed the report she'd been looking over earlier that morning. She opened up her new email account and wrote a summary of what was on the report and sent it to all of the people Ms. Parker had listed. When that was finished, Mallory looked at her watch again and saw that it had only been about half an hour since she'd recieved the first message. It was also still an hour until lunch.
Mallory pulled out her beeper again and typed in a quick message to Ms. Parker.
To:KPARKER
RE: LUNCH
GTNG HNGRY. LNCH TGTHR? WHR? RDY N 1 HR.
MALLORYS
In the mean time, she had another class... or she could do homework...
Kashaye saw the page pop back on her monitor.
[ QUOTE ]
To:KPARKER
RE: LUNCH
GTNG HNGRY. LNCH TGTHR? WHR? RDY N 1 HR.
MALLORYS
[/ QUOTE ]
She was about to type a reply when her phone rang again.
"Physiks Tech, Research, this is Parker."
"Hi Clarisa. You get the report?"
"Good."
"A lab tour? Well, I was thinking of heading out for lunch, but I can be back by 1, or 1:30... shall we set it for this afternoon?"
"That'll work great. Would you care to join us? Mallory's getting out of class... yeah, she sent that via VPN... smart kid, huh? Like it when folks are good at multitasking, makes me look better when I don't do it too good... yeah... "
"OK, I'll wait for you in the lobby, 11:30-ish? I was thinking of this lovely Indian place, a block from the campus. Nice walk."
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Back at Physiks Technologies...
People moved to a fro in the office and all seemed to be back to normal. The sounds of phones ringing, pleasant secretaries answering, staff conversing about the companies latest achievements, scientists milling about working on their latest innovations, all indicated that it was back business as usual.
One particular employee approached an unassigned cubicle tucked away in the north end of the building and decided it was time for another data extraction. The employee casually turned on the computer and set a small wireless device about 3x5x1 inches down next to it. The necessary clearance and access codes were at hand and ready when prompted by the programs. After several minutes of typing, the data transfer was done. The individual glanced up at the security camera cleverly hidden inside a light fixture and smiled before sending a disruptive electromagnetic pulse thru the wire. Surely that would ruin the last day's worth of recording on THAT camera. The employee picked up the small box, tucked it in a pocket and walked out of the cubicle as if nothing was out of the ordinary. People said hello and smiled as they passed in the hall.
It's back to business as usual alright...if you are stealing from Physiks!
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
Gwen was standing to one side as Agent Roselyn and Victor were talking about ancient statues and architecture of Europe (all well beyond her 'time', as well as being very far away from her old home, in what would become Great Britain) when her cellphone buzzed. She nodded once to Roselyn and stepped down the hall for privacy. She tapped the button on her headset to answer the phone.
"This is Gwen."
"Miss Gwen, this is Sykes in IT. Our firewall proxy logs are showing .. well... it looks weird."
"Explain 'weird'. I am not a computer expert. So keep that in mind."
"OK. Um... we set up various 'traps' if you will, on our data networks. Basically we want to make sure that all data going back and forth is authorized, and that no one gets in that's not supposed to. Well... one of those traps got sprung. So we looked at the log file. We noted two unusual events. One was a connection inbound from Paragon University, on a secure shell account. It belongs to an assistant researcher that was hired recently, a Mallory Swansen. She modified a document then sent it to several people. All were legitemate company accounts... but the inbound secure shell bothers me, we wern't advised that such activity was authorized on this Ms. Swansen's account."
"I can vouch for Ms. Swansen. What's the other thing?"
"Well, we see a large data upload from one of our workstations to an external file server. The data was encrypted, so we don't kow the contents. Here's the kicker. That workstation has been idle for at least a week, and was powered up only to do this upload, and then powered down. And get this... the ID used to log in and transmit the data... it was that of our company president. So his account has been comprimised, because I have his biometric ID showing him in our offices in New York. However... somehow he was also HERE... transmitting that file. I think we have a hacker, Ms. Gwen."
"Were you able to trace the destination?"
"No. We tried to port-scan and access the destination system, and found a proxy - the real server is somwhere else. We'll crack it and trace the file... but it'll take some time."
"OK. Take that workstation offline and get it into safekeeping NOW. Get whatever you can off of it. Call Harvey in Security, he's into forensics... I think he has a fingerprint kit. Have him try to lift prints. I'll call in a favor with some cops I know, maybe we can get an idea of who this is. Did we get a camera shot?"
"No. That camera is malfunctioning."
Damn. This person was good.
"OK. keep me apprised."
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Agent Rosalyn had already started working with Legion's task force and was giving orders to place them discretely in key locations throughout all the Physik's offices. Her strategy was not to handle this in a miltaristic way -- quite the opposite since this was a crime of technology -- but to have them be ready to apprehend the perpatrators immediately. Once the traitor was identified, they would need to strike quick!
Lady Gwenivere had just entered the lobby of Physiks's headquarters when she received another call.
"Miss Gwen, this is Sykes in IT again. Um, I have something disturbing to show you."
"Well, that's a fine way to start a conversation Sykes, what are talking about?" Gwen asked.
"We've traced one of the codes and think it belongs to a specific employee." Sykes said nervously.
"Who is it?" Gwen was not in the mood for games.
"That's the thing Miss, we can't talk about this over the phone. I ....I have to tell you in person. I've already contacted Mr. Jaramillo and Ms. Feynman and asked them to join us in Ms. Feynman's office. Please do not contact anyone else but come straight here." Sykes' voice had a tremble to it. "I don't dare spend anymore time on the phone concerning this matter, the jammer is running out of random frequencies.
"Fine, I'll be right there." Lady Gwen headed up the elevator. She passed Agent Rosalyn who was just getting off the elevator.
"Where are you headed Lady Gwenivere, care to join me for some lunch, it's been a busy morning and I'm famished." Agent Rosalyn patted her stomach lightly.
Lady Gwen had a puzzled look on her face, surprised that Agent Rosalyn wasn't headed upstairs as well. "No thanks, I have a few more things to attend to. Enjoy your lunch." Agent Rosalyn nodded and headed out the revolving door to the street.
---------------
Clarisa was waiting nervously in her office. She paced back in forth in her high-heeled boots. Victor and Lady Gwen had not yet arrived and Sykes refused to say anything definitive until they arrived. He looked pale and fidgety waiting in a high backed chair facing the door. He continued to hammer on his laptop keyboard and only glanced up with Clarisa passed close while pacing.
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
Gwen entered the office and saw Sykes attempting to look busy, while Clarisa paced.
Just as she took this all in, her phone buzzed again.
Holding up a finger to ask Clarisa for a second (and receiving a curt nod in return), Gwen answered it.
"Yes? He is? Good. Show Mr. Jaramillo to Ms. Feynman's office. Immediately."
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
In the main lobby of Physiks, Victor stood with his entourage, men in black suits, black sunglasses, and earpieces. A large grin stretched in the corner of his mouth and he was beaming with confidence. He figured this was about the traitor and he was going to enjoy breaking him or her for more information.
Victor waited, his hands on the top of a cane. He had made a very recent habit of carrying one incase of his many 'outbreaks' of the strange side-effects he had been experiencing. It gave him something to clutch to and tense his muscles, somewhat covering the full effects of the tremors.
"Ms. Feynman will see you now, sir." A secretary said.
"Thank you, my dear." Victor nodded to his men to follow and they did, having already checked in their weapons. Victor made the elevator ride up to Ms. Feynman's office and made his way down the hall towards the office room itself. He straightened his coat and knocked on the door...
"Good, everyone is here." Sykes jumped up from his chair closing his laptop in one swift motion. He tried not to stammer as he addressed this small group of extremely capable individuals. "Um, I called you all here because this is the safest, bugless room in the building."
"Sykes, just cut to the bottomline please. We are all waiting to hear what you have found." Clarisa said impatiently.
"Ok ok..." Sykes loosen the top buttom on his short sleeved oxford shirt. "Here's the deal. I kept looking for traces of the hacker in the places he or she broke into, then it hit me..." He hit his forehead with his palm. "Who logged into the workstation itself. Duh."
Long pause. "Ok, now before I tell you...I'm really sorry about this...I double checked this a million ways till Sunday, thinking it was a stolen login or something, but people saw this person walking away from the cubicle at the time of the break-in." Sykes could see Clarisa rolling her fingers in the air to indicate it was time to wrap it up.
He looked at the beautiful Lady Gwen for strength to say what he needed to say and avoided looking at Victor who scared the crap out of him.
"The login belonged to ...Agent Rosalyn. We since placed her account in a quarentine, so that she can still use it, but we are recording everything she is doing. So far, she's just logged in once to get email and sent documents to Legion. Nothing suspicious." Sykes slumped back in the chair and sighed heavily. Then, he looked up to see how the others we taking the news.
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
Back in the cafe across the street, Agent Rosalyn sipped some English Tea. The tea always soothed her. She felt a bit nervous today for some unknown reason. They would soon find the traitor with Legion's help. She just had to make sure they didn't also find any trace of the fact that she had given documents to a fellow hero regarding the "Carbon Copy" project. It was only fair, Dione had been experimented on without her knowledge, cloned. But that was a few months ago. Not for some time had she tampered with the Physiks datastore. If she could just find this traitor, then she could be a hero in Clarisa's eyes and finally tell her about the data she copied. Clarisa would understand and protect her, she was sure of it.
Unconsciously, Rosalyn pulled the golden necklace with a small ruby-studded cross from her suit shirt and sent a short prayer skyward. Somehow she felt she would need divine guidance.
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
[ QUOTE ]
"The login belonged to ...Agent Rosalyn. We since placed her account in a quarentine, so that she can still use it, but we are recording everything she is doing. So far, she's just logged in once to get email and sent documents to Legion. Nothing suspicious." Sykes slumped back in the chair and sighed heavily. Then, he looked up to see how the others we taking the news.
[/ QUOTE ]
Victor's confident aura instantly vanished, replaced instead by one of anger and mistrust. The Spaniard approached Sykes, leaning towards him threatingly. "I hope you understand the accusations you are making, Mr. Sykes. You are accusing one of your finest agents of treason." He leaned in a little closer. "I, for one, do not appreciate such an insult." Stepping and turning away from Sykes, he pointed at him and said, "You are an incompetent fool. I will get to the bottom of this myself." Victor walked to the door and stomped out of the room.
"No," Victor was thinking to himself, "it cannot be Rosalyn. I looked into her eyes, her very soul. I felt no guilt, no aura of deceit. But, there's something not right here in Physiks. I feel something, an aura I haven't felt in years." He entered the elevator and made his way out of the building and back towards the Legion compound.
=====
'Agent Rosalyn' was walking in the park. She found an unoccupied bench near a pond, one that did not have any pedestrians near it, and sat down. She was waiting for someone.
"Good, agent. You're on time." A man with a large trenchcoat said, a tall collar and a hat covering most of his face. He didn't really look all that suspiscious because of a good cold weather snap that was moving through Paragon. A puff of smoke billowed from a cigar that was clentched in the man's teeth as he stepped out from behind a tree.
"I am the most efficient agent you have," 'Rosalyn' said, "I have the data."
"Good," the man said, approaching her. A gust of wind blew, moving brushing his collar aside for a brief moment, revealing half of the man's face. His features and skin tone were much like that of Victor, a tanned Roman-esque man, but half of his face was completely covered in a web of scars.
'Rosalyn' had a brief moment of shock, but continued. "Do you have my money?"
"Do not worry about your pay, mercenary. My employers have plenty of cash to throw at you, just do your damn job," he took another puff of his cigar, "unless, of course, you wish to be involved in some sort of...'accident.'"
The female agent, 'Rosalyn,' pulled a small manila envelope from her coat and handed it to the man. "Here's your stuff. I might me more time to get anything more. I think they're on to me. Legion is on to me."
The man cringed upon hearing the name of Legion. "Do not worry about Legion, Victor, or whatever lackeys he's hired. I'll take of them myself.
'Rosalyn' laughed to herself and looked towards the pond for a brief moment. "Being that I'm in such danger of being caught, I should get paid a little more. You know, get some sort of compensation?" The woman smirked and turned her back towards the man, but he was gone. "What the...?" Her head darted around, looking for where he had gone, but saw nothing.
The news hung in the room like a thick fog. Clarisa had asked Gwen to assist Victor, more to keep an eye on his movements than to provide actual help. Lady Gwen returned to Kashaye's lab to check in with her. Clarisa did not let Sykes leave, if it was possible, he was more nervous than before.
"Wha..." Sykes cleared his throat to lower it a few octaves, "...what else do you need Ms. Feynman."
Clarisa who had been pacing around the room thinking, zero'd in on him and walked to within two feet of him (well within claws reach). "I want to know every move Agent Rosalyn has made in the last three months....". She paused and glanced down at he bracelet which had been a birthday gift from Rosalyn. "...but I don't want you to share the information with anyone. Got that? The data is to come to me and me only. If anyone else requests this information, they need to get approval from me. Even Victor Jaramillo. Is that clear?".
"Clear as crystal!" Sykes said without stuttering. He shot up from the chair, laptop under arm and took the cue to leave the room and start immediately on this new task.
Clarisa was alone with her thoughts.
"I suppose it's likely that a trusted employee would rebel, but what would be Rosalyn's modivation? Why her?" The two had met when Rosalyn saved her life in the field on her first day amongst the heroes. There was more to being a hero than just flying around the city looking for muggers. Your heart had to be in it. Rosalyn's heart WAS in it. She kept her private life to herself, but Clarisa had done her homework on all her employees and knew that Rosalyn was from a long line of protectors. Her mother was a member of a secret society that Clarisa didn't have details on, suffice that it had Christian roots and was matriarchal. She bonded with Rosalyn on the very first day and knew it was because of the strong aura of female proweress they both possessed. Although, she never confronted Rosalyn about her beliefs, she was proud to have her fight for her cause and knew she could be trusted. Could Clarisa have been so wrong?
[url="http://celestialguardians.guildportal.com"]Celestial Guardians SG[/url]: Chris Mas Snow 50 Ice/Storm Ctl, Li Zhou 42 MA/Rgn Scrp, Dui Zhou 32 Ice/FF Ctl, TinyTaxi 35 Emp/Psi Def
[url="http://tinyurl.com/y66drr"]UnAlliance VG[/url]: Shar Chi 37 Nin/Drk MM, La Vida Loca 16 Pl/Psi Dom
Kashaye looked up from an oscilliscope as Gwen entered the lab.
"Hi Gwen... hey... what's bugging you? You look like you got kicked in the stomach."
"It's... Roselyn. You know, that agent that I went with to Legion, to drop off that package? She's been fingered as a spy."
Kashaye's jaw dropped. "Wait, is this the same Roselyn that you described as ..."
"YES!! And I KNOW her, Shay! She's honorable, she's forthright... there's no way she could..."
"hey... we've been fooled before. Remember that mimic kid? The one with the green hair or whatever itw as? She suckered me. Maybe Roselyn suckered you."
"NO! It's not possible. There's no way, I'd have seen it... "
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."
Night was falling upon Paragon city. The crimson sky slowly faded to darkness, the sunlight being replaced by the myriad of lights flickering on throughout Paragon.
Matamoros was kneeling on a rooftop overlooking a street lined with apartment buildings. Torquemada, his assault rifle, was strapped onto his back, keeping the majority of his cape from blowing in the wind.
"Do you have my data yet?" Matamoros said, speaking into his helmet comm.
"Give me a second," a voice replied, "I'm sending it now. Hm, seems she's, well, one of the heretics."
"What are you talking about...?" Matamoros questioned, confused.
"This Rosalyn woman. We have a surprising number of files on record for her. She's one of the heretics."
"What heretics? There's a lot of heretics out there..."
"Da Vinci Code tells about them..."
"Oh," Matamoros said quietly, "them."
"I'd be careful. We don't know what they could be trying to pull here. Maybe this whole 'traitor' deal was a ruse, some sort of plot."
"Well, that's what I'm going to find out. Matamoros, out." Matamoros cut the comm just as the man was about to reply with another generic warning.
Zooming in with his visor, Matamoros spotted Rosalyn walk into an apartment building, apparently making a quick stop home or perhaps just crashing for the night. He dashed across the roof and lept onto the proper building. With swift movements he had lept and crawled his way across the various obstructions (air ducts and what-not) found on the rooftop and swung down onto a balcony. He rested casually on the guard railing and waited, peering in through the glass door. Several minutes later, the front door within the apartment opened and the silhouette of a woman entered and lights throughout the apartment flicked on.
"Nice place you have here, Agent..." Matamoros said to Rosalyn.
* earlier that morning, entering lobby of Physiks *
Gwen noticed the severe government-issue suit and dark glasses immediately. The woman exuded a sense of unyielding stoicism. She was reminded of a line from a movie: "We in the FBI do not have a sense of humor that we are aware of." This woman.. well, if she DID have a sense of humor, she left it in her house when she left for work.
"Hello. you must be the agent Rosylin that I was told about. Welcome to Physiks. I'm Lady Gwenivere, site security." She held out a hand, and received a curt two-pump handshake in reply.
"I'm told we're to deliver a package. Where is it?"
"Follow me."
The two women took the elevator to Clarisa's office, where Jane had a package wrapped with security holotape. "Good morning Gwen. Hello Agent. This is your package. I'll not divulge what it contains. Do not open it, and do not take it near or through any electromagnetic fields. Deliver it to Victor Jaramillo at Legion, downtown office. Personally. If someone else wishes to accept it for him, refuse. Return here with the package if Victor is unavailable. Clear?"
Gwen nodded.
"Sign this, acknowledging receipt. Clarisa's counting on you to get this to Mr. Jaramillo, ladies."
Agent Rosylin stepped forward and signed the log, and tucked the package into a briefcase, which she then locked. She handed the key to Gwen.
"Lets go."
* Present time *
Gwen marveled at the architecture. It was.. strangely reminiscent of the castles she'd been in when she was... well, before she was transported thru time to Paragon City. But, the look was also more severe. HER castles would have had tapestries and bunting, bright colors, rugs on the floor. This place was... almost like a prison.
After a time they were shown to Victor's office. When they entered, Victor stood up to greet them. Gwen looked closely... he did not appear to have any of the odd symptoms he displayed before. Hrm. Perhaps she was mistaken.
Rosylin was all business. "Let's conclude this. Gwen, the key." Gwen handed it to her, and the woman unlocked the briefcase, and set the package on Victor's desk. She then pulled out her own receipt book, made an X on one line, and handed it and a pen to Victor. "Sign here."
"City of Heroes. April 27, 2004 - August 31, 2012. Obliterated not with a weapon of mass destruction, not by an all-powerful supervillain... but by a cold-hearted and cowardly corporate suck-up."