by RWK Clark
“Mr. Wells, this is Kamryn Reynolds. Kamryn, Mr. Wells, my supervisor. This gentleman is Matt Johnson, and I’m not sure who this is.” Josh motioned to the stranger.
Wells did the bobble head. “Josh, Kamryn, this is Miles James, Director of Homeland Security. He will be heading the project and acting directly on behalf of President Mason. Before we get started can I offer you something to drink? We will likely be meeting for a couple of hours.”
“I’d like coffee, black please.” Kamryn put her backpack on the floor and sat in the chair closest to her, as did Josh. The three men all sat, Wells pressing the button on his intercom as he did.
“Sharon, I need a carafe of coffee and the works, please. Five cups.” He let go of the button before Sharon could respond. “Kamryn, could you briefly fill us in on what you do?”
“Well,” she replied, searching for the most diplomatic words possible. “I’m a hacker.”
Bobble Head did it again. “We know you are a hacker. Tell us whose computers, in general, you have hacked. There really is no need to be specific, and there will be no repercussions.”
For the next ten or fifteen minutes Kamryn gave the men a quick overview. She had not only hacked into the systems of some major corporate conglomerates, she had also succeeded in doing the same to three well-known universities and a couple of government systems. It was the government systems which got her busted, she explained, as she had managed to issue herself large refund checks. She succeeded three years running, getting away with a very large amount of money before they caught up with her. Josh felt admiration swell in his chest.
The universities she hacked into as paid jobs for rich students who were failing their courses. The others, she stated, she just did for fun and practice.
“I’m supposed to be attending a court date in Baltimore at the federal courthouse next month, but I’m kind of hoping you guys can make this disappear if I can help you like you need me to.”
Miles James spoke up. “So what makes you think you can actually breach the Oppressors’ systems, if indeed they exist?”
“I know they exist; I discovered a signal today while I was working before I came in. It is a strange one, but it is there nonetheless, and if it is there, I can breach it. I promise you.” The look on Kamryn’s face was set and serious. She had full confidence in herself and her abilities, and she meant every word she spoke. “I realize I am dealing with a very limited time frame, but given the life and death set of circumstances before us all, as well as the fact that I love what I do, I will commit as much time as is needed until I succeed. Josh tells me I have just under two weeks. I believe I’m just who you are looking for.”
It was Matt Johnson’s turn to speak. “Would the two of you excuse us while we confer? You can step just outside the door. We will be back with you shortly.”
As if on cue Sharon entered the office with the coffee. “Sharon, these two are going to join you in the outer office for a brief moment. Take care of them, please.”
Sharon smiled with her blood red lips. “Absolutely. Come with me, please.”
Josh and Kamryn took a seat on a leather couch which sat against a wall in the outer office. “What do you think? Did I do okay?” Her nervousness was much more obvious now that they were basically alone.
“You did perfectly. I don’t think it’s a matter of ‘should’ they use you. It’s past that now, Kam.” Josh offered her a comforting smile. This was not about getting a good job. It was about survival.
Only minutes had passed before Sharon’s intercom buzzed. “Send them back in, please.” She rose from her desk and motioned to the office door.
“We can see ourselves in, thank you,” Josh told her. The entered the office and took the same chairs as before.
Wells began, “As you may have guessed, we are anxious to see what you can do for us. Josh will write any code you need. I made a call and as we speak a bigger office is being prepared for you two to share. Josh, your computer and entire desk will be relocated. Are things secure down there?”
“Yes. I locked it up before leaving to get her,” he replied.
“Good. You will be on the same floor, but you will be moving into Tom Gray’s old space.” Josh smiled. That was a kick ass office. “The first order of business will be to soak up as much of the information we give you as possible. Sharon will get you a code to log onto the government system, and she will do it as you leave. Go directly down and get busy reviewing the information I have already supplied you with. The files on the computer you will need are all under ‘Operation Native’. If you discover you need anything extra, just ask. Within reason, of course.”
Both Kamryn and Josh nodded. It seemed to be catching around this place. She looked over at Josh. “I’m ready if you are.” Her eyes were on fire, and he could tell she could barely contain herself.
“Ready,” he said. They stood and made their way to the door.
“Sharon, I will need log on information and identification for Kamryn Reynolds. Is that with a ‘C’, Kamryn?” Wells was looking at her expectantly when she turned to face him.
“No. K-A-M-R-Y-N. Reynolds is just Reynolds.” Both waited until he motioned for them to leave before heading out.
“And Kamryn, thank you for serving your country… or the world, I should say.” Miles James looked very serious indeed.
Kam responded, “No, thank you. Nothing will please me more than to get rid of the Oppressors. Nothing.”
Before heading to the new office, Josh and Kamryn stopped in his tiny old hole-in-the-wall. He grabbed the legal tablet and the same pen he had earlier that morning, and as they were leaving to go to the new space the workers who were moving them entered.
“We will be in the new office,” Josh told them.
In minutes they found themselves seated, Kamryn at the desk supplied for her use, and Josh on the floor, cross-legged. She pulled the classified file out of her backpack and began to review, using the tablet Josh brought to jot notes on. In five minutes his desk, chair, and files arrived, and he was able to make himself comfortable also while they got his computer set up. She could not log in on her own until she received her credentials.
They began going through the classified file together, a page at a time, at around ten in the morning, and by the time Kamryn got her log in code and other credentials (she had stepped out with Sharon briefly to have her photo taken) it was nearly three in the afternoon. Josh went to grab a late lunch, leaving her there to continue working.
The things she learned from the paper documents alone were enough to run her blood cold. She discovered that the Oppressors had not only laid out strict demands on the people of Earth, they also threatened complete destruction of the entire planet and all of its inhabitants in one fell swoop if their demands were not followed to a tee. In addition to taking over for the sake of the world’s resources, they fully intended to take up residence here. They claimed every ship that had arrived held the full number of their people.
The planet they came from was laid waste as a direct result of their scavenger activities, not a living soul remaining on it. The planet they offered to relocate Earth’s people to, possessed just enough of what was needed in terms of atmosphere, as well as minimal resources, to sustain life, but only for a fraction of those who lived here.
Why not just wipe us out? She wondered this to herself, and no sooner did the thought cross her mind then she came across the answer. They did not consider themselves to be cold-blooded thieves and murderers. They actually took great pride in what they considered to be a high level of mercy. They seemed, from what she read, to truly believe this about themselves.
Kamryn came to a single cold, hard conclusion: kill or be killed. It was as simple as that.
They would set foot on terra firma in just under two weeks. This fact did not frighten her. She believed in herself, and while she didn’t believe a thing the world’s officials said, she did believe each and every one of them wanted to live. This
was a fact that was in her favor. They would do what it took to help, particularly if she could show consistent progress.
Kamryn could find nothing in the file which clarified anything regarding the Oppressors’ ships or method of computing. The guys upstairs had told her they had hackers working around the clock. What were the idiots doing, anyway? She had discovered an unidentified signal from the comfort of Josh’s apartment. This did not make sense to her, and she concluded they were testing her to find out what her abilities were. Lies; always lies.
Josh returned with two green salads and a number of packaged dressings, as well as two iced teas. Kamryn had already logged on to her computer using her passcode, and she had already opened up the Project Native file. Her main objective was to locate anything she could which discussed the computer system being used by the ships.
She didn’t have to look far. Indeed, the government knew they used an advanced method of computing, and they believed the ships mechanisms were dependent on it. The issue had never been not knowing, because they did know. One bright hacker had discovered this early on. The real problem was figuring it out, and this had proven to be the obstacle for every ivy league computer ‘genius’ the government had assigned to do the job.
“Take a break, Kamryn. Get a quick bite,” Josh suggested. Suddenly her mouth began to water, and she turned herself reluctantly from her screen.
She chose ranch dressing, and as she squeezed the white goo out of its packet she spoke quietly. “They have known about the ships computers pretty much all along. They just hit a brick wall. The fools couldn’t go any further.”
She let that sink in as she took a hefty bite of her salad and chewed it, looking at his face to read his expressions.
“What do you mean, they knew?”
She nodded. “They knew since almost the beginning. I’m not going to get mad about it. I am going to crack the son of a bitch wide open.” She was calm and confident, and this helped him to feel the same way.
“Then that is exactly what you should do,” Josh replied.
Chapter 9
Over the next thirteen days things began to change rapidly. Kamryn was able to make rapid progress identifying the language of the system used by the Oppressors. It was digital, and while it was foreign she was able to easily learn and adapt, thus enabling her to show progress to authorities when she was asked. Josh busied himself with any code she needed written, and by the time they had been at it for ten days she was sure she knew enough for those upstairs and at the White house to begin formulating a solid plan of action.
She had one of her own. She wanted to disable any weapons they had, as well as the force fields around the ships, which would allow the military to effectively attack. She kept steady notes of these things, and reported them diligently, along with any other ideas the two had.
True to form, the Oppressors set foot on Earth a full day ahead of schedule. It was a horrifying thing to witness, and chaos had once again been sparked the world over. As they hoped, she was sure. The spreading of panic seemed to be their favorite weapon.
On the day before they emerged President Mason held a State of the Union address to inform the people of the Oppressors’ intent to reveal themselves a day early. They would begin the herding process after addressing the world themselves. How this would be done was anyone’s guess.
Fear and hysteria were motivating factors at this time, the biggest fear being based on the tentative appearance, and potential level of aggression, of the unknown aliens. Countless suicides took place, so many that bodies were literally strewn, and a number of people seemed to simply disappear off the face of the earth. It was presumed they went into hiding.
Before the ‘unveiling’ of the Oppressors, a meeting was held which included the attendance of both Kamryn and Josh, as well as the president’s team, Peter Wells, and his own supervisor, Matt Johnson. Because of the progress the two were making in regard to the interpretation of the ships’ computer system, and the additional revelations they were bringing to light in terms of how the Oppressors knew so much about human life on Earth, the Project Native discovery team now only consisted of them.
“Josh, Kamryn. We are pretty much down to Zero Hour now, as you are well aware. While we have been told by the Oppressors that those in specific authoritative and government positions would be last to be herded, we also realize their capacity for deception. It is more important now than ever that your focus remain steady on bringing down their ships’ defenses.” This was President Mason, and while he maintained a calm façade, the look in his eyes spoke volumes more about the fear he felt. “We need you to remain here at all times, working steadily toward the accomplishment of this goal.”
Josh replied, “Well, you should know that we are prepared for that, and have been. Since we are here ninety-nine percent of the time we have clothing, and we have been showering in the gym facilities on grounds anyway. Slacking hasn’t been an acceptable option.
Kamryn interjected, “We are closer than ever before to breaking down the code they use to control the ships, and as you know, we have also uncovered a few of the methods they have used to basically hack into our systems. These methods are what have enabled them to gain the in-depth education they needed regarding humans, and this allowed them to catch us unaware and keep their grip on us.”
“Fill me in a bit more on this. I understood you had more information about how they were able to gain understanding regarding Earth and us humans, but I need a firmer grasp on what you know,” said President Mason.
Kamryn proceeded to fill in the gaps for the Commander-in-Chief. Not only had the Oppressors gained free access to all data on the planet through the computers, they also seemed to have some type of ability, through their system, to track what people were doing and saying at the time it was being done. She emphasized the importance of keeping words at a minimum, explaining that Josh and she had developed a method of communication which had likely thrown a wrench into their works.
“Eliminate obvious words; use more gestures. Keep things at a minimum,” she made eye contact with each man in the room one at a time as she spoke. “The reason progress has been so slow for us, I believe, is that they have been onto things the entire time. This allowed them to change things up as they pleased, and this is precisely what they have done.” She stopped there.
Heads nodded all around. Carson Wood, the Secretary of Defense, spoke up. “Should we resort to…” he proceeded to pretend to write on a non-existent pad with an invisible pen.
“If the conversation applies to our plans, absolutely.” She needed them to understand that the Oppressors knew more than humans understood. She was firm in this belief.
The Oppressors were due to emerge from their ships at eight o’clock Eastern Standard Time the next morning. Josh knew that he and Kamryn had a lot of work to do in preparation for this, the first item consisting of shutting down their ability to get inside of Earth’s systems. He had constructed a very powerful firewall with hopes of protecting Kamryn’s hacking activities from detection. So far it seemed to be working, but they didn’t know if it would last, or even if it really was working. They were going on a wing and a prayer, so every second they had was vital to the mission.
When the meeting was over Josh and Kam made their way back down to their office. They rode the elevator in silence, but Josh had his eyes on her the entire time. He knew he was in love with her; how could he not be? She was beautiful, smart, and in his eyes, accomplished. What she was doing was not only admirable, it was amazing, and she was getting the job done.
They got to the office and went directly about their business, keeping conversation to a minimum. For the next two hours she focused on the defense and offense systems of the ships. She was sure they not only possessed weapons meant for the killing of one individual at a time, from what she could see each ship had a single ‘missile’ type weapon. While she had a difficult time comprehending its power, she was sure one shot could completely wipe
out each of the cities which the ships were positioned over, if need be. This would mean the destruction of the planet and all of its inhabitants if they were used together. They needed to tread very lightly.
Once she was able to communicate this news, she wrote it out on paper for Josh. As he read his eyes grew larger and larger. When he was finished he looked at her and simply nodded his understanding. He was not going to speak any words.
She knew that the first order of business would be to shut their systems completely down, which would render all weapons and force fields powerless, and that is what she wrote to him next. Turning back to the computer she got to work trying to come up with the best plan of cyber-attack for the job.
By eleven that morning she made a major breakthrough. She was able to actually identify the general point of origin of their computer signal. While she could not specify exactly where it was coming from, she now knew it was there with certainty. This could be just what they were looking for. To block this somehow would give them the upper hand they so desperately needed. The question was how?
When she discovered this, Josh was getting lunch for them both. She wanted to tell him, and began to pace the floor anxiously, thinking hard about the new information until he returned. This was exactly the kind of job he was needed for.
At eleven-twenty-five Josh strolled into the office with food and drink in hand. Kam stopped pacing and looked up at him with a broad smile on her face.
“What?” He asked.
She chose her words carefully. “I found something big.”
He looked confused but she held her finger to her lips in a gesture of silence. She motioned for him to come over to her desk. He put down the food and sat in his chair, rolling it until he was next to her. She wrote, as briefly as possible, what she had found, and they both stood, jumping up and down, arms in the air, until their actions culminated in a huge hug.
