Between The Lines

[Sandra Erickson]

*There is nothing to do in my apartment so I head back to my office and see I have an email. It says it's from a Mr. Ian Jones, but as I read on I see it must be from Vico, as he was the one who I talked to about the hackings.*

Thank you, Vico! *I say to myself, already sending a more specific request. I need video footage and security breach reports from the 19th, everything from 4:45 PM to 5:45 PM. I would also need to try to get through the firewall myself from an outside source, to mirror the hacker. Gosh. What a lot I had to do.*

[Sandra Erickson]

*The security breach reports originally got to me and I found that there were two hackings. One at 4:52, and one at 5:27. That was odd. There should have only been one. It looked like the 5:27 hack was the one we were looking for. It occured in a security room, where there had been some signs of struggle a few days ago. There was also a cheap little jump drive that had been inserted. As no new information had been planted, there certainly had to be info downloaded.*

This isn't good. *I mumble to myself. I don't know who else I should contact, so I send Vico a message saying there are killjoys out there with confidential BLI information. Where is my damn footage?!

[Sandra Erickson]

*Another day passes, and when I get to my office the next morning and see the footage still has not come, I decide to go to Security Room 5 myself. I step into the elevator and nod to the agent already standing inside. He smiles in return. I depart from the elevator as soon as I reach the 5th floor and almost stomp to the room. I knock on the door, and am greeted by a strange string bean of a man.*

Yes, dear? How may I help you? *his voice is a weird combination of a hiss and a purr, and his whole demeanor is quite offputting.*

I have been waiting for a very long time to receive the footage I asked for. I'm the resident technical and behavioral analyst and I need it to complete a task. *I say, trying to sound very important and calm, almost mimicking Ms. Sacramento. He snorts, unimpressed.

Miss, I'm sorry to inform you I cannot just give you the footage. It is confidential and meant for use by superiors and those pre-approved in their fields. I don't know you, or your motives. If this is not a specific assignment given to you by your consultant or superior, I cannot give you anything. However, if you get this task signed off by said superior, I have no choice. *He smiles wickedly at me and I huff.

I am an analyst. My job is to profile and find killjoy unsubs that have committed crime. I do so by tracking digital recordsand finding information via computers. I am entitled to video footage, or anything documenting said unsub. *I challenge him, crossing my arms. He just laughs in my face.*

[Sandra Erickson]

Sir, these documentations could reveal a killjoy commiting the crime in question. It could be the key to this case. Why on EARTH would you not give me the footage?

I follow the rules. If I just gave every BLI personnel all the footage they liked, they would certainly misuse it. Footage, especially inside the tower, is strictly confidential unless an agent of higher authority grants me permission to give it. *He crosses his arms and gives me the stink eye. I moan and slam the door in his face, angry. I haven't even MET all of my superiors yet, how can I get the footage?!*

[Alexander Ludovico]

*I'm heading down the main hall on the east side of floor 5 when I hear a familiar voice. Around the next corner I see Sandra, apparently arguing with a Security employee. I wonder if I can help. Sandra slams the door, and I grin. Temper, temper* Might I be of assistance, Sandra? I assume you need to get information from the good man behind that door.

[Sandra Erickson]

Pffft. Good man. *I mutter. Then I sigh and nod.* Yes, thank you. *I chuckle a little and gesture to the door. I shrug, feeling a bit childish for my attitude.*

[Alexander Ludovico]

Not at all. Let's play a little game, shall we? *I straighten my jacket, then tug on Sandra's arm to make her take a step back towards the door. When I speak again, my voice is loud enough to carry through the door.* Miss Erikson, there you are! What in the world is taking you so long?! You know Orwell will have our heads on a pike if you're late with your report! What do you mean, you don't have authorization? He signed the forms this morning, they should have been sent to you by now! My god, secretaries are useless these days. Here, let me speak to him. *I knock on the door, putting on a properly serious and slightly impatient expression*

[Sandra Erickson]

*I mouth a quick thank you. The weasel man opens his door, looking confused and a bit nervous. I surpress a smile. I swear I see him tremble.*

Hello, sir. Is t-there a problem? *The pitch of his voice has raised a considerable amount.*

[Alexander Ludovico]

Not on your end, sir, no need to worry. *I flash him a quick smile, but not enough of one to make him think I'm in a good mood* We've had a mix-up in terms of our paperwork. Miss Erickson here is working on an assignment for Mr. Orwell - you've heard of his Scarecrow unit, I'm sure. It's quite urgent; the unit is set to begin apprehension of several wanted killjoys, but they need Miss Erickson's report before they can do so. And as I'm also sure you've heard, Mr. Orwell has a bit of a temper when things don't go his way.

*The man still looks a bit unsure as to whether he should let us in, so I sigh theatrically and pull an I.D. card out of my pocket, handing it to him with my thumb conveniently covering the photo* I know you don't want to risk your position, so here. Take my employee card, look up my supervisor when we're gone, do whatever you need to. I'll need it back by the time I leave work this evening, but I trust you to keep it safe until then. If I'm lying about our authorization, there's my collateral. Good?

[Sandra Erickson]

*The man nods, a little surprised.* Yes, yes sir. Not a problem. Please, both of you, come right in. Tell me, Miss Erickson, what footage were you looking for, exactly?

*I don't know if he is scared of Vico or Orwell or both but the sweat beading at his brow is extremely amusing.* Well, I need footage from 4:45 to 5:45, the 19th if you don't mind.

[Alexander Ludovico]

*I spot a wheeled chair in one corner and sit down, leaning back and crossing my legs. I must have seemed a bit too casual because the man glances over at me and I scowl back at him.*

Right... just a moment, then. *He sits down in front of one of the computers and types in a few command sequences, eventually isolating one file in particular* And did you want a copy of this, or would watching it here be satisfactory?

[Sandra Erickson]

Well....*I trail off, taking a sideways glance at Vico.* We wouldn't want to clog your office up, would we V-uh, Mr. Ludovico? If it isn't too much trouble, I'd like a copy. Perhaps that will put Mr. Orwell in a better mood.

Very well...one moment. *the man grumbles, opening a small cupboard and producing a disk.* Shall I put it on this then?

[Alexander Ludovico]

*I wave at him impatiently and he copies the information over onto the disk. It's quiet in the room until the beep that means the download is complete, and the man hands the disk to Sandra with a rather sour look on his face. I stand up, heading to the door. The less time we're in here, the less time he has to look at the photo on the card I gave him* Thank you for your help. We'll send the authorization forms on to you as soon as we get them straightened out. Have a better day!

*I rush Sandra out and close the door before the man can reply, not slowing down until we round the corner. Then I put my hands in my pockets, smiling widely* That was fun! We should do it again sometime.

[Sandra Erickson]

*I laugh a bit and nod.* Yes. Maybe next time we can bother the recptionist. *I throw an overly sweet smile down the hall at her.* Anyway, thanks again. I think those killjoys downloaded access codes....definitely valuable. It'd be best if we find them as soon as possible.

[Alexander Ludovico]

Any time. Oh, and if you see a young asian man with a blue tie looking like he's lost something, act innocent. *I pace Sandra as she starts back towards her office, pushing my sleeve back to check my watch.* I have a few hours until I need to be anywhere. Do you need anything else, or shall I find someone else to bother?