Between The Lines

[Sandra Erickson]

*I smile at him, imagining the poor asian fellow stumbling around, looking for an ID card.* You've been a huge help. I actually don't need anything else done for me, but you're not bothersome, and I quite enjoy the company. Your choice. *I hold my palms out to him.* Of course, you don't have to stay by any means either.

[Alexander Ludovico]

Hm... *I look down the hall, thinking. It's not like I'm busy...* Hold on one moment, please.

*I walk back down the hallway, taking a turn to the right to find the vending machine I saw earlier. Coming back a few seconds later with a small bag of m&m's (specialty black and white, complete with tiny smiley faces in negative), I smile at Sandra* I think I'll stick around. Lead the way!

[Sandra Erickson]

*I chuckle and walk down the hallway, Vico only just behind me. I produce my little key and insert it, looking up at the plaque with a bit of pride, as always. The door springs open and I gesture dramatically to the small office* And here we are. Come right in. Unfortunately, it is still in a rather drab state. Oh well. Priorites I guess.

*I shrug and gesture to the chair in the corner.* Make yourself at home. *I sit down in the swivel chair and turn to face him. I feel slightly reminiscent of all those old movies where the villain would turn around in their large swivel chair, raise an eyebrow, and say "I've been expecting you." That in itself makes me smile a little wider.*

[Alexander Ludovico]

*I drag the chair in front of the desk like last time and sit down, opening my bag of candy. Mm... almost as good as a strong rope.*

There's always time for decorating later. But don't keep me in suspense - let's see that footage!

[Sandra Erickson]

Of course, of course. *I slide the disk into the player and wait for the computer to recognize it* So have you met this new unit yet? *The computer finally reacts and I type a couple codes in.*

[Alexander Ludovico]

Yes, I joined them in Zone 4 earlier today, actually. They seem quite decent, and had just finished bagging up a few killjoys when I got there. I quite like them, overall. They seem a bit more interesting than my last unit.

[Sandra Erickson]

Well, then it shouldn't be a problem working with them. I hear the heads of the unit are kinda tough, though. But, better than being completely void of personality I suppose. *I shrug and start the video footage. I set it to speed up a bit so we won't be watching people run errands for an hour.*

[Alexander Ludovico]

*I shrug, disappointed when I realize I've reached the bottom of my bag of m&m's* I can deal with tough. It's the ones who don't have a sense of humor that I don't like. Or rather - *I tilt my chair back on two legs, thinking* they're fun in their own way. It's the ones who stop /me/ from having a sense of humor, if you know what I mean.

[Sandra Erickson]

*I nod, squinting at the computer screen. A small movement flashes behind a corner, and the feed cuts off. I curse.* Okay. Excuse my language. But this is unbelievable. *I start rewinding the tapes and pause on the thing, clarifying and zooming in.*

[Alexander Ludovico]

*I sit up, and move my chair so I can see the screen* That's... decidedly odd. I'm not too surprised that they got into some files, but to shortcut the camera feeds... you might have your work cut out for you, Sandra. Unless they just shot the camera? I'm not the best at identifying static patterns.

[Sandra Erickson]

Oh, dear. These videos were the key...oh my. *I click around trying to find a better angle.* And get this. All cameras on this floor were shutdown. Yet they still shot this one. Why? This is oddly precautionary. Perhaps they had agents on their side? How else could they get by so utterly undetected?

[Alexander Ludovico]

All the cameras? *I rest my chin on one hand, thinking* Well, if nothing else it means we can find out where they got in. *Sandra looks confused, so I explain* If they were careful enough to black out that many cameras, they would have done the same wherever they went, right? So track them backwards. It'll be a pain to do it, but theoretically you can find records of other feeds that cut out. Compare the times, and you can follow them back. You'll at least get it to the nearest floor, maybe even a particular hallway or room if they just shot out the first few.

They hid their faces, but they left us a trail of breadcrumbs.

[Sandra Erickson]

*I go back and check the times. I scowl, double checking.* They...they all shut down at the same time. Perhaps they got someone into the main surveillance room? I just don't know. I shake my head and let out a dry chuckle.*

[Alexander Ludovico]

Onn all the floors? Because obviously they didn't get straight into the fifth floor. They had to have come from somewhere... Run employee background checks, perhaps? You're right, it's likely they have someone on the inside.

*I glance down at my watch to find it's only ten minutes until my meeting with Riley. Standing, I push the chair back to its place in the corner* Sorry to run, but I've got to go. Do let me know how this turns out, and if I can be of any service. Nice talking to you again!

*I let myself out, closing the door behind me, and head down to the elevators. Maybe I'll see if Riley knows anything about the break-in... but then again, we might not get around to that. I don't think I'd mind.*

[Sandra Erickson]

*I smile and wave as he leaves, then start to dig into archives of employees and past employees. I pick out about 20 that could be of relevance and then continue to scour the footage. It seems as if they just appeared on the elevator. I send a quick email to the dear man up in the security room , asking if there was anywhere near the tower where there was no footage. He informed me some areas in the basement didn't have cameras.*

So we have a couple sewer rats? *I start to look through my people again. Who could have maps that would help the killjoys through the lower levels?*