Chapter 23
Will
“The server’s location was encrypted,” Brie muttered as she paced the length of our room. From the window-like display, past the bed and the bathroom, to the door, and back again. “There’s no way for me to decrypt it. I was this close to what we were looking for!”
I nodded from my desk chair, absently fiddling with my dismantled earbud case. The tiny components gave my hands something to do while my mind processed her report.
“You found the client that links back to Fenix,” I said, glancing up at her. “Don’t devalue such amazing news.”
“But knowing they exist doesn’t get us into the actual server.
” She twisted her wedding band around her finger.
This was why she rarely wore jewelry—she was too much of a fidgeter.
“Ken has yellow access. If it was encrypted when he logged in, that means the server location details require the user to be at least white level.”
“Good thing Scarlett’s taking care of your access tomorrow.” I turned back to my earbuds, grabbing a set of tweezers to replace the battery. Hopefully, the final touches I’d made over the past couple of days would allow the earbuds to connect to the Wi-Fi directly, without triggering the AI.
Brie halted suddenly, voice pitching up. “Even with better access, I can’t log into the Meridian server from my terminal in The Bridge. Do you know how easy it is to see anyone else’s screen? And they all know I’m a greenie, so if I access something I shouldn’t, it would be obvious!”
“You need to get into the server room for local access.”
“Exactly.” Physical movement had always helped both of us process complex challenges, but her idea of movement was much larger than mine.
She paced; I tinkered. “I’d still need to deal with the cameras, but from what I saw when we arrived on Wednesday, the guards in the control center aren’t analyzing every face of every person in the server rooms.”
I put the tweezers down and swiveled my chair toward her. “They flagged Ronnie for spending too long in one of the server rooms with me the day we arrived, so hopefully your increased security level will avoid their prying eyes.”
“You need to find a way to cut the cameras when we figure out where Meridian is.”
“Then there’s the matter of customer support staff typically having network techs with them when they do local updates,” I said. “I’m not sure if it’s an official rule or just customary.”
“Too many eyes, yet again.” She sighed, redirecting to her desk. She grabbed her phone, woke it, and slid it across my desk. “And now we have this to worry about, on top of everything else.”
I took the phone. The screen displayed spaghetti tracking models, colorful lines showing the most likely paths, all converging through the Bahamas.
“Lorenzo’s strengthened to Category 3. Most models now predict it will hit the Bahamas within the next couple of days, and it’s gaining speed. The only good news is that Tropical Depression Sixteen’s petering out, so we won’t have to deal with another hurricane.”
I studied the projections, unease settling in my stomach. The forecast cone centered almost directly over Grand Bahama, with Blue Haven Cay well within its path. “We’re safe down here.”
“What if Scarlett can’t make it?” Brie’s arms flew out to her sides, her frustration hitting its peak. “All this planning for nothing.”
“Scarlett will make it.” I stood, attempting to lower her energy level by reducing the space available for her to spiral. “When has your sister ever failed to complete a mission?”
Brie’s characteristic snort-laugh escaped. “Fair point.”
The sound lightened something in my chest. This was still us—still Brie and Will—despite everything unresolved between us. On a normal day, I would have walked over to her, pressed her arms down, and looked her square in the eyes.
If I tried that today, she’d likely tear out of the room.
Instead, I breathed slowly, signaling she should do the same. “Let’s assume Scarlett’s successful. Once she’s done, you’ll have white-level access, which will let you open any server rack.”
“But I’d still need a reason to be inside the server rooms.” She eyed up her pacing path, but with me in the way, she placed her hands on her hips. “And I’d probably need a tech escort, regardless of my access level.”
I frowned. We didn’t have three months to work here, just so people would stop watching us as though we were about to walk off with all the knowledge of the world. “Claire has white-level access. Does she need a tech with her?”
“That’s a good question.” Brie’s shoulders dropped from where they’d been creeping up toward her ears.
“When she left The Bridge earlier today, it was because a tech needed her help. Maybe at white level, the requests go from your team to mine, rather than the other way around? If that’s true, so long as I’m a white-level blip on a screen, no one would stop me. ”
There she was. The problem-solver who attacked issues head-on, who worked endless hours dismantling challenges.
“I’ll ask Ronnie about the protocols for software staff,” I said. “See if you’re right about the escort rule.”
“Be casual. Don’t raise—”
“It won’t raise any suspicion. I’ve been asking him so many questions, one more shouldn’t be an issue.”
Brie nodded, then deliberately sat at her desk, pulling up the hurricane tracking on her laptop, zooming in on the latest data. “At this rate, we might be looking at landfall within forty-eight hours.”
“Stop brooding.” I nudged her shoulder, and she didn’t recoil, which was progress. “The facility is built to handle direct hits from hurricanes. Ronnie said he was here when Dorian hit, and nothing changed.”
“Or it could mean Scarlett’s tour gets canceled and we lose our best shot at the server.”