Hollow Code (Black Hollow #2)

Prologue

Gideon Rhodes, the Director of Network Security Operations at Hyperion, had all the patience in the world. He’d built a career on being patient.

But right now, his patience had left the building, and the waiting had his heart pounding against his ribs harder than when he’d been handed a parachute and told to jump from a perfectly good airplane.

The overhead lighting in his office had been purposefully dimmed.

The glow from his massive computer system and screens illuminated the space.

He leaned back in his gaming chair, hands gripping the armrests as he swiveled back and forth.

The top three screens—and not just any screens, as they were more like good-sized televisions—ran code for various programs. A few documents were open in the bottom right.

Web browsers, data connections, router points, and other connectivity components were on the left-hand side.

But it was the center one with the communications tab running in front of interoffice functions that had Gideon’s full attention.

Currently, a version of HELIOS was in use, but it only transmitted back to the soldiers’ stationed location, and one of the biggest concerns was protecting soldiers’ identifying and medical information.

That was what ETHER was for. Once Gideon's system proved effective, the Canadian government would connect it to AEGIS, a top-secret checkpoint system that Gideon had created during his time in the military. This would save lives and it was why he’d taken the job.

Gideon reached for his coffee while he stared at the communications, doing his best to be patient.

Ding.

It wasn’t the ding he’d been listening for, but it was one that always pulled a smile to his lips. He snagged his cell and pulled up the gaming messaging app.

Hopper: Game tonight?

Her screen name implied so many things, but what he loved about it most was that it paid homage to the real Grace Hopper who’d co-developed COBOL. That said so much about the woman Gideon had been gaming with on and off for the last couple of months.

And was now having private conversations with.

Of course, his screen name said a few things about him, too.

MacGyver: If all goes well at work today, I should be.

Hopper: You don’t sound too convincing. Is there a problem?

MacGyver: Only my entire career. Speaking of which, what do you do again, and what’s your real name?

Hopper: Thought we agreed to keep it to gaming?

Gideon had a million rules for gaming. But mostly, he enjoyed being anonymous. However, something about Hopper made him want to break every rule he’d ever created for his work and personal life.

MacGyver: We did. But I’m curious, and I’d like to meet.

Hopper: We’re probably on opposite sides of the world… and I gotta run. Duty calls. Hopefully, I’ll see you tonight. I’ll try not to kill you too many times.

Gideon chuckled as he set his phone on the desk and snagged his coffee. Few people intrigued him like Hopper had, but whoever this chick was, she was certainly entertaining.

And damn good in the gaming rooms.

Knock. Knock.

He jerked, sloshing some coffee over the side of the mug. "Shit," he muttered as he glanced over his shoulder.

"Rhodes." Isaac Young stepped into his office. Though Isaac could be as difficult as a sugar-fueled toddler ordered to bed, he was an exceptionally skilled Senior Security Analyst.

He was a former military demolitions and communications specialist, which was an interesting combination. He was smart. Took initiative. However, he could be a pain in the ass, and Gideon got the impression that Isaac didn’t enjoy working under someone younger than him.

"Isaac." Gideon found a napkin in his drawer and wiped off his hand before he took a quick glance at the screen.

Still nothing.

"You’re the only dude I know who spent time in the military who prefers first names."

It wasn’t so much that Gideon preferred using them. It was just that he wasn’t in the military anymore, and this was a corporate setting. "Shocker you're still bringing it up after seven years."

"Has the data come over yet?" Isaac leaned against the back desk and folded his arms. He’d been a part of this project from the beginning, and Gideon valued his opinions. He just didn’t like how Isaac inserted himself before asked.

Like just because he was a senior analyst, it gave him the right to be part of everything and involved in all the decisions.

It was a delicate dance, and it had taken Gideon a good year to figure out the steps.

Every once in a while, he landed on Isaac’s toes, but mostly they’d worked well together.

"Not yet," Gideon said. "Waiting for conformation of transmission. They’re sending it all at once, trying load the system with as much data as possible. It’s overkill, but we need to see if there are any breaks in the transition."

"Or if there’s was interference from other data running on a parallel system."

"Exactly."

"I’m happy to help decrypt the data and interpret it."

"I appreciate that, but I need you in the YAROS project management team meeting.

You know that system better than anyone, and I need you leading it," Gideon said.

All of that was true. Isaac had been in charge of that project from inception.

Yet, Gideon understood that Isaac believed he was not being fully utilized given that the system had been operational for twelve months, and supervision and upkeep had become the principal responsibilities.

"The junior analysts can handle it."

"Maybe, but I’d rather go through the data first, and then have you been the second set of eyes."

That should be enough to feed Isaac’s ego, and it hadn’t been a full-blown lie.

Protocols needed to be followed, which meant data and reports had to be double-checked.

However, Gideon didn't want anyone standing over his shoulder.

He needed to watch the live stream alone.

Maybe it was a control thing, but at this point, he didn't care.

"Fair enough." Isaac knocked his knuckles against the desk. "Give me a shout when you're ready for me."

"Will do."

Isaac pushed off the desk and headed for the door, pausing at the threshold. Glancing back at Gideon's monitors, his gaze lingered on the screens for a moment before he walked out.

Isaac wanted more responsibility. That wasn't a flaw. Ambition was a good thing in a senior analyst, provided it pointed in the right direction. Gideon had managed bigger egos in the military. This one just needed the occasional bone thrown his way and a seat at the table when it mattered.

He turned back to his monitors and waited for the data.

He drummed his fingers on the desk, nervous energy twisting his gut.

Even his leg rattled, and that was something that rarely ever happened.

But this was his life's work. This was what he’d been dreaming of ever since his parents died in a car crash on a remote stretch of highway.

Their injuries, while devastating, were survivable if only they’d gotten to a hospital in time.

His mother had died during transport. His father fifteen minutes after he’d been rolled into the emergency room.

A message popped up on the screen.

"Yes." Gideon rubbed his palms together and pulled his keyboard closer.

Gideon: Confirm to send in 2 minutes.

Gideon let himself savor the rush—the quiet, bone-deep satisfaction of the last couple of years falling into place.

This wasn’t about ego. It wasn’t about recognition.

It wasn’t even about money. He couldn't care less about any of that. He was confident enough in his own ability that he didn’t need accolades.

Some might call that arrogance. He called it doing the work.

And he’d spent most of his life poor. Money only made it easier to forget where he’d come from. He’d rather remember.

The butterflies floating around his gut was a sensation he hadn’t experienced since he was eighteen and had sex for the first time.

But this? He wasn’t sure anything could top it.

Ten HELIOS devices. Five Canadian coordinates. Five international. All transmitting through the ETHER system. Or at least he hoped.

The data dump would take thirty minutes. Each encrypted burst of biometric data was only two minutes long, with a brief pause of three minutes between information cycles.

Gideon tapped his fingers on the screen and accessed the fourth layer of the system—the ORACLE or ORC-6D. Before it arrived there, it had to go through three other layers, plus the military's AEGIS protocol, after leaving HELIOS. Each layer important for different reasons.

He flipped the information on his screens so he could see the entire system on one screen and just ORC-6D on another. And on the one in the center, the encrypted files that were time-stamped and ready to be pulled.

Moving as close to his desk as he could without being on top of it, Gideon began the decryption of each test "patient," and it was like Christmas fucking morning.

The data was exquisite. He could see the heart rhythm, blood oxygen levels, respiratory rate, body and skin temperature, and blood pressure. But that was just the basics.

He was also getting stress levels, mood indicators, glucose estimations, body composition, hydration and electrolytes, and more.

He spent two minutes observing the vital signs of ten test subjects while the system logged the data. This simulated a scenario where doctors monitored the subjects, enabling a combat medic to make battlefield decisions and save lives.

People could eventually adapt this for the civilian world. That was always the goal.

During the first pause, Gideon couldn’t do anything but smile. Just sit in his chair and grin like a big, goofy kid. There was no blip. No cut in the information. No interference from anything else.