twelve -Brynn- #2
“That doesn’t make sense. Who would want to kill him? And who would give him the uniform?” I run my hands through my hair, exhausted, knowing I have to start my investigation all over again.
Though this time, I have help.
“We only hand out uniforms after the contestants come to the motel,” Ares says, also deep in thought. “Did you check all of his files? Was he investigating anyone close to me?”
“No, I only found a picture of The Breach, your name, and a bit of information about the former locations Kharon took place. Nothing else.” I respond, watching Ares cross his arms, examining all possibilities.
“Who could have access to our database? Because it’s obvious, whoever it was, he knew Elias or of him before the game started. ”
“That’s almost impossible because I use encryption and have an isolated system. Plus, I always run security checks.”
“Fucking check again,” Ares groans, realizing this is far more complicated than he ever imagined. Whoever killed Elias might have important information about his organization. So this makes it our shared problem. “Run a more specific one.”
“I’m running an audit right now.” 404 starts typing, cursing between his teeth, “Fuck, I was always more concerned about hacking things and getting into places, not that someone would actually get into our system. No one should know about our fucking system,” he mutters between gritted teeth.
But my mind isn’t on that. If Elias was never in the game, how is it possible that he was killed by a sword?
It seems I’m not the only one who has questions that need answers. “You know what I can’t figure out? How were you planning on getting Elias alive out of Kharon?” Ares asks, trying to find vulnerabilities in his system.
“Pretty much how we did with Brynn. Elias had someone down at the morgue. He was supposed to escape through an old service door that we wired to keep the other players from getting out. I was supposed to unlock it with a code. Then replace him with a cadaver, fix the cameras, and you know the rest.”
“Yeah, I know the rest,” Ares flinches, as if this just reminded him of the sacrifice he made for me.
“When he didn’t show up at the motel, I figured he got cold feet and decided to drop the investigation.
But deep down, I felt something was wrong,” 404 says, regret lingering in his voice.
“What the fuck?” he utters, the very next second, looking at the screen like he can’t believe his eyes.
“There are several outbound encrypted connections to the same endpoint.”
“What are you saying? Is this even fucking English?” Ares asks as 404 starts typing faster, like someone’s on his trail.
“Yeah, English for: someone got in.”
“What the fuck do you mean, someone got in? Is it the fucking feds?” Ares comes closer to the laptop, but I bet he doesn’t understand a thing out of the numbers and boxes running on the screen—god or no god.
“I don’t think it’s the feds. It’s not their MO. There’s a hidden SSL key dating back four years.”
“Four fucking years?” Ares slams his fists on the table, breaking the wood where he hit.
I’m pretty sure 404 doesn’t know he’s a real god, so I put an arm around his shoulders before he shifts into something none of us want to witness.
“How did this fucking happen? How the fuck didn’t you find it before now?”
“I never thought we were in danger of being hacked,” 404 says, his voice barely above a whisper.
“The SSL was in the program a year before I came to work for you. I just thought it was part of the code package that operates your system. Besides, it’s extremely well encrypted.
I only found it because I specifically searched for it.
” He shakes his head, like he still can’t believe it himself.
“This stuff is so hidden that it doesn’t come up on regular security checks.
Whoever this guy is, he knew what he was doing.
He managed to override all your security protocols,” he continues, looking exasperated.
“The SSL is issued to M.D. Cyber Security Systems, which sounds legit as fuck—because that’s like the most common uninspired shit you can come up with.
But there’s no M.D. Cyber Security Systems registered anywhere.
So it’s either a front for something or a dead end. ”
I shift my weight, careful not to put pressure on my injured leg, watching as Ares looks over 404's shoulder, his fingers drumming a menacing rhythm against the desk.
"It's a front," Ares says, his voice cutting through the click of 404's nervous typing. "I need to know what they're fucking hiding." He takes a deep breath. “If the fucker working in your place were still alive, I’d kill him myself right now.”
404 swallows. "I need more time. Their security protocols are... elaborate."
"Time," Ares repeats, the word draped in an unspoken threat. "How much time?"
"Their system... the SSL... it's unlike anything I've seen. Whoever designed it knew what they were doing. This isn’t the same guy who set up your system," 404 murmurs. "But there’s no way we can get camera footage of who had access to our computers four years ago. So, it could’ve been anyone.”
Ares places a hand on 404's shoulder, and I watch the hacker flinch beneath its weight. "I expect progress, not excuses."
I’m just about to step in before Ares actually crushes 404 to the ground, but just then, my god turns to face me. I swallow a knot that I hadn’t realized had formed in my throat, then look at 404. "Did you check on that message I sent a couple of weeks ago? About the kid?"
I can feel Ares’ eyes on me.
404 nods, fingers pausing over the keyboard for a second. "Yeah, I checked." His voice drops lower, like this could still be our secret. "The kid's okay. Police returned him to his family. He's in counseling now, getting the help he needs."
Relief floods through me. At least I did one fucking thing right.
"And Cynthia?" I force the name past my lips because I feel nothing but repulsion for that woman.
"They found her three days later," 404 continues. "Nearly dead from dehydration. Now she's facing life after they discovered evidence at her house. She'd been making... videos. With minors."
I close my eyes for a second, realizing there are two things. I’ve done two things right during this whole madness in finding Elias’ killer.
I know that doesn’t balance everything else, but it makes me feel less of a loser right now.
"Life," I repeat, the concept feeling somehow insufficient. "Is that enough?"
Ares makes a sound, and when I look up, his eyes flash that pitch-black darkness. "That’s what Kharon is for."
His words never made more sense, his game as well, because there are monsters far worse than him out there. Monsters that don’t deserve redemption or the privilege of life, even behind bars.
"Back to work," Ares commands, as if he’s trying to spare me from saying anything nice in return. He just turns his back on me, his attention returning to 404 and the screens in front of him. "I want to know who it is. Every fucking detail, every fucking name."
404's fingers resume frantically tapping across the keyboard as Ares watches him like a predator assessing his prey.
We spend another hour in the room waiting for 404 to get something, while Ares never stops tapping his fingers against the desk, like he’s competing with 404. We both know there’s nothing the two of us can do. At least not here, not when it comes to computers. We’re warriors, not geeks.
I can tell Ares is growing more and more impatient, muttering something about his precious balance, while looking at me like all of this is my fault.
I’m one step away from giving him attitude. It’s because of me that he found out he has a leak in the system. But I can’t rub that in his face without it exploding in my face seconds later. So, I bite my tongue, for now, secretly knowing I did three good things. Three.
Ares orders his men to take 404 to a different location where he’ll have access to servers, more computers, and everything else he needs to get to the bottom of this.
Then he gets out of the room and starts walking down the corridor, like I’m supposed to know what to do.
But the very next second, I wish he had just left me here because I have a feeling someone will pay for all of this. And I’m the only one left around.
“Come, Brynn, I need to take the edge off.”
What the fuck does take the edge off even supposed to mean?