at the door.
“Later,” Danner said with authority.
But despite the obvious dismissal, Agent Hollinger cracked open the door.
“You deaf?” Danner demanded.
“No, sir…” Hollinger answered. “But…”
Danner didn’t have much patience on a good day . “But, what?”
“Well, somebody claiming to be the ‘ Robin Hood hacker ’ is on the line for Hunt.”
“Yeah, right,” Danner replied . “Tell her to throw us a couple mil.”
Zach sighed . They got at least a dozen calls like this after one of her escapades . News spread fast over the I nternet of her victories , and kooks always wanted to take credit.
“Why are you still standing there?” Danner asked Hollinger.
“Um, Warp was pretty excited . He said something about the way the signal was being rerouted had her signature.”
Zach was out of his chair . She had called the office before . But it had been months . Could it really be her ? He looked at Danner , who clenched his jaw and then nodded toward the door . “Go.”
* * *
Mu z ak . Who put M u z ak on their hold anymore ? Obviously , the United States G overnment . While waiting for ever-so-Special Agent Hunt to come onto the line, Ronnie watched yet another plague report . Something about squirrels being a natural carrier , or something . And of course , the Tivo’s light was bright red . Quirk must have put “bubonic” into his wish list . She was so preoccupied with making fun of her assistant that she failed to hear him reenter the cold room.
“Ha ! I knew it!” he shouted . “You have hunk- itis .”
How could Quirk have known? Not about the hunk - itis , that was pretty darn evident , but that she had called Zach tonight ? Then Ronnie spotted another “brain child” that h er assistant had developed—a small, per fectly proportioned helicopter nick-named, Helo . And the worst thing about Helo ? He ran silent . Well that and had enough surveillance equipment on it to make the Pentagon drool. That little punk had used the mini-chopper to spy on her .
“ Shh …” Ronnie scolded as she put her hand over the phone’s receiver .
“ Shh , my ass . You’ve got it bad , ” Quirk countered as he sat down at a keyboard and started double-checking her scrambling and making sure the signal was ping-ponging off dozens of satellites.
Ronnie was about to scold him, but those damn symbols reappeared. H ow ? She had logged on under a completely different account and accessed a new site . How could her stalker find her again?
Working quickly , she tried to shut them down before Quirk noticed . He was a little bit fussy about the whole unauthorized access into his sacred silicon village.
“Oh, you are so in trouble!” Quirk exclaimed . “I told you, no more Limp Bizkit !”
Obviously , he noticed.
“Don’t worry . I’ve got it.”
T hat declaration might have been a bit premature . The ancient symbols pulsed and swirled across the entire screen . The sight was both beautiful and eerie . An otherworldly effect.
“Are we being possessed?” Quirk asked, seeming to only half kid .
“No,” Ronnie answered, still trying to purge the message . “The symbols are a modified form of Hebrew.”
“Modified by who m ?”
“Angels,” she stated . “It’s angelic script.”
Quirk looked at the scrolling letters with new respect . “What mailing list did you get on?”
For just a moment , they both stared at the screen with near reverence . As the lettering sparkled , they could almost truly believe that angels handed down the writing to Isaiah .
That moment of amazement was clearly over , though, as Quirk exclaimed , “That’s it!”
Before Ronnie could stop him, her assistant disconnected the call.
* * *
Zach rushed into the tech room , with Danner not far behind.
“Line two,” Warp said, pointing to the blinking light.
He picked up the phone . “Hello?”
But there was nothing . Just a dial tone.
“Wrong line?”
Warp frantically
“Later,” Danner said with authority.
But despite the obvious dismissal, Agent Hollinger cracked open the door.
“You deaf?” Danner demanded.
“No, sir…” Hollinger answered. “But…”
Danner didn’t have much patience on a good day . “But, what?”
“Well, somebody claiming to be the ‘ Robin Hood hacker ’ is on the line for Hunt.”
“Yeah, right,” Danner replied . “Tell her to throw us a couple mil.”
Zach sighed . They got at least a dozen calls like this after one of her escapades . News spread fast over the I nternet of her victories , and kooks always wanted to take credit.
“Why are you still standing there?” Danner asked Hollinger.
“Um, Warp was pretty excited . He said something about the way the signal was being rerouted had her signature.”
Zach was out of his chair . She had called the office before . But it had been months . Could it really be her ? He looked at Danner , who clenched his jaw and then nodded toward the door . “Go.”
* * *
Mu z ak . Who put M u z ak on their hold anymore ? Obviously , the United States G overnment . While waiting for ever-so-Special Agent Hunt to come onto the line, Ronnie watched yet another plague report . Something about squirrels being a natural carrier , or something . And of course , the Tivo’s light was bright red . Quirk must have put “bubonic” into his wish list . She was so preoccupied with making fun of her assistant that she failed to hear him reenter the cold room.
“Ha ! I knew it!” he shouted . “You have hunk- itis .”
How could Quirk have known? Not about the hunk - itis , that was pretty darn evident , but that she had called Zach tonight ? Then Ronnie spotted another “brain child” that h er assistant had developed—a small, per fectly proportioned helicopter nick-named, Helo . And the worst thing about Helo ? He ran silent . Well that and had enough surveillance equipment on it to make the Pentagon drool. That little punk had used the mini-chopper to spy on her .
“ Shh …” Ronnie scolded as she put her hand over the phone’s receiver .
“ Shh , my ass . You’ve got it bad , ” Quirk countered as he sat down at a keyboard and started double-checking her scrambling and making sure the signal was ping-ponging off dozens of satellites.
Ronnie was about to scold him, but those damn symbols reappeared. H ow ? She had logged on under a completely different account and accessed a new site . How could her stalker find her again?
Working quickly , she tried to shut them down before Quirk noticed . He was a little bit fussy about the whole unauthorized access into his sacred silicon village.
“Oh, you are so in trouble!” Quirk exclaimed . “I told you, no more Limp Bizkit !”
Obviously , he noticed.
“Don’t worry . I’ve got it.”
T hat declaration might have been a bit premature . The ancient symbols pulsed and swirled across the entire screen . The sight was both beautiful and eerie . An otherworldly effect.
“Are we being possessed?” Quirk asked, seeming to only half kid .
“No,” Ronnie answered, still trying to purge the message . “The symbols are a modified form of Hebrew.”
“Modified by who m ?”
“Angels,” she stated . “It’s angelic script.”
Quirk looked at the scrolling letters with new respect . “What mailing list did you get on?”
For just a moment , they both stared at the screen with near reverence . As the lettering sparkled , they could almost truly believe that angels handed down the writing to Isaiah .
That moment of amazement was clearly over , though, as Quirk exclaimed , “That’s it!”
Before Ronnie could stop him, her assistant disconnected the call.
* * *
Zach rushed into the tech room , with Danner not far behind.
“Line two,” Warp said, pointing to the blinking light.
He picked up the phone . “Hello?”
But there was nothing . Just a dial tone.
“Wrong line?”
Warp frantically
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