Downfall

Downfall


Chapter 1

The OverWatcher paced back and forth in his study, the air of silent rage radiating from him palatable from across the room. The Second stood stock still as the OverWatcher strode back and forth before him, absolutely stolid, ready to accept any outburst from his superior.

The Second exuded an air of military discipline and control, despite his Armani suit, but the line of ability and willing self sacrifice in his being ran far deeper than any true military officer would consider �duty�. His OverWatcher was truly angry, and that was a very dangerous state of affairs, especially for one in his position. As befitted his position, the OverWatcher had the right to strike in any manner he wished, and indeed killing his subordinate was not at all unusual. Should such actions occur, the Second was willing accept his fate without flinching. But then it was expected of him. After all, he was the Second.

After 6 trips, the OverWatcher whirled on the Second. Instead of the strike of cold steel or hot lead, words, surprisingly controlled, assailed him. �How did it happen?�

The Second steeled himself before answering. �We are not sure. We do not believe that it was intentional. The Operative had authorization to research archives in the storage facility in Moscow. He may have accidentally accessed the Key Files.� The Second exhaled, consciously controlling his heart rate and respiration, keeping control of his fear. � He knows he found something. He disseminated the Keys to a recipient on the internet. He then took his wife and son and fled Moscow.�

The OverWatchers eyes focused on the Second the way that a snipers eyes focused on his prey. � Where did it go on the internet?�

The Second swallowed before speaking. �It was a hacker in the United States who is very active on a series of conspiracy theory websites. The Operative had been in regular contact with this individual, who was under the impression that the Operative was an �inside source� of information, when in reality the Operative was feeding him disinformation. We are attempting to ascertain the hackers true identity and location at this time.� The Second swallowed deeply again. �The Operative may have distributed the Keys to this individual mistakenly. The danger with this is that the individual will believe the Keys to be accurate information, and will likely disseminate it across many related conspiracy theory avenues. It is correct information.... and because a large number of hackers operate in these online communities, the likelihood of someone decoding and actively accessing the Keys is high.�

The OverWatcher went back to pacing. This disturbed the Second far more than a direct confrontation, as it gave the OverWatcher the opportunity to dwell on his mistakes and to consider far more painful and deadly reprisals.

The OverWatcher whirled on the Second again. �This is why we kept the Key Files isolated in a hardened storage facility, physically separated from the internet. To protect the networks. We have far too much work involved in the Protocols now.�

The OverWatcher began circling the Second. Although he felt as though he was being stalked by a dangerous predator, the Second did not allow his eyes to follow his superior. �Do you realize what could happen if the Key Files are compromised? What would happen if the Networks were made public? There is already enough paranoia in the public domain, thanks to these very conspiracy theory communities. They could force our hands prematurely. We are not ready to implement the protocols. We are still at least 4 years off. The social conditioning is only half implemented. We do not have the resources allocated to the REX84 facilities to handle the protocols yet. The HAARP modifications are still incomplete.�

The OverWatcher stopped and locked eyes with the Second. �You WILL rectify the situation. With extreme prejudice. Do you understand?�

Fear swallowed behind a locked jaw. �Yes Sir.�

The OverWatcher turned away. �What do we know of the Operative?�

�His name is Alexi Danovich, he is a Russian Naval officer. He is 28, married, one son. His wife is 6 months pregnant. He only has one living relative, an Uncle who is a Captain in the Russian Navy, commander of an Alpha Class attack submarine, who is currently on patrol in the Arctic Circle. He left the day of the incident. We don�t know where he went, but we are confident he has not left the Russian Republic yet.�

�Is the Uncle a member?�

�Yes.�

�He may attempt to contact his Uncle. Send a dispatch to him with the proper conditioning triggers for termination if the Operative does contact him. I want full coverage of this situation with all available Operatives. Same in America, I want the hacker found and terminated. With extreme prejudice.�

�Yes Sir.� The Second turned to leave.

�Wait.� The Second stopped in his tracks. �His family. Terminate them as well. We will need to make an example due to the scale of this breach of our trust.�


Chapter 2

The Runner was little more than a college kid, not even old enough to buy beer without a fake ID. He had spent his entire life up to this point trying to escape reality and responsibility. Now reality was slapping him in the face with a loaded glove and responsibility was shoved down his throat deep enough to choke him.

He had been conversing with his Russian contact for months now, and had gotten some incredible information from him. He had no way of backing up the Russians claims, but the information was so credible, and what he was able to verify did in fact check out. The use of that information in the numerous online conspiracy theory communities had made his name rather well known.

Then the frantic Instant Message, the email, and the huge download. He had no way of knowing exactly what was contained in his download, but if the email had even an ounce of truth to it, he was now in very very critical danger. So he left.

Just as he was leaving, a last email popped up on his inbox, and he paused as he passed to the door. The Runner had never before believed in angels, but given his current situation, that might well be what was presenting itself. He had precious few other options presented to him, so he went with it.

The Runner arrived at the appointed location. It was a forgotten outbuilding behind a dilapidated rental storage facility. This was not a good part of town, drug dealers and prostitutes abounded. He was nervous, but not from the crime around him.

After a few moments of pounding on the door, it creaked open. Inside, in a sleeveless tie dyed T shirt and cut off shorts, stood what had to be a throwback from the 1960s. A joint dangled from the thickly bearded mouth.

�So, you made it? Damn, you�re fast. You might want to get in here before someone gets interested...�

The pot smoking hippie ambled inside with the young man following him. The interior stunk of stale marijuana smoke. Computers of all descriptions, and computer components littered 3 tables to one side, and the rest of the interior was lost in undefined debris.

�Why did you want me to come here?�

The hippie flopped into a chair and took a deep drag on his joint, exhaling a noxious cloud of pot smoke. �Because in all the time I have been on the web, you are the only one I have seen that pissed off more people faster than I have.�

The Runner looked around nervously. �What do you mean? I just got an email and a download... I dont even know what it is...�

The hippie smiled around his joint. �You�re lying! You know you got something big in that download, and that people would be coming looking for you. Why did I have you come here? Let me tell you a few things... I have been online since before the internet was an itch in some generals pants in the pentagon. The NSA has been after my a$$ for the last 15 years, and they ain�t caught me yet, although they would love to. The NSA has spent more money and resources to find me than anyone else on the planet. Until tonight when you got that download.�

The hippie got up and put out his bud, and pulled out a full kilo bag of pot along with a rolling paper the size of a piece of printer paper. As he spoke, he proceeded to roll a monster blunt the size of a cigar. �Within a matter of minutes of you getting that download, the entire NSA intelligence command focused on you. They are looking for you, and I doubt that they want to have a little chat... They want you in the way that you probably are never going to be seen again... So, what exactly do you have?�

The Runner reached in his jacket and pulled out a CD. �I really don�t know. The email said that it was proof of what was behind the FEMA protocols, and it would prove the real reason behind REX84, HAARP, and a lot of other stuff. The guy who sent it to me had sent me a lot of other good information before. He said that he was probably going to get killed for this...�

The hippie lit up his blunt and took the CD. �He probably was...�



Chapter 3

The OverWatcher stood on his balcony overlooking his vast estate. He didn�t hear the footsteps on the deeply carpeted floor behind him but felt them as the Second approached. More distinctly, he could feel the fear and loathing emanating from his Second. That was a far better indicator of his presence than any physical sense.

�What happened?�

The Second stood stock still. �He was gone before the entry team arrived. We found his computer. He had burned the Key Files to a CD and then attempted to reformat his hard drive. The forensics laboratory at the NSA is currently working on it, and they believe they can recover everything on it. There was one complication... a neighbor surprised the entry team, and was eliminated. The cover story is in place, a random gang shooting. �

The Second paused, a very unusual event, as to show doubt in the face of the OverWatcher invited a physical reprimand. He continued, �They have recovered the contents of what was burned on that CD. He has the entire Key File. Everything.�

The OverWatcher whirled on the Second, snarling like an animal. �Has he tried to access the networks?�

�No sir. We are scanning all possible portals, but it would be almost impossible to lock them all down, unless the Council agreed to delay the protocols. It will take time for him to be able to do so, if he is able at all. The Key Files are very heavily encrypted.�

The OverWatcher turned and went back to his balcony. His estate was worth millions of dollars, but was little more than a vacation home for him. At the moment, his mind was very far away from his property.

The OverWatcher cleared his throat. �We cannot afford to delay the protocols. The HAARP conditioning is already starting to show results. Look at the increase in random violence and domestic violence across the planet in the past 2 months. We have spent years on this project, and it is at a very critical stage. We cannot delay the timetables now.� He turned to the Second. �But we may have to step the timetable up. We cannot lockdown the network as that would grind everything to a halt.�

He looked back over his estate as the sun sank to meet the horizon. �Where did he go?�

The Second stiffened. �We don�t know. He received an encrypted email. We are still trying to find the source, although it is difficult. It originated behind over 50 proxies, and we are still digging through them. It would appear that our hacker has someone helping him. We don�t know who it is, but based on his extreme technical abilities, and that he apparently knew about this transfer almost as soon as we did, it may be a player from another faction.�

The OverWatcher sighed deeply, a sign of frustration. The Second watched his back closely: he knew the OverWatcher to be dangerous when frustrated. �We will convene the Council.�

The Seconds eyes widened: such a thing had never happened during his adult life. The OverWatcher felt the Seconds shock, even with his back turned.

�We have not convened since 1977, the last time we were faced with such a serious breach. This situation is far more dangerous than that damn book. We were able to discredit that book and it�s author, and limit it�s reach. But because this individual has so much information, and has access to many communities and other paranoid minds who would actually believe it, this will require very decisive action.�

He turned and looked at the Second again. �This hacker is a member of a conspiracy theory community?�

�Yes sir, of approximately 4000 members. We are monitoring it. He has not contacted anyone in the community yet.�

�We will have to terminate them. All of them. They pose too great of a risk if he attempts to pass the Key Files to any of them.�

The Second didn�t flinch. He had been conditioned since birth to obey without question, to set his morals aside, and to do whatever was required. He was more than prepared to take a million lives if it were required. Four thousand would not be a hard cross to bear.

�What of Danovich?�

The closest to a smile that the Second would ever allow himself in the presence of OverWatcher graced his lips. He didn�t have all bad news to bring him. �He was found outside of Volgograd. He and his family died in a fiery head-on impact with a cargo truck.�

A smile did cross the OverWatcher lips. �Good. Make sure that this is broadcast to the rest of the Operatives.�













[Edited on 23-7-2003 by dragonrider]

[Edited on 24-7-2003 by dragonrider]

curiousity piqued, next installment anticipated. I like you style DR

Well I could see Chapter 1 as a complete short story actually.

But Danovich is too quick for any easy fix, I'm sure.

Keep it going, this was a great read!!!!! (and very relevant and possible).

Chapter 2 added at the end of the first.

Very inventive dragonrider, still got some more to come though!



blackwidow

Chapter 3 added to the end of the story... Hope Im not boring anyone!