CHAPTER 61
Anderson and Key, as instructed by their bosses, meet every evening to run through the accounts. During office hours, they chatted on the phone about new ideas and discussed cool things they could do together. They requested a room in the Valdez Company to work uninterrupted. The room was fixed to their taste. The bed, duvet, and clothing were arranged neatly in a corner. There were toilet facilities. They had their fridge, microwave, and everything to keep them up. Most nights, they slept here. All they did was shower and get dressed for work the next day, with Anders rushing off to his workplace.
This evening, after work, the two nerds sat together on the desk, working on the account again. For some days now, they've been trying to get into the account, but it has been proving difficult. Every day, they tried a different method.
Today, their work was to get the virus Anders had logged into the system already to be active. After several unsuccessful trials, both men gave up. They sat down reluctantly to enjoy their pizza with drinks. As they munch, Anders remembered their last day at the project that had created enmity between their bosses. "I can't forget that day when we closed the deal. I remember your boss, asking me to work with him on launching the code." He smiled, remembering how Jason had treated him like an equal. He was the youngest developer in the country then and the best. He still is.
Working side by side with the man had been such a big deal. He had stylishly placed his web camera to take a selfie of them both while they worked. It was supposed to be a secret but before he could save and go to a blank page, Jason had seen the picture and smirked. For a split second, he had been scared he would get a rebuff or something. Nothing happened. "When he saw the picture, I thought he would say something nasty or even delete it." He told Key
"My boss has always been a kind man. Working with him as been the best." He swallowed hard and asked, "Is your boss nice to you?"
Looking at Key, he shrugged, "He's just there." He looked out the window finding the right word that described Logan Thames. "He's a little crazy. You know. But he's a good man."
"I figured he's be a strict as shit kinda boss."
"Believe me, he is." He chuckled, "I remember he was upset that it took long to do whatever fix us I was doing with your Mr. Valdez." He scoffed, "I had to explain what took so long."
Remembering, Key asked, "What took so long, really? I've always wondered why too. Indeed, you spent a while fixing it."
"The device didn't work. Someone, or something configured it wrong. So we rebuilt the starter." He smiled, "It took us a while to figure that rebuilding the starter was the fix. That was what happened."
"Rebuilding the starter." Key muttered, turning the words around in deep thought. He suddenly jumped off the stool. "I think you may have found the solution, Anders." He said as he moved towards his system. Anders went to his too. As he rebooted, Anders did same. "We can rebuild the virus. We've been trying it all wrong."
"Rebuild and then what?" Anders asked.
"We can rebuild the structure and function of your device. Tweak its duty in the inactive account to stay active even when the account is inactive."
"And we have to stay unnoticed." He looked impressed, "That's one hell of a device."
"Then we better get to work."
Both forgot their snacks and were soon typing away rapidly on the systems suggesting code, deleting figures, trying to rebuild the device's system.
The next morning, Evan and Jason resumed their tour of Paris. Sloane drove them to the Eiffel tower. "It's so high." She exclaimed upon seeing the towel from the ground. Yesterday, it had look like an easy feat from the museum. But looking at it now, she knew she didn't want to climb such a high building. Still, she let herself be persuaded to get to the next floor. Climbing the elevator, they were taken to the first floor
It was a dizzying enough experience. She refused to go for the second level. Jason teased her mercilessly as she opted for a simpler tour round the tower. They walked by the river Seine where they took some couple pictures before leaving the place. Since the river ran through the Notre dame cathedral, they decided to check out the place. But to their surprise, the Cathedral was unavailable for publicity. "There was a fire outbreak and the damage it caused are still being fixed." an attendant apologized to them. He suggested other places they could go. Evan thanked the man and asked Jason to let them visit Sainte-Chapelle as suggested by the assistant.
As they arrived at the chapel, they were just in luck for a classical music concert. The tickets were given to them, which Jason paid for, and they walked in. Evan felt chilly staring out the glass stained windows. It gave the place an eerie look. The shiver wasn't lost on Jason. He removed his suit and draped it over her shoulder. And she smiled her appreciation. The band playing were just finishing a song and the crowd applauded them, albeit solemnly. They found some unoccupied seats at the back and sat down. A young lady walked to the stage and sat down in front of the big piano, struck a cord and let it echo down the chapel. Other instruments followed adding a harmonious effect.
Jason watched raptly as they play. It was a familiar tone. His late wife had loved classical music. She always loved listening to a collection of it while having her bath. He remembered how he enjoyed teasing her about it for being so old at heart. As he listened, images of Ellen flashed through his mind. A tear dropped at her beautiful smile. The smile that had won him over. She was one woman who smiled even in her pain. While on sick bed, he couldn't resist asking her one day the reason for her continuous smile even when in pain.
"I want you to have fond memories of me after I'm gone." She replied.
It killed him to see her covering so much up, "How do I know you're in pain when you won't let me?" he asked. "How do I share your pain when I can't even be sure you're in pain?" He asked holding her hand and crying silently.
"You have shared enough of my pain. I don't want to add to it."
"But I want to see them, keep them." he stared into her eyes, "Treasure them."
"And I'd love that... but I want you to treasure this smile instead. They are my parting gifts to you. Be happy, Jason." Was her stubborn reply. Now thanks to her decision to leave him with fond memories of her dying days, he could remember those times and see her as she had died, smiling. A few tears threatened to drop, and though he tried to be a man and muster up strength, he couldn't avoid two hot drops. Evangeline noticed when he brushed the tear away and asked if he was okay.
"I'm fine." He lied and tried to compose himself not wanting to ruin her mood. She let it pass even though she felt something was going on with him. Later that night, while in bed, he explained the reason for his solemn mood after the concert. "My wife loved classical music." He told her, "Seeing one tonight brought fond memories and the heart wrenching boys."
"You could have said something." She accused, "I didn't know." He looked so sad she wished she could do something to make him forget. But this wasn't a memory she could take. It wasn't something she could fix either. He had to do it for himself. Hating that their day would be ending on this sour note, she climbed out of bed and went to sleep on the couch.
At first, Jason didn't realize what she had done. He was lost in the memories he shared with Ellen that he didn't know she didn't return yet. When he came to, he found her on the couch, staring blankly into space. She looked upset and he had no idea what he did to upset her, he tapped her lightly. "Come to bed." He said.
She ignored him. Her eyes fluttered closed.
"You're awake Evan, why don't you want to come to bed?" He loomed over her, "Something I did?"
She shrugged, "I think we should sleep apart tonight." She said, standing up. He moved back to make room for her. When she tried to walk past him, he held her hand. He wanted to forget everything. He wanted to be made to forget everything. He wanted to be with her again. Even though they had slept cuddling each other last night, he wanted more tonight. She didn't remove his hand; neither did she move away. It was a good sign. Turning to himself, he bent down and kissed her. "I want you so much." He groaned into her mouth.
*****
Later that night, before Anderson and Key called it a night, they successfully built their updated version of the virus. "We just have to wait and let the account be active now." said Anders.
"Yes. I hope it happens soon."
As they packed up for the night, they both checked the account one final time. And, by sheer luck, they were retiring for the night when the account was logged in. It was active. "It's active." they both exclaimed. Someone was moving some cash from the account. It was being done in bits. This sort of made the account stayed online longer. Unlike before, the active stayed open for a while. Happy, the two men worked tirelessly to get the updated virus inside, but the version hadn't been tested yet, so staying in the account, hidden, was a problem.
They tried over and over again, and failed. With heavy heart, they watched as the last bag of money was moved. There was still enough cash in the account but the transaction had stopped. In less than a minute, the account was inactive again. "Shit!" Key groaned as the screen went blank. Both men stood up and started pacing the room, frustrated.
"I bet Logan would skin me if I report this near miss. He's been tense since." Anders complained.
"Jason too. Though he's covering it well. We all could use a big break."
"We can only hope it gets opened again soon." Anders concluded sadly. He rose up to shut the system down. He turned to Key reluctantly. The man was bent down over the table, sad. They had given this their best shot. It was heartbreaking to miss the golden opportunity. Who knew how many months or years it would take to reopen the account? Completely forgetting the system was still on, he moved towards his friend and gently patted his shoulder "It's going to be okay, man. We will figure out another window." He tried to pacify the other man.
The two systems suddenly beeped and blinked. Anders looked at his system wondering what it was this time. Key looked up too to see his system as it came back online, rebooting a page. And both systems came online. Perplexed, both men approached their tool to see what was going on. The account was displaying. They could read everything. No transaction was taking. Nobody was logged in the account. It was supposed to be inactive and they, blinded. But they could see the account. They could read everything going on there. The two computer analysts both stood up and stared at each other, realizing what that meant. "We're in." Key said.
As if not hearing his partner clearly, he repeated what had just been said, "We're in."
Then they both chorused, "We're in!" and hugged each other happily. Their screams could be heard reverberating round the room.
$CHAPTER
