Avalon's hands flew deftly over the keys of Gregor's computer console. Text and computer code flashed across the screen at so rapid a rate that Gregor couldn't follow. Then with a final blink, the screen went completely black and Avalon pounded his fist on the desk.
"Damnit," the youth screamed.
Gregor was totally unprepared for this outburst from the normally placid Avalon.
"What is it boy? What is the meaning of this? Who sent this message?" Gregor sputtered.
"I don't know," Avalon sighed. "The message had an attached .exe file that rewrote your entire hard drive, erased all data logs of the sender's IP address, and put your system in a terminal loop until it crashed. In essence, all my work on this computer terminal has been turned into so much junk. I can't even get a reboot, and all the information you had on this system is lost. I did manage to keep the virus from spreading to the network though, so that's one good thing. I've never seen a virus eat away a system this fast. I thought my anti-virus code could stop anything. Whoever did this had intimate knowledge of your access codes and net pathways, as well as a supreme amount of computer engineering skills. I do have a plan thought. I've been working on my electromagnetics lately though, and I might just be able to......"
"Unacceptable!", roared Gregor. "Mights.....can'ts......I need answers boy. I have taken the name Clarion to herald the rise to power of the BHC and myself. I will not have some two bit computer hacker bring down all I've worked for. I want solutions Avalon...and I want them now!"
"Look Clarion..or Afterburner..or Gregor or whatever you are calling yourselves these days, like I said, there's nothing I can do," Avalon spat. "You can call in a team of MIT scientist, and they won't be able to do any better, but if you would have let me finish, I might be able to help you. Like I was saying, I've been experimenting with my electromagnetics and since all computer code is on magnetic media, I may be able to retrieve some of the digital trail by analyzing the magnetic imprints."
When Avalon finished, Clarion appraised the boy carefully. This youth held a position in the Black Court and thus was not exactly the rest of the students, but he was still a student and should respect his elders. This would have to handled delicately.
"I'm sorry, Avalon," Gregor said as he patted him on the shoulder, "It's just so important to me to protect my charges from threats, and this message was definitely a threat. Please....do what you can."
The youth ducked his blonde head a little shyly and apologized as well. "I'm sorry to, sir. I just hate to see my work wasted. I will get to the bottom of this."
Gregor smiled. He still had the ability to talk his way out of a situation when his normal bravado and commanding tone didn't work. This boy had spirit....and this spirit, properly channeled ofcourse, would be a great asset to the Black Hellfire Club.
Avalon closed his eyes and the hair on Gregor's arms stood up as the lad embraced his powers. The blue magnetic glow surrounded Avalon and he begin to float inches above the floor. The glow surrounding the boy began to spread until it covered the computer console as well. The look of concentration on the youth's face impressed even Gregor and when minutes later, Avalon returned a little weakly to the floor, Gregor was there with a supporting arm.
"What did you learn, son?" asked Gregor.
"Not much, sir," Avalon said. "Whoever did this, had access to technology that not even the BHC has, but I did manage to retrieve a snippet of the site location of the sender of that last message. The message was sent through one of our internal modems. Not only did they have your personal e-mail account information, they also had dial in access to BHC files. This gives them free access to almost all of our systems and data."
Clarion, The Black King, pounded his fist on the desk. NO......This wasn't possible, who could have gained this kind of access. No one could get that far into the BHC without inside help. Somewhere among his colleagues there was a leak.....and he had to find out where.
Somewhere in a cavern filled with technological wonders like the world has never seen a figure sat. His face was hidden by his hooded cloak, but his gloved hands moved silently across a keyboard looking at the information he had gained. He read slowly through the files that Gregor had composed called the Extermination Agenda. Listed within these files was the biographical data of all known students and members of the Black Hellfire club as well as their associates. Along with this data was a plan on how to eliminate said individual, should they become a danger to the inner circle. So Gregor was as cautious and as deadly as he was in the days of old when they had first met. A smile passed over the figures lips as they clicked off their computer console and a beam of light caught the shimmer of a ring on their gloved hand. The light flashed briefly illuminating the stamp of the White Hellfire Club and the further symbol of royalty beneath it.
"Oh yes," the figure laughed. "This is the end game, my dear Gregor, and it will be a very fun game indeed."