Several errant electrons jumped when they shouldn't have at a place they shouldn't have, resulting in what shouldn't have. In short, a short. -Bloom County
Katrin woke up and stared at her alarm clock, it's numbers glowed red in the darkness. 8:00. She rolled over and closed her eyes. She wished that she didn't have to go to work today, but there was that meeting. Finally, curiosity overcame her lethargy, and she got up from the bed.
As she showered and dressed, she thought of the meeting. Her boss hadn't been very specific about what to expect, in fact, he wouldn't give her *any* clues as to what was going on, which was odd. She knew that it was about her next assignment, and that she was going to be teamed up with someone else, but that was all. From what she knew, she didn't like the sound of it. It wasn't her style to be teamed up to someone else...most of the people that she had ever worked with were the types who run roughshod over anyone who didn't think the same way they did.
She sighed. At least this would be someone new, someone who was more used to technology, like she way. It was hard working to protect cyber space, when the person who she worked with couldn't grasp the usage of virtual reality and the other programs they used.
Checking herself in the mirror, Katrin put on her earings, which were silver wolf heads. The only jewelry that she over wore were those earings, a silver necklace with the same wolf head on it, and a bracelet that had a full wolf on it. The first two she would only wear on certain days, but the latter, the bracelet, she always wore. She looked down at it, as if making sure that it didn't look out of the ordinary.
It was perhaps one of the most valuable things that she owned, because in it was a small computer diskette, which carried about all of her information on it, from her name and age to her position in the job and her assignments. She was the only one who knew this, and she planned for it to stay that way. The information would never harm her, but it held a lot of information about the SCS.
Her mind jumped to the thought of her job at the SCS. The Secret Cyber Service. It was a title that she would have laughed at, five years ago. In fact, she *had* laughed at it when the people had come and tried to get her help. She hadn't thought such a thing was neccisary...but now, she understood why. The Internet was becoming a new way for people to get information, information which was to be protected at all costs...
She shook her head. She had to get to this meeting, and these reflections weren't helping her. Her rank and upcoming probability of promotion could be dependant on how she reacted to this meeting, and to the next assignment. She finished blow drying her hair, checked to make sure that everything was in order, and stepped into her garage.
Her car was not flashy on the outside, but it had all of the comforts inside of it. She quickly keyed in her destination and the route that she wanted to take, and wanted for a response. One of the roads turned red, meaning that there was heavy traffic on that road, so she changed to another route. This time, all of the roads were clear, and she pressed the button for the car to start.
Since the car was able to take care of the roads, Katrin was free to check her email. She had a few messages, but nothing important. Her boss had simply replied to her email inquiring about the meeting by saying, "Wait and See." She sighed and put the lap top back up, pleased to see that her destination was almost in sight.
She stepped out of the car at the door, placing it in its auto-park mode. The secretary must have been waiting on her, because she motioned for Katrin to go ahead into the conference room. Katrin walked in and slide into on of the chairs, almost sighing with relief when she noticed that she had one minute to spare. There were three men already seated at the table, and she turned to face them.
"Ah, Katrin? This is Jake Starr. The two of you will be working together for the next while. This here is Mrs. Topal, the mayors wife."
She watched the man that he had pointed to, her face carefully neutral. He seemed okay from appearance, but appearances weren't what mattered. She would find out what kind of a partner he was soon enough.
They politely shook hands, and waited for him to tell them what their assignment was.
...
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