Commander Arlington sat in his office and stared at the screen in frustration, waiting anxiously for Agent Wilson’s identity marker to reappear. He knew that the hacker group had to be involved in her disappearance, but he couldn't figure out how.
He drummed his fingers on the desk. He looked over at the wall-mounted monitor which displayed the status of every agent he had stationed across the globe. He had a team in Europe. A team in Africa. And a special task force in Japan. He also had agents in Australia, South America, and North Korea. But none of them knew where she was.
"Where is she?" he grumbled.
A knock sounded on the door and Commander Arlington snapped back to attention. "Come in!" he barked.
An agent entered the room and saluted, "Sir."
"Report," he ordered.
"I've checked all of our agents," he said, "There's been no activity from any of them."
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Absolutely," he nodded, "They're all dead silent."
"Have you checked in with the local authorities?"
"Of course I have," he said, "But they won't release any information about the case. I've filed a Freedom of Information Act request, but it's taking forever."
"Maybe you should call in someone with more connections," the agent suggested.
"Yeah," he nodded, "I'll do that."
The agent left his office and Commander Arlington returned to the screen. He typed in a command to search for Lily's vitals. The computer scrolled through millions of records, searching for the most recent ones.
After five minutes, the results appeared on the screen.
"She's still alive," he muttered, "But I can't find her."
He swore silently, wondering what the hackers wanted so badly. He thought about calling off the hunt, but he knew that he wouldn't hear the end of it from the President.
Suddenly his secretary called over the comm, “Sir? Senator Davies is here to see you.”
“Send him in.”
Senator Paul Davies was the current chairman of the US Senate, and one of the few elected officials privy to the knowledge of their discreet operation. He was also one of the few men on Earth that Commander Arlington trusted.
"Thank you for coming to see me, sir." Commander Arlington stops and shook his hand before he took his seat, "How's the recovery going?"
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"Fine," he nodded, "Thanks for asking. How can I help you?”
"We've been having some problems in our operations," Commander Arlington replied, "We believe that a hacker group has infiltrated our system."
"Hacker group?" the senator asked, "You mean the infamous Cyber Police?"
"Yes," Arlington nodded, "It appears that they've stolen some of our secret files."
"Secret files?" he frowned, "That sounds serious. What kind of files?"
"They appear to be sensitive documents regarding our intelligence operations," the commander explained, "We're unsure what they contain, but we suspect that they might contain classified information."
"That's terrible," Senator Davies said, "Are you sure it's the same group that hacked the FBI last year?"
"I'm afraid so," he confirmed, "Their hacking style matches perfectly with the other attacks."
"I see," the senator said, "And you think they're responsible for the disappearance of Agent Wilson?"
"I'm afraid so," he said. "They've hacked into several government agencies and private businesses recently."
"How do you know it's the same group?" he asked.
"Because they're very good at covering their tracks," Commander Arlington replied. "But they've used a similar hacking pattern each time."
"I see," he nodded. "Can you tell me who they are?"
"No," he shook his head, "We're still investigating. Until we've caught them, we don't know who exactly they are."
"Let me guess," he said, "You're hoping that I'll reveal their identity and expose them to the public?"
"Exactly," he nodded. "Once we catch them, we can shut them down and make sure it never happens again."
"And what if it does happen again?" the senator countered, "Will you admit that you made a mistake?"
"We'll make sure it doesn't happen again," he said, "I swear."
"How can you be so sure?" he asked skeptically.
"We have a lead," he grinned, "The lead came from a former hacker named Brian Parnell."
"Parnell?" the senator asked, “I knew him in college.”
"Yeah," he replied, "He's been working with us since he was arrested."
"What are you suggesting?" he asked.
"That he's somehow connected to the hackers," the commander answered.
"That doesn't sound like Brian," Senator Davies sighed, "He's a bit too smart for that."
"He's definitely involved," Commander Arlington insisted, "I'm certain of it."
"But why?" the senator asked. "Why would he work with the hackers instead of exposing them?"
"I don't know," Arlington said, "But we can find out. Tell me everything you know about him."
"I don't know much," the senator admitted, "Mostly because he keeps his distance from everyone else. As far as I can tell, he doesn't have many friends or family."
"So what do you know about him?" he asked, “Anything that could give us leverage to get him to talk?”
"He started hacking when he was in college," he continued, "Back then, he worked alone. I think he was kicked out because he was too dangerous. He attacked some major corporations and stole confidential data."
"Does he have a girlfriend?" Commander Arlington asked.
"Not that I know of," the senator shrugged, "I haven’t seen him in ten years, so I really wouldn’t know.”
"Did he have any close friends?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," Senator Davies said, "He was always pretty reclusive."
"And you know that for sure?" the commander asked.
"Yeah," he nodded, "He lived in the basement of one of the dorm buildings. Nobody ever saw him except for the janitorial staff."
"Very well," he said, "We'll keep digging. Let me know if you think of anything useful."
"I will," the senator said, "Happy to help."
The Senator stood up and shook his hand. He left the Commander's office and headed towards the exit. As soon as he reached the door, he paused and turned back around.
"Oh," he said, "One more thing."
"Sir?" he said, turning back to face him.
"This conversation never happened.”
“Yes, sir.”
He walked away without another word and Commander Arlington stared at the empty doorway a moment before returning to his screen.
Still no sign of Agent Wilson.
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