Rogue (The End 4)

She scrolled down to the worm icon and clicked it; then, she put in her password. The virus would give her access to all the information on the computer; however, for it to get installed without interruption, she had to shut down the system for a day.

She chuckled. It would just be a tiny glitch in their operations. She hoped they wouldn’t mind. A prompt showed up in Russian.

Do you want to run the program now? Please note that the host computer will be blank while the program runs.

She clicked 'yes'.

Lights out.

Chapter Two

“Remember, you’re not there for a paycheck…”

16th November 2021

8:15 am

Old Port, Portland, Maine.

USA.

Suzanne broke the padlock to an automobile repair shop and dragged a motorcycle inside. She looked around her and got to work, picking all the tools she needed. When she had rounded them up, she bent over the motorcycle and began to dismantle it. Her abdomen hurt as she bent, but she endured it. Adrik had always told her that pain was a distraction. She had to put it aside.

She looked at the connections in the motorcycle. She had read extensively about EMPs a week ago. She was sure that most parts of the bike were intact. The problem was most likely to be the rectifier. She looked up again and saw a couple of dismantled cars. Some ideas came to her mind. She had prepared adequately for this moment. A week ago, she had learned just what to do to revive a vehicle after an EMP. She could find fuel from other disabled vehicles that had been abandoned. She went over to one of the dismantled cars and began to disconnect some things. She needed her bike functional before it was evening.

As she worked, her mind went over the past once again. She had to keep remembering. She needed to focus on all the reasons why she had to do what she was doing.

14th January 2002

6:20 am

Capitol Hill, Washington DC.

USA.

Vivien left her apartment and took a cab to the Liaison Office, where she worked as a junior secretary. She had just arrived in New York the previous weekend. Suzanne Fraser was what she would be known as. She kept rehearsing the name in her head. She didn’t want to mess up on the mission. It was going to be her first day at work. She wondered how long it would take before she returned to Russia. Nothing in America was how she remembered it. That was probably because she had been much younger when her family had moved to Russia. Even while they had stayed in America, they hadn’t had the opportunity to live in such a beautiful place.

Once she got out of the cab, she stood and stared at the building. Taking a deep breath, she walked up the stairs and went in. She spotted the receptionist's desk and went in that direction. Adrik had told her to ask for Bidden Harris when she got there.

“Hello, ma’am. I am Suzanne Fraser. I need to see Mr. Harris, please,” Vivien said to the receptionist. She was nervous. The name on the counter was Barbara Austin.

“Oh. Do you have an appointment with him?” Barbara asked.

“Well, yes. I’m supposed to be the new junior secretary under him,” Suzanne said with a smile.

Barbara frowned.

“Junior secretary? I’m not aware of such an opening. I’m sorry, where did you get that information?” she asked.

Vivien swallowed. She had been expecting everyone to know that she would be coming in. She began to stammer, not knowing what to tell the lady.

Just then, a hand rested on her shoulder, and she turned to see a dark-haired middle-aged man smiling at her. He looked handsome in his three-piece suit and with his slicked-back hair.

“You must be Ms. Suzanne Fraser, the new junior secretary,” he said to her with a broad smile. She nodded slowly.

The receptionist looked from the man to Suzanne, not sure of what was going on. Vivien was equally surprised.

“You know her, sir?” Barbara asked, and he turned to the receptionist.