Owning a Spacebar by John Walker

Author:John Walker [Walker, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-11-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Liz gasped as she sat upright from the desk. Metal shades covered the window. She felt disoriented, having no idea whether it was day or night. Or how long she’d been asleep for that matter. Her face ached where she rested on the table and a knot in her back shot a wave of pain through her the moment she tried to stretch.

Her device showed her the local time. The sun would go down in just under an hour. Castus was well known for effectively shutting down during the later afternoon. She figured most people were asleep or just getting up to start their evening work schedules. Carson and Zeke would be along to check her progress.

And they’d be disappointed.

I didn’t think they’d get better at computer security after the war. Liz didn’t have access to her original device either. Carson’s passcodes were dramatically out of date. She thought she’d need to get something from Zeke to proceed, a black market probe to figure out what Wade used to save his data.

Maybe it’s Thortan. That thought didn’t help. Liz sighed as she shoved away from the table. A walk around the room helped alleviate some of the aches and pains in her joints, but it didn’t bring much in the way of inspiration. I can probably do it the old-fashioned way. Brute force access.

That wouldn’t work, and she knew it. The thought of smashing it, even digitally, appealed for a few minutes. Just enough to get her to calm down then focus on a proper plan of attack. Which likely entailed a more powerful computer. Something with an updated OS. Probably from Kye.

Which Carson won’t like. He wants to handle this without that guy first. And I don’t blame him.

Liz worried about who they could trust. They had friends on Castus, but they didn’t seem to be the type one would risk their lives over. Perhaps the governor, if he sent someone. Though she still didn’t have her fingers on the pulse of Carson’s new life. He’d changed by settling down.

At least a little. He didn’t back down from a fight, which she had worried about when she first saw him at the bar. If he’d lost his edge, or felt compelled to protect his new life to the point of turning his back on a friend… it didn’t sound like him, though the war left a lot of people adrift.

Liz poured herself a glass of water then downed it in one go. She wiped her lips before returning to the computer. Part of her wondered if she was overthinking the situation. Wade may have gone simpler than she anticipated, using even more out of date software. But looking back over her attempts proved otherwise.

I need better gear. That’s all there is to it. Or a key. Only Wade didn’t leave them anything. The Thortans probably have that part, but not the physical storage device. They must have known about his implant as well. They’ve got better intel than I anticipated.

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