The Hastening Storm by C.F. Barrington

Author:C.F. Barrington [Barrington, C.F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800244382
Publisher: Head of Zeus

XXII

During the first two weeks of Oliver’s internment in the Operations Support Unit, he made minimal progress in his quest for Morgan Maitland.

He had rediscovered the chat room unearthed by his investigation earlier in the year, but the unit’s browser firewalls and his own limited user rights meant he was unable to access these forums because they were classed as communication portals and thus strictly blocked. Indeed, even the most basic internet searches brought back ragged results because all media outlets were censored. There was a Morgan Maitland who worked in HM Revenue and Customs in London and one who owned a hair salon in Wisconsin, but he knew implicitly none of these was Tyler’s sister and he found himself simply going around in circles.

If even a single molecule of his heart was dedicated to the task, he might have complained, but the reality was he couldn’t care less. He glowered in his corner and cast sideways glances at the city beyond the terrace. His home was out there, no more than a mile away. What right did these people have to hold him in this rooftop prison?

For the first few days Aurora eyed him suspiciously, but when she realised he was achieving next to nothing, the heat went out of her. She saw him as just a kid in the wrong place. Out of his depth and time-wasting. If he couldn’t find what Odin was seeking, it wasn’t her problem. Jed showed him some of the broader tasks performed by the Tech team; the camera feeds at Valhalla’s Gates; the locking and laser controls for security; the ultra-secure messaging services; and the image and video libraries from previous Seasons.

Oliver wanted to see feeds from the cameras of the Vigiles, but Jed explained these were managed only by Atilius’ Pantheon-wide teams.

‘Everything not specifically linked to a Palatinate – like the Vigiles, Pantheon recruitment, the hospitals, transport, event security, and all technical support for the Caelestes and Curiate – that’s all run by Atilius.’

‘And where are his teams based?’

‘Some say London. Some say Rome. My money’s on a huge Pentagon-like complex in the middle of nowhere.’

It was Oliver’s twelfth day when Aurora came clopping across the room. ‘Kustaa dropped this by yesterday. Something left in his office by his predecessor. Says it might be useful.’

It was Tyler’s laptop. Old, cheap and bashed about, but unmistakably the one Tyler had placed in Oliver’s keeping before the Grand Battle.

‘I’ve disabled most of the functions,’ she said. ‘All communications are blocked and I have full administrator rights, so don’t get any ideas. The hard drive’s already been explored, but you might as well look yourself if Kustaa thinks it’s worthwhile.’

Once she was safely back in her glass cage, he eased open the laptop and his fingers hovered over the keys. Either she severely underrated him or she was congenitally stupid, because she had just handed him a computer that wasn’t part of the ultra-secure servers with a browser unrestricted by specialised firewalls. Moreover, if he covered his tracks well, she would have no way of reviewing his activity.

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