Agent in the Dark

Smoothly I quoted, "What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?"

Flint looked like he wanted to break something and I smiled charmingly digging it in even further. He turned away to stalk over to a window and I turned back to see a speculative look in Chantry's eyes. That look didn't bode well. What did he have up his sleeve?

"I think we may have hit on something here John. A means of inducement, if you will, to engage you to do our bidding."

I waited him out not saying anything.

"Would you like a woman John?"

Now that I had not been expecting to come from him. He truly must be desperate to offer such a thing. He pulled a picture from an inside coat pocket and scooted it across the table to me. I glanced down at the picture and was arrested instantly by what I saw. I glanced up from the picture to study Chantry carefully.

"She is your mission John, if you choose to accept it."

I glanced down to the picture as Chantry continued. "She is of mixed parentage, as you might have imagined from her exotic features. Her mother was of Albanian descent and her father was Japanese. Her mother met her father through an escort service, while he was on a business trip. The father took such a liking to her mother that he paid for exclusive rights to her. The two eventually married and the result you see lying before you. She is quite stunning isn't she John. Her father was the CEO of a rather important Cybertek firm. When she was three a kidnapping attempt was made. She was spirited away by a trusted bodyguard, but they managed to nab the mother. Whatever the kidnapper's request were we're not sure, but we do know that the father refused to grant them. The kidnapping was never made aware to the public. A month after negotiation fell through pieces of the mother were mailed to her husband. After that the girl's father became paranoid over ensuring the safety of his daughter. He raised her in virtual isolation from the outside world that existed beyond the corporate tower complex of his corporation's headquarters in Tokyo. We don't know much about her early years other than, even as a child she possessed a genius like intellect and aptitude for technology, even more so than her father had been gifted with. She was given her own research and development wing at the age of 14. Her father insisted on exposing her to some outside influence, in preparation for her one day takeover of the corporation. He sent her to college in New York City, where she attended classes for four years, with a private security detail equal to what a president would receive. We know that there were several attempts made on her life during that time period, but none were successful. She returned to Japan and essentially took over the entire research division of her father's company. He still served as CEO and was an active part, but it was her that set the tempo of the entire company. Seven years of unparalleled success went by, until the day the company was seized in a hostile takeover. The girl disappeared and her father committed suicide under suspicious circumstances. An EM pulse struck the world and there was global chaos. It is thought that the global recovery would have gone much smoother and less dangerously, if her company had been at the helm of the recovery effort, but the company was virtually shut down following the hostile takeover. We presumed the girl was lost for two long years, as the Code's grip tightened down on the world, until four days ago. A hacker managed to somehow break into the Code's operating data field. We don't know any more than that. Following the breach the Code shut down most of the ability to interact with it worldwide, which has caused the hopes of many to rise in anticipation that there may yet be a chance of breaking the Code and regaining independence. Coinciding with the breach there was the largest ever to date bounty placed on the head of our girl here. The Code's masters, at least seem, to believe that she is still alive. We've been unable to find a trace of her Japanese name, but Temple was able to discover the presence and activity of one Asia Smith on the Code's mainframe. Asia Smith is the name of an obscure online gaming ID login that we believe was created by our girl here some time in her youth for a brief period of time before she went to college. We think that may be the name that she's going by now. She may very well be the key or have the key to breaking the Code. The breach occurred in New York City and judging from the hell that the city has become it's doubtful that she will be able to escape from it on her own, if she's even trying in the first place. She is in grave peril and needs to be rescued as quickly as possible!"