“Yes,” you respond. “Are you calling about student Adrienne Silva, number 00148-134-ZX5?”
“ACKNOWLEDGED,” the distorted voice replies. “REPORT.”
“Haven’t deduced the identities of the agents or our target, but I have a complete report of the most likely entry points and targets.”
“UNDERSTOOD. SEND US A WRITTEN REPORT TO THE FOLLOWING E-MAIL ADDRESS – zxbhoye AT landamsec DOT COM.”
“I’ll have it redacted as soon as possible. I will mention that Julia Martinez is a very likely target of either group, as well as Adolph Harrrington, the school’s director.”
“WE WILL ACKNOWLEDGE THEM AS PRIMARY TARGETS. DO NOTE THAT THIS MEANS YOU ARE IN DANGER OF BEING REPLACED.”
“If it’s the rogues, then that means I’ll set a trap for them.” You sigh. “Anything else?”
“YOU WILL RECEIVE A CALL EACH DAY. YOU WILL BE REQUESTED TO SEND A REPORT AND TO ASSIGN A CALL SIGN FOR THE AGENTS.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to know who they are replacing or where they’re located?”
The voice grows silent momentarily. “BECAUSE OF THE EXISTENCE OF A ROGUE AGENT HOLDING ORGANIZATION SECRETS, PROTOCOL DICTATES CONTROL IS TO FIGURE THE IDENTITIES OF THE AGENTS ON THEIR OWN.”
“But they’ll call you. I could get the names and then test them--”
“THIS REQUEST IS BEYOND YOUR CLEARANCE,” the voice answers. “YOU ARE UNDER EXAMINATION. THIS WILL BE A TEST OF YOUR ABILITIES.”
Dammit, guys! You take a deep breath, rubbing your forehead. “Alright. Don’t blame me if I fuck up, though.”
“DEDUCTION OF IDENTITIES IS KEY TO OPERATIVES ASSIGNED AS MISSION CONTROL,” the voice warns you. “ONCE IDENTIFIED, RELAY THEIR LAST KNOWN IDENTITIES TO US AND WE WILL CONFIRM IF THEY ARE OUR AGENTS.”
“At least that helps.”
“PLEASE ASSIGN A NEW CALL SIGN.”
They’re students, so... “Do you have any fake something related to schools?”
“WE HAVE ACCESS TO MULTIPLE EDUCATION-RELATED RESOURCES. WE WILL CALL FROM MTSU ADMISSIONS OFFICE.”
“Alright.” You walk in circles, figuring what to develop. “Alright. Since it’s admissions, tell them to use their current identity’s name, followed by a code unique to them.”
The voice remains silent for a while. “CONFIRM THAT YOU REQUEST THE AGENTS TO USE A UNIQUE CODE FOR IDENTIFICATION.”
“Yes. I’m not sure what other options I got.”
“YOU ARE ALLOWED CALL SIGNS, CODES, TIME-BASED CONTACTS--”
“What’s that last one? Time-based contacts?”
“YOURSELF AND THE AGENT MUST CALL AN ASSIGNED NUMBER AT A SPECIFIC TIME FRAME, FROM A SPECIFIC NUMBER. THIS WILL TYPICALLY BE THROUGH THE PHONE ASSIGNED TO EACH AGENT, LIKE THE ONE YOU ARE CURRENTLY USING.”
That seems weak... “Any other options?”
“YOU ARE ALSO ALLOWED TO USE TEXT, E-MAIL AND WEB SITE ENTRY AUTHENTICATION.”
“I’ll keep the unique code.”
“YOU ARE FURTHER ALLOWED TO USE A TWO-KEY AUTHENTICATION – THAT IS, USING TWO OF THESE OPTIONS IN SUCCESSION.”
Like using the code and then a call sign... “I’ll go for the code and call sign. Tell the caller to ask what’s the purpose of their call and tell the agents to respond by mentioning they are calling regarding the Hoover Internship at Frontman Park Office.”
“UNDERSTOOD. YOU WILL RECEIVE A CALL SHORTLY. REPLICATE THE INTENDED AUTHENTICATION METHOD.”
“Got it.” The call ends, and soon enough, you receive a call from an unknown number – though, to your surprise, you can identify as coming from MTSU’s actual Admission’s office. You immediately answer. “Hello?”
“Yes, this is Sandra Yarborough, from the Admissions Office of MTSU Tyneside Campus. Am I talking to Julia Martinez?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask your student number?”
“It’s 00148-134-ZX5,” you say, repeating the code assigned to you during your first report.
“Excellent! We received a call from you earlier; may I ask the purpose?”
“It’s to check the status of my application to the Hoover Internship at Frontman Park Office.”
The caller hums. “Yes. We’ll connect you to the officer in charge.” After a click, you hear the same distorted voice. “CONTACT AUTHORIZATION METHOD UPDATED. DO YOU WANT THE CODE TO BE STATIC OR DYNAMIC?”
“Dynamic,” you tell them, figuring an ever-changing code will be harder to deduce.
“ACKNOWLEDGED. WE EXPECT THE REPORT NO LATER THAN MIDNIGHT. WE EXPECT SUCCESS.”
The call ends, and you hear a ping on your microwave. Between the report and the lesson plan, it will be a long day. You feel no remorse giving yourself some private time with your borrowed vagina to relieve some of that stress.
In fact, you think you’ll do that just now. You owe yourself holding your urges back during lunch, and you still have memories of that date with Tony in your mind.
--
You filed your report by eight and barely finished the lesson plans for today before midnight, but despite the limited amount of sleep, you don’t feel tired. Perhaps it’s because your adrenaline is keeping you alert.
You’re certain either the Organization’s agents or the rogues must have entered through the janitors or other non-faculty personnel – cafeteria cooks, for example – perhaps through third-party providers like repairmen or vermin exterminators. You don’t get a lot of success at first, but lunch gives you a hit – Mike Higgs, a middle-aged janitor, scratching his head.
And that is because he approaches you, scratching his head. “Ms. Martinez!” he greets you. “Have you noticed anything unusual here?”
That stings your nerves. “No. Why?”
“It’s just that I’ve had some fainting fits recently. Long periods of time where I don’t remember anything.”
He was used as an entry point, you deduce. Or is being used and is trying to trick me.
“You recall seeing me yesterday?”
“No,” you say, as you didn’t. “Why?”
“It’s nothing,” he says. “I’ve had people saying I’ve been here since the weekend, but I don’t recall a thing.”
“You should go to the nurse,” you tell him. “Or to the hospital.”
“That’ll cost me too much,” he responds. “I’ll check if Martha can check me up.” (That would be Martha Worthington, who doubles as a nurse and as a cook – another perfect entry point and target, now that you realize.)
“If you feel like fainting,” you advice him, “tell me and I’ll see if I can authorize your leave. I’d prefer you go to Emergencies instead.”
“Thanks. You’re an angel, Ms. Martinez.”
“It’s alright. And be careful around cleaning liquids – try not to mix them. Mami almost choked by blending those.”
“Thanks for the advice, ma’am. See you later.” You watch him go, but you keep your back to the wall, your hand very close to the taser inside your purse. You leave the opposite way, only to notice Jacinto waiting for you.
“Ms. Martinez! So strange to see you around here again!”
You point at Higgs, flashing a timid smile. “I heard about what happened to him. Poor guy. Do you know if he mixes cleaning liquids? The vapors--”
“He doesn’t,” he affirms. “Come to think about it, that’s pretty weird, right?”
“Yeah,” you respond. “Anyways, I won’t bother you. Keep on with your good work.”
“You do the same, ma’am.“ He bows, passing you by. You make your way to the stairs, looking for a crowd, but when you see the school map, it hits you. Jacinto, like all janitors, has an assigned location but you met him both yesterday and today away from it. Janitors can switch spots to cover for absentees, but rarely in subsequent days, as that would be leaving their spot unattended.
And both times, he found you. Like Akbar said, you learn a lot from small talk – he was probably sizing you up. If he was the rogue agent, he would have zapped you yesterday, making the switch.
That can only mean one thing. Jacinto is one of the agents. You’ll need your special phone and tools to contact him, though.
--
It’s the end of another school day. Your replacement remains as robotic as ever, which is both good and bad news. Good, because he hasn’t been replaced by either an agent or the rogue. Bad, because he’s still unnerving everyone.
You’ve still haven’t gotten any information from Ashley, and given that today she assigns duties to everyone, it’ll take some time before she makes any kind of report. You resolve to return home and use the special phone to contact Jacinto – after checking and writing his phone number – when you hear a student knocking on your door. “Ms. Martinez! I need to tell you something!”
You don’t recognize her, but you know from your own memories that she’s a junior by the name of Emma Collins, who you recall as having taken a class alongside Jessica last year. You remember because she’s a diehard fan of the cheer squad, hoping she can join in her senior year. (She even dyed her hair blonde because of it.) You open and respond. “Yes?”
“Can you come? It’s important.”
“Is it so important you can’t tell me?” you ask her, fearing she must be a patsy trying to get you.
“Uh, you know the girls’ lockers, right? I mean, the bathrooms to the right of the lockers.”
“Yeah.” (You asked Julia if she entered, and she claims she did a few times. She’s used the bathroom occasionally, in fact, during games.)
“I didn’t wanna scare them, but I heard the squad doing some weird stuff. I told Mia and Karyn – uh, my friends – to keep an eye and prevent anyone from going inside while you check.”
“What are they doing?”
She blinks. “Uh... naughty stuff.”
“Alright.” You start closing the door. “Wait for me there.” You grab your purse and check if she’s gone before exiting.
As you make your way there, you receive a text from Eliza. [Meet me @ my office ASAP. Got news about Kinley.] You’re about to answer her when you receive a call.
It’s Harrington. And from his office phone.
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