Her environment changed in a blink, obliviating everything, even Circé. Suddenly, she was inside a large living room. She frowned and turned around. There was an empty baby’s crib, next to a small couch. A little colored carpet was laid down, meant for a small child, with toys scattered around. There was no sign of life, though. Only the furniture and the decor of a warm home, with pictures on the walls, and plants. Eden turned around, spotting three doors.
“On your left,” said Greed.
Eden moved, and she was suddenly pushed into the next room. This time, it was an office. A very disorderly office. There were papers absolutely everywhere. On the floor, on the furniture, and even pinned all the way up on the walls. She couldn’t understand anything on it, it was all blurred. The things she was most attracted to were the very large computer and its screen, and the man sitting in front of it. She jumped in surprise; there was a dog next to the chair, chewing a dog toy with its tail wagging. She had no idea she used to have a dog... Eden turned to the man. He was speaking to the screen, with a serious expression.
“Why is there no sound?” she asked, annoyed.
“There really isn’t, Ghost,” said Greed, a bit apologetic. “It seems like they recorded without audio in the first place... They probably didn’t need it for a security camera.”
Now that she thought about it, all the colors around her looked less vivid than they should have been, a bit grayish. The recording wasn’t of the best quality... which explained why she couldn’t read the papers or see the details well. She turned to the man again. His traits weren’t well captured either. He had a large, long beard that was poorly taken care of, equally messy hair, and round glasses. Even without the high quality, she recognized the man from Mr. Charles’ picture. Her dad.
She stepped closer, realizing he was carrying something in his arms. There was a small baby, with its eyes half-opened. Eden stared at the scene for a few seconds. Despite the absolute mess around him, the man was holding the baby securely against his chest, his thumb gently rubbing its little chubby leg.
“...Sorry, Eden, but we’ve got to go,” said Circé.
“I’ve seen enough. Thanks.”
Another snap, and she was back in the large library with Circé. Her partner tilted her head.
“Seen anything interesting?”
“Not really... but it was nice.”
“Good for you then. Come on, girl, let’s get moving.”
Eden nodded. Without audio, she would only have watched the scene in a loop, with no idea who her father was chatting with through that screen. Yet, she was a bit glad she had gotten to see him, even if it wasn’t real. For the first time, she felt a bit close to that man who had been a stranger most of her life... and she felt somewhat happy about that too. She had never known how her father felt toward his daughter that had to flee her home, and she always thought they had never really met... yet, she had just seen otherwise. The baby could have been in her crib, but instead, her father had her in his arms, holding her tenderly. They really did have a bond, even if she had forgotten it...
Circé found the next box and grabbed it to open it. Eden glanced one last time at the cardboard box, and it disappeared. They had moved to a different archive.
“How many more of those?” groaned Circé. “We don’t have time to run through archives all day, you said this was a close entry point!”
“Hey, it’s not like I can parachute you guys into the middle of the System! The closest doesn’t mean it’s right there, okay? The whole thing is damn huge, and I promise, we’re already freaking close compared to all the other hackers taking the long, long way to even get where you are, alright? Stop bitching.”
“You’re lucky you’re hidden somewhere and not where I can slap you,” groaned Circé.
“Come on, ladies,” said Malieka. “Two floors down, northeast aisle, fourth shelf on the right. The box starting with a twelve. I promise we’re trying to make this as fast as possible.”
Eden and Circé exchanged a glance, and with a nod, ran together to the closest balcony, jumping over it. They dove for a couple of seconds, before both grabbing the rail two floors below.
“...Show-offs,” chuckled Greed.
“We’re on the clock,” retorted Circé.
“It does go faster this way. Please try not to kill yourselves too fast, though, that would be stu–wait. ...Greed, you caught that?”
“Yep. Ladies, jump and run all you want, but you have to move quickly. You’ve been spotted.”
“In a freaking archive?!” exclaimed Circé, running beside Eden. “You’re kidding me?”
“Don’t ask me, I’m not the one who spent money on a stupid security program... I mean, at least it shows they are aware of their security breaches, props to them.”
“How bad, Greed?”
“Bad... Not good. Really not good. I can’t catch it... Malieka?”
“I see it. It’s malign software. They are sending a wiper, ladies, you better hurry up, it’s a big one!”
“They are wiping out their own archives?!” exclaimed Circé.
