URGENT. PLEASE READ.

[r3f4c70r3d]

Who: Angel, Damian, Steinbeck, Kate
Medium: text/voice
Security/Encryption: high encryption
Warnings: none

[It comes in the middle of the night, flashing on your communication device (whatever that may be), a new message from sender UNKNOWN and its subject is a simple one: URGENT. PLEASE READ. The possibility of it being spam is probably just as high as it being an emergency so it's up to you whether it's worth opening but if you do the message inside is just as simple and ominous as everything before it. There is only one sentence:]

Can anyone see this?

Comments

text

[fledges]

[This is a weird message to get in the middle of the night, but something about it nags at Kate, so she actually opens it. It's weird enough to get her to respond.]

i can. who is this?

[r3f4c70r3d]

Thank the gods, I didn't expect such a fast response. Is this line secure? I can't risk being seen by eyes this message isn't meant for.

[fledges]

[What.]

pretty secure, yeah.
seriously, who is this?

[r3f4c70r3d]

I don't know if I can disclose that kind of information yet. Just know this, I am seeking shelter from the Company, and you're one of my best chances of doing so.

[fledges]

why do you need shelter from the company?

[r3f4c70r3d]

Because I was never supposed to turn against them, and if they find out I have before I can establish myself elsewhere....I don't know what will happen to me.

[fledges]

wait, what makes you think i would even want to help you, or that i could?

[r3f4c70r3d]

Because I'm just like you. A defector. I know you can help me, you're a detective aren't you? That's what you do. And I need you to help me find a way out of this without being...erased.

[fledges]

okay, now you have to tell me who you are.

text

[graftage]

[This IS weird. Steinbeck takes a moment to consider opening it, then shrugs - eh, might as well.]

i'm sure i have eyes, so yes, i can see it.

what's going on?

Re: text

[r3f4c70r3d]

[A funny guy, huh?]
Please assure me this line is secure before I continue. I can't be found right now.

[graftage]

it's secure as secure can be.

who are you?

[r3f4c70r3d]

Good, I can't risk being found talking to you like this. I'm someone in need of help. I'm trying- no. I need to escape the company. But I can't do it alone.

[graftage]

that so?

sounds like a plan. but why are you contacting me of all people? and for all i know, you're just a company lackey getting really bored and playing around

[r3f4c70r3d]

My sources say that you're a good resource. A monk, right? But also not one to be challenged.
If proof is what you need to know I'm serious, I can provide it.

[And with that she leaks some higher security company information. Nothing big (and nothing that could harm Jack's position), but enough that it would severely jeopardize someone just messing around.

[graftage]

[Now, that's not something he's at all expecting.]

[This is gold. He doesn't answer for a moment, too shocked to really come up with a reply. Whoever they were, they had access to some pretty valuable information.]

why do you want out now?

[r3f4c70r3d]

Because I realize what I'm doing, and what I am. Both those things are...a detriment, to the Company. I both fear what they will do with me if they find this out, and know I can't continue as I am otherwise. I have to seek secure refuge now to fully escape later.

[It's always strange, saying these things aloud. "Escape", "refuge", "secure." She knows she's safe where she is, she's seen the world out there through her screens and it's a fearsome one, Jack has always been right about that. But talking like this always pulls on some deep part of her in a wau that she can't name.]

text

[bittybat]

Who is this?

[r3f4c70r3d]

A friend, if you'll let me be. Is this line secure?

[bittybat]

I'm not here to be friends when I don't know who you are.
It's secure. I'm listening.

[Reading??? WHATEVER.]

[r3f4c70r3d]

Fair enough. I'm seeking shelter from the company. I have information on them to offer, but in return I need safety.

[bittybat]

Sounds suspiciously convenient. Why are you in trouble with the Company? I'm not going to bail you out of a debt you got yourself into.

[r3f4c70r3d]

I can understand why it may seem that way, it was information I had from the Company that lead me to you in the first place. You're known to not be an ally of them.
I'm not in trouble now, but I will be when they realize I've made this decision on my own. That I've chosen to work against them, or that I've chosen at all.

[bittybat]

[Damian isn't sure whether to pursue this or nip it in the bud. It sounds awfully suspect, he thinks. Then again, it seems desperate enough to be legit.]

I work for the RAC. I'm an ally to whoever pays me the most.
[Just, you know, in case the line ISN'T secure.]
Stop dancing around the point. Spit it out. You're contacting me for help in regards to the Company, but why? You want out?

[r3f4c70r3d]

I can pay, however much you want. In information or in money.

[This is true, she does have the resources.]

Yes. I need out. Or at least somewhere secure I can back myself up, when the time is right.