Ivy and Chrome PbP Forums

"We grew up together...I guess. There's something that doesn't seem to add up about her age, but I've known her for about as long as I can remember. Until a few months back, I thought dusty was just some crazy hermit that came into town occasionally to trade. Guess I was wrong about that, too." Dane intentionally drops a few hints about what he might or might not know just to see how Hummer might respond.

"Okay," he says. "My turn. Why did you access the police database, and why erase all that data?"

"We grew up together...I guess. There's something that doesn't seem to add up about her age, but I've known her for about as long as I can remember. Until a few months back, I thought Dusty was just some crazy hermit that came into town occasionally to trade. Guess I was wrong about that, too." Dane intentionally drops a few hints about what he might or might not know just to see how Hummer might respond. "Okay," he says. "My turn. Why did you access the police database, and why erase all that data?"

"Since you're a friend of Violet's, then you have authorization to this information. There are others looking for Violet and Dustin. They vanished years ago, thinking that Drake and Darren had died after their mother had deceased. I have been tasked to locate and protect for their eventual return them to Drake, my friend.

"I thought I had erased all traces of my intrusion. How did you locate me?" Hummer asks as they pass rolling hills and jagged rocks loom on either side. Joe seems to be speeding up, as usual, kicking up immense quantities snow and dust.

Dane thinks for a moment about how much he should reveal. "You didn't erase all your traces. I found the unauthorized Wi-Fi card inside the server room and then traced your connection logs, and recovered the one file that you were apparently really after—the wellness check on Dustin. Once I suspected Dustin was the target, we just had to follow the trail from there to you."

Dane thinks for a moment about how much he should reveal. "You didn't erase all your traces. I found the unauthorized Wi-Fi card inside the server room and then traced your connection logs, and recovered the one file that you were apparently really after—the wellness check on Dustin. Once I suspected Dustin was the target, we just had to follow the trail from there to you."

"A Wi-Fi card? I do not understand the term." Hummer nimbly avoids another pothole, then a display flips up from the center of the dashboard, "There were hires from the job board but I'm unaware of other people's mission. My mission was to achieve close proximity to the Smith Falls law enforcement radio frequencies and that I would have uninhibited access."

The display runs through some command line diagnostics and focuses on logs of traffic and electronic emissions. Eventually it reveals footage of the outside of the police station and the alleyway from Hummer's point of view. Several objects in the footage begin to outline with a glow; including the power meters, the backdoor magnetic lock, the surveillance camera and several lights.

"The camera." His disappointed tone in his robotic voice apparent, "I failed to identify the method of detection. Very clever, Dane."

"Sorry. Wi-Fi is an old term for short-range wireless network access," Dane says. "I traced the access logs, got the time window, and checked the street cameras. You cleared most of your tracks, but not all of them." He pauses, watching the diagnostics scroll. "What I still don't understand is why you wiped the entire server. If you had left the rest alone, you might have stayed invisible longer."

"Sorry. Wi-Fi is an old term for short-range wireless network access," Dane says. "I traced the access logs, got the time window, and checked the street cameras. You cleared most of your tracks, but not all of them." He pauses, watching the diagnostics scroll. "What I still don't understand is why you wiped the entire server. If you had left the rest alone, you might have stayed invisible longer."

"To understand why, you need to know that the files I accessed would have left an audit log of my activities, even if I deleted the main event logs. The audit logs are tied directly to each file, so only deleting those files would make my targets obvious. Deleting all of the logs would be obvious but the target vague, if not non-existent. And I targeted the last several months to eliminate evidence of Dustin.

"The Dustin who was in the report, is not the same Dustin related to Drake. Whoever that was is an imposter. I have been investigating that with no leads. Like I mentioned, someone else is racing me to find Violet and Dustin."

They approach the final stretch of road, with Fort Hammer looming at the far end. Joe keeps fishtailing for fun as Dane can imagine that his dad's butt-hole is puckering with each corner drift that the sheriff hoots and woohoos around.

"Good logic, but it also brought immediate attention to the breach. You just didn't anticipate someone finding enough of the pieces to reconstruct them." Dane shifts slightly in his seat, processing the implications. "What do you know about this impostor Dustin? If there's another party after them, Vi and Dusty are in more danger than I realized."

"Good logic, but it also brought immediate attention to the breach. You just didn't anticipate someone finding enough of the pieces to reconstruct them." Dane shifts slightly in his seat, processing the implications. "What do you know about this impostor Dustin? If there's another party after them, Vi and Dusty are in more danger than I realized."

“I possess no additional data beyond the wellness report,” Hummer replies. “The description, name, and age match the original description I have of Mr. Synek. There have been no sightings for several months, which is approximately the same timeframe that Violet vanished from Fort Hammer.

“Dustin and Violet are in grave danger,” Hummer continues. “The Coalition States, Chrome Rippers, and Free State of Quebec have all issued BOLO alerts for Drake. Each faction has intercepted intelligence placing known associates, being Dustin and Violet, in this region. They may have been warned and evacuated, but the method remains unknown.”

Joe swings the pickup around the final corner into Fort Hammer, tires crunching through gravel. He slows, then eases to a stop in front of the Justice Center. A heartbeat later, Hummer glides up beside them and parks. Dane notices that his motor is incredibly quiet.

George is out of the truck before the engine settles, leaning into the window, eyes scanning Dane’s face for any sign of harm…

“I’m fine, Dad,” Dane says, a note of exasperation in his voice as he opens the door to get out. “But maybe you and Hummer should compare notes. I think what happened at the festival may be related to an ongoing threat against Violet and Dusty.” He looks longingly toward the library. “I should let Meg know I’m back. It won’t take long, but she might be worried since we really couldn’t talk much over the radios.”

“I’m fine, Dad,” Dane says, a note of exasperation in his voice as he opens the door to get out. “But maybe you and Hummer should compare notes. I think what happened at the festival may be related to an ongoing threat against Violet and Dusty.” He looks longingly toward the library. “I should let Meg know I’m back. It won’t take long, but she might be worried since we really couldn’t talk much over the radios.”

"Sure, son." he frowns at Dane, "Before you go, did you learn anything new from your... friend?"

The door automatically shuts behind Dane.