Forming the Team

~~ Dallas, Texas, 2072 ~~

Luna Samson perched in her chair, her fingers flying over the keyboard, rock music blaring. She sent out three worms, then slid her trojan under the fourth rabbit. She waited, then hit the garbage file while her opponent, a man known to her only as Digger attacked two of the worms simultaneously. "Fuck," she breathed as he managed to catch her, but not before she snagged some of the garbage files. When he came back at her, her fingers flew faster, and the timer finally dinged. "Tie between White Rabbit and Digger. White Rabbit managed to snag some of the files to complete the task, but Digger managed to locate the intruder. Congratulations you two. Please write up your review and submit it within the next hour."

"Yes, Sir," she murmured into the headset. She quickly wrote up the review, the tactics she employed, and how he countered them. She added a postscript that she hoped to have the opportunity to learn more from him in the future. Her parent's oft-repeated phrase, never stop learning came to her mind.

~~ Gretna, Nebraska, 2072 ~~

In a small, single-wide manufactured home on a half acre of almost-worthless land on the edge of town, Hank Urre sat at an old, scratched-up wooden table with the same ten-year-old laptop he had taken to college and taken with him when he failed his sophomore year, typing up a review of the exercise. Hunched over it and typing with four fingers, he worked slowly, using some online tools to help with his grammar. Luckily, there were some rich people and a construction company that wanted to live further out than he did and so they laid high-speed internet out past his house. It was nothing for the internet company to splice him in, so even though it didn't look like much, his freelance computer work didn't suffer. Sometimes, it was computer security, as in the interview he had just concluded. Sometimes it was software development, both security and non-security related. Sometimes it was just bug hunting. It all paid the bills, which he tried to keep as minimal as possible.

Lifting the coffee-stained cup to his lips, he took a sip. He grimaced as he did so. It was cold again. He glanced down at the clock on the corner of his laptop that was sitting under a small, ASCII version of Tux the penguin. Had it really been four hours? No wonder it was cold. He got up and walked to the sink, dumping the coffee and beginning the process of making a fresh pot. Glancing up, he looked at the small hanging monitor that was his network display. It was more habit now than worry. His servers were all running steady and the power draw was minimal due to the way he had scheduled the load work on them. Several minutes later, he was back at the laptop and typing again, including some compliments about the innovativeness of his opponent and the methods they used. A couple of hours later, he was done and had sent it off, then sighed and turned his attention to the next opportunity on the principal bug bounty board that he was a member of.

~~ Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2072 ~~

Vince and Annabelle stared each other down, "I like them both," Annabelle finally offered. "He's a bit more steady on the firewall than she is."

"He seems good on server-side defense as well, although it almost didn't matter at the end. That trojan was sneaky. I'm going to have to remember that one to use it later," he said. "I've never seen one used in quite that way."

"Offer him the position first?" Annabelle pondered. "Maybe get him settled in, then see how it shakes out? We can technically afford to hire both, but I'd rather have him in place and building. The hardware we currently have is going to reach capacity faster than we're getting attacked, but it will be coming."

"Thinking pair programming as well," Vince responded. "One build, the other test, then switch off?"

"Good idea," Michael murmured, staring at the ceiling for a long moment. Then, snapping his fingers, he looked at her and pointed, "Let's do this... Let's freelance her through a shell. I can set one of those up in a week or so. A, it keeps her on the hook so no one else snaps her up until the hardware is ready, or b, she picks her way through the deception and we hire her on the spot for being so clever and just figure out a way for them to work together earlier."

"So, let's start by sending him the offer letter, thinking one fifty a year plus moving expenses of fifteen?"

He chewed on his lower lip. Turning to his laptop, he began throwing commands at the browser as he pulled up the guy's resume. Soon enough, he was zooming in on a satellite image of his property and the run-down single-wide trailer. "Oh, Jesus... Come on, kid, you've gotta be kidding me..." He rubbed his face in his hands. "One fifty, moving expenses are a blank check, but pre-approved. Have him get with Mindy first and submit receipts. And set him up with an apartment in Gerald's old complex. Would you look at this shit?" He gestured at the screen in frustration. "There's a fucking amazing security professional living in that. And where the hell even is Gretna, Nebraska?"

"The place that our new security man is," Annabelle responded as she continued editing the offer letter. "There we go."

Vince glowered at her. "There's a slave that's getting her snark on and needs some spankings. I should have Michael take care of that...," he grumbled.

"Michael thinks it's adorable... as long as I'm not aiming it at him." She stuck her tongue out at him, then pushed the button to send him a copy of the letter. "Now, you can check the letter, if you agree, let's get it sent to him while I work on the one for her." He only made a couple of minor tweaks and then they sent it off.

In Nebraska, Hank's email dinged with the offer letter. He opened the email and read it. Then he read it again. It was on the third read that he realized that he hadn't misread the offer. It was more money than he'd ever dreamed of making and they wanted to put him in a fully-furnished apartment too. "Holy shit...," he breathed. "I did it. Eight fucking years... I did it..." He howled in excitement before sitting down to compose his acceptance. That took about a half hour, even though it was only two paragraphs long. He went through ten drafts. He sent it and looked around. "You know what? I'm ordering a pizza today." He picked up his phone and dialed a number he'd not dialed in over two years. Sausage and mushrooms sounded really, really good right about now.

"He accepted," Annabelle squealed, "Now for her..." It took her a few minutes to write up a specific contract-to-hire with the move to Minneapolis in four to six months. When she sent it off, it took a few moments, then she got the email back of acceptance, and that she'd brush up on her skills for when the hardware was ready. "Clever girl..."

~~ Gretna, Nebraska, 2072 ~~

The U-Haul on his old beat-up car looked small, but he stuffed it full of his computer equipment all carefully packed. He looked around the single-wide one final time, everything was changing. He collected the last of his things, then climbed into his car. It was a long drive to Minneapolis and would take him most of the day. As he pulled away, the single lightbulb on his porch flickered, then went out. The end of his old life and the beginning of a new and better one.

The miles and hours passed by under the tires. Gas and food were periodic stops along with bathroom breaks. What was initially a five-and-a-half hour trip was turned into a seven. Between driving slow with the trailer and needing to stop for gas often. Finally, he arrived in front of the Moorwind building. He dialed the number he had been given, "Mindy, this is Hank... I'm here in front of the building."

"Excellent, go ahead and come on in. I'll meet you at the receptionist and bring you to meet Annabelle and Vince."

He entered and felt out of place, most of them there were wearing nice suits and he was in comfortable clothes. He looked around, then approached the desk. "Welcome, Mister Urre." She beamed and handed him a badge with his picture. "Mindy will be right down. How was your drive?" The woman was cute, but not his type, she was too... sunshine and happiness.

"It was pleasant, ma'am. Thank you for asking." Hank offered, trying to be polite. Then turned thankfully when Mindy appeared.

"Hank, glad you made such good time. I'll introduce you to Vince and Annabelle, then give you directions to your new apartment, how does that sound?"

He ducked his head. "That will be just fine, Miss Ahrens. Thank you," he said trying to inject the gratitude he felt into his voice, despite how awkward he felt.

She smiled and led him around, then up the elevator. "You're going to be on the floor below me, more space for hardware." She led him to a large workroom that had eight blade servers in the corner, a massive workstation with four monitors on robotic arms, a top-of-the-line ultralight laptop for more portability, and an electronic workbench along another wall that would allow him to play with circuit boards and such if he needed for prototyping. Everything in that room was top of the line, cost easily ten times what he had paid for his used equipment, and his jaw dropped as he took it all in.

"Holy shit...," he breathed. It was a couple of seconds before he realized that he'd said that out loud and he blushed a deep red before stammering, "I mean... sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"No worries," she grinned up at him, "Good place to start, yeah?"

He swallowed, trying to get moisture back into his mouth and throat. "Yeah," he gasped. "Are they sure they want me to... I mean... all of this? It's, um... It's really expensive equipment..."

"Oh, Hank," she smiled up at him, "You were the most successful one. You're actually the only one that caught White Rabbit. Annabelle and Vince are particular about who they consider. You were chosen by them, so yes, they want you, yes, this is your office. Now, I just need to know what kind of chair you'd like."

He blinked, "I mean... whatever you have should be... fine?" he offered, utterly at a loss.

Her nose crinkled, "OK, I'll bring a variety of chairs so you can pick one out." She smiled, "Now, let's go see Annabelle and Vince, sign some paperwork, then we'll get you home so you can unpack and sleep."

She led him up another two floors to where the executive offices were. The conference room there was opulent in its use of technology. Vince and Annabelle were sitting at the table already. Annabelle smiled brilliantly, "Hank! Thank you for coming, I'm so glad you're here. Come sit. How was your drive?"

"Good," Hank responded, blinking at how happy she was. Slowly he approached the table.

Vince stood to greet him and shake his hand, "I'm Vince, we'll be working closely together. Technically we're going to be your boss. But we expect you to do most of your work for us with limited guidance."

He nodded his understanding. "Can I... expect some boundaries? Direction? Or are you planning to give me a broad goal?" he asked softly.

"A few boundaries, a broad goal, and some direction." Vince began to explain, "I'm going to be available and happy to help, but I don't want to be in your grill. We," he gestured at himself, then Annabelle, "Have an idea as to the end goal, but how we get there, needs more than just the two of us, or even the three of us. We do plan on hiring White Rabbit later after the hardware is set up to be a stress tester... unless you object?"

He perked up at that. "You want me... to work with White Rabbit? They were amazing. I couldn't keep all the holes plugged. They're wicked talented."

"Yes," Annabelle offered, "We figured we'd give you time to get settled and set up for a few months, then bring them on. Now, if you agree, there's a stack of papers waiting for your name."

The papers were mostly standard, an agreement to the money on offer, the apartment, then towards the bottom there was a massive NDA. It covered not only the work he would be doing but people he would potentially meet. When he signed it, Vince and Annabelle relaxed. "Congratulations," Vince said, "You're joining the Black Card cyber-security team." He paused, "Well, you're going to end up second in command with an eye toward being a leader when I retire."

He blinked, then asked in surprise, "Sir? But I've never... I mean... I don't have any experience working in a group like..."

"You'll learn, we have faith in you, and we're going to train you," Annabelle offered, "It won't be immediate, and you won't be alone. White Rabbit will be at your side."

Vince chuckled, "Right now, you're looking at the Black Card cyber-security team. The three of us. We need to expand, but finding the right people... it's harder than I thought. Skills are good, but intelligence and the ability to think outside the box is fucking rare. I'm currently using contractors, but that's not going to hold up long term."

Mindy reappeared at his side, she placed the badge and its holder, then a credit card, followed by a set of keys and a keycode followed by the address of his new apartment. "Do you need any help moving your stuff in?"

"No. It's just... a small U-Haul. Mostly electronics. A few odds and ends...," he trailed off. "What time do you want me here tomorrow? Five? Six?

"Don't worry so much, Hank. The office here doesn't open up until seven. Most of us come in at about eight. We'll have plenty of time to talk and go over expectations and start setting up a support structure for you tomorrow," Annabelle smiled, "For now, go get some rest."

He nodded, taking the items Mindy had bought and heading back down to his car, his head swimming. As he walked through the entry, the woman behind the desk called, "Have a good rest of your day, Mister Urre."

He waved but didn't say anything, not really trusting his voice. He walked out to his car and drove to the address he'd been given. When he walked into the apartment, he looked around in shock. The apartment was extravagant. It was the most comfortable-looking place he'd ever seen and he was having a hard time believing that he was being allowed to live there. He brought in the electronics from the trailer and set it all in the second bedroom except for his old laptop which went on the dining room table. The few small boxes of odds and ends went in there too to be unpacked later. Finally, his old, ugly coffee maker found its way to the counter, and the small fancy one went into a closet. He finally moved his car out of the way so that the trailer wasn't blocking anyone, went back inside, and collapsed on the bed, setting an alarm so that he coils shower before going in the next day.

~~ Dallas, Texas, 2023 ~~

She was on retainer with Moorwind, but kept doing her freelance work and practicing. She needed more skills and worked hard to gain them. Four months after the initial test, she got an email with a job offer. One-twenty, plus a furnished apartment in Minneapolis. She bit her lip, needing to think about it for a move like that and talk to her fiance.

She bounded out of her apartment and rode her bicycle up to his apartment. He should have been sleeping, but as she approached she heard the noise of a party. She tried the door, it was locked, but instead of ringing the bell, she quietly unlocked it with the key he had given her and slipped in. The building was filled with people, some she knew, that seemed shocked to be seeing her. Others she didn't even know. One of the women she thought of as a friend, pointed towards the balcony. She made her way there and saw her fiance wrapped around a woman, kissing her passionately.

"Luna's gonna be pissed if she sees you, don't you care about her?"

"Hah! Luna is wrapped around my finger. Besides, I'm just with the bitch to make my brother jealous. Titi here is my real girl."

Luna's face froze, as she stared as they laughed. Slowly, she turned and walked through the apartment to the bedroom. She didn't make a sound or say a word, simply packed what few things she had been keeping at his house. Finally, she removed her ring, then the key from her keyring. She picked up her small duffle bag, now knowing why he didn't like having her things there. She dropped the key and the ring on the bed and then turned to walk out.

She paid no attention to the party, then when she got to the door she heard his voice, "Luna! Wait! It's not what it looks like!"

"I hope you have rent money," she responded, her voice cracked slightly, "This bitch is out! The free ride is OVER!" She walked out and slammed the door behind her. She ran to her bicycle and rode back to her apartment. She sent a stop to all payment transfers from her account to his, then signed the paperwork. She started packing, she'd rent a U-Haul and buy something there in Minnesota.

The door was knocked on multiple times, "Luunaa! Come on... it's me... I was drunk and stupid!"

She ignored the knocks, continuing to pack, when it got too much, her neighbor called the cops to have him removed. Finally, she was packed, loaded, and leaving. She'd stay in a hotel before she stayed in Dallas any longer. She stopped off on her way out and changed her number. He would wail behind her, but she and her money were gone from his life.

Outside of Missouri, Luna pulled into a hotel for the night. She sat quietly, then with shaking hands slowly dialed the number she had been given. "Is this Mindy Ahrens"

"Yes, it is, who is this?"

"Luna Samson, or White Rabbit. I was just... this is my new number. I'm on my way to Minneapolis now. Is there any way I can get the apartment sooner? I... my..." her breathing hitched. "I caught my fiance cheating and had to leave Dallas."

"Oh honey bear, of course, of course. I'll go ahead and give you the address. When you get close, call me and I'll meet you there. We'll get you settled in, you can take a week, then I'll arrange for you to meet with Vince, Hank, and Annabelle."

"O... OK.." Luna said softly, "Thank you."

"Just drive safe, I'll see you when you get here." When she got off the phone with Luna, Mindy headed for Annabelle and Vince, "White Rabbit is en route, they had some personal issues pop up. I told them I'd go ahead and set them up in the apartment. Give them a week to catch their breath. Is that alright?"

"Of course," Annabelle said with a small smile. "Is she OK?"

Mindy looked worried, "She caught her fiance cheating, so she's on her way now. I'm glad she walked away, cheaters always cheat. She's got a new number too, I think she ghosted."

Annabelle closed her eyes, the memory of her first trip to Minneapolis washing over her, "I know the feeling. Yes, give her a few days, and let her know that my office is always open."

~~ Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2073 ~~

She pulled into the apartment complex, rested her forehead on the steering wheel of the rental, and took a slow, deep breath. She hopped down and headed for the door of the apartment, then smiled as Mindy appeared, "It's a pleasure to meet you in person," she offered tiredly.

"I'm glad you made it," Mindy said, then promptly handed her a set of keys. "Let's get you moved in. Now you said you didn't have a car?"

"Never needed one," she offered. "I'll probably buy one here because you get that white, cold stuff."

"OK, well, we can talk to Hank about you two carpooling if we need to." Mindy offered.

"I... don't want to be any trouble," she replied softly, her face falling slightly and she hugged herself. "I've got my bike, and I can get a small car."

"OK, how about we get you moved in, then I'll follow you to turn the truck in, then bring you back here?"

"That would be appreciated."

It didn't take them long to get her stuff moved in, Luna was quiet and slightly sad. After they turned in the truck, Mindy decided to take her for food and picked up ice cream to help her. Mindy started to chatter away, offering comfort in her own way.