Penumbrials Ch. 00: First Contact

Adalet looked at Dormin. 'That's what happened with your laptop then, when it connected to the mobile network.'

'I think the operating system on this thing is made to penetrate any system via any form of communication. There are a myriad of connectors hidden under the small cover plates all over that thing. I suspect it might even draw power through them.'

Adalet leaned forward. 'Could that be the reason they came to Dormin's place? It somehow contacted them?'

Terry nodded. 'That's possible. It might be set up to contact home base each time it connects to some network. But I can't tell for sure until I can access it.'

Dormin put the portable on the table. 'Any idea how?'

'A hidden button, special gesture maybe. I haven't yet tried everything.'

'How about asking someone at Elecore?' The women looked at him. 'Try the direct approach.'

Adalet chuckled. 'That might just be it. If they have these things they're bound to know how they work.'

Terry nodded. 'I saw the name Ebo Bankole on a memo concerning network capacity. We might start there. I just need access to my computers.'

Adalet frowned a little. 'I'd guess they'd be watching all the streets by now around the store waiting for you to show up somewhere in the neighbourhood. You can't go home, and we can't go there either. They know our faces.'

Dormin shrugged. 'Then we'll just have to change our faces. It's not that hard to make a disguise. I can get into your place and bring back whatever you need after I get the items I need tomorrow.'

Terry nodded. 'I can tell you how to get into my place and what to bring back.'

'All right.' Adalet said. 'Let's get some rest in the meantime.'

Find and Lose

Dormin woke up with a start in his chair after a couple of hours. His heart beat faster than usual and he felt sweaty all over. The headache pounded while he pressed his hands hard against his head and took deep breaths. When it lessened after a while he went on to do his daily callisthenics strength routine. He pushed himself harder to push the pain away and ended up soaking with sweat.

Still feeling groggy he took a long cool shower which cleared up his head enough to start the day. He stepped out of the shower, picked up his boxer shorts and threw them in the hamper with Karl's last dirty laundry. Wearing that soaked thing again was no option. He'd take a look at Karl's old stuff.

The door to the bedroom was partially open. He peeked inside and saw Adalet and Terry were fast asleep in the dim light. The sheet they slept under only covered a little of their naked bodies, as far as he could think of Terry's furry body as naked. He didn't mean to but his gaze lingered on them both. So different, Adalet's smooth and tanned body, Terry's red-brown fur coat with a lighter front. Her hands, feet, muzzle, and the tip of her fluffy tail were black. He thought he saw a glimpse of a light pink nipple poking through the fur of her exposed small breast.

His trance was broken when Terry shifted position. He quickly went over to the closet, opened it as quietly as he could and held up the choice between boxer shorts and briefs.

'I think boxer shorts look better.'

Dormin looked back at Adalet quickly. She smirked sleepily at him. Terry moaned softly and rubbed her eyes. '..time to wake up already..?' she muttered. Adalet chuckled. 'Depends on whether you like what you see.' Terry blinked her eyes and saw Dormin putting the briefs back on the closet shelf. 'Ah.'

'Har-har.' he said as he put on the boxer shorts and grabbed a fresh shirt and socks out of the closet. 'I'm going to get something to eat for us at the convenience store. You just get back to sleep.'

Both Adalet and Terry grinned as he walked out of the bedroom and laid back down. Adalet's heart beat faster and she hoped he hadn't noticed her blush. Terry still grinned at the memory of his cute and tight behind. She had seen enough pictures on the grid over the years, but the real thing this close actually made her a little excited.

Dormin stepped into the convenience store while casually looking away from the security cameras. He picked up several packs of sandwiches and energy bars, a couple of regular t-shirts, pants, a coat, two large and two small bottles of liquor, and a make-up set before heading to the counter to pay.

'Oh, and three of those cheap mobiles.' he said as he gestured at the rack behind the clerk. 'The kids break them so easily.'

The clerk chuckled. 'Just like my nephew who needs a new mobile every few months.' he said and bagged the mobiles.

Dormin paid the clerk, went out the store and walked a bit down the street until he headed into an alley. A bit further down he found what he was looking for.

The homeless man looked up in a daze when Dormin nudged him and held out the clothes with the small bottle of liquor on top. 'I want to play a prank on a friend of mine. Care to trade your clothes for this?'

Dormin left the alley later with a foul smelling bag and headed back to Karl's place, picking up pre-paid mobile subscriptions on the way at two other places.

***

Dormin had just finished setting up the new mobiles when he heard one of the women go to the bathroom and turn on the shower. He walked over to the kitchen, laid out the packs of sandwiches and energy bars on the counter and prepared the coffee maker. Back in the chair he checked the news for any mention of the attack on his home or Adalet going missing. Nothing was found by the time Terry walked into the living area and the shower ran again for Adalet.

He gestured at the kitchen. 'There's something to eat if you're hungry.'

She looked at the sandwiches on the counter. 'Thanks. I lost my late night dinner during the fight.' she said and grabbed two packs and an energy bar. She ate one pack as she sat down in the chair opposite him and scrunched her nose. 'What's that smell?'

He tilted his head to the bag with the foul clothes. 'The way to get into your place without getting caught. You should make a list of what I need to take back.'

She nodded. 'There's only a few essential items.'

Adalet appeared a minute later and noticed the bag as well. 'You want to disguise yourself as garbage?'

He chuckled. 'Yes. Because who wants to look closely at that?'

She nodded. 'When do you want to go?'

'When it gets dark. It'll give me extra cover.'

She looked at the mobiles on the table. 'For us?'

He picked one up and tossed it over to her. 'I've set them up already.'

She activated it and opened the contact list. 'Amanda, Dave, and Tammy?'

'Our new contact names. Keeping it simple.'

Terry picked up one and checked its hardware. 'Mind if I upgrade them to a secure OS? These things leak data and it'll enable an array of software that could be useful.'

'Please, go ahead. Anything to give us an advantage.'

During the hour until it started to get dark Terry replaced the entire software on the mobiles while Adalet and Dormin found something to read from the small selections of Karl's books.

Dormin upturned the bag with the homeless man's clothes. 'Time to get changed.' He took off his shoes, pants, shirt, and heard whispering and giggling behind him. 'What?' he asked when he looked back at Adalet and Terry leaning back in their seats watching him intently.

Terry grinned at him. 'Oh, nothing. We were just hoping there was some appropriate music for the show.'

He shook his head and tried to ignore the smell while he dressed in the unwashed garments. For shoes he had taken a pair of old flat sneakers from Karl and dirtied them with motor oil and some paint he found in the garage. Adalet helped him apply make-up on his face to hide his features and mess up his hair.

He took the small bottle of liquor and put it in one of the coat pockets. 'They shouldn't recognise me now.'

Adalet hummed her approval. 'I like the look from this morning much more.' she said. Terry nodded in agreement.

He refrained from agreeing about what he saw that morning and pulled an old cap over his head. 'Let's just get this over with.'

***

Adalet parked the car at an underground car park far enough from Terry's place. Dormin stepped out, drank some of the liquor and spilled some down his front. Adalet leaned out the window. 'Be careful.'

He flashed her a grin. 'No worries, it's almost like the old days.'

The women saw him go to the ramp, then go forward with a light sway and stagger and disappear around the corner. Adalet sighed and leaned back in her seat. 'And now we wait.'

Dormin had gone a few blocks and was glad he pulled of the drunken look judging from the reaction of people passing him on the street. He turned the corner of the street close to Terry's place when he spotted the large black car parked between other cars on a barren lot between two buildings. A man in dark suit stood behind it, shook his arm and stepped back into the car.

Dormin grinned a little as he staggered past the car and saw two men in it with a glance. He continued his way, crossed the street, went down an alley and entered the back of the building where Terry lived.

It was quiet inside, he hurried up the stairs and staggered along the hallway past the door of Terry's apartment to the other end, then returned after he was satisfied no one was present. He went inside her apartment quickly and looked around.

Various computer cases stood in one corner, their contents spilling out of their open sides. A table held stacks of books and papers and a disassembled laptop. One corner was occupied with a couch, a low table with large screen on top, and three different gaming consoles underneath. At one wall stood a rack with large plastic bins containing electronic parts. Two of them contained laptops with bits and wires sticking out and large labels marked defects on the side. From these he pulled out the two laptops that Terry had instructed him to get, together with three power supplies. He took off the coat and sweater, taped the laptops and power supplies to his front and back, then dressed again and listened at the door for activity before slipping out and going back to the street.

For the way back he took a different route. One block further he saw two bulky men in plain jeans and jackets standing at the side of the street. They were looking around and one of them was smoking. He took another swig from his bottle and continued his walk, muttering to himself.

The one who smoked threw his cigarette away when Dormin passed them. 'Hey, you!'

Dormin kept walking and muttering until the other man grabbed him by his arm. 'Hey! Are you deaf!?'

Dormin swayed and rolled his eyes looking back at the man. The man held up a photo taken by a security camera of Terry. 'Have you seen this fox around here?'

Dormin put his face close to the photo for a moment and cackled. 'S'fox..? Or dog..?'

The man grabbed his arm harder and leaned closer to his face. 'Have, you, seen, this, fox!?'

Dormin swallowed and let out a long burp. The man pulled back in disgust and pushed Dormin away. He fell on the ground and groaned. 'D'you di that forr? S'not nice..'

'Get out of here!' the man said and waved him off.

Dormin staggered to his feet and muttered louder as he continued on his way. One block further he chuckled and staggered less to get to the car quicker.

At the back entrance to the car park he glanced around, moved inside and slipped in the back of his car. 'Got it. Let's go.'

Adalet started the car and drove onto the street.

***

Dormin was glad he could take off the dirty clothes back at Karl's place. Terry and Adalet peeled off the tape and Terry scrunched her nose at her laptops. 'Gross! I'll smell that for days!'

Dormin chuckled. 'Just be glad I didn't have to drag them through a sewer.'

'You might have as well.'

Adalet stashed the clothes back into the bag and brought it down to the garage while Terry wiped her laptops with a damp rag and Dormin hurried to take a shower.

When he returned after a good scrub he saw Adalet looking over Terry's shoulder while she was busy typing. 'You have everything you need?'

Terry nodded. 'With these I can crack the few wireless networks around here and use them to make a secure connection to servers I own at different data centres. From there I can go where I want.' She and Adalet grinned again as they watched him in nothing but his pants. 'That's better.'

He rolled his eyes and grabbed a glass and bottle of liquor from the kitchen. 'Don't ogle, you'll damage the merchandise.'

Adalet sat down. 'Seems we can't damage it more than it already is though. How'd you get that burn?'

Dormin poured himself a glass and took a drink. 'Mission that went wrong. Was lucky that I got away.' he said and looked at the pictures on the wall.

Adalet nodded and looked at Terry who was busy typing again. 'I found some info on Ebo Bankole. He's a software specialist at Elecore and specialises in communication protocols.'

Adalet leaned closer when Terry turned the laptop screen towards her and looked at the black man's picture on his company profile page. 'So he might be the one who knows how and where those portables connect to.'

Terry nodded while pulling up his personal page in a social space on the grid. 'He's married, has a young son, and it seems he's keeping in shape by jogging at a park near his house. Judging from the photos he does that in the evening.'

Dormin stretched his legs. 'Sounds like a good opportunity to have a chat with him tomorrow.'

Terry put her laptop aside and gave a nod to the bottle on the table. 'Since we'll have to wait that long anyway, let me have some of that.'

'I'll join.' said Adalet as she stood up and fetched glasses from the kitchen.

Terry played music through one of her laptops. Adalet let out a laugh and Terry looked puzzled at her. 'I'm suddenly reminded of the time I had to show up at some guy because his neighbour played loud music.' Adalet said. 'I rang and knocked on the neighbour's door but there was no answer. Thinking something might have happened I picked the lock and entered the house only to find no one there but a cat. I turned down the volume on the stereo and checked every room for the guy living there. When I came down I sat down to write a note.' She chuckled. 'While I was writing it I noticed the cat walking up to the stereo, it was on a low shelf, sniffing the front and and rubbing its cheek against the volume knob, turning it up until the music was too loud and it hurried away!' She chuckled and grinned. 'I turned down the volume and at that moment the guy came home, confused about what was going on. I told him what the cat had done. The guy groaned when he realised why. He was busy preparing fish and needed to get something from the store, turned down the volume on the stereo and left. He was so distracted he hadn't washed his hands and the volume knob smelled of fish!'

Terry and Dormin laughed and drank to that. More funny stories followed from all three and halfway the second bottle Terry gave up. She stared at Dormin, looked at Adalet who giggled, then back at Dormin again. 'How come you're not as drunk as us?'

He chuckled. 'For some reason I can't. I used to, and then I didn't get more than tipsy all of a sudden.'

'That's unfair. All the work but none of the pleasure.'

He laughed. 'Yeah, you could say that.'

Adalet chuckled. 'Some people are like that. And some can't handle even one drop of alcohol.'

'Well, I'm going to bed.' Terry said and pushed herself up from the chair. The next moment she fell forward. Dormin shot forward and caught her just before she hit the ground. She looked up at him in his arms. 'Whoops.'

Adalet giggled hard. 'My turn.' she said and pushed herself up from her chair. She was more careful and only swayed a little on her feet. 'Aww.. I don't need to be saved by the strong and handsome hero.'

Dormin lifted Terry up on her feet and supported her with one arm around her waist. Adalet took one step and stood still. 'I think I do need to be saved. The world is spinning too much.' She looked at Dormin. 'What the hell is in that stuff?'

'Something I'm not giving you two again.' he said and manoeuvred next to Adalet with Terry to wrap his other arm around her waist. 'I didn't think I'd have to put you to bed.'

Both women giggled while he led them to the bedroom. Adalet turned her head to whisper in his ear. 'Is that really a problem, taking two pretty women to bed?' He blushed and let the women down gently on the bed. Terry grinned at him. 'He doesn't get drunk, but he can turn red in the face.'

Dormin smiled and shook his head. 'Sleep tight, ladies. You can tell me how much you regret what you did when you wake up.'

Terry stuck out her tongue at him. 'Spoilsport!' she said and giggled.

Dormin gave them a little wave and headed back to he living area. Adalet let herself fall back on the bed and hid her face with her hands. 'Oh geez.. I can't believe I actually flirted with him. I've never done that before.'

Terry moved back and rolled on her side. 'Never?'

Adalet shook her head. 'Never. I don't know what's come over me.'

Terry giggled. 'Well, I must admit he's the first guy that caught my interest as well.'

Adalet looked at her between her fingers. 'You never dated before too?'

Terry started undressing while she laid back on the bed. 'I only had an interest in computers ever since I discovered those. Guys I knew tried to get close to me but I was just not into them. Thought maybe I was more interested in girls for a while but that wasn't it either.'

Adalet followed Terry's example and started undressing. 'Maybe it's just a temporary thing. Maybe we'll be over it in a few days.'

Terry dropped her clothes and shorts next to the bed and crawled under the sheet closing her eyes. 'Maybe. It's interesting though.'

Adalet moved under the other side of the sheet when she was done undressing, giggled once and closed her eyes. 'Yeah. Or weird.'

Dormin finished his drink and made himself comfortable in the chair. He didn't want to imagine what might have happened if he hadn't restrained himself and how much they might regret that later.

***

By the time Adalet and Terry had woken up and flushed most of the fog in their heads down the shower drain, Dormin had made a quick trip to another convenience store. He handed them both a hot mug of coffee with a little grin. 'And how are you doing now?'

Terry gave him a smile. 'Okay, actually. I don't really suffer from hangovers.'

Adalet grinned. 'I just need a little more time to really wake up.'

Dormin returned to his seat and his own coffee. 'Good, because who knows what will happen tonight when we visit Bankole.'

***

'This doesn't make much difference from hacking.' Terry said from the back of the car parked in the street where Ebo Bankole lived. 'Waiting for something to happen.'

Adalet chuckled. 'I'll call you next time there's a stake out.'

'As long as I get to use a computer.'

They were waiting on one of the small car parks. It was clear to them he did well for himself, the neighbourhood was made up of single stand alone three storey homes. The street was empty at this time. Seemed the people preferred to stay in their homes and stare at their big screens, judging from the views inside their living rooms. Trees lined up the street and the streetlights in between gave the street a relaxed atmosphere.

Adalet sighed at the thought of having one metre of empty space between her and her neighbours. 'This house here, your warehouse place, I'm only living a step better than Terry's apartment.'

Terry shifted in her seat. 'Actually, that's just to keep up appearances for my cover.'

Adalet leaned her head back against the headrest. 'Don't tell me you have some luxurious place in the country.'