“Wait!” Ghost interrupted. “Are you saying that someone is hacking into your network?”
“Attempting to hack… Yes, but I’m good.”
“Do you know who it is?” Ivy asked.
“I’ve got it.” Byte said, not answering the question. She didn’t want them involved.
“Byte, you know that’s not going to fly with us. You play a role, a huge one, in all our lives. You’ve never asked for anything, not that we’d be able to purchase something for you. But support we gladly can give. Tell us what’s going on,” Voodoo pleaded.
“Fine! I swear you guys are a bunch of sad puppies looking for a pat on the head and a good boy. So, here’s the deal. For the past few weeks, I’ve found tweaks in my firewall. They weren’t major, but they were consistent. It was as if someone was testing the system for any signs of weakness… which there isn’t.”
“But?” Seven asked.
“Apparently, they had found a way to access my personnel file… or at least what I’ve created. There’s no real data in the files, nothing that would lead the person to ALIAS.”
“Where would it lead them?” Ivy asked.
“I don’t know yet.”
“How do you not know?” Carter asked.
“Because I’ve not developed it yet. I can, and will, lead this hacker where I want him. I’m just not sure where that is yet.”
“Do you know who the hacker is?” Falcon asked.
“Oh, I almost forgot you were even here,” Byte said to Tobey Faulkner, ALIAS’ newest hire.
“Well, I am. So who’s the threat?”
“He’s thirteen, an eighth grader… Kyle Higgins.”
Stunned silence was met with her intel.
“He’s a boy… a kid,” Carter said.
“No duh, CC. He’s a skinny little boy trying to make a name for himself… or better yet, live up to the one he’s given himself.”
“Which is?” Aria asked.
“YottaByte.”
“Okay, you’re going to have to tell us what that means,” Ivy stated.
Before Byte could answer, Ghost informed the group. “It’s a storage—computer storage—size. Only, it’s the largest one to date. Just like GigaByte was years ago.”
“So he’s the new and improved you,” Falcon asked.
Byte stared over at the former CIA agent and growled. “I’m not sold on you, yet. You tried to screw over my friend, and I don’t take that as a recommendation.”
“I know that, Byte. What was happening to Julia and Jacob was horrible. I was doing my job, only shadowing them. What the director was doing was illegal, which was why I left the CIA. Trust me, I didn’t want anything to happen to Julia or her brother. They are good people.”
And they were good people. Julia, who’s hacker handle was Turbo, was at the time raising her eight-year-old brother after her father’s death and her mother’s dependency on drugs took control. To help afford the responsibility, Turbo dabbled in a little hacking. It was during one of her jobs that she discovered a kill list from the CIA that included some of their active employees, as well as some civilians. On that list was Ivy, Ghost, Steve, and Ethan from ECP. Thankfully, ECP’s hacker, Blaze, followed the threat and was able to protect the targets and was instrumental in having charges brought against the CIA director. Byte knew Falcon, Tobey’s call name, hadn’t been aware of the director’s intentions, or the kill list, but Byte still had a sore spot when it came to his role in the conspiracy, if for no other reason than loyalty to her friends.
“Let’s get back to the minor. How much intel has he gathered?” Ghost asked.
“He knows I’m a girl and that I live in Texas. Other than that, I don’t believe he has anything else.”
“What do you want us to do?” Ivy asked.