Rise of the Transgenics by J.S. Frankel Page B

Russia. A scientist
changed me, and my boyfriend’s been trying to change me back. But
first, I have to know who’s been behind two other people like me,
and that’s why we’re here.”
    “Two other people...”Maze started to say, and
then her eyes widened. “The news reports!” she exclaimed and
snapped her fingers. “I heard about it when I was at university
this morning, but I thought it was all bogus...and now you’re here.
It’s all...it’s all true.”
    “Yeah, there are monsters walking around,”
Anastasia stated entirely without sarcasm. “And I need to find out
who’s making them.”
    For a moment, it seemed as though Maze was
deciding whether to chuck it all or go through with it, as her
hands fluttered around the keyboard. Harry held his breath and
hoped she’d come through for them. One second, then two, and then
two more passed, and with a sharp exhalation of breath, Maze
hunched over the buttons, furiously typing in some commands and
soon the screen lit up. “I’m ready,” she proclaimed.
    While Harry breathed out an audible sigh of
relief, Jason’s face wore a look of pride. “After she got kicked
out of school, she went to the Board of Education and apologized.
She promised not to do it again.”
    “And of course I did,” Tina said, her fingers
dancing over the keys at light speed. “But I don’t use it to steal
money. I’ve got ethics, okay? I mean, outside of computer
programming, I’m also studying economics. Make the system work for
you.”
    Jason stifled a brief laugh and offered a
little more information. “She got her nickname because she can
navigate any firewall trap, program, and system there is. “If she
wanted, she could hack into the Pentagon or the Kremlin tomorrow
and crash their systems.”
    “I’d do it, too, but they don’t serve
chocolate in prison,” she mumbled. Her mouth was now full of the
sweet stuff, and a tiny river of chocolate dribbled down her lip
before she hastily wiped it away and asked, “So what am I looking
for?”
    “We need you to run a check on a private
company called ASR, Advanced Systems Research,” Harry said, gazing
around the room, totally astounded by the vast array of computers
and software. This place was seriously wired.
    “They made some kind of deal with the FBI and
funded some research, but I need to know if they have any ties to
foreign companies or are doing anything unusual, like paying out
unnecessary expenditures or having links to foreign
governments.”
    “Piece of cake,” she replied. “Give me ten
minutes.”
    Like a pianist about to play a symphony, she
raised her arms and started to pound on the keys, but lightly,
gently, almost reverently, and as she played, the magic began to
happen. Numbers and diagrams and screens flashed and disappeared
like a meteor shower of data. After eight minutes of continuous
work interrupted only by her snatching chocolate from the bag with
a lightning fast hand, she leaned back in her chair and gave her
verdict. “I got nothing.”
    “What?” Harry exclaimed, starting out of his
seat. “You found—”
    “Nothing,” she repeated, and sagged down,
voice weary as if the sugar rush had suddenly dissipated. “ASR is
what it says it is. I went through the mainframe of its database,
went through all the levels searching for something like what you
wanted, and came up with zilch. I’m not an accountant—yet—but
according to their official documents, every expenditure has been
accounted for, all the personnel check out—at least on the
surface—and they have no ties to any foreign government.”
    “I don’t suppose you could find out if they
have any hidden programs...” Harry started to say.
    She speared him with a look that made him
feel worse than dumb. “If you’re talking about ghost drives, I
checked for them. If they are there, then someone else is
holding them on another computer. All I know is what you asked me
to find. I’m not a mind-reader, you know. If