Chapter 11: The Geek

Jane Cross

Monday 16, February 2015

09:26 Hours

Paris, France

"Alright, but be careful."

Jane hung up her phone as all around her the streets of Paris were already filled with cars. She had flown in two days ago, and only now did the reason she came was available. She entered a building and up the elevator she went, to the fifth floor. Her objective was room 509, where she knocked on the door. A rattling sound, like a lot of heavy objects clattering to the ground, was heard and the door opened a tiny bit. Through the crack Jane could see long blond hair and green, half-opened eyes.

"Hello, Beatrix." Jane waved her hand in an awkward salute.

"What do you want?" Beatrix Hobson said, angrily. "If you're selling something, I ain't buying it."

"Bea, it's me, Jane!"

"Hold on." Beatrix's head vanished and returned once more with glasses on. Upon seeing Jane, she cried out in glee and slammed the door shut. A rattle later and Beatrix was hugging her childhood friend. "It's so good to see you!"

"You too, Bea." Jane replied, equally thrilled.

"Well! Come on in, then!"

Beatrix Hobson, twenty one. A true genius, she grew up as the best friend of Jane and Joshua, but when they were still in school, she was finishing college. Soon, she was working full time and, eventually, moved to Paris. According to Beatrix, she moved to Paris to find the right French guy, but Jane always thought that was a lie. Her home was an utter mess, with books scattered all over the floor and any flat surface. An enormous desktop computer sat in the back, by a window covered with blinds. Several laptops stood open upon the table, and a half-eaten meal lay before an upturned chair.

"You really need to clean."

"Or get a French maid." Beatrix giggled. She shoved some books off of one of the chairs and gestured at it. "So! What brings you to my humble abode."

"I need information of some events that have occurred here in Paris. And, since I don't speak French, I require your services." Jane stated, knowing she couldn't afford beating around the bush.

"I'm a secretary-"

"Who got her bachelors' degree at the age of sixteen, and who currently has a Doctorate in Computer Engineering." Jane interrupted her. "I know you. No lock or password can keep you out."

"I dunno what you're talking about." Beatrix looked away, trying to appear innocent.

"Beatrix, please. I need your help."

"Fine..." Beatrix sighed. She could never refuse Jane. "But you'll owe me one, you understand?"

"With pleasure."

"Alright then. What do you need?" Beatrix stood and stomped to the desktop.

"Information concerning the outbreaks in the USA; France; and Japan on the sixth of this month."

"Not a thing." Beatrix replied a few minutes later. "There was no such thing, according to the world's eye."

"Can you dig deeper?" Jane asked.

"Can French sound sexy? Of course I can." Beatrix replied, smirking. Several minutes afterwards, she said: "Bad news, sister. This information you're looking for is deep. Very deep."

"How deep is that?"

"So deep that I could- and most probably will- get killed if they find out I got to it." Beatrix turned to Jane. "I can get it, but before I do: Why do you want it?"

"I survived the outbreak in the USA. Soon, I saw the news saying it was a terrorist attack. That caught my attention, so I searched up the intel I could without digging too deep. Turns out two other 'terrorist attacks' happened at roughly the same time in both Japan and France." Jane explained. "This clearly points out that there was no way the whole thing was a coincidence. So, I dug about and narrowed the terrorist attack in France to Paris. That brought me to you."

"Cute story. But, why do you want to run headfirst into this? What's your motivation?"

"Joshua gave up himself completely to the military so that I and the other survivors could be freed." Jane stated. "I won't stop until I find the truth about this because my job is to do so, and because Joshua's freedom stands in the balance."

"That's good enough for me." Beatrix smiled softly. "You've always had a deep devotion to each other." A the screen suddenly turned into a long document, and Beatrix turned her attention to it: "Well, it says here that there were survivors. No surprise, you're here, and so is Greg. Is he still afraid of clowns?"

"You did frighten him good, back then." Jane giggled. "Anyway, any survivors from Paris?"

"Yes. Three people. A family, as a matter of fact."

"Can you dig up their address?" Jane asked, standing.

"That's the one." Beatrix pointed at the screen, where the address of the family was clearly stated.

"Text it to this number." Jane said, handing her childhood friend a slip of paper. "Now, it's time to do what I was raised to do."

"Good luck. And, be careful."

Jane and Beatrix bid each other farewell, and Jane went on her way. Beatrix texted the number the address, then went to the Desktop and began to work, making sure there would be nothing left to trace back to her; or Jane. If Beatrix knew one thing, was that Jane was getting into some deep trouble. And she wasn't going to allow her friend to go through it alone. So, making sure her tracks were gone, she shut down her desktop, bagged a laptop, and dashed out of her apartment.