Leela's Safehouse
Undisclosed Location
21:10 1-8 YC115
Leela leaned back in her seat down in the familiar confines of her safehouse. Ryven insisted that she remain here, but, she had finally gotten out for an evening the night before. He wasn't exactly around to stop her, and frankly, she deserved a little outing every now and then.
Tonight, however, she had more work to do. In order for Ryven's operation to succeed, it was crucial that his records, tarnished as they were, be replaced with cleaner ones. She had been busy for roughly six hours building a history, a false history, of Ryven's relationship with the Caldari State. She wondered why he hadn't just done this in the first place rather than entangle himself in a system of blackmail and extortion. Probably because Ryven doesn't think that way.
Her fingers flew over her data terminal as she put the finishing touches on his file. The tricky part, she knew, was coming. Well, relatively speaking. It actually wouldn't be that difficult. After the main network defenses were breached, accessing and overwriting his file would be quite quick and easy.
As she went about the task of overcoming the network security, she began thinking about the events of the past year. It had been a long year. She had lost her first and only love, Ryven, to his unfortunate obsession with Shalee. She had been kidnapped and tortured by her own brother, and then rescued by Ryven. She had been shut away in this little hidey hole for months, because of Ryven and his obsession with Shalee. Seriously, she needed to move on with her life, didn't she? But, what should she do with herself? The bar scene seemed like a bad idea, though it could be fun. Maybe she could go with Shalee? She scowled in disgust at herself. Here she was considering hanging out with the woman she lost her husband to.
She definitely needed to get back out into the world, though. The only way to do that would be to redefine her relationship with Ryven, and actually get over him for real. She had always clung to the hope that he would one day come back to her. She was realizing that this just wasn't going to happen, and honestly, she wasn't sure she wanted it to. She didn't want to be second place. She wanted a man who put her first.
A comms terminal next to her chirped. She had an incoming call. This puzzled her. She identified the caller and smiled. It was Zhou Liang. She liked Zhou. He was a friendly guy for a spook. Well, she thought so anyway, though it's hard to tell with double agents. When a person builds two lives of lies it's impossible to really be sure you know anything about them. Even for a snoop like Leela, sorting fact from bullshit would be nearly impossible. Still, he had been very friendly the few times she had spoken with him. Maybe he could be a friend. She decided to answer the call.
"Hello." She answered.
"Hey, Leela. Thought I'd call and check in on the progress." Zhou sounded cheerful, but tired.
"About 90% complete. New file should be in place in the next thirty minutes." She replied, her voice sounding exhausted, even to her.
"You're doing a good thing, Leela. Ryven appreciates it, even if he doesn't seem like it."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he does." She thought for a moment before adding. "How are you holding up?"
Zhou looked surprised on the video display. "Nice of you to ask. I'm worried about him, a little. And you. I'm going to have a talk with him soon about the current arrangement. I'll ask if I can stay there with you for a while. It's not good to be shut in like that. You need some company."
Leela was very surprised by the offer. Her cheeks flushed a little, but she fought it down. "I'm perfectly alright. You guys shouldn't worry about me so much."
"Leela, I spent five months locked in a tiny hole in the dark. I nearly went mad. I kept myself sane by reliving conversations from my past. People need other people."
Leela had to agree with the logic. "Okay. I'll admit I could use some company." She smiled a little bit. "Do you think Ry will go for it?"
Zhou shrugged. "Can't see why not. He's supposed to be protecting both of us. Seems like what's safe for you would be safe for me."
Leela nodded, suddenly excited by the idea of having a roommate. An attractive roommate at that. True, his looks were the result of extensive genetic and surgical modifications, but aesthetics were always manufactured, were they not? "Alright. Here's hoping." She looked back at her terminal, seeing that she had broken through the security programs. "I gotta let you go, Zhou. It's game time."
Zhou nodded. "Take care, Leela. See you soon."
She nodded and waved and ended the call, turning back to her work, beginning the overwrite process. From here it was fire and forget, so she leaned back and locked her fingers together behind her head, staring at the ceiling. Maybe this year will be different... she thought as she drifted off.
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