Chapter 10

  Solomon sat on the edge of Luna's bed in shock. He wasn't sure what to think. It's one thing for her to try to steal government files, and another thing if she actually does it! If they find out what she did, then we'll go to prison for years! He knew it was his brotherly duty to reprimand Luna for her heinous actions. But... he'd never really been one for reprimanding, and plus, he was almost dying of curiosity. That is, if one could actually die from curiosity. "How'd you pull it off?" he asked, feeling breathless for more than one reason. His chest tightened in anxiety, but he was also thrilled to be living in what seemed like a spy movie. "I saw the USB get smashed right in front of us. There's no way you could've recovered anything from it!"

  "And yet I did." Luna turned and tapped the USB Cache icon with one finger. "That particular USB was enhanced, and had the capability to sync to its unique cache - the one on my computer - as long as it has access to Wi-Fi. It even connects to private networks without needing the passwords. However, the network in the research facility was completely wired, so I had to connect to the network through Dr. Fischer's computer." Luna looked off into the distance with a wistful look. "It was my favorite USB. I got it off of the black market for only fifty dollars from someone named Riley." Her gaze hardened. "And then those brutes just go and stomp on it like it's a worthless piece of junk."

  Solomon gave his sister a skeptical look. "Could we go back to the part where you bought this USB off of the black market?! That's so dangerous! What if it had a virus on it that destroyed your computer? Or if it was secretly a bomb and it blew up our house?"

  Luna waved away his concerns. "Please, it's nothing like that. It's a legit website for people who want to sell stuff secretly. You have to pay a subscription just to see what's being sold. It took me ages to find it. I had to dig through social media groups for any mention of it, and even then, I only heard rumors. Trust me, it's fine."

  Solomon sighed. I'll never be able to change her mind about this one. She's as stubborn as they come. It's one of the few things we have in common. "I'll take your word for it. If you went to all the trouble to get these files, we might as well read them, right?"

  "Absolutely." She clicked on the S.A.M. Initiative folder, and one eyebrow lifted. Solomon glanced at the screen and saw only a single file in the entire folder. Its name was "Promotion," and, strangely enough, it was a PNG file, which meant it was an image of some sort.

  "Huh. That's weird." Luna double-clicked the file, and a small box popped up with the words "Please enter password" and a spot to type in the password.

  Solomon scowled in frustration. "Well, I guess that's it. This is impossible." He was rewarded with a sound he had rarely ever heard - the sound of Luna's laughter. He was pleasantly surprised that she was in a humorous mood for once but also very confused. "What's so funny?"

  She shook her head in amusement. "I just find it funny that you would give up so quickly. Plus, you make the most ridiculous expressions when you're frustrated." She rifled in one of her desk drawers and grabbed a pitch-black USB with a white snake icon on it. She plugged the USB into her computer, and a tab sprang into view, saying, "Welcome to Viper! (Created by Riley) What do you want to hack?"

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  Solomon let out a groan and looked at his siter in disappointment and worry. "Please don't tell me this is another black market purchase..."

  "Fine, I won't tell you, then. Would you relax just a little? It's not as big of a deal as you think it is." Luna clicked a few buttons, and Viper got to work at hacking the PNG file. A minute passed, and then the "Please enter password" box turned green and disappeared.

  "I gotta say, this Riley guy sure knows his stuff," Solomon commented. Even though it came from the black market, he was impressed with the Viper USB. But only slightly.

  "Her stuff," Luna corrected, maximizing the PNG file once it appeared. "Riley is a girl."

  Deciding against asking his sister how she knew that - and partly afraid of the answer - Solomon turned his gaze to the image. From what he could tell, it was a screenshot of an email. The list of recipients at the top was blacked out, but the rest of the message was visible. According to the date, it had been sent around twelve years ago. The subject was "Staff Announcement." The rest of the email said this:

  To whom it may concern, that is, to everyone who has received this correspondence,

  The purpose of this email is not a generic staff announcement, as you might think based on the subject line, but to inform you of an update to our department. Some of you might've heard of the Quasi Quartet, an independent group of super-humans. The government has grown wary of their fast-rising popularity and fears that more super-humans will emerge from the shadows. If this happens, and some of those super-humans choose to turn to filthy crime, we will have no way to fight them.

  And now I reach the point of this email: Effective immediately, you are all part of a new sub-division of our department, called the Super-human Activities Monitoring Initiative (S.A.M. Initiative for short). Your task will be to monitor all of the Quasi Quartet's actions, keep an eye out for troublesome super-humans, and also conduct the research necessary for the government to acquire its own super-human agent(s). The exact execution of this task, however, it entirely left up to you. Igor Igna will be the head of Operations, and Dr. Fischer will be the head of Research and Development. You will all receive information regarding your particular role in S.A.M. within a few business days.

  This email is confidential. Please delete after reading.

  That was it. That was the whole email. Solomon squinted at the screen as if that would make another email magically appear. "Dr. Fischer must've wanted to remember his promotion," he remarked to Luna. "He had to delete the email himself, but he took a screenshot of it first."

  Luna nodded absentmindedly. Wordless, she pointed to the signature at the bottom of the email.

  Signed,

  Derek Miller, Secretary of Authority

  Solomon's jaw dropped. It took several long moments before his brain could register anything other than pure shock. Silence permeated Luna's bedroom. But this... this means... Derek is Magnus Miller's dad. How is that even possible? Derek is super nice! How did his son turn out to be such a jerk?

  Solomon and Luna looked at each other. Neither knew what to make of the situation, nor what this revelation implied. then the delicious smell of lasagna drifted in from underneath the locked door, and Mrs. Peterson called them down for dinner.