Starring:
Summary: Some time after leaving Cass and Lachlan's, Niki drops by Micah's school. Micah's special skills are soon to come in handy even more — but what Niki and Micah don't realize is that their timing may be all wrong.
Date It Happened: May 16th, 2008
It's Technology
Private School
New York City
The school bell rings, alerting students everywhere to grab their backpacks and flee; it's a beautiful late afternoon outside, almost nearing evening as school lets out finally. The bell is still reverberating in everyone's ears, down the halls of the private school, as a woman who can only be a parent (since she's certainly no teacher) whisks toward the door of a certain classroom just in time. Niki steps out of the way as the door swings open and, with a definite air of seriousness about her, waits for Micah. Rarely is that a good sign.
Yes! End of the day! Probably the best time for Micah since he usually has schoolwork for the day done by first period. When the bell sounds, the boy grabs his backpack and starts towards the door like the other kids. "Mom?" he questions, as he passes through the door and notices her standing there. "What's wrong?" It really never is a good sign when she meets him at school.
Serious or not, big important things on the horizon or not, Niki breaks into a sunny smile on seeing her son. "Hey," she says, warm, a hand going for his shoulder as she steps beside him. And then the urgency starts to seep through. She guides Micah off to the side of the hall. "Remember— what we talked about? With the labs and the computers?"
"Yeah…" Micah nods, as he's guided off to the side. It doesn't take long before the hallway is nearly empty. End of the day will do that to a school. The topic brought up is one of concern for the boy, since he has been working constantly on the systems.
Niki glances around the increasingly empty hallway before turning her somber expression down on the not-quite-teenaged boy. "I think it has to happen soon," she says in a tone of voice that strong suggests it does have to happen soon rather than 'I think'. "It's getting bad over there and— we might be running out of time."
Micah waves to one of his friends as they pass by, though he is still listening. "How soon?" he asks, turning those deep eyes back upwards at his mom. "If I've cleared the last hurdle, we're in the zone to win." he adds, trying to keep the lingo at a level where anyone who might overhear doesn't know what they're talking about.
Niki's answer is pretty simple 'n' to the point. "Soon." Vague, too, but the urgency says it all. "After you went to school this morning, I went to see Kory," she explains. She eyes the length of the corridor for a moment, and seeming to figure no one can hear them now, goes on. "And she seems to think that… the stuff the labs are working on? It worked."
Oh snap! And Micah's face shows that. "If it worked, mom, then that means we have to act quickly." he says, glancing down the hallway as well. "When we get home, I'll start up right away. Is Kory alright?"
"She's fine," Niki assures Micah quickly. Honestly, Kory rambling about a bus and the formula was all kind of hard to follow, but Pinehearst being Pinehearst, she's inclined to believe her. She starts to stride down the hall, but stops suddenly, looking down at her son. "Are you sure they can't figure out where it came from if you do it at home?" See, she was listening when Micah was talking about tracking IPs and stuff!
Micah lets a visible sign of relief wash over his face for a moment. Starting to following, but also then stopping as she does, Micah nods his head quickly. "It's not one hundred percent. It can be isolated down to a state…but not our actual house or person." he explains, shaking his head. "But I've managed to get a list of twenty different routers in eight different countries. By the time they get the paperwork done to secure the router logs, it'll be all over." Not to mention, he could wipe traces if necessary.
Niki seems reassured by her genius son, a similar sign of relief washing over her face. She picks up pace again, trekking down the hall. "I have a feeling they don't care about paperwork." Still, the State of New York versus Pinehearst sounds good enough. She turns down the stairs that lead to the front doors. She's determined to fish her phone out of her purse at the same time, flipping it open and dialing the second it's in her hands.
"I kinda figured they wouldn't." Micah agrees, turning up a crooked grin towards his mom. It's certain she's seen that look before, usually when Micah's holding back a trick or two up his sleeve. As they walk, he fishes his own phone out of his pocket. It's not even opened, but the display on the front comes to life with two letters. OK.
Niki meets that little smirk of Micah's with one of her own — knowing and curious at the same time, because as much as she trusts Micah's ability to do the impossible, she has no idea what they are. Or how he comes up with it. Bright sun greets the pair as Niki elbows one of the heavy double doors open; meanwhile, she's met with no answer on the phone. "Cass, call me as soon as you get this," she leaves voicemail and, with a faintly irritated expression, snaps the phone shut en route to the street where her car is parked. "She's still inside. I don't want her there when this happens."
Micah's eyes blink in the bright sunlight, as he continues to follow out of the building. "You want me to try?" he asks, figuring he has alternate ways to get through to people who don't answer by normal channels. Oh look, there's the car!
Midway through shoving her phone back in her purse, coming to a halt by the dark sedan (courtesy of Pinehearst, ironically), Niki quirks a more curious look at Micah. "…I don't get it," she readily admits, but hands the cell over anyway. "If she's not answering…"
"Trust me mom…" Micah grins, accepting the cell phone. flipping it open, the display seems to dance alive with colors and words while Micah seems clearly focused on it. On the display, test appears…
Connection established…
Activating wireless…
MAC Proximity search…
Closest MAC…0012:55ED:CA97
Another moment goes by as Micah closes his eyes for a moment and then the screen reads…
Terminal message sent…
Connection terminated…
"There. She'll have a message on the computer she's working on telling her she needs to leave the building." he says, grinning as he offers the phone back.
As Micah works his techno magic, Niki plucks a parking ticket off her windshield with a vaguely annoyed scowl — it's fleeting, 'cause well, she has more important things to worry about. Peeking back in time to see the last of the messages on the phone and take it back, looking down at it — now that it's just a phone again — with a bewildered expression before smiling. "That's crazy," she says … but it sounds like a compliment! "Thanks." Niki unlocks the doors and slides into her seat around the other side.
Micah beams a smile across the car as he slides into the passenger seat. "It's not crazy, mom…." he starts, fastening his own belt around him. "…it's technology." The last is said with a quirked smile.