Special Agent 2: The Dark Soldier

Chapter 31

McGee sighed, biting his lip as he ran through the coding file for the Blackout Interface. Although he had finished his assigned part of the coding, Gibbs had sent him back to his office to retrieve all the data concerning the project from his computer.

The problem is, McGee didn't have all the data for the project.

Inserting a USB drive into the computer's port, McGee began saving the work he had done on the code, continuing to chew his lip. Despite the fact that this was his office, his computer, he still felt like he didn't belong in here.

That might have been because he was covertly stealing SHIELD data, though.

Now that he came to think of it, that was probably exactly what it was.

"I need more," McGee muttered to himself, watching as the file saved. He popped the USB drive out. "This isn't enough to figure out what's really going on."

A knock sounded on the door and McGee started, glancing up as a brown, curly head poked around the door as it was pushed open. "Oh, hey, McGee."

"Hey, Kahan," McGee said as he recognized his boss. "Do you need anything?"

"Actually, I do," Joshua Kahan said, shoving the door the rest of the way open and leaning against the frame. The SHIELD agent heading the coding project was short and skinny, having strong facial features and green eyes. "Can I have a copy of the code you finished for Pierce's project? We need a backup copy."

Caught off guard, McGee was quiet for a moment before replying, "Sure. Just give me a second to download it to a USB drive." He waggled the one he had just saved in the air, showing it to Kahan, and inserted it back into the computer's port, going through the motions of opening the file and saving it to the drive again.

After what felt like a long minute, he pulled the USB drive out and tossed it to Kahan. "There you are."

"Thanks, McGee," Kahan said, tucking the USB drive into his pocket. "See you." He turned and walked away, leaving McGee's door open.

But he wasn't heading back to his office – rather toward the exit from the coding wing.

Hastily, McGee searched around in his drawers for a spare USB drive. When he finally found one, he slipped it into the port and went through the process of saving the code yet again, before closing his computer down. A slight smile played about his lips as an idea struck him.

I know how I can gain access to the rest of the project.

McGee closed his eyes, calling to mind Kahan's password from the crumpled sheet of paper he had destroyed after using his boss' computer the last time. Something to do with the world....World_Over? No, there were caps, and a number.

With the USB drive in his pocket, McGee left his office, closing the door behind him. He glanced in the direction Kahan had gone and saw no sign of the agent. Touching the gun at his belt, McGee began to walk down to Kahan's office, still mulling over the password.

WORLD_Over something. What was the number at the end?

When you think about it, that's a really pessimistic password.

McGee reached Kahan's office, covered his fingers with the cuff of his jacket, and tapped in the code to unlock the door. Still using his sleeve, he opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him.

"All right," he muttered. "Let's do this."

McGee took a seat, taking two thin plastic gloves from his pocket and tugging them on. He didn't want to take the chance of leaving any fingerprints behind. Turning Kahan's computer on, he waited for the password screen to open.