Virtually Innocent

A Name

"What does that mean?" Anthony barely keeps his voice down as he asks for clarification.

Coder 001 repeats the same words, Harper doesn't exist.

"I need more than that," Anthony growls lowly from the deepest part of his throat. He doesn't care how many short sentences it takes. He expects an explanation. They must know because Coder 001 does send several messages back-to-back.

Harper doesn't exist online.

There's no record of her.

She has only been documented-

-for the last 3 years.

That is all I know for now.

"Any theories?" he asks, trying to rack his own brain for possible explanations.

Hadn't she said that she has done something like this before? Harper mentioned that she'd done the sneaking around and gathering information prior to this job. Is she an undercover agent? Maybe she's actually a criminal herself. It could explain why she trusts a convicted murder – regardless of her belief that he is innocent.

Coder 001 has a different thought, Witpro maybe.

Anthony had heard it before, but the full words come quickly, Witness protection.

"Do you really think so?" Anthony only asks because he wouldn't have ever arrived at that conclusion himself. Honestly, he kind of thought witness protection in the way of creating an entirely new identity was not real. Feels like it belongs it movies, as far as he was thinking.

Coder 001 practically reads his mind, though, Only for serious cases.

Just as Anthony is thinking that he'll just ask Harper about it directly, Coder 001 tells him not to do exactly that. If she is a 'plant' for any reason, it would tip her off how much he knows now, while also putting Coder 001 at risk. Although, he does remind Anthony that they have to pretend there's not threat until they have good reason to believe that there is not one. Anthony knows how that game gets played. Basically, they're trying to keep a poker face with the uncertainty surrounding Harper's background.

Harper's past wasn't the only reason that Coder 001 popped into the virtual reality environment to chat with Anthony. They were able to track the vehicle to the person they suspected it belonged to and had managed to get the GPS tracking history information. Coder 001 uploaded the file folder for Anthony to review. While it loaded, though, Coder 001 stressed the importance that Harper hears none of this information.

They insisted, This is between us until its time.

"Not a word," Anthony agrees. Without knowing for certain what Harper's reason for 'not existing' further back than three years, she has to stay focused only on the information she has access to and the thread that she's pulling on separately from Coder 001. He'll have to return to the practice of half-truths if she asks about Coder 001's efforts to help with his case.

Before leaving, Coder 001 added an additional message, You'll know him.

Even being warned this doesn't prepare Anthony for the realization he is facing when he opens the new file folder. He learns that the black crossover with tinted windows belongs to Officer Sean Callum-Smith. Anthony recognizes his name immediately because he was the first responding officer. He was at the site within minutes of the call. He was also the officer that interviewed and interrogated him every – single – time.

Fury is bubbling in his lungs. The picture is getting clearer in his mind already. Annalise had said that she couldn't report him. She had been adamant that he would know if she went to the police. Whenever he tried to convince her to just get a restraining order, she insisted it would only make things worse for her. Anthony understands now that what she was trying to tell him – the man that was abusing her was a cop.