Hidden Enemies | The Prime Archives #2 ✓

ten

"What're we doing in here?" Kai asked as she and Emily entered The Watchtower. "Any why'd you bring Chase along?" She flashed him an apologetic glance. "Not that I don't mind your company."

The blonde chuckled at her. "It's cool. I was wondering the same thing."

Emily passed by a few agents who were lazily peering at the rows of illuminated displays in front of them. The low hum of server boards and a coffee maker operated in the background, providing a welcomed break to the monotone noises of keyboard taps and mouse clicks.

Grinning, she turned around and faced her two companions. "We're here to find dirt on Crane. I know he's up to something."

Kai slumped her shoulders. "Em, it's late. Can't we do this another time?"

"I'm with your girlfriend on this one, Emily," Chase said while rubbing his eyes. "I still need to hit the infirmary before I go to bed."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Emily blurted out with reddened cheeks. She cautiously peeked at Kai, who simply frowned at her. "This won't take long. I know there's something somewhere about Crane. We're in the best place to find it."

"Yeah, yeah," Kai said. "Just hurry up. I'm tired."

"Same here."

Emily rolled her eyes at both of them. She would've thought they'd be more excited to take down Senator Crane. After all, they both agreed that something was off about the man. Why weren't they more excited?

Shaking her head, she flitted over to an empty workstation and powered on the computer.

A year and a half ago, she and Andre had snuck into The Watchtower in order to access the massive reach Atlas' security and intelligence unit possessed. Now they were allowed inside without any restrictions. Though, an agent did have to block a few sites due to questionable search histories from Zach and Angus.

"So, what exactly are we looking for here?" Chase asked. He hovered behind the chair Emily sat behind with Kai barely paying attention at his side. "Past conversations? Encrypted emails?"

"Maybe we should start small," Kai suggested. She shrugged. "How about a news report?"

"I like her idea better," Emily said. She quickly typed Alastair Crane's name into the search bar and waited for the results to load. In less than two seconds, a dozen headlines paired with highlighted hyperlinks appeared on the screen. "Huh. He's got a lot of articles about him."

Behind her, Chase leaned over her and pointed at the second one from the top. "What's that one about?"

Scowling, Emily shrugged him off of her shoulder. "Move, you big blond oaf."

"Em, be nice," Kai urged.

Emily ignored her and clicked on the link Chase requested. A digital newspaper chronicling the failed mission in Moscow appeared on the screen. After skimming the first few pictures, and glossing over the images of burning buildings, she found out Crane had been present in Moscow during the battle.

"Huh." Kai scratched the top of her head. "That's...news. What was he doing in Moscow?"

"Says here he was on vacation with his wife," Emily said while squinting at the screen.

"Wife?" Chase frowned. "I didn't know he was married."

Emily nodded. Now that she was thinking about it, she hadn't heard any mention of the woman whenever Crane was being discussed on television. In fact, she didn't remember seeing a ring on his finger in any of his interviews. Then again, he was a politician. It wouldn't have been a surprise if he was just trying to keep her out the view of the public. Not everyone was cut out for the spotlight.