The Enigma Gamers - A CATS Tale

“Jim, this is the last of the items to be cleaned.” She stood up and handed the sensor to him inside the white cloth. She stretched out the kinks and then removed the biohazard suit as she reached the side of the clean-up area. Once free of the suit, she stretched as she walked around a bit.

Jim watched with appreciation as she moved and unkinked herself, showing off a bit of skin. He thought about how much they needed rest and then more about how he needed her. Even though he still worked for the agency, he liked that they were living together in her apartment in Europe at least part of the time. When on-site they managed a delightful hotel room, when they were able to see it. He connected the last device into their mockup area.

“Hey, Mercy, when you are done trying to grow taller, we can start getting some of the residual data off these devices. Then we can try your simulations scenario. I am going to isolate the area you worked in, just in case any of these things go wonky.”

Mercedes smiled and replied, “I know, I know, I won’t ever be any taller, but at least I will feel a bit stretched out. I do so like that nickname.

“Let me get the scanners and start connecting to these sensors so I can review all the data remaining. I know at first glance they looked clean, but I want to consolidate the information and then review the entire data table. It is definitely a long shot.”

She began to connect and probe each of the sensors and selected, then copied, all the data that remained on the sensors. These devices were designed to send detailed analytics to be monitored and reviewed by master programs. As a part of the design then, the analytics programs provided information based on the rules for things like general maintenance of components they were attached to, proximity data for what was near, completed steps, and anything else the automated programming allowed.

As the data was collected, she’d had a program she had designed that selected various portions of the data she had deemed relevant to the situation, and it was analyzed for her review. She would be able to drill down into the data summarization, but this would help provide effective guidance for that review. This was a routing she’d used in field assignments when she worked with Jim to plan routes to travel, heat sources that were potentially not friendly, and other resources available. As Jim had mentioned, it was one of her skills. It was also how he had gotten his handle Stalker originally, as he was able to move undetected with the uncanny ability to foresee any condition.

All of the items had been scanned, and she reviewed the data provided by her program.

Jim asked, “Do you want me to set up the simulation scenario now?”

Mercedes was focused on her screen, reading the outputs from the analysis, as she absentmindedly replied, “Sure, but don’t start them until Chuck and Sean return. I think I see some viral code that simply doesn’t belong here. I want to show it to Chuck before we take the next step. As an added precaution, I want to launch a wireless protocol analyzer to see if we can trap any poisonous commands coming or going over the airways. With so much wireless technology in play here, we need to trap on all possible avenues of communications.”