REMEMBRANCE | an ejen ali fanfiction

07 | Trusting Shadows

This is not the first time he's encountered a MATA base that's gone into lockdown. It was nothing he had never seen before. Sure, some were peskier than the others, but this one in particular seemed like a tough nut to crack. Breaking their firewalls were never easy, but this time around the endless shields made it near impossible to penetrate from the outside.

It's strange. In the past, all he had to do was sit by a random vending machine or chair, pull some digital strings and he'd be in the clear, even if it did get him some strange looks from the occasional passerby. This time however, he couldn't pinpoint the exact location of this mainframe for the life of him.

If he had to make a wild guess, he'd even go so far as to say that this would be their main headquarters. The thought irritated, excited, and intrigued him all at once.

MATA was smart with their data. Most of the important information could only be accessed in their main HQ, where it was the centralized hotspot for agents all across the country.

All that knowledge, all their secrets, all that technology tucked away in a giant, unmovable CPU underground (or underwater) somewhere, just inches out of his reach...

His heart did leaps and soared over the moon by the sheer potential. The things he could do with them!

But the pages of literature homework on his screen killed his excitement almost instantaneously. Who had time for essays when he had a secret organization to infiltrate?

If Kheng walking into this restaurant like she owned the entire damn world didn't ruin his mood before, this certainly did.

Second day back here and he already runs into her. Out of 6 million people, 8000 km² worth of land in Cyberaya, he just happens to have the luck to be in the same coffee shop as her. If he ever gets into a debate on whether hell is real, he'd use this as the example on why he's the top of their hit list.

He doesn't recognize the girl sitting with Alicia, and he doesn't particularly care. She was probably another one of her lackeys who follows her around like a mindless puppy anyway. This isn't school anymore and they're on the same grounds. She can't do things to him and expect to get away with it.

At this moment, the earpiece tucked inside his ear vibrated to life.

"Young Master Iris?" asked a female voice. "Bayang is requesting a meeting regarding your next mission."

Hmm, interesting.

He tapped at the earpiece a few times before crushing it in his fingers, letting the debris fall into a hidden pocket in his sleeve.

Whatever that guy wanted, he'd rather get it over with. Both him and that woman gives him the creeps.

* * *

"I've found a way to infiltrate MATA," was what greeted him when he walked into that stupid shop.

Oh, dang, the guy can be useful after all.

In one shoe, Ali would be so ticked off he'd be jumping down the street. Seriously?? He hasn't even gotten a chance to try to crack the code yet and this man's already wormed his way into their pants and pockets or however you'd want to describe it. Having a 1000-piece puzzle solved before he even got a chance to look at the cover fanned unbridled rage inside him.

On the other, this means they can blow that popsicle stand earlier than scheduled and they can go back to their own lives. They'd never have to see each other again and that's a win in his book.

Ali had his holopad on the ready before Bayang could even blink. "Lay it on me, big man. Spare no detail."

The man blinked at him, the shock phasing through his face before he remembered to mask it. He recovered as soon as he noticed his slip up, face morphing back into a mask of neutrality.

"I found a compromised chunk in their firewall when their systems were undergoing their mandated reboot," he explained. "I didn't have time for much, but I managed to download several agents' profiles and their clearance before I could risk being discovered."

It was Ali's turn to stare at the man. "What?"

That made all the sense and no sense at all. That's not how it works. Ali would know. He spent most of the year agonizing and banging his head on his table over their firewalls, and he never heard of anything about the reboot. It was damn near impossible to break into their systems overnight.

So, either the MATA base here operated differently from the rest of the branches, or this man was spouting nonsense. It was one of the two, and Ali's dipping his toes in the idea of the latter.

"Is there anything wrong?"

Ali shook his head. He'll look into this later. "No, nothing." He shut his holopad, the screens disappearing. "What do you propose we do?"

From the counter, Bayang tossed him a chip, which he caught in mid-air. It was the size of his finger, miniscule enough to be tucked away in the fabric of his clothes or ears.

"This chip is what allows their sensors to identify their agents," he explained, holding one of his own between his fingers. "As long as we hold onto these, we won't draw any attention from their security."

Ali frowned. "That's only from their base sensors," he pointed out. "There's still the matter of biometric recognition. I imagine that security will be tripled in a lockdown, at least."

Bayang raised an eyebrow. "Can you wait until they lift their lockdowns?"

Ali clenched his teeth. "No," he admitted begrudgingly. He only had the next two weeks to stay in Cyberaya, and there's no telling when their lockdown will end. "Still, your plan is full of holes. There's too many uncharted variables."

"I assure you," he said, "that I am perfectly aware of the risks."

"Where's the proof, then? How do you expect us to waltz into their base depending on this?" Ali raised the chip, careful not to crush it. "You might as well bring a knife to a nuclear war, Bayang. But the only difference is that you have a higher chance of surviving the nuke."

He thought adults were supposed to be the ones with common sense. As it turns out, the world works in mysterious ways. Ali can't say he likes where this is going or he'd be lying to himself.

"Trust me," Bayang assured him. "I know what I'm doing."

Either Bayang was hiding all the details behind this suicide mission, or he was a total idiot.

For their sakes, he prayed that it was the first.

"Don't forget the priority assignment you're here for." Ali crossed his arms.

Bayang nodded. "Assuring your safety in your assignment; I know," he promised. "And I never fail my missions."

"Don't let this be your first."