The Hannah Carmichael Chronicles
Your Briefing:
Hannah Carmichael: Former Spy with the CGT agency. Status: Believed to be dead by CGT and worldwide. Working at The Main Gazette to get inside information on CGT.
Zeke Anderson: Former Spy with the real Government. Working with Hannah to take down CGT. Status: Believed to be dead by CGT and worldwide. Currently UNDERCOVER inside a CGT newspaper.
Stephanie Winchester: Former spy and Hannah’s best friend. Status: Believed to be dead by CGT and worldwide. Working at The Main Gazette to get inside information on CGT.
Baxter: Zeke’s partner. Status: Current spy with the real Government – working with Hannah to take down CGT.
Perfect opportunity to go undercover, but with no official backup, will things work out, or will they just get more complicated?
FORTY-EIGHT
Hannah tapped the pen on her desk and groaned. When she was told about this job, she had imagined more interesting stories than restaurant reviews. She glanced over to Zeke’s desk and sighed. He was the lucky one who had been sent out to a political press conference.
Two weeks, they had been at The Main Gazette but they hadn’t found anything on CGT. The whole team was feeling the pressure, and frustration. Hannah heard Stephanie talking with the Editor of the paper, Mr Black, and looked over at them. The boss figured himself tough, but with Stephanie’s new look, he usually backed down.
Carrying a briefcase, Black waved goodbye and Stephanie sat at her desk which was just outside his office. Hannah got up and made her way over to Stephanie’s desk.
“Is he going out for long?” she asked.
Stephanie nodded, “he has a meeting, should be gone a few hours. Why?” she asked, her left eyebrow lifting.
Hannah shrugged and grinned, “I figured now was a good time to look around in there.” She pointed towards his office and Stephanie smiled and rolled her eyes. Hannah slipped into the office and closed the door and blinds. Turning, Mr Black’s large desk filled most of the back wall. As she looked through the desk carefully, Hannah sighed at the lack of evidence.
“What did I think? He was going to leave secret papers lying around?” She asked herself out loud. Hannah moved to the bookcase and rolled her eyes, “And now I’m talking to myself.” She pushed on the bottom shelf of books and a strip of books clinging together wobbled as one piece.
“Hello, hello,” Hannah said, pulling them out. A small box was hidden behind and she pulled it out, returning the row of fake books. Standing, Hannah opened the small box and frowned.
“All I wanted was a password, or access to the CGT database, but instead what do I get? More USBs.” Hannah groaned and put the box onto the desk, falling into Mr Black’s chair.
She pulled out one of the USBs and flipped it around to see a label. Initials SW were written on it and she frowned, pulling out another one. The initials ZA were printed and Hannah felt her breathing quicken, pulling out the last one. H.C. stared at her and she sucked in a quick breath.
Stephanie Winchester, Zeke Anderson and Hannah Carmichael.
The computer on the desk was still on and logged in, and Hannah pulled the H.C. drive out of the box, plugging it into the computer.
The screensaver was replaced by a black screen, a white blinking line in the middle of the screen. The word ‘Password’ appeared and Hannah sighed. It was encrypted.
She glanced around the desk for a password clue and rolled her eyes. CGT had a standard password for each level of operative. Hannah tried to think of the different levels, accessing the list she had once stumbled upon and memorised.
She opened her eyes and typed in the possible password, guessing Mr Black’s clearance level. Holding her breath, she pushed the enter button and the screen sprung to life.
Hannah watched, as it worked to decrypt the information on the USB. She leaned back in the chair, hearing a noise outside the office. She froze; had Black returned? She looked around the office for a hiding place, then back to the screen. The USB was still decrypting.
The knob on the office door rattled and Hannah stared at it, her eyes wide.
Author’s Note:
Thanks for reading this week’s instalment of the Hannah Carmichael Chronicles! Hannah will be back Tomorrow for the next part of her adventure – we both look forward to seeing you there!
Christy Grace
Christy Grace Scarlet Pen 