Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 18:17:25 -0400 From: James Marshall Subject: Worms (01/01) To: FKFIC-L@lists.psu.edu Dedicated to Kyer, per her request that the Mercs go after virus creators. My usual disclaimers apply. Permission for Mel to archive on the fan fic site. If anyone else wants this bit of silliness, just ask. Fair warning: this is un-beta-read. Set sometime in the third season. Worms (01/01) "What!?" LaCroix roared as his computer crashed and he lost everything in his database. All of his e-mail pen pal addresses. All of his program notes from past Nightcrawler broadcasts. And worst of all, all of his financial records for the Raven. He had *never* trusted these things before, but the ease with which they allowed him to contact other like-minded persons over the Internet had lulled him into a false sense of security. That had now been shattered. He composed himself and took a sip of the bloodwine, but it gave him no comfort. He picked up his phone and called a person he had not called in many years. "Hello?" "Feliks," LaCroix said. "I need a favor. No, two favors." "Lucien," Feliks Twist replied in his cheery way. "As sociable as ever. And what can I do for you, my old friend?" LaCroix calmed himself before speaking. Feliks had always irritated him with his constant upbeat, too-pleasant-for-words attitude. Nicholas and his angst were trying at times, but he thanked the God he didn't believe in that he had not been the one to bring Feliks across and be linked to him for all eternity. "My computer has . . . I believe the word is 'crashed'. I need you to recover my information, and find out how this happened." LaCroix would have sworn that he could hear the computer-wizard vampire grinning at him over the phone. "Of course, Lucien. It's nearly dawn, but I shall be at the Raven shortly after dusk. Just don't touch anything else on your computer until I get there." "I wouldn't dream of it, Feliks," LaCroix responded, dripping sarcasm. He didn't have to enjoy my discomfort so much, the old Roman thought. "Until nightfall, then," he concluded, hanging up. * * * Shortly after sunset, Felix Twist entered the Raven and went directly to LaCroix's office in the back, ignoring the decor. He had been there only once after Lucien took over and replaced Janette's style with his own. He preferred his flowers. As he entered the back room, he saw LaCroix glaring at his computer. "Lucien," he said in greeting. "Feliks," LaCroix replied. He rose and indicated the chair in front of the computer with a wave of his hand. Feliks nodded and sat down. "Okay, let's see what happened." He pulled out his own computer and a small box of disks. After turning on his own system, he typed a few commands into his own computer, then into LaCroix's. "There it is," he said with some interest. When he did not continue, LaCroix said slowly "There . . . *what* . . . is?" "Oh, sorry. I can get rather single-minded when I see a problem like this. It's a worm file. I'm afraid I won't be able to save all of your files, but it didn't get at everything. I'll save what I can." "A worm?" LaCroix asked, one eyebrow arched. "Like a virus, but different," Felix explained, or rather didn't explain, as he continued his typing. "It does similar things to computers if you don't have the right protections in place. This worm has been in the news for a few days, now. It's creator called it the Bloodsucker. Didn't you hear about it?" "I rarely pay much attention to most of the things mortals do to each other." He paused then added "The Bloodsucker?" "I think the worm's creator thought he was being funny. Ah, well, this will take a while." "Can you tell who is responsible for this 'worm' in my computer?" "Phillip Boulay." "What?" "You really should pay attention to the news, old boy. They arrested him today. He lives just outside of Toronto, actually. Like most of these computer criminal types, he wasn't as bright about covering his tracks as he was at creating this little monster." Feliks grinned and added "he was turned in by one of the 'friends' to whom he bragged about this stunt." "How long will this take?" "A few hours at least. Why?" LaCroix put a bottle on the table next to Feliks and said "I am going out for a while. Help yourself to some refreshment while you work." "Lucien, what are you going to . . . ." Feliks began. A whoosh of air and he knew LaCroix had gone. "Always in a hurry, that one," he said, shaking his head as he opened the bottle of bloodwine. "He'd never make a decent gardener." * * * Feliks had finished his work and was waiting for LaCroix to return so that he could instruct the old vampire on proper computer security. He had been watching the news. LaCroix walked in and, getting his own bottle, sat down, smiling in his usual enigmatic way. Before he could ask what happened, Feliks looked up as the late news anchor came back on: And on a final note, alleged creator of the Bloodsucker worm, Phillip Boulay has been admitted for psychiatric observation after he was discovered in his cell eating earthworms. When asked why he was eating them, all he could say was "He told me to." He could not or would not clarify who this "he" was. One observer commented "It seems like justice to me." Feliks glanced at LaCroix and thought to himself "At least the old boy has kept his sense of humor." The End. Comments, critiques, flames and offers of employment to ~ James, NatPacker & FK Mercenary ___________________________________________________________________ Get the Internet just the way you want it. Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month! Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.