11 June 2014 - Attack of the Computer Snakes

Smoke and Barley - Apartment

A room of dark leathers and rich cherry woods make up a room of simple lines and design. The entryway opens up to a combined kitchen and living area. A comfy leather couch sits in front of an antique coffee table. A well-loved wooden rocking chair accompanies the couch in forming the sitting area. A media area takes up a shorter wall, and provides music and television to the home. The far wall is filled with bookshelves, with books ranging from a paperback romance to tomes of family tree discussions and fighting styles. Plush throw rugs around the area soften the stark contrast of leather and paint.

Part of the room has been turned into a small kitchen with old gas stove, fridge, sink and cabinets. A small round table sits not far from the stove with two simple chairs. Two small bedrooms each with a twin style bed, dresser, and closet lead off from the main room. The spare room has weights, well used, and a treadmill, which has clothing hanging off it. The bathroom is small, done in blue tile and has an old iron claw-foot bathtub.

Liam has called Carolyn, and asked her to meet him at his place, to let her see what he has done with th programming.

"Thanks for the call," Carolyn says when she comes in. "And thanks for taking time to do this. I owe you. Big time." She offers Liam her hand to shake as she speaks.

Liam smiles and says "No problem." He shakes her hand as well. He has a rather impressive looking computer set up in one corner. "No need to owe me."

Carolyn shrugs. "There is...but thanks for saying that. At least let me take you out to dinner for this?" She wanders over to eye the computer set up. "Wow...hacker central. Sure you're not an Agent of SHIELD?" She grins at him."

Liam looks over and says "Those posers aint got nothing on me." He teases as he leads her over to the computer to show her what he has done.

Carolyn follows along. "So...success? Or still working on it?"

Liam nods, and brings up the program, and says "This should be getting the saved ones on peoples computers now. It i set with an auto erase on other systems, so that once the pics are gone. Only one should be left is if someone has it stored on an external storage device.

Carolyn makes a face, but recognizes the impossibility of getting to things not connected. "That sounds ... amazingly good. No backlash on you, I hope?"

Liam looks to her, and says "Ain’t seen any yet, got my firewalls, and such set to alert if hit any pings

Carolyn nods. "Good," she says, sounding a bit relieved. She notices though. "Ummm is it me or is it getting darker in here? Or is your screen getting brighter?" She looks around. The lights are definitely getting dim.

Liam looks around and blinks. He reaches into a drawer next to the computer, and moves to stand in front of Carolyn.

The lights are a dim glow, the main illumination in the apartment the computer screen. A window opens on the screen and starts scrolling all sorts of data. Carolyn shivers, looking around, clearly worried. "This is not good, I'm thinking."

Liam moves to sit the cleaver he pulled from the desk down beside the keyboard and sets down to the computer. He starts working to put up another turn on the backtracking before checking to see where the tracking is coming from.

Carolyn continues to prowl around while Liam works on the computer. She shivers. Shadows form in the corners of the room, thickening, taking on form. Carolyn stops dead and suddenly there's a blade in her hand. "Liam. We have a problem." The shadows are coalescing into snakes, one in each corner of the room, and huge. Little ripples of light, like computer circuitry, flick down their scales.

Liam frowns a bit, and noticing the circuitry, he does a quick wi-fi check to see if these thigns show up on the wifi

They're not on the wi-fi, but four other screens are opening on the computer, displaying very bizarre data. Carolyn moves to cover Liam's back. "If you think you ahve a line on how to stop them I'll try and keep them off you." her voice is very calm, very quiet. The snakes are nearly solid now, opaque, and they begin moving forward.

Liam starts typing and smirks a bit "Oh naughty nauthy, trying to magic through my defences, you should be ashamed. Nothing gets past the Afro Samuari. He says , as his fingers start tapping at a machine gun pace.

The snakes move forward, heads weaving and bobbing. One slows, the circuitry on its scales flashing and flickering. Even as it strikes, though, it fades to mist. The other three, however....Two strike at Carolyn and one at Liam. Carolyn is on the defensive, a blade in each hand, parrying strikes from the snakes. Her blades score lines of arcing electricity along their snouts, but she's bludgeoned aside by the power and weight of the blows. The third snake strikes at Liam....

Liam feels the hit coming but grits his teeth. The man concentrates on his typing "I can get rid of them, if we can keep them off me, maybe even something extra. He types this time, trying to change the target of attack in the command code to another smake.

Carolyn murmurs, "I’m trying," to Liam's suggestion. She continues to dodge and weave ad the snakes feint. Slashing back and forth to block them from getting to Liam. Three to one is lousy odds, however....

Liam grits his teeth and winces as the thing hits his leg, and it goes numb on him The man grits his teeth, and tries to type more but the other man seems to have his number. The snake hits him again, and he lets out a wince in pain now, ut then his eyes light up. He reaches one hand towards a big red button next to the computer as the other heads for the cleaver he had out earlier.

Carolyn keeps up her defense, too busy to do much in the way of counter attacks, but getting in a few slashes. Her blades draw arcing lines of electricity across the scales of the shadow snakes and make them recoil, opening some space between here and Liam. The third snake, strikes again at Liam smashing at him.

Liam hits the button and the computer goes black. He grabs a vial from besides the shelf, and chugs it, and tosses the container at the snake. The snake is knocked back a bit and as it comes in to hit him his leg is moving asier, and the snake ends up hitting him on the sole of the foot.

Carolyn continues to attempt to parry the snakes, but the shift in pattern slows her and first one hits home, then the other, driving her back. She grunts with the impact, and staggers.

Liam flings the cleaver and it hits with a nice meaty thudd, but the damn snake is t big it does not stop the thing. It comes at him again and he winces, but is moving to his fet.

The snake struck by the cleaver hisses a low, sibilant sound, and strikes back at Liam, uncoiling and punching at him with its nose eve as the gash the cleaver opened just behind its head arcs and spits sparks of power.

The other two snakes strike at Carolyn in unison, driving through her defense as if it wasn't there, and coiling around her, and around and around and around, shrouding her in shadow.

Liam frowns and looks around. He then reaches over one hand hitting the power buttont to bring up power, and the other reaching for his repair lamp. He clicks it on, bring the bright light down and near the snakes on Carolyn. These things like darkness, maybe his halogen light will show them the error of their ways

The third snake piles on, ignoring Liam, and under the assault of the bright halogen lights the snakes begin to fade, disappearing. Carolyn, however, is gone as well. The apartment is quiet, the disarranged furniture scattered about, a smashed side table and overturned chair the reminders of the fight, clear under the glare of the light.