Divine Celebrity 111 (Patreon)

Even with my disguise, I didn’t approach the building directly, but paused a bit at first to walk around the structure that was the residence of our spy that was also moonlighting as our newest quarterback, taking note of the security cameras. 

I identified several.  Some were the same cheap model that was used by our college, while others were small and sleek, not to mention impossible to detect without my unique advantages — which further confirmed Arthur was up to no good. 

Unfortunately for him, it didn’t take long for me to catch a mistake. He had installed his own cameras based on a security scheme, to cover the gaps of the existing cameras, probably tapping into their feed during operation. 

And the school staff didn’t really care enough about security maintenance, so one of the cameras rotating slower than their supposed speed, giving me a short window to dash and climb to the first floor. A hard climb to an ordinary person, but not for me, not even without my traits. 

I waited until the corridor I was targeting had no signs of movement before I rushed forward, and climbed up the stairs. A short, horizontal climb later, I was on the first floor safely. A quick glance confirmed that Arthur’s security measures didn’t extend to the interior of the first floor — another mistake — and I started moving forward. 

My destination, was the third floor, where records showed his room to be. I did my best to reduce my presence as I walked, keeping my head down to prevent anyone from noticing — luckily, most were already out in the bars at this hour. 

And the poor, cheap lighting of the corridors certainly helped. 

I kept my focus on my surroundings as I moved forward. I didn’t expect to have much trouble, and Arthur looked like he was operating alone. And even if that was incorrect, the prospect of getting caught wasn’t scary, not after I had already revealed myself to that German professor earlier the day. 

I was expecting that German professor to have some kind of link to Arthur —  their appearance was too coincidental otherwise — and even if didn’t, I had no hope of hiding my extraordinary rise, not with their attention already on the football team — and the mysterious disappearance of Coach Bill. 

I stopped to listen when I reached the stairs. They were empty. Then, I checked to see if there were any security cameras. 

There was, but a carefully thrown stone was enough to handle that. I climbed the stairs as fast as I could without making a discernible sound. On the third floor, I carefully took a glimpse of the corridor, and I listened for any problem as I climbed up. 

A quick glimpse into the corridor showed a little problem. Unlike the earlier floors, I could see several cameras, positioned to protect Arthur’s room. I frowned, a problem. I could try to access his room through one of the others, but it had other risks, especially since I didn’t have anything that would help me. 

A mistake on my part, but this was just a scouting trip. I climbed down the stairs once more, but when I reached the first floor, something occurred to me. He was using the school cameras to his benefit? But how. 

I wished for another mistake from him, especially since it had some convenient implications. I much preferred to compete against a ragtag group than a bunch of professionals that knew what they were doing. 

I arrived in the basement, toward the server room, the camera even easier. Avoid. I was rusty when it came to picking locks, but my Traits were more than enough to compensate for it, and I used a simple piece of metal to open the door, as easily as using the key. 

“Damn,” I murmured as I closed the door behind me, taking a note of the room, dusty, warm, and otherwise horrible. 

Yet, around the dust, I could see some disturbance, toward the left wall, in one of the small server racks. And, behind, a little antenna, one that probably allowed connection. 

I walked toward the small computer on the corner, curious if I could hack it, and what kind of security measures were there. However, as I pulled the seat, I realized it wouldn’t be too difficult. The operating system was standard and outdated, which made it extremely easy to break in. 

A forced reboot, and a few system commands, and I was in. 

I had access to the local network. “Now, let’s see if I can somewhat piggyback into the physical access of the device,” I said as I quickly installed several programs. The security computer was initially not connected to the Internet, which was a smart choice, but all I needed was to plug one of the idle ethernet cables to connect it to the web. 

I could have used my phone as a hotspot, but that was less safe. 

Using that access, I downloaded several programs to poke around the firewall, which helped that I was already familiar with the programs and tools the school was using for their cybersecurity — helped by the fact that they were cheap, poorly written, and installed as incompetently as one would expect from the lowest bidder. 

Using that to piggyback into the little device Arthur installed, however, was significantly more difficult. It was hardly something I could do through a poor computer, so, after setting up a backdoor for my access and leaving it connected to the Internet, I left the dorm. 

Backtracking my movements hadn’t been particularly difficult, even as I used the opportunity to install some programs that would continue working on accessing the device. I searched the dark web to find some information about the device, which turned out to be a specialized device, but still sold to the general public for quite a bit of money. 

And, as a consequence, there was quite a bit of discussion about how to break it, and my Traits helped me to separate the wheat from the chaff. 

However, I wasn’t confident about my success. A lot of the programs I had used was relying on the fact that users would keep the device mostly on factory settings, which the user manual strictly warned against. Still, I had hope. Arthur, for all the skill he displayed in other aspects, looked particularly unsuited for clandestine work, as shown by his careless approach to security cameras. 

I hoped that it extended to his security protocols. 

To my surprise, it actually worked just as I hoped. No problem, no delay, so that as I was moving back, I had the real-time voice feed from his cameras as well as the school cameras. He didn’t have any in his room, which was a pity, but not a big one, considering his cameras also recorded sound. 

So, rather than turning back, I treated it as an audiobook, listening as he delivered a lengthy report about the medical records of one of the players that went with Coach Bill. 

It was a boring discussion, just reading the exact same details that I could access through reports, but I listened, hoping that someone else would speak. If they didn’t, I would have to pay another visit, this time when he was in training, to poke around his room now that his security measures were under my control. 

That turned out to be unnecessary, as barely a few minutes after I returned to my room, I heard a familiar voice interrupting him. “Enough about those inconsequential things. I want to learn more about this … Terry,” said a very familiar, accented voice. 

Our dear German professor, confirming that his appearance in the tournament was not accidental.  

“I’m sorry professor, his records show nothing out of extraordinary, he’s well within the baseline.” 

“Nonsense, are you blaming me for being a liar, little boy. I told you, he resisted my presence, and the way he plays chess is suspect. No one could improve as much as he could without assistance.” 

Arthur was quick to answer, the panic in his tone clear, which implied Professor Argus had a higher rank in their organization. “I’m not saying that, professor, I had watched him, and it’s clear that he shows too much capability to be normal. He’s clearly one of the Touched, but I don’t know who Empowers him,” he explained.  “It’s just that his official medical records don’t show anything.” 

“Can’t we force him to go to a medical check?” Argus answered. “I want to know the secrets of that little boy,”  he said, his voice menacing enough to show me that he was taking today’s defeat rather personal. 

I shrugged, even as someone I didn’t recognize answered. “No, not immediately, at least. We don’t have any connection in the school.” 

“Can’t we just bribe someone,” Professor said.  

“Maybe, but not yet, at least not until the match. He had simply generated too much chaos to make that a wise move.” 

“All the more reason for us to be aggressive. He’s working so hard to stay on the football team, which means somehow, his handler has the ability to tap into the passion of the watchers of a full stadium full of crazed fans without being overwhelmed. It’s anything above we can do. We need to be proactive.” 

“No, on the contrary, that’s a reason to stay safe. We don’t want to poke around something we don’t understand, not when it can trigger a disaster,” the unknown voice answered. 

That argument went on for a bit, before Arthur interrupted. “Maybe we should try to contact Doctor Williams, she clearly has some clue about his true state—“ he said, before being cut short. 

“I would never deal with that traitor,” Professor Argus suddenly interrupted, shouting, unhinged. “Never in a million years.” 

“He’s disconnected. I better go calm him down. We’ll talk again, tomorrow,” the voice said.

Leaving me with a lot of interesting questions…