At 7 AM, the city's alarm rings, marking the beginning of a new day for everyone, but we won't focus on the city.
The NSA building was tall and completely white with its thick walls, standing in the middle of the city representing security and resilience. Inside the building, there were various offices and training rooms where all information was stored. Inside, NSA soldiers are trained and prepared, always instructed with the motto:
"Protect, Care, and Save" - trained to maintain peace in Megacity's streets.
Jane Redlock, an NSA employee who didn't know what she was getting into...
"Have you ever wanted to know the truth?" Jane asked one of her friends beside her. "Who cares?" was the response she received.
"I don't know, sometimes I feel like everything around me is fake, you know... it's uncomfortable," Jane replied. Her friends, of course, didn't care about what she said, after all, she had been asking the same questions every week for months.
But this time was different. One night before leaving the NSA building, Jane delivered reports about the security of districts far from the city center. In her boss's office, she caught a glimpse of the access password being typed, and with her incredible memory, it wasn't hard to memorize it. With her boss's password, she could access level 3 files, ones she wouldn't normally have access to.
"If I'm discovered, I'll be fired," Jane thought, looking at the computer screen. An old memory came to her mind, and the decision was made immediately after. "It doesn't matter, I have to see these files," she said, and then opened the heavily blocked folders and entered the access password.
Analyzing each file, Jane could see stolen information and others clearly obtained illegally, all about political or military figures. High society bigwigs disappearing and others with strange behaviors, like the case of Senator Diana Santinna who became a follower of the current Chancellor, and her name in the files is marked as "corrected."
After seeing several other files about various other important people, Jane reaches the dangerous assets list where only four are listed. The number one on the list captures her attention in its photo... diamond-shaped face, strong jawline, blood-red iris, black and dark hair making a beautiful contrast with fair skin. "Who are you?" Jane wonders, as the document was empty containing only the photo and one word in bold: Dharma...
What caught her attention most was the file named Adam Redlock. At that moment, everything seemed to fade away, the air became heavy, and her hands began to sweat. "Why is your name here?" was all Jane could think.
But before she could see more, the connection to the server was cut. "Shit" was all Jane could think before gathering her things and leaving the building in a hurry.
The following days were dark. I felt watched and pursued everywhere. My few friends seemed distant and afraid to approach me. I tried questioning them, but they said it was nothing.
"Jane, the boss wants to talk to you in his office"
When these words were spoken, I knew I had been caught, and a knot rose in my throat. Walking to that room at the end of the corridor had never been so challenging.
"Good morning Jane, how are you?" said Eliot Oldford, the current NSA chief. Nervous with the casual and unconcerned tone, she replies, "All good, sir... could you explain better why I was called?" She decided to feign ignorance about the illegal access to the files.
"I just wanted to inform you that your vacation has been changed, so tomorrow you can take your 15 days," said Oldford, smiling and amused by her nervousness. "Right... is that all, sir?" Jane asks suspiciously. "Of course, Jane, you're one of our best managers and data analysts, and if you want, you can go home now," he said. "In that case, I'll take my leave, sir," said the woman, leaving the office...
Right after Jane leaves, Eliot picks up the phone and calls someone, and completely different from before, now cold and harsh, says "They want her dead by tomorrow, make it look like suicide"...
The following hours at work filling spreadsheets pass quickly, and before she noticed, Jane was at her home. Still on autopilot, she climbed the stairs to her bedroom and lay on her bed without turning on any lights or even taking off her work clothes. She had the impression something was about to happen.