Infiltration

Roughly midnight, the sky above painted an inky black. White cross shapes drew over the domed canvas, but didn’t provide enough illumination. Far to the east, half of the moon could be seen through buildings. A perfect sphere with lines and circles marked all over it like someone tried to scientifically map out the distances of craters on its surface. Night was as aesthetically pleased as the day.

If my mind wasn’t somewhere else, I’d enjoy it more. I knelt on top of the roof of the adjacent building overlooking the Basilica. This far away I didn’t believe it was still the House. It was probably apartments or something else. But as long as I remained quiet, no one would even notice.

B perched on my shoulder watching the streets and skies. “No one for half a kilometer. You’re not going to have a better time.”

“Right.” I pulled on my glove as a reminder that it was on me. I swear I checked it five times already. My heart thumped heavy in my chest. The Basilica was a secure place to get into and even a forceful way in would be detected. The Clergy would be upon me in seconds. That was where this came in.

Retrieving my whip, I stood up a little adjusting my angle. A little heat grew in my hands. Down and ahead of me was a window, stained glass depiction of the sun and birds. B poked my cheek. “Two degrees to your right.” I nodded and made the adjustment.

Soft light glowed from my boots as I leapt into the air. With ease I cleared the length of the street though with less strength than I applied. I was coming up short on the window. Throwing out my whip, I stretched out to catch onto the window sill.

It yanked on my arm changing my angle as I now fast approached the wall. I quickly positioned my legs to cushion the impact. A slight scraping and slap of my boot bounced around my ears. It sounded louder than I wanted, but maybe it was my paranoia. I was certain I could feel sweat on my back.

Immediately, I placed my gloved hand to the wall. The hologram lit up on the back of my hand with buttons and a display. “You only got twenty seconds before the network catches up.” Silently, I acknowledged him.

With my whip linked to my belt, I moved my hand to type and push buttons around. The glove at least made it more intuitive now. I could see where the network firewalls layered together. It wouldn’t be much more.

The security of the Basilica tracked people on the inside, but also any contact with the exterior. If it wasn’t for the glove, I would have been noticed immediately. It sent out a delaying signal that slowed down the response of the detection system. If I finished the hack in time, it wouldn’t even register me entering. I’d be a ghost in the system for maybe thirty minutes. The tech the glove was based on was pretty old, though the Basilica’s security was likely from around the same time. So it shouldn’t matter.

The benefits of technological regression. Though I wasn’t practiced in this form of hacking, watching B helped jog my memory enough. Thankfully, this method wasn’t complicated and the glove was designed to bypass basic security. It was jokingly called the “Kid Gloves”. So Basilica’s real security it would do nothing against, at least not without someone more skilled than me.

A flash of green over the glove signaled the all clear. I could sigh a bit of relief. Pulling up to the window, I pressed my glove to the stained glass as it faded to normal glass. It then retracted away allowing me to enter.

Looking about the interior, I was in a narrow hall almost two meters from the floor. For a Basilica the walls were fairly simple. I only saw the most basic of trim without even Latin carved anywhere. Admittedly, this was a part I never saw. So my whole perspective was from what the nave looked like. It was well lit, but thankfully empty.

Restoring the window, I used the whip to lower myself slowly down to the ground. Even being a ghost to the system, I’d prefer not to make unnecessary noise. I searched up and down the hall. Only my guess could say which was the correct path, right for now.

Apart from a few doors, I didn’t find anything of note yet until hitting stairs down. This led to the nave where the faithful gathered. Most of the citizens would never go beyond that part of the Basilica. If I was lucky no one was down there, but there could also be some overzealous type out late. But it was midnight, so I certainly hope everyone other than security was out.

I saved that option until later. Returning to the start point, I traced the other side of the hall. It wound around the interior from my senses. It probably was an exterior hall connecting most of the second floor and eventually back to more stairs if I guessed. And all I was finding was closed doors. Nothing was labeled other than with numbers not giving me any clue to what I was passing.

It seemed like a pointless effort to expect something different on the other side, but I just needed anything. Tilting my hand to see the back, I saw the timer on the glove with its estimated remaining ghost mode.

Twenty minutes remaining…

Less than I hoped, but I couldn’t complain. The relic helped and with luck I’d find something. Following the hallway further, it actually turned left rather right. I didn’t know the whole shape of the Basilica, so it came as a surprise. Mentally mapping it, I felt that I was in the rear end of the building now.

As another corner came up, the hall opened up wide. The ceiling rose and it became a whole chamber for stairs up and down. The same path continued around the edge hugging the wall, but there were passages that went out into other parts.

I glanced over to B. He gave me an affirmative nod on safety. No one around that he could hear then. At a casual inspection, the second floor just had doors. If I had to guess probably more important ones giving their position in the Basilica. So I attached the whip to the wall and lowered myself down. The passages on the first floor went deep and possibly had no door. I’d rather not get spotted by someone that B missed as I came down.

Still out of sight, I crept over the first floor to the threshold. I checked the opposite side to see a large door. I think by the judge it went outside into the back. Peeking around the edge, I could see a small hall that opened into the nave. From the angle I had there was no one around and a minimum of light.

Passing B down, he darted across the floor and climbed up the wall. Staying in the darkness of shadow, he approached the hall. In a few moments, he returned to my shoulder. Holding up two fingers and pointing to the general locations, I understood. They were out of the way at least. But knowing I had some form of company sped up my heartbeat. This was the dumbest thing I’ve ever done, B was right about that.

We left that side and went over towards the large door. I checked on the hall again, but no one passed by yet. This door looked very much like the one at the front. So my guess about it going out back made sense. Unfortunately, when I placed the glove on the door I got a warning displayed. It had heavy security on it. It was hackable, but not by my skill level. Damn.

I checked back towards the second floor. If it was a back door, it might open up into a courtyard or maybe something else with a little less intense protection. Judging from what the relic said, it had very low level protections on it. It could be protecting something important, what I wanted, maybe.

Only one chance, I made for the window I entered from and with the help of the whip again, I ascended to the roof. Carefully adjusting my footing to the angle, I stalked over the top towards the back. The roof wasn’t perfect, but it gave me a full sense of the layout and dimensions. It had a sprawling wing to the left and right. And in the back I found some smaller structures and an open courtyard.

Lowering down to a ledge over the back door, I could see one person on patrol around the courtyard. A little odd to have someone outside in a courtyard unless they had something to protect. I looked over at the two structures opposite of me.

What secrets lay within?

I checked the relic again.

Ten minutes remained…