Chapter 479 - Security conference (SP3CT3R)

After morning talk, Sarah and Aiden went to the social event. They noticed that there was a person with number 71 on their dark blue robe! However, it was a woman. What the heck?! It's definitely not that mystery man. Based on this they concluded that those spots marked with numbers 71 to 75 are not reserved for the whole event, but a person can wear them for a day or maybe even for just a duration of an event, and then someone else will wear the same number as needed. This makes things… confusing.

Sarah and Aiden gave up trying to sniff out information at this point. They decided to see if they will get a chance to talk about it tactfully with Mr. Patel during dinner. If that does not work, from the comfort of their home together with Eve, they will start digging for information. They can even use resources of White corp. if necessary. Now that they know that mystery man is connected to this event, as number 71, they have a starting point.

Just as Sarah and Aiden were about to leave that social party and head to their room for lunch, organizers announced over speakers that there will be a special talk early afternoon: "We got confirmation that our esteemed community member Specter will join us for this special talk…"

Everyone was silent, listening while holding their breaths. That is Specter! Specter, a hacker who everyone admires and fears at the same time. He does not work for anyone. No one got a whiff of who he is, where he is from, is he a male or female… Specter does his own thing, and if you get a misfortune to be the target of Specter's attack, say goodbyes to your friends and family quickly, while you can. If he targets your finances, hold on tightly to your underwear, or you will lose those as well.

Law enforcement, governments and few times even militaries were involved in trying to capture him, but it was all in vain. His attacks were always extremely fast, and before target realized what happened, like a real specter, he vanished without a trace.

The only thing preventing whole world to succumb in panic was that Specter's targets were not random. They were organizations and governments which had a bad history bathed in violence and suppressing anyone who dared to oppose them, and they were untouchable... At least until they became Specter's targets.

The announcement ended, and everyone was silent, not moving. They were all in disbelief. Why would a mystery hacker who never showed his face suddenly decide to give a talk? Share his wisdom? Is it possible that after many years of spreading fear and invoking awe through online community Specter suddenly developed a social side? Something is fishy… Maybe that is not a Specter. Impostor. But how can impostor give a talk here? Maybe he tricked the organizers as well, or maybe organizers are behind this publicity stunt.

Finally, one man in dark blue cloak spoke. He was not loud, but since it was quiet, everyone heard him. "Well, there is nothing to lose by attending the talk… in worst case, it's not Specter and I wasted one hour of my life."

"Even if it's not Specter, it should not be a waste, right? Talks so far were informative…", his companion responded.

Then more people started talking and the whole room was filled with random murmurs for some time before people dispersed for lunch.

…

Sarah and Aiden reached for the afternoon talk and took their balcony seats. As usual, they moved their chairs close to each other, and held hands over the edge which separated them. During first event, Aiden was having difficulty focusing on what Viper said because he was often glancing toward Sarah, to make sure she is still there and safe. Sarah was also not at ease to be separated from Aiden. Both of them were restless, worrying about each other, knowing that they are in that new place, in the dark, surrounded with armed guards and who knows what other dangers. So, they talked and decided on this as a solution: they move chairs closer to each other and hold hands. With that, Aiden and Sarah can feel each other, and know that both are safe while they focus other senses on the event.

Back to present…

Everyone was eagerly waiting for the talk while moniker "SP3CT3R" was displayed on the screen.

Red light on camera in front of the screen turned on, indicating that the presenter is connected and can view the audience. This is common, it allows person to see the audience and gauge reaction to the topics discussed.

Everyone was silent when person wearing a black hood and black mask appeared on the screen.

"Hello!", deep male voice boomed through the space. "I am Specter…" People listened to the introduction and everyone was doubtful if that is truly Specter or not. As he dived deep discussing technical aspects in one of his famous exploits, people started believing… By end of the talk, everyone was convinced: that is Specter!

Mystery hacker showed himself. It's a man… with a deep voice, so it is a mature person. Well, it can't be a youngster considering that he is active for about two decades.

Specter's talk ended and there were hundreds of questions lined up for him. He picked ten questions at random and answered them before ending video feed from his side.

All participants were excited, they witnessed part of history. That talk, and the fact that they were first ones to lay their eyes on famous Specter was the main topic of the final social for that security conference.

~ Seattle, Hill family villa ~

Man whose face is covered with a black mask is sitting in a secret room, observing silently on his screen still image captured from a video feed of the security conference. It's a picture of two people in dark red robes with red masks on their faces, sitting on the balcony level while holding hands over the border which separates them. They have numbers 30 and 31 on their robes. He smiles before standing up and keeping his black mask and black robe in the closet.

He stepped back to his desk and locked the computer. Symbols "SP3CT3R" showed on the locked screen.

As he walked out of the secret room behind the bookshelf, he stops and sees a woman sitting on the sofa and reading a book in Russian. "Stella, my dear… I didn't know you are back." He is happy to see her.

"Kids at the cabin are fine on their own for now, so I came to check on you." Stella kept the book away and glanced behind Edward at the bookshelf which moved back to its original position. "I didn't know you are working on a project…"

"I'm not. I was just following up on something." He smiled. "Let's go and eat together. There is a delicious strawberry cake in the fridge." He extended his arm toward her, palm up.

"I will assume that this means you don't want to talk about it." She smiled and took his hand. "Can you tell me if our baby is OK?"

"Yes. She is fine.", he pulled her closer to him and held her hand in his.

"Thank you for keeping an eye on her."

"It's the least I can do…", he kissed back of her palm as they walked out of the study. "How are wedding preparations coming along?"