A group gathered near the path to Evan's house, plotting their next move. "Evan's on vacation, so the house is virtually unguarded, except for the four patrol guards. This is our chance to break in," one of them said.
The group quickly agreed on a plan.
They decided to disguise themselves as police officers to conduct an inspection.
Moments later, a team of individuals dressed as cops arrived, claiming to investigate recent burglaries in the area. Their goal was to distract the guards while another team hired by a rival faction worked to disable the security cameras.
With the cameras down, they made their way to the basement, where Evan's impromptu server was located.
A man tasked with monitoring the operation, kept a watchful eye, directing the guards to comply with the supposed investigation.
Meanwhile, at the front gate, Donald, head of security at Evan's house, was approached by two men wearing vests and hats with the local electric utility company's logo.
"What can we help you with?" Aaron asked.
"We've been sent by the company to investigate a recent spike in energy usage from this house," one of the men replied, setting down his toolbox and rummaging through his bag for documents. "Here are our credentials and the order for the inspection."
Aaron scrutinized the documents, and then called Celina for permission, as Evan's phone wasn't ringing. After a moment of hesitation and seeing a flashing message on her screen, Celina gave her approval. Aaron, now with permission, allowed the crew of six inside.
They looked around briefly, and as Aaron turned his attention elsewhere, he was struck from behind and knocked unconscious.
Surprisingly, they weren't the only intruders.
_____
At the same time, another group of intruders accessed the house by hacking into the CCTV cameras, confirming that everything was clear. They proceeded to breach the premises by scaling the wall and fence and breaking through a window pane to enter the house. In the dark, they navigated using flashlights and headed straight for the basement.
While descending to the basement, they looked around.
"Did you find anything?" one member of the second group asked.
A flicker of understanding crossed Blake's face. "So, you are after it as well?"
After a moment of contemplation, both teams realized they had the same goal. They spoke simultaneously, their voices overlapping in agreement.
"Let's not waste time fighting. Instead, let's aid one another. Retrieve the data and send it to our respective employers."
"Yeah, I was just about to say that. There's no point in fighting over this. We don't have any enmity.
The two teams grudgingly agreed to cooperate. They began searching the basement together, their initial distrust gradually giving way to a shared focus.
The disguised officers attempted to complete their task, while the hackers focused on retrieving the data.
The scene grew chaotic, with various teams scrambling to achieve their goals: the hackers sought to gather intelligence on Evan's technologies, while the fake police aimed to create a diversion, and the real utility workers were caught in the crossfire, trying to perform their legitimate inspection amidst the confusion.
As they explored, they stumbled upon a massive server at the center of the room.
"I think this is it, isn't it?" Blake said, his eyes widening in amazement as he took in the enormous quantum machine.
The room fell silent as everyone gazed at the server. The sheer scale and complexity of the machine left the teams momentarily speechless.
"What the hell is this?" Alex muttered, his voice tinged with awe.
Without wasting time, the group quickly set to work, trying to operate the machine. To their surprise, it powered up without them needing to enter any password.
"The hell is this? Is that guy an idiot?" Jenna said, incredulous. "Maybe he never thought someone would break in."
Blake shrugged and turned to Alex. "By the way, who are you working for?"
Alex's face hardened. "We can't reveal our employer's name."
Blake thought for a moment and said, "Then just name the country."
He tried to pry some information, but alas Alex was quite high lip and just glared, refusing to budge.