An Excellent Way to Waste Time [nate]

[annabelle]

living is easy with eyes closed

[/color]

- - - - misunderstanding all you see - - - - [/font][/color][/center]

She hated the silence.

It was supposed to help her think better, to focus, yet it always had the opposite effect. The nineteen year old grew bored and underperformed when forced to sit in silence. Normally, she'd plug in an earbud and carry on, business as usual, except she'd been down here alone for over two hours. Her goal was simple: break through the firewall and locks, copy and extract the information, then organize it into four folders to be sent to seven different e-mail addresses. The firewall was breached, the information being extracted at a slower rate than expected, though she was already sorting as each new piece came through. Or at least she had been sorting.

Pushing her chair away from the desk that was set up with a variety of equipment and small toys, dominated by a laptop, Anna leaned back then glanced left and right to check proximity. There was no one nearby or at least no one human who would object to her finding a little entertainment. The rats might skitter away in fright. While hacking was its own form of entertainment, she needed a little something to keep her focused on the job at hand rather than distracted by more mundane thoughts.

She rolled her chair back into place and pulled her hair back, wrapping a band to hold it in place. A couple of quick taps to the keyboard minimized the many windows as she doubled clicked the shortcut blinking from the desktop. It took a few minutes for the program to load, though she clicked the second of the five created playlist. Only a few more minutes passed before the song began to play, it's melody flooding the room as she slid the volume up. It still wouldn't be heard upstairs.

Standing in the rain, with his head hung low

Anna's fingers moved back to the keyboard, a few deft clicks drawing the windows back up. The bar had jumped from 53% up to 61% in the moments it had taken her to check the hall, boot up Pandora, and select her playlist. There were seven new files waiting for extraction and sorting so she immediately went back to work, humming along with the song.

Just one guitar, slung way down low was a one way ticket, only one way to go

Her fingers barely paused on the keys yet her eyes occasionally flicked to the thin, black rectangle that was connected to the laptop by a USB plug. Of the seven lights on front, only two were lit so risk of discovery was minimal at best. Even as she watched, another of the lights blinked then went out, lowering the risk further.

"Like taking candy from a baby," she mumbled to herself before drawing one leg up in the chair with her. Pleased with herself, she sang the next line of the song, not on key, though not cringe-worthy. "Someday gonna make it to the top and be a juke box hero, got stars in his eyes."

Her fingers continued their tapping, energy renewed for another long hour.

tag Nate
words 517
lyrics strawberry fields forever - the beatles
credit a girl with kaleidoscope eyes @ caution 2.0
notes First post! :)

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[NATHANIEL ALEXANDER DUNNE]

YOU ARE A SELL OUT BUT YOU COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT SO YOUR PRICE TAG HAS
BEEN SLASHED AND NOW YOU'RE CHILLIN ON A HALF PRICED

Nate was a person that couldn't focus unless he was in quiet. He didn't do very well in loud places, and he hated it when music or any other noise was around when he was working. He couldn't sleep if there was too much noise. He couldn't function, really. He liked peace and quiet. That said something, since he lived in New York City of all places, but earplugs were a better friend to him than to most people. Earplugs and heavy curtains were magical. His mind was almost museless as he walked into the Tech Laboratory. Today wasn't supposed to be a hard day, if only because he was brushing up on his computer skills with an instructor - Andrews, AKA the one that hated his guts. The man was tall and muscled and he scared the living daylights out of Nate. He was also loud. What he was doing working with computers, Nate didn't know nor understand, but he didn't ask. Asking questions was like staring into Medusa's eyes, and he wasn't that stupid. He didn't know why today of all days he had to do this, but the CIA, despite claiming to be organized, was not an organized agency. He knew that some of the things that they did could be done a lot better, and in a more sensible fashion.

Not that he cared. He knew what he had to put up with, and them changing on him wasn't something he wanted to think about. Things were simple. He went on ops, did routine training, same old, same old. It was a routine by now - he'd been part of the CIA for almost thirteen years, and since he was only nineteen, that was saying something. It would be thirteen years a month after he turned twenty. He knew his father didn't really care, as when he'd hit ten years, all the man had done was clap him on the shoulder and tell him that he had to make it a few more years before he could die and be accomplished instead of dying in vain. Nate hadn't understood that whatsoever, but his father had never been a kind man, and so he didn't say a word against him. Sometimes, it was better to accept the cryptic sentences that came his way than question them and get even more cryptic - or worse, honest and horrible - answers. A lot of the aspects of his life worked a lot smoother if he didn't say anything against them. He wondered if that said anything about him, but shrugged it off. When he entered the Tech Lab, however, it was empty, and he heard music coming from somewhere. Walking around a line of computers, he came to see a girl sitting in front of a computer, her hair tied back. She seemed comfortable, and at ease, taking in the way she was singing along with the music. He raised an eyebrow. "Music while you're working? Or not working at all?" He couldn't help but ask. Annabelle was someone he'd known for years, and he knew the girl couldn't work in quiet space.

T A G G E D ? ! annabelle!
W O R D C O U N T ? ! five forty one
M U S E ? ! in outer space
N O T E S ? ! sorry for the mega long wait!
C R E D I T ? ! graphic credit goes to fleming of caution two point oh. lyric credit goes to newport living with the song cute is what we aim for.

[annabelle]

living is easy with eyes closed

[/color]

- - - - misunderstanding all you see - - - - [/font][/color][/center]

"With that one guitar, he'll come alive tonight."

Anna remained largely unaware of her surroundings, singing along with the music, as she continued the extraction process. The small bar had jumped to 67% so she tapped a few more keys, sliding a glance to her detector. It was still lit with one light, though another blinked to life. Her hands withdrew from the keys a moment until it blinked down to one, picking up exactly where she left off. The lights were her cue that someone at Fordham was accessing the files adjecent to those she was hacking. Her cease in typing temporarily erased her internet presence from being detected, thus preventing a new firewall from being erected.

Through years of practice, mostly trial and error in the beginning, she'd gotten herself to the point where very few could outsmart her. It was one of the things that had brought to the CIA's attention along with her father's friend who had some interesting connections. Her skills, even as a kid, had been in development since she'd spent a good deal of time at the library. She'd started out with books then begun actually attempting various strategies on the library computer. Her first success had locked the book catalogue for close to a week then disabled the internet for several hours. It was shortly after those events Reid had somehow talked their father into buying her a laptop, claiming it would keep her entertained. It had yet the hacking persisted.

At the voice, she jumped and twisted the volume down to a slightly less obnoxious level. It immediately flipped to the next song while she turned around in the chair to face him. "It's either tolerate my music or have me sit here and stare into space or risk crying," she stated with a smile. She popped her fingers then stretched them above her head. "Besides, we can't all be as zen as you and in touch with our inner chi or whatever to handle the silence."

His presence didn't bother her nor did she attempt hiding the screen, a single glance back to check progress. It was inching along, a few new files waiting. She'd known Nate for years, since her first few months in the CIA when she'd been barely nine. It seemed odd to think she'd been here ten years, most of them spent learning in this exact room, a few spent on the field.

"Speaking of not working, why are you being a techie?" There was no malice to the words as she turned back to the computer. Her fingers went back to work, clicking and clacking as files open, closed, and zipped from one side of the screen to the other. "I didn't think you liked programing."


tag nate
words four hundred and sixty-one
lyrics strawberry fields forever - the beatles
credit a girl with kaleidoscope eyes @ caution 2.0
notes Don't worry about it! This week's started crazy busy for me so I wouldn't have been able to reply anyway. :)

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[NATHANIEL ALEXANDER DUNNE]

YOU ARE A SELL OUT BUT YOU COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT SO YOUR PRICE TAG HAS
BEEN SLASHED AND NOW YOU'RE CHILLIN ON A HALF PRICED

Nate didn't have any crazy talent or skills. He couldn't do something better than other people. He wasn't skilled in just one area. He was more of the person that could go out in the field and retrieve information. If there was one thing he could do well, it was act. But then again, there were a lot of the CIA's kids that could act just as well as he could, and even better. He wasn't a diamond in the rough. More like he was just another kid that could easily be used because he didn't put up a fight like some of the others did. He was one of the ones that took orders and completed them without a fuss. Maybe that was because his father was who he was. Maybe that was because he'd been in the CIA since he was seven, and he'd learned by now, as some of the others obviously hadn't, that it was just easier and better for him to go along with their plans. If he listened and did what they said, then they'd easily be out of his hair, and he could have some down time. He was nineteen, and common sense had been his best asset for a long time, even if he didn't think he was the best when it came to street smarts. It was one of those things that he had a moderate amount of - just enough to keep him alive but not enough to brag about. Then again, he was book smart too, and people didn't usually have both. Maybe he was special.

He chuckled. "I'll tolerate it, then." He shrugged, and pulled up one of the computer chairs, enjoying the fact that it rolled a little bit too much. Then again, he was only nineteen - he was allowed to have childish moments, wasn't he? "My zen, as you call it, keeps me sane. We're just different. Other people have zen, too," he said, and couldn't help smiling. He twirled his chair around once, and shrugged, staying moderately still enough to have the chair facing her as he moved it slightly, controlling it with his feet. "Routine training, brushing up on whatever computer skills I don't have, making sure that I know what I'm doing so that I don't screw something up if I need to go all techie. Basically, they want to know that I know how to use it more than to log into Facebook," he said. He wasn't too happy about it, since computers weren't exactly his best friends. "Trust me, I don't," he said, as he ran a hand through his hair. "What are you up to? Or do I not want to know?" He couldn't help but asking. She'd probably tell him to keep his nose out of her business, or something of the sort, but at least he tried.

T A G G E D ? ! annabelle!
W O R D C O U N T ? ! five oh two
M U S E ? ! fighting to stop the apocalypse with sam and dean
N O T E S ? ! this reply was faster xD nate really has no idea about computers, poor kid
C R E D I T ? ! graphic credit goes to fleming of caution two point oh. lyric credit goes to newport living with the song cute is what we aim for.

[annabelle]

living is easy with eyes closed

[/color]

- - - - misunderstanding all you see - - - - [/font][/color][/center]

Anna's lips curved up into a smirk at his acceptance of her music. It wasn't as if he were going to tell her no being he spent vastly less time down here than she did. Those few lucky enough to spend long hours down here with her had learned to accept the music or deal with a cranky Anna. Cranky Anna was much more likely to snap at someone or wind up with a game of Diner Dash over actual work, leading to a ban on all games. For productivity's (and entertainment) sake, it was best to allow her quirks free reign for the most part.

"And yet I see so few of these supposedly zen people amongst the rampaging idiots," she commented to his words about zen. Despite the words, she smiled to him, amused to see him playing with the chair's wheels. It was subtle yet she'd mastered moving the chair with only a push of her feet so she could spot another roller in an instant. Luckily, she hadn't been spinning the chair when he arrived-another bad habit. "And are you computer literate enough to even get into facebook? It's gotten pretty high tech over there."

Her fingers went back to the keys, clicking and clacking away as files unzipped. She slid her gaze to the small, black device only to find none of the lights were lit up. Flicking a glance to the screen, she frowned, noting the bar was temporarily stalled at 73%. It was the second time one of her hacks had abruptly ended, almost as if there was a new firewall blocking her. This made the third stop today alone. The only thing Anna hated more than silence was a lockout after she'd worked hard. Unwilling to admit defeat, she mumbled to herself and pulled up a blue text box before typing a series of characters that made little sense.

A moment later, it vanished and the small bar began to climb once more. She breathed a sound of relief and sat back in the seat, fingers of her left hand picking up a small stress ball in the shape of a monkey. "You ever heard what happens to people who stick their nose where it's not wanted? Snakes bite them." Her full attention was now focused on him, the chair turned sideways as she continued squeezing the monkey so its eyes bulged. "Simple explanation . . . borrowing some files that have information requested by the higher ups. It's tedious at best, but that's life at the glamorous CIA." Her words dripped with sarcasm before she added, "Who's the so-called techie expert teaching you today?"


tag nate
words four hundred and forty three
lyrics strawberry fields forever - the beatles
credit a girl with kaleidoscope eyes @ caution 2.0
notes where would be the fun if everyone were computer literate? :)

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[NATHANIEL ALEXANDER DUNNE]

YOU ARE A SELL OUT BUT YOU COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT SO YOUR PRICE TAG HAS
BEEN SLASHED AND NOW YOU'RE CHILLIN ON A HALF PRICED

"Well, that's because they're rampaging idiots. Rampaging idiots can't have zen. Only intelligent people can." He said. "And then there's you, who's intelligent, but doesn't have zen. You fall into the 'quirky' category." He said easily. He wasn't down in the computer lab to have any say about what she was doing. Really, he avoided it as much as possible, even Annabelle was a friend and he didn't see her often enough. Being around technology kind of made him nervous, as he could easily break it, or something of the sort. Nate was literally one of the most computer illiterate people anyone could meet. It wasn't like he didn't try to be computer literate, either. He'd tried, and he'd failed - miserably. Leading to him not trying again. He could never be a coder or a hacker, or whatever other positions the people down in the tech lab held. He couldn't do all of that, ever. He knew it was kind of sad, but he did things some of them couldn't - like field work. He was good at field work. He guessed he couldn't be good at both.

"I've spent quite a few minutes at a time searching for the login button, it's like it plays hide-and-seek with me, but other than that, it's been pretty smooth sailing." He winked. He didn't take any of her comments seriously, because he knew she didn't mean them. They had argued over much more serious things anyway, things that didn't have to do with the fact that she was probably one of the smartest-with-technology people he knew, while he was just the average joe when it came to it. His solution to everything was to turn off the power button, run out of the room, and then come back later - and if it still wasn't working, he'd call one of his computer-literate friends - aka Anna - and tell her to 'fix it'. He nodded when she explained. "Hey, better than going into field missions that always seem to be going wrong as of late." He said, pushing the thought of Audrey and their latest op that had been a complete failure to the back of his mind. "I'd rather be doing something tedious and successful than something exciting and not successful." At the question about his instructor, he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "The always lovely, Andrews. Who is late, but it's not like I want him to be here on time. Or at all." Nate said, making a face.

T A G G E D ? ! annabelle!
W O R D C O U N T ? ! four forty seven
M U S E ? ! being held hostage by lord voldemort
N O T E S ? ! there would be no fun in that, very true xD
C R E D I T ? ! graphic credit goes to fleming of caution two point oh. lyric credit goes to newport living with the song cute is what we aim for.