OOM: Smallville

[shortofcrazy]

In the morning, Riley is settled into a circular booth in the Talon, his back against the wall and his feet drawn up onto the seat. His face is pinched -- with exhaustion, worry, frustration -- and he has a small, silver laptop on the table in front of him, along with his bigger MacBook (they're attached via a cable) and a cold cup of coffee.

Comments

[shortofcrazy]

"--Aw jeez--" Riley's startled flail is enough to smack his hand against Bethany's laptop's screen, and as he hisses and looks up -- Clark.

Immediately, he's up out of his seat.

"Did you--"

'Did you find her' is a pretty stupid question to ask, after Clark's opener, and the fact that Chloe isn't standing next to him. Riley swallows it.

"Yeah," he says. "That whoever owns this," with a frustrated gesture at the laptop, "is even more paranoid than I am." Riley sighs. "I got past the initial layer of security, but it took all night; the stuff's incredibly complex. I don't know how much of it's because of different tech between our worlds and how much is just because you guys are from 2007 and I'm from 2004, but I've never seen anything like some of it."

He shoves his hands into his pockets. "The system encryptions should have been the hardest part, but I can't get into more than a couple of files, and none of the biggest ones, which I'm guessing are also the important ones. The ones that I did crack, they're in some kind of

[shortofcrazy]

Riley has little-to-no idea what's going on here, but he still doesn't like it. Not one bit.

He raises a hand. "Uh - why doesn't Chloe remember any of this? A kidnapping's a kind of memorable occasion."

[hero_farmboy]

For once, Riley isn't all that far behind Clark this time around with knowledge of what's going on.

"Uh, well, the last guy that got kidnapped, it seemed like they wiped his memory before they released him, back to prior to his abduction." He looks Chloe over, concerned. "Makes sense they'd do the same to you."

[torch_reporter]

"It still doesn't explain why they'd do this in the first place."

[hero_farmboy]

"Look, Chloe, I'm just glad that you're back, all right?" Clark would like to get the whys and hows out of the topic of conversation for th etime being.

"And we have Bethany's laptop. Riley's been able to get a bit of information out of it, but you know the Luthor security systems. Maybe you can pull off a miracle?"

[torch_reporter]

"I can try," Chloe murmurs, glancing at the computer. Riley taught her a good most of everything she knows. She's not certain how much more she can get out of it, but Clark has a point. She is definitely familiar with the Luthor web.

Her arms tighten around her chest as she glances around the Talon. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. Kidnapped. The word haunts her. Suddenly, it feels like there are too many people around.

"Um, guys? Do you mind if we go upstairs. I'd feel safer if, you know, we were alone or something."

[shortofcrazy]

"Considering we've got somebody's stolen laptop with top-secret material, it's not a bad idea," says Riley, but he's caught the look on her face, and he touches her elbow in silent assurance before he closes up both laptops and sets to unhooking them.

He passes Bethany's laptop to Chloe and gathers up his stuff -- papers, pen, half-drank coffee -- leaving behind an empty coffee mug.

[hero_farmboy]

Clark hasn't taken his eyes off Chloe since she reappeared and it should be him giving her the reassurances, but Riley gets there first. He supposed that's the way it should be. (He didn't even get to hug her when she came back.)

"Yeah, it is a good idea. We can talk more freely up there, too."

[shortofcrazy]

Riley, meanwhile, has tucked his laptop and papers under one arm. He nods at Clark, in agreement, and makes an 'after you' sort of motion at Chloe (toward the stairs) with his free hand.

[torch_reporter]

She smiles gratefully at both of them. Seriously, she has the best friend and the best boyfriend in the world. Who else would accompany her to a hacking session?

Unsurprisingly, Chloe stays very close to both of them as they head up the stairs and to the apartment.

[hero_farmboy]

Once inside the apartment, Clark lets Chloe and Riley set up and get started on their computer things, while he... boils water.

Coffee duty is totally important.

[shortofcrazy]

The computers are hooked up in short time, chairs dragged up to the table near the kitchen, and Riley's pointing out what he's done.

It's kind of a lot.

It was all a giant pain in the ass, but it's a lot. Riley knows his shit and he works hard at it, especially when the life of someone he loves is on the line.

He points it all out right up to where he got stuck.

"I don't know what it is," he says, pointing at Bethany's laptop, where the code encrypting one of the biggest files is slowly scrolling down the screen. "I've never seen code like it before, and I haven't been able to get through it, even with my computer linked in."

[torch_reporter]

She considers his work carefully. It's a good distraction from what's really going on - from the abduction and the possible reasons for it. From all she can tell, he did as good a job as he could.

"That's the Luthors for you," she answers, glancing away from the computer for a moment. "Anything they touch and it'll be more tightly sealed than Fort Knox."

But she can try. She has to try.

[hero_farmboy]

Coffee made, Clark sits off to the side. And waits.

He hates waiting, hates not being the one who can do something and he's sort of starting to feel like a third wheel, but there's no way he's leaving. He needs to be here and be ready to move as soon as she - they - find something.

[torch_reporter]

"Thanks, Clark," Chloe says, picking up the coffee mug and taking a long sip before getting back to work. Two pairs of eyes watching her unnerves her slightly. So when the computer beeps when she comes across another block, she swears in frustration under her breath.

[shortofcrazy]

Riley opens his mouth to tell her that he ran into that one, earlier, and you don't want to do what she just tried -- but he kind of thinks it won't be appreciated.

It's hard to say if, when he glances in Clark's general direction, it's because of the sight of Clark or the sight of coffee that he makes a decision. Either way, he gets up, stretching.

"Ungh, coffee," he says. "No more." He kisses Chloe's hair, squeezes her shoulder gently, and then heads in the general direction of the bathroom.

There's not much he can do here; trying to help Chloe through it'll do right away with the advantages of having a fresh set of eyes look it over. If he leaves her with the computer for a couple've minutes, then checks back, they can start going through scenarios together.

Plus -- Chloe and Clark are friends. It'll be good to leave them alone; let them talk.

And he's had, like, five cups of coffee over the past few hours, and hasn't dared to leave the laptops alone.