[i]Weeks Prior[/i]

Sam found herself ducking down an alley. She ditched her cell phone, even as it ignited, and retrieved a freshly-booted netbook from her bag of tricks. They wouldn't get her [i]this[/i]time...

[i]"Seriously?"[/i] Sam mouthed as her back hit the brick wall. Her fingers danced across the tiny keyboard, producing another symphony of ones and zeroes which threatened to secure her place in the record books. [i]"These assholes seriously never heard of SQL Injection?"[/i]

The local emergency bands registered an infuriatingly soothing tune, at Sam's behest. It blanketed all frequencies typically used by emergency responders; including, but not limited to police, EMTs, and local anti-terrorism units. All in all, it was a rather catchy beat, Sam mused, as she entered in the final computations to initiate the self-destruct on this burner netbook. She wouldn't be using [i]that[/i] algorithm again...

Sam ducked down an alley and crouched behind a dumpster. Her headset relayed the expectedly infuriating music, but yielded nothing else. She smiled at the fact she'd have to put up with this, rather than instructions to other field agents as to how her freedom might come to an end. She even took a moment to view one of their field units, reveling in the disarray her little stunt had created. Had they even yet realized [i]why[/i] they could not communicate?

But the voice of reason took her again. It told her this situation could never be permanent, and if her freedom was ever to make that status, she had to leave...[i]now.[/i] Sam tweaked the transmission slightly, allowing the network to broadcast a slight imperfection in the jamming signal which indicated an origin point two and a half miles to the northeast, then  slinked past the patrol and into a sewer. The manhole cover had been orders of magnitude heavier than she predicted, and Sam made a mental note to thank Gugliermo Marconi for the few extra seconds she needed to disappear.

[hr]

Sam broke from her reverie as she heard Nora's departure from the doorway. Her thoughts became a jumble as she attempted to sort out memory from memory. She put her ear to the door and confirmed that Nora had indeed left, then tried the knob. When it opened, Sam let out a sigh of relief. These were definitely [i]not[/i] secure dorms. When she cast her eyes downward, she found herself confronted with a new problem.

[i]"Oh, yeah, sure...[/i] the voice of reason taunted. [i]"Go ahead. Touch it. I'd like to see this."[/i]

She scowled, remembering all her previous experiences with the selective nature of her ability, and went to retrieve the top cover of her bedclothes. Sam slept only with the thinnest sheet, anyway, so the comforter could be properly sacrificed to shield her from an unwanted episode. She netted the laptop with the thick blanket and gathered up all her belongings by scooping up the corners and carrying it inside her room like a hobo's bag. Her heel prompted the door shut as she headed for the bed.

[i]"I know you did [/i]something....[i]"[/i] Sam just stared at the bundle, unwilling to undo it and confront what awaited her. She must have knelt at that bedside for hours before her thumbs and forefingers delicately peeled away the protective layer to reveal what lay underneath.