What Eric had said was something that was on everyone’s mind.<br/><br/>“I couldn’t agree more. This damned situation is already beyond a pain in the ass,” Kat said in an exasperated tone as she returned her attention to the device. Her brow furrowed in thought, mind racing through the information they have gathered once again. They needed to hurry up. Whatever was happening, she had a feeling, was about to happen now and they had to stop it. She would never forgive herself if she couldn’t get the code right.<br/><br/>“You can say that again,” Ryan commented, though his agreement was for a different reason. He glanced at Eric out of the corner of his eye, a signal, a look that Kat hadn’t seen. She probably wouldn’t have been very happy with him if he had seen it.<br/><br/>Kat said nothing and sat down with the device. She took in a deep breath to help gather her concentration, “Ok. Here goes nothing.” Her brow furrowed as she looked over the codes and documents that Eric pointed out, trying to decide where the best place to insert the code would be. From what she remembered about it, she only had a few tries to get it right. Thomas had wanted it to be that way. He had said something about it being some kind of safeguard, to make sure the information didn’t fall into the wrong hands, which made sense.<br/><br/>First, she inserted what she remembered off the top of her head, just to test it. The device was quiet; usually there would be some kind of chime to show whether or not she was getting it right, but it was not received. This had certainly lifted her spirits a little more. She was confident she wouldn’t screw up, even if it has been awhile but she didn’t want to be overconfident, not when this was all riding on whether or not she could remember something from years ago.<br/><br/>In the meantime, Ryan was also looking back through the information. It never hurts to double check everything. It gave him something to do as well, so he wasn’t just sitting around.<br/><br/>After awhile, Kat finally managed to break through. She nearly jumped up with excitement. “Got it!” Well, she had gotten through the first layer, but there was still a lot of information to go through. “You guys could look through this while I finish up. I’ll need the other half of the code soon, too.” Not once had she looked up. Eric might be right about them needing third code, but perhaps the answer was closer than any of them suspected.<br/><br/>“Hold on a minute,” Ryan said suddenly.<br/><br/>“Yes?”<br/><br/>“I’ve found a layout of the city. It looks like a map pinpointing where all of the gang territories are.”<br/><br/>“That confirms their involvement then…”<br/><br/>“Not quite, dear Kat,” Ryan’s tone sounded somewhat offended by Kat’s words. “I don’t involve myself with the military.”<br/><br/>“But you are still a leader of a gang. You’re a wanted man, if I recall,” Kat replied, looking over her at him out of the corner of her eye. For a moment, the tension between them seemed to rise. Thankfully it had not escalated into anything. This was just a conversation, nothing more; there was no reason for them to suddenly be at each other’s throats. The look that they had exchanged seemed to reflect that message which was a good thing. They were on the same page about something at least.<br/><br/>She stood up and folded her arms over her chest. “I can feel it,” she continued, “we’re close now. All we need are those other codes, and the missing information will be ours. If we do need a third code, maybe it’s right before our eyes. I can’t really explain it. Somehow, I just know it isn’t far.”<br/><br/>-------------------------------<br/><br/>Tony hated waiting with a passion. As he waited for the woman to return, he began to grow anxious. It was tempting to run off and get in contact with some people he knew. He could do it, if he was quick enough. If being the key word. He was sure, as soon as he prepared to head off, she would be finished. His feelings of dislike toward her were mutual. It didn’t take a genius to know that, if he didn’t return by the time she was done, which he was sure he would not, he would be in some deep shit.<br/><br/>He waited around for a few moments more before glancing around the area to make sure everything was clear. He didn’t care if he would be in deep shit. This was as good of a time as any to ditch her. She could handle her business on her own. She said she’d come after him, but he didn’t care. He had business to take care of himself, and he couldn’t have her around.