think so.
........Prologue
........
........The night's stillness revealed nothing of the approaching danger. Across the road, a streetlamp over the Kingston cemetery's gate sputtered out, an unwelcome omen. The hacker let the blinds snap closed and returned to the screen: the encryption program continued processing the files.
........A sound. Back of the house? He thumbed the safety off the 9mm at his side and stepped to the doorway. Intense, he stared down the hall of his flat, listening, nerves raw from the last forty-eight hours.
........Nothing.
........On the screen, the encryption continued. Once it finished, uploading the file to Alcazar would get it beyond his system, at least.
........Back at the desk, he set the pistol down and prepared an encrypted email with his personal key. Trying to compose a quick note became an obstacle. How to convey the unbelievable without sounding insane? Short and to the point, with a link to the file. The content would speak for itself.
........He strode back to the door, pistol in hand.
........"Whoever the hell you people are," he muttered, "word will go out…. people will know." The empty hallway swallowed his words. But would they believe? Turning, he saw his reflection in a wall mirror. Sweat glistened on his brow and upper lip, his hair oily and matted from days without a shower. The glint of fear and fanaticism was expected, as the last of disbelief was gone.
........He jerked to face the hallway. Another noise. A window sliding? The cooling fans from the computer filled the room, masking sounds from elsewhere in the house.
........Seconds coalesced into minutes, fear like fog in the bay of his mind. At the doorway to his den, his pulse measured time. To check out the other rooms might rob him of the chance to send the file, so he stood watch instead. The only comfort imaginable came from the thought of getting the file out. It could be the last thing he ever did, but it would go out. It had to.
........Finally, the progress bar crawled to completion, the encryption done. He immediately began the upload to an obscure web server; he didn't have time to send it to Alcazar, the most secure destination, as it was too slow. Every second counted, now. For the email, the Magistrate system would make tracing his message nearly impossible. All those conscripted servers would randomly relay the mail to its eventual destination.
........Who to? There was only one hacker he trusted, one he knew with the resources and wits to do the right thing with it. GeneralHell. After clicking the send button, he realized he could be mailing out a death sentence. For a brief moment regret lingered - until something much stronger took hold.
........He turned to face the doorway, bringing the pistol up. As if the air pressure had changed, somehow he sensed another presence, maybe more than one. Pain bloomed in his skull, like a headache but modulated, unnatural. Anticipation crumbled into raw fear as every sense began to ache; it hurt to see, to breath, even to stand. Everything flared in pain. Confusion set in, rapidly eroding focus. The truth was dawning, rising to life from the pages of the stolen documents. "Ah shit."
........They could do this.
........He almost missed the tone signaling the upload was complete. Reaching down, he stabbed the power switch, plunging the room into silence. Blood pulsed loudly against his eardrums, accompanied by the pain. The weight of the pistol was a comfort, but now only as a sure means of escape from the hellish crescendo overtaking his body.
........Had he only known, he wouldn't have taken the information, would never have spent those months digging. Looking back, his motives had been naïve. Uncover the truth. Everyone deserves to know the truth.
........Straining from the pain, he spoke quietly to the room. "No one deserves this."
........