’You found something?’
[Yes. Please give me a few seconds.]
The drones were almost done sweeping the warehouse. Using the traces found inside, the Eisenbergs might be able to track down whoever had used it before, but Dante couldn’t take the same route. He needed a different approach, one that would allow him to reach the end before anyone else.
Just when he thought the search was done, the drones seemed to find something on the walls of the warehouse. Each one was highlighted in red, appearing as barely perceivable dots.
[Miniature cameras.] Volcan said, sounding a little disappointed. [They have been active until seconds ago.]
Of course. That made perfect sense. From what Victor had told him, Caligo’s core members were very secretive and didn’t like to act in the open. People like that would have more than one layer of deception to conceal their identities they wouldn’t go out of their way to meet someone just because they showed interest in their product.
Most likely, the warehouse was a place where clients were vetted in some way, with a lower-level member handling the negotiation while the higher-ups watched from afar. There is no guarantee that the transaction would even take place during that first meeting.
That said, if Volcan were to track down the connection-
[My apologies. It seems my attempt to track down the other end of the connection has been unsuccessful.]
Alas, things couldn’t be that easy.
’Don’t tell me it’s like the app...’
[That seems to be the case.]
While Dante was busy interrogating Caligo’s henchman -Rechy- Volcan attempted to track down the contacts in the messenger app twice, using both the original and the one he cloned. Nothing came out of either attempt. Whoever made the apps was cautious enough to make it so the messages passed through dozens of proxies before reaching their destination, and apparently, they had done the same with the hidden cameras.
’They don’t play around...’
That was to be expected. This is a big gang he was going against, not the usual street rats. Opening his eyes, Dante glanced beside him. Ms. Hero was silent for some time now, giving him much-needed peace of mind. With how things have been progressing, he was starting to wonder if a Level 3 Advanced was going to be enough for what he had planned.
[I would have preferred to find the exact location, but the best I was able to manage was narrowing it down to a certain area.]
’That would have to do, I guess...’
"Did you find anything?"
Liliana asked with a hint of excitement in her voice. She had pulled down the black mask that was supposed to hide her face, as if eager to show him her radiant -and dangerously naive- smile. He wanted to reprimand her, say that she must keep her face hidden right now, but doing so felt like a major pain.
"The warehouse was empty, as expected." He said.
The girl’s expression fell instantly, but a second later her gaze grew sharp.
"You still found some leads, right?"
"Not sure if they’ll get us anywhere."
Volcan had already presented him with a map. The proxy servers used by the gang had to be custom-made since they were likely meant for more than just transferring the footage from hidden cameras, and most had to be installed in their territory to reduce the risk of outsiders finding them.
In a way, Caligo had its own local network that was almost entirely separate from the internet. With each server in their control, all they had to do was shut down one or two and the thread leading to them would be cut.
The map showed the locations of the servers that had been shut after Volcan’s infiltration was detected, each represented by one of three colors; red for the original messenger app, green for the cloned one, and blue for the hidden cameras. There were no less than thirty, and when considering the ones still active, one could imagine there being a couple hundred at the very least.
[These three are the ones I managed to reach.] The AI highlighted an area close to three different points. [Though I remain uncertain, the pattern suggests that the main servers should be somewhere around here.]
Connecting the dots by color formed three long lines with only a few branches here and there. Each end showed the farthest server Volcan had reached, and with the three long lines pointing in the same direction, one could see why the AI concluded that the area he highlighted might house the main server.
’That’s still a big area...’
The size aside, there was one more problem with the place the three colorful lines pointed at. It was near Factory Town’s outer border, making it dangerously close to The Pit. Dante didn’t want to think that Caligo had made a base for themselves somewhere in that place.
[I might be able to further narrow down the area if you can find more gang members.]
’That would take too much time...’
To successfully infiltrate someone’s NIM and mess around with their apps and data, Volcan needed to be in close proximity to the target. It can still be done remotely via the internet, but that way would take far too long and increase the chances of being discovered.
Searching his mind, Dante noted that he didn’t have many options. It’s either searching the area Volcan highlighted, or hunting more of Caligo’s henchmen to trace their connection. There was a third option, but this one wasn’t picked for him.
Somewhere in the distance, the ravings of motor engines could be heard. For a moment he didn’t pay them any mind, thinking they were nothing more than some bikers enjoying a light night ride, but then he heard the sound of tires skidding on the asphalt as they reached the alleyway he was hiding in.
No sooner had he said the word than a dozen headlights flashed him and the girl.