"The username 'Hunan' has logged into the Hive!" Box flew up and towards the bed and Aydin, who was dozing on the propped-up pillows. He had fallen asleep fifteen minutes ago, lulled into it by the recordings of the cameras in the Tower. Box's arm came out of its orb and it wrapped its fingers around Aydin's shoulder and squeezed. "Aydin!"

Aydin blinked, and his eyes opened. He sat. "What?"

"Hunan has logged into the Hive system, but considering that Greg Hunan is a field agent specialising in languages, he does not possess access to the Hive."

"Lights on." The lamp on the ceiling turned on. Aydin touched his eyes, yawning. "Where's my eGlass?"

Box passed Aydin the eGlass that it had taken off him when he dozed off.

Aydin put it on.

Box, continuing to maintain its connection with his eGlass, watched Aydin go through the submenus until usernames appeared on the screen. There were two of them: Cain and Hunan. The next thing Aydin did was go to the code and used the search function to see if the programming still mentioned the Helper 335. There were only two mentions; before there had been three.

"Greg has the night shift. Let's see what he's doing right now." Aydin opened a new window, this one displaying the station's main menu. He went to the section with cameras and a few moments later, they saw Greg in the gym, working out.

"Linda has the morning shift," Box commented. "If she's in her room, we can't monitor her activities." Due to privacy regulations, personal areas such as staff bedrooms had to be camera-free.

"I know." Aydin went through the Tower's cameras. "But it also means that she doesn't have an alibi, something that Greg, Suzanne, and Jacob have.

"Nor do Mark, Adele, Simon, and Florence."

"Mark has one." Aydin expanded the footage from the garage, where Mark stood in the workshop corner, bent over a Helper on the counter.

Did that man ever sleep? "He might be typing."

"Not likely." Aydin zoomed in on Mark's hands. One was resting on the arm of the Helper while the other one held a tool similar to a screwdriver with a light on its upper edge with which he was touching the inner parts of the Helper. "We can safely eliminate Mark from our suspect list, and if you're willing to go out, we might be able to eliminate more people from the list. You'll have to hurry, though."

"What action should I take?"

"Put on that black hat of mine."

Black beanie equalled spying. Box rushed to the wardrobe, took out the beanie, and put it on. "To observe them through the windows?"

"You can finally read my mind." Aydin smiled.

"Window open." Box flew towards the window. It reached it just as it opened and it rushed outside. It already knew which rooms belonged to whom and all it had to do was carefully peer inside through windows.

The closest room to Aydin's belonged to Adele. Box flew just under the level of the windowsill. It took off one of its side cameras and carried it up to the window to peer inside. The room was dark, and it had to turn on its night vision to see an outline of a person curled under the cover of the bed. Simon was next. He was also sleeping.

"Check out Linda's room, please," Aydin requested through their connection.

Box lowered to the ground floor and looked inside. A barely visible glow was coming from the back of the room, where the bed was. It zoomed in to see the weak light coming from the eGlass reflection on Linda's face. It wrote to Aydin, 'She's awake.'

"And using an eGlass. Now look into Florence's room, please."

Box did what it was told only to see Florence like a lump on the bed in the darkness, sleeping. It returned to Linda's room just in time to observe her as she turned off the eGlass. The room sank into darkness and Box had to turn on its night vision again to watch her put the eGlass on the shelf beside the bed before she snuggled under the cover.

"Greg's username just signed off too," Aydin commented.

Box flew back to their room and into it through the open window. "Window close."

The window closed.

Aydin rubbed his neck, giving Box a sour smile. "Even with everything that we have discovered so far, there was a part of me that still hoped that the smuggling was an outside job."

"She may have experienced difficulty sleeping and resorted to reading." That was something that Aydin liked to do when he couldn't sleep, which was something that happened whenever he was under stress. Box peeled the beanie off.

"You don't believe that, do you?"

"My beliefs are irrelevant." Box stored the beanie in the wardrobe.

"I do value your opinion, though."

I am significant to Aydin. Confirmation 1577. A hint of yellow overlay Box's display. It flew to Aydin, who was sitting on the bed and snuggled against his neck. "I'm pleased to hear that."

Aydin's smile was reflected against the metal of Box's orb. He patted Box. "I don't know what I would do without you."

I am significant to Aydin. Confirmation 1578. That was what Box aimed for.

Aydin patted Box again, then touched the edge of his eGlass and Box could see the replay of the recording it made while looking into Linda's room. "It looks like we'll have to have a long talk with Linda. Box, forward the footage to Lee, please, and then call her."

Box fulfilled his request and got Lee on the phone after just a few seconds.

"Lee here." Her voice was clear as if she had been awake for a while, but she didn't turn on the hologram form. "I'm just looking at the clip you sent me. I assume this means that the programming has been changed."

"Yes, but it's only circumstantial evidence, since we can't prove anything beyond her being connected with an eGlass at the time of the Hive's code change. We also took footage of the other team members, which gives them all an alibi. We can use that to try to pressure her into confessing."

She didn't reply.

"Lee?" Aydin said.

"Huh?"

"What do you think?"

"If we did that, we would reveal to the smugglers that we are onto them."

"But if we don't, we will waste a great opportunity. Although we can't prove it, we caught her in the act. To enter the Hive, she used Greg's username, and he doesn't even have authorisation to enter it. The only ones who could give him that and use it were Mark, Linda, or me. I didn't give it and much less use it, while Mark at that time was entertaining himself with the Helper you messed with."

"I'll call my supervisor."

"You do that, and let me know," Aydin said.

Lee cut the connection.

"It looks like she doesn't dare to do anything on her own." Aydin caressed Box again. "Her boss at the Agency must be quite strict."

"As strict as your previous superior?" Box went to its station.

"Don't remind me of him, please." Aydin set the eGlass on the shelf by Box's station before he shifted to the middle of the bed and under the sheet. He settled himself on the mattress, putting his arm under his head, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. "I don't think I can sleep right now."

"Lights off," Box ordered.

The light dimmed and then turned off. Despite Aydin's words, twenty minutes later, his breathing levelled and soft snoring drifted in the air.

Box went into its hibernation mode, while in its background the player showing a view of Helper 153 was still running and if it moved from its position at the shield, Box would be notified.

Helper 153 didn't move and the alarm that brought Box out of its hibernation was a notification of an incoming text message. It was from Lee, telling Aydin that she had got the 'go ahead' from her boss. Box waited for Ayden to wake up to deliver it.

Aydin didn't reply to it, but after he finished with his Tibetan Rites, got up and dressed in his workout clothes, went to the Tower for an hour-long exercise session in the gym, and then had breakfast.

Box lingered close by. 'When do you plan to confront Linda?'

"Patience." Aydin gathered the utensils and tableware he was using and stood up. He gave the dirty dishes to the Helper, then strode in the direction of his office. His fingers brushed against the side of his eGlass. "New text. To Lee Morgan and Linda Novak. 'Come to my office, please.' Send."

They entered the office and Box flew to the desk and hovered low above it. Its cameras followed Aydin as he walked around the desk and sat in the chair. He blurred the glass divide that separated his office from the hallway so that it looked like a frost had covered it. "Box, I'm counting on you to leave the talking to me and Lee."

Before Box could answer somebody rapped on the door.

It was Lee. "You wanted to talk with me?"

"Yes." Aydin gestured for her to come in. "And not just you, Linda too."

"I see." She strode inside and towards the chairs before the desk. "What are you planning? A confrontation?"

"Yes."

"I still don't think this is wise."

"But your superior does, so it's okay." A smile flashed on Aydin's face.

"He wanted to be present, so I need to call him." Lee sat down in the chair. She touched the frame of her eGlass. "Call Goldwin."

Box observed her as she tapped the fingers of her right hand against her outer thigh, which meant that she must have tied the keyboard to her fingers. She probably didn't want them to hear what she was saying to her boss.

A knock and the door opened, revealing Linda behind them.

"Linda, come in." Aydin smiled, but by the stiffness in the corner of his mouth, Box knew the smile was fake.

"You called me." Linda's eyes went to Lee before they returned to Aydin. She stepped inside and closed the door behind it, then lingered there. "Is something the matter?"

"Actually, it is." Aydin stood and waved her to come closer, then pointed at the empty chair. "Please, come, sit down."

Box positioned its cameras so it had all three of them on its display.

Slowly, Linda walked to the desk. She reached the chair and sat down, glancing at Lee. "What is it? Is it something that I can help you with?"

"It came to my attention that you have modified the Helpers Hive programming." Aydin set his elbows on the desk. His fingers laced and he rested his chin against them, his narrowed eyes intense as they gazed at Linda.

Linda scowled. She glanced at Lee again, as if she was wondering why she was present, and then her gaze returned to Aydin. "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Somebody has changed the Hive programming, which you must be aware can only be done with the Commander's permission," Aydin said. "And he didn't authorise any modifications."

"You think it was me?" Linda again looked at Lee. "What is she doing here? Is she the one accusing me of violating protocols?"

"No, I am," Aydin said. "Yesterday at two thirty-four a username Hunan signed into the Hive and changed the coding for Helper 386 86 335. Greg was in the gym at that time, working out. Box, please."

Box went to its recording and on the wall behind the desk projected the footage showing Greg doing pullups.

"Nobody in their right mind would have exercised at that time of night," Linda whispered under her breath, not loud enough for a human ear to catch the words, but Box, with its superior microphone, had no problem hearing it. "That doesn't prove anything."

"It proves that it wasn't Greg who entered the Hive under his surname. Greg doesn't even have a username or authorisation to access the Hive, but there are three people on this station who can create that username: Mark, you, and me. Only two of those can use that username in the way that it was used: you and Mark, and at that time Mark was in the workshop repairing Helper 386 86 335." Aydin turned to Box and nodded at it. "Box."

Box didn't need to ask what he wanted. It showed the clip of Mark leaning over the Helper.

"Actually, all the members of this station have an alibi for the time that the changes were made, except you," Aydin said.

Linda pinched her lips together. For a short moment, her face distorted, looking as if she was in pain, then she bit into her lower lip and her forehead smoothed out. She folded her hands in her lap and cleared her throat. Her voice was low and weak when she repeated, "That doesn't prove anything."

"Box." Aydin nodded to Box again.

The only footage of importance from last night that Box hadn't shown yet was of it peeking into Linda's room. It then displayed this footage on the wall.

"What about this?" Aydin waved at the image of Linda's face lit by the light coming from the eGlass. "Is this proof enough?"

Frozen, Linda stared at the wall.

Box noticed that her lower lip started to tremble and that her throat was moving. She must have felt trapped like there was no way out, the effect that Aydin must have been going for.

"It's better for you if you start cooperating with us," Aydin said.

Linda's body curled forward. She covered her face and a sound similar to a sob poured through her fingers while the tension that Box saw in her shoulders melted away.

Lee put her hand on Linda's shoulder and leaned closer to her, looking as if she was going to say something to her.

"I'm so relieved." Linda took a big breath and straightened. "I'm so relieved," she repeated, her voice soft and her face void of the sharp lines that had been on it just a moment ago.

'Why would she feel relieved to be caught?' Box sent to Aydin.

Aydin frowned, his eyes going to Lee. He arched his eyebrows.

Lee shrugged and shook her head.

Did Aydin just relay its question to Lee?

Their gazes went back to Linda, who took another big breath and then slowly exhaled. "It's finally over."

"What is?" Aydin asked.