Burning of the midnight lamp

2 AM - Oh how I love these late nights. VCR clock is blinking in dulling monotonic manner. Fan is out of order and temperature is soaring. Streets are dirty and crowded by drunks. Deadline is coming on strong and good old Whiskey is moaning to get some canned delights.

I don't mind about those deadlines, quite contrary, I love them. Usually it is very easy to keep up with the schedule, but every now and then something far bigger comes along and it is impossible to let it slide.

I noticed it when I was jumping from CIA to FBI databases. There was something there, too subtle for even system administrators to notice. Well, that is not such a high remark for the admins as they never spot me either. It takes one ultra cool stealth foxy to notice another low-flying intruder.

Couldn't really put my finger on it. There was something, I for sure wasn't there alone... I had to use all my tricks to track the stream to Nigeria. Now that's a country that rings several bells - any one needing some free reserve cash that should be deposited somewhere, just pay the transaction costs etc. Reminds me to finish the story about that cartel in Niger... Anyways, end of the line and nothing was solved. It is unlikely that some mud hut would have broadband. Wonder what is going on? Someone is seeing way too much trouble to cover this up. Almost like me... Makes me scared, I use the info to write mini Watergate stories, which pull the pants down for few not too nice people, but what if this new lead is using all that information to do something more serious than writing?

I put the information from the tracer program into my data refiner and something odd came up - Helsinki 2005. Why Helsinki? What is going down there? I had to finish my story at hand and get editor to develop an interest towards this remote European capital. I was going to be there to dig out more.