The Mirror

Chapter 1: Under the Microscope

Federal Building. February 10, 2005. Thursday morning.

"Did you bring it?" Diana asked Neal.

He nodded. "I left it at my desk. Where's Peter?" The morning briefing was scheduled to start. Jones, Diana, and Travis were already present in the conference room when Neal arrived.

"He called in," Jones said. "His meeting with Hughes is running late." Travis, White Collar's electronics expert, had pulled up a circuitry diagram to study on his laptop. Neal flipped open his notepad and began to doodle.

"Diana, what's the name of that restaurant you like so much on East 46th Street?" Jones asked.

"Vitae. It's Christie's favorite restaurant."

"Any chance they'd have a table free for Valentine's Day?"

"You're joking, right? That's only a few days away."

Jones groaned. "I shouldn't have waited so long to make reservations. Now Helen's favorite restaurant is full and I've struck out at all my backup choices as well."

"You could cook," Neal suggested.

"No, you could cook," Jones retorted. "Have you ever heard me mention cooking anything? There's a reason for that. Somehow I don't think slapping a frozen pizza in the oven would win me many points with Helen. Maybe Delmonico's has a table free. What do you have planned for Fiona, Caffrey?"

Before Neal could reply, Peter walked into the room, cutting short any more talk of Valentine's Day activities. Judging by the somber expression on his face, Peter was in no mood for jokes. "Sorry for the delay," he said. "Hughes received news about Azathoth."

The cybercriminal, nicknamed Azathoth because of his fascination with the world of the Cthulhu Mythos, had been on their hit list since they'd first encountered his malware last fall. Their pursuit had turned personal when he kidnapped Peter and Neal last October and followed it up in January with a malicious hoax on Peter. His behavior verged on the criminally insane.

Peter took a seat and connected his laptop to the projector. "As you no doubt recall, the first known museum security system to be hacked by Azathoth's malware was the Prague National Gallery in February of last year. The Czech police detective in charge of that investigation has just been found dead." He paused for a moment to let the news sink in. "The malware used to attack the security program had only been identified last month. After its activation for the heist, it disguised itself and entered a dormant state where it could presumably be activated in the future."

"Any evidence that Azathoth was responsible for the death of the agent?" Jones asked.

"The bizarre nature of the crime points in his direction," Peter confirmed. "The detective's body was discovered at the Prague Aquapalace. When the building crew arrived in the morning to perform maintenance on the indoor pool, they discovered his corpse floating on his back with a latex octopus glued onto his face." Peter pulled up a photo of the crime scene and displayed it on the wall screen. "The detective had been struck on the head. The octopus was probably glued on while he was unconscious. Death was caused by suffocation, the octopus having effectively prevented any air from entering his lungs. The swimming pool played no role in his death except to serve as a stage prop."

"That octopus looks like a cruel parody of the giant one they display next to the pool," Travis commented, pointing to a large octopus sculpture next to a lighthouse among the pool decorations.

Peter nodded in agreement. "The octopus that was used in the crime is being analyzed to determine the exact composition. This is the first death we've heard of which is associated with Azathoth."