Alpha Complex Network

[ Hardison flicks on the video feed. He looks tired but wired. Thanks to Parker there are empty orange bouncy bubble beverage bottles everywhere and cereal boxes littered around. Does she love him or what? He leans back and runs a hand over his face before taking a deep breath.]

Alright, listen. Thanks to myself, Dick Grayson and Matt Farrell we've now got a way to encrypt messages just for those of us they call "Specials". Considering the way things are going it's not a moment too soon either.

No one is looking out for us here but us.

[ He crosses his arms.] Look, we make this look easy, but it wasn't. We have this routed through so many channels it'd make your head spin, but all it takes is one person to compromise it. I don't know you and you don't know me. But if we're going to survive here, we all need to work together. If the network is compromised we can take it down in two minutes, but it's going to take a lot longer to rebuild it. Even longer if any three of us are turned over. Got it?

[ He nods.]

Alright. Then enjoy being able to speak your mind without Big Brother listening in. If you want comms tuned into the network get them to me, Dick or Matt and we can set them up for you.

[ He picks up an almost empty bottle of bouncy beverage and drains it.]

Hardison, out.

[ Hardison is sporting a black eye and a nasty bruise on the right side of his face. He's also moving and talking slightly slower than he may normally, as if concentrating takes a lot of effort, but his expression is determined and extremely serious as he turns the vid feed on. ]

Hey, I'd talk to you guys about this one on one, but it's difficult with the shadow they assigned me. I've only got a few minutes but here's the deal. This place is insane. And it's getting more insane with every passing day. If we're going to stay alive we need to stick together.

[ He pauses, his eyes flicking up and over the camera. After a second he continues.]

Look, Matt and I are hackers and Dick, you're freaking Robin. Between the three of us, we should be able to set up a network for people we trust to communicate using and altering the encryption codes that the secret socities use. Seems like most of the specials are in the same boat as us, except for--

[ He swallows, his attention being drawn away again.]

Gotta go.

[The feed ends abruptly.]