The surveillance room employee didn't know Mason's identity but, seeing his boss's deferential behavior, guessed he must be someone important.

Not daring to offend, he explained truthfully: "Even the person who designed this surveillance system couldn't recover it."

"This isn't just a simple deleted file that a skilled programmer or hacker could restore."

"It's a self-preservation protocol - or you could call it a self-destruction program. Once the data's cleared, it's ...