by Peter Glenn
So, seeing Taio, in all his awesomeness, reduced to riding public transportation and sleeping on my stained couch was something of a cool new pastime for me.
“Are you sure this is it?” Taio asked me. He craned his neck to look at the top of the closest skyscraper as we neared it.
“Heh. This is it, all right,” I told him.
Just how many mega campuses could there be in the Seattle area, anyway? I supposed there was room for more than one, but no, this was Delta Fox all right.
I pointed at a giant, glowing sign just ahead. It was lit up with LEDs and it had the Delta Fox logo—the Greek letter delta being cuddled by a fox with a little spaceship flying around it in a circle. The whole thing had a retro feel to it, like something you’d see on an old 8-bit gaming console. “See?”
Taio followed my trail of vision and nodded. “Ah. Yes, I see now.”
As we neared the guard station, I used a quick illusion charm to hide Grax’thor from view. Didn’t need anyone seeing my sword and giving me away. Then I pressed a small, rectangular object into Taio’s palm. “Here. Flash this at the gate guard as we walk past.”
He frowned and stared down at the small object. “What is this?”
I nudged him so he would keep looking upward and in front of him instead. I didn’t want our cover to be blown by my brother suddenly turning overly curious. “Don’t worry about what it is. Just act natural. Pretend you’ve been doing this for days. Flash the little card at them as you walk past and don’t pay the guards any real attention.”
“But what is it?”
Damn, he was persistent. I growled. “Just do what I say, already.”
Taio groaned like he wanted to protest, but he said nothing further.
We kept walking along and ran into a throng of people that were all trying to press their way into the main complex. Several more people lined up behind us as well until we were just a couple Asians stuck in the middle of a giant line. Taio’s mouth hung open like he wanted to talk to me again, but I shushed him with a swift motion of my hand and kept staring ahead like everyone else in line.
Seriously, brother, don’t screw this up for me.
Before long, we were at the main gate. There were two guards at the gate, staring at each person in turn and waving them on through. When they got to the two of us, I flashed my own little piece of plastic at them and motioned for Taio to do the same. He flashed his own little plastic card at them with a broad smile.
A few seconds later, we were both ushered on through the main gate.
Phew. The plan had worked.
We were in the middle of what appeared to be a giant courtyard. There was a big fountain in the center that had some sort of statue on the top, though not of anyone I recognized. The founder of Delta Fox, maybe? Several trees and shrubs spread out from the fountain, and a number of stone walkways snaked along in several different directions, heading toward the main buildings of the campus.
It was really something to take in. Not at all what I would have expected for being in the middle of an urban city like Seattle.
Taio turned to me a moment later, holding the object I’d given him out to me at arm’s length like it was going to give him a disease if he touched it more than he had to.
“Explain, please.”
“Oh, Taio.” I rolled my eyes. “You never were much for sneaking around, were you?”
“Indeed,” he said.
I snatched back the plastic object and slid it into my fanny pack, then held up my own. “It’s just a piece of random plastic,” I told him. I turned the card back and forth a few times, showing him the card in detail. Like I’d said, it was completely blank on both sides. “See?”
Taio furrowed his brow. “Then why have me show it at all? Why the ruse?”
“Because, brother, there were guards at that gate. Guards checking IDs and keycards and, presumably, blocking entry for anyone that didn’t have one of them.” I paused for a moment and shrugged. “It just so happens that I don’t have one, so I had to improvise.”
He eyed me curiously. “But then, why did they… How did you…”
“Manage to sneak past them anyway?” I finished for him.
Taio nodded.
“Elementary, my dear brother.” I patted him on the back and practically shoved him forward, down one of the stone paths so we could talk away from the guard station. He fought for a second, then finally relented.
“See, all keycards look about the same. Just a random credit-card sized piece of white plastic. Some have pictures on one side, but even then, the other side is just blank plastic. So by waving that bit of plastic at the guards, I made them think we both had badges. They just assumed we were holding them backwards.” I beamed at him. “Sure, it wouldn’t have held up to an in-depth inspection, and It won’t get us into any restricted areas or anything, but it works well enough for the front gate.”
“You are sneaky, little brother,” Taio said, shaking his head.
Bet you’re glad about that now, aren’t you, I wanted to add. But I said nothing and kept going. I could rub it in later if I really felt like it. For now, we needed to get to Building Four, which was right around the corner.
We made our way along the winding path to a set of large stone steps that led up to the Building Four entrance without any further incidents. No one came up and asked who we were, or to see our IDs again. Not that I’d have expected them to. It’d be a hassle to stop and check badges in the middle of a common area like the one we were in.
The doors to Building Four were gigantic and made entirely of glass. In fact, the building itself looked like it had been carved out of matching rectangular pieces of glass that went all the way up. Good for natural lighting, which was a rare commodity in cloudy Seattle, and a little boring to boot. But who was I to judge? They had gazillions of dollars. I had maybe a hundred bucks in my account.
Inside, the majority of the lobby was taken up by a massive wooden desk. The desk was painted white and there were no less than three receptionists stationed there. The first two receptionists were already helping someone, so I made a beeline for the last one.
“Yes?” the third receptionist piped up as we approached her station. She had long, blonde hair and was wearing a black suit jacket with a blue button up blouse underneath. There was a flag pin on the lapel of her jacket, and she had one of those over-the-head headsets on that only covered one ear. “How can I help you gentlemen today?”
Gentlemen? Pretty sure that’s the only time anyone used that term around me. I was starting to feel important.
“Um, we’re looking for a certain employee. I was told he hadn’t checked in lately, and I’m a little worried about him,” I told her.
I’d thought about forming some sort of intricate cover story, but quickly ditched the idea. Those could be hard to maintain.
“And you are?” she asked.
“Damian Xiang.” I motioned toward my brother. “This is Taio Xiang.”
The receptionist smiled brightly up at the both of us. “Well, Mr. Xiang, I appreciate that you came all the way out here just to ask about an employee, but I’m afraid I can’t help you. It’s company policy not to tell anyone about any employee’s whereabouts for any reason.”
Well, damn. I should have expected that. It was a policy more and more companies had adopted lately, to stave off liability. That way, if someone came looking to start trouble with an employee for whatever reason, they couldn’t be blamed if they actually succeeded. Of course Delta Fox would be one of them.
Damn lawyers and their over-protectiveness.
“Listen, miss…” I glanced at her nametag. “Sarah. The employee in question is this man’s son. Are you sure you can’t make an exception for a family member?”
Sarah smiled up at both of us. “Sorry, sirs, but I’m afraid we cannot make an exception to company policy for anyone. It’s a terminable offense.”
“Well, thank you anyway, Sarah,” I said, flashing her a g
rin.
I started walking away, but Taio grabbed my arm harshly, keeping me in place.
“We must see Bao Xiang, mistress,” Taio said in a voice that was all too hurried.
Sarah opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off and glared at Taio. “It’s like she said, brother, she can’t do anything to help us. She’s just doing her job.” I nudged my head hard in Sarah’s direction as I spoke.
“But–!” Taio protested.
I shook my arm free of his grasp and grabbed onto his torso, pulling him away. “It’s okay, Taio. Promise. Let’s just… let’s get out of here already.”
Taio gave Sarah and the reception desk one last long, forlorn look, but he slowly backed away. Or rather, I tore him away. He wasn’t coming all that willingly, though he did come.
He shot me a death glare in the process, but I did my best to speak to him in quiet, calming tones to keep him from exploding all over the poor girl. It’s not like she could do anything about it. Policy is policy and all that.
As we exited the building and made our way back out toward the center of the campus, Taio shrugged off my stone grip and growled at me. “I should have come alone,” he insisted, shaking his head. “Perhaps I could have done something by myself.”
I let out a long sigh. “Oh, big brother, you never learn, do you?”
He shot me another icy glare. “And what’s that supposed to mean, little brother?” There was entirely too much emphasis on the last two words.
I rolled my eyes at him. “They were never going to let you through, with or without my illustrious presence.” Clapping him on the back a little harder than was probably necessary, I added, “But it’s okay. Your little brother can take care of it for you. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about it.”
Oh yeah. I was enjoying being the one with the power just a little too much.
Taio gave me the stink eye, dusting off his outfit from where I’d grabbed him and smoothing the fabric in one motion. Even in a t-shirt and jeans, he could be such a ninny like that. Unbelievable.
“How so?” Taio insisted.
The intense doubt in his voice was a little disheartening, but I did my best to ignore it as my lips cracked into a broad, wicked smile. “Because, big brother, I’ve got another plan for how to get in there. I just…” My eyes darted about, and I lowered my voice to barely over a whisper. “I didn’t want to discuss it around the front desk clerk, if you catch my drift.”
Taio’s eyes narrowed. “Nothing illegal, I hope, little brother?”
The word “illegal” looked so out of place coming from his lips. It was hysterical. In spite of everything, I burst out laughing.
“Oh, Taio, you’re so innocent. All the best plans are illegal.”
5
It took me about two hours to get Taio situated in my house and make my way back to the Delta Fox campus, but it was completely worth it. I really didn’t need his holier-than-thou attitude for what I was going to do next. Like I’d said before, it was kind of illegal.
Highly illegal, actually. So illegal that I grabbed myself a burner phone to do it. Used his credit card to pull out some cash for it and everything.
What? It’s not like I could afford it. And it was his kid I was saving.
I was half surprised the card had worked. If his wife had let him take his credit card with him, then why hadn’t he grabbed a hotel last night? Something about it all didn’t add up. I had half a mind to interrogate him about it, but I had other things to finish first.
So what did I do, exactly? Well first, I texted LaLuna again to let her know I’d have to reschedule. I was worried about what she’d think, but it was better than just missing the lunch date outright. At least I wasn’t that much of an idiot.
Then, I’d done one of the most dangerous things I’d ever done. That’s right—I called in a bomb threat.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why on earth would I do that? Isn’t that just going to bring down the feds and increase the amount of security and scrutiny on the campus? Well yeah, it will, for a little while. But then everyone has to go back to work. And that would be my chance to get in.
How, you ask? Simple. I’d just waltz on in with everyone else. Sounds weird, I know, but this wasn’t my first rodeo. There were some seventeen thousand people employed by Delta Fox. At any given time in the middle of the week, probably ten thousand or so would be on campus. Have you ever tried to let ten thousand people into a handful of buildings at the exact same time? It’s chaos. It’s unmanageable. It’s the only time security wouldn’t be scrutinizing every single person that moved past them.
Heck, the last time I’d tried this trick, they hadn’t even been checking badges at all and were letting people walk right on in through the fire exits just to get them back to work faster.
Long story short, the plan was genius. It couldn’t fail. Now all I had to do was wait until the all clear without making a name for myself in the courtyard area.
Which, if I was being honest with myself, would be the hardest part of this whole op. I’d already had a few people side-eye me, and I’d only been hanging out for like twenty minutes. The way I saw it, I had another good hour or so of waiting to go.
I’d done my best to try and fit in with the crowd. I’d kept the jeans on—developers often wore comfy clothes like jeans and Delta Fox was lousy with them—but I’d switched my band t-shirt for a bland, solid gray polo. I’d also used an illusion charm to hide Grax’thor again and also change my face this time. I didn’t want people to be able to identify me in any way should I end up on a camera or something.
Let’s just hope they didn’t put us all through a metal detector on the way in. I’d hate to be around for that bit of hysteria.
Anyway, I’d even put a capped pen into the shirt pocket of my polo and clipped it onto the fabric so it looked like I took copious notes on the regular. It was kind of crazy, honestly. So many things had advanced, but people still took notes in meetings primarily with pens and pencils. I guess some things never grew old.
One of the nearby employees waved at me then and flashed me a smile. I freaked, then quickly calmed myself and squinted at the badge hanging from his belt. Mark, it read in big bold red letters. The last name was so long I couldn’t make it out. He looked to be of Indian descent, which was no big shocker. Seattle had a lot of Indian developers and techies. I guess they liked the weather or something. I wasn’t really sure.
I gave him an awkward wave back and turned away quickly. I wasn’t sure who he thought I was, but I didn’t want him finding out he was wrong and spoiling my plan early. If anyone was going to blow this op, it was going to be me. Not some random employee.
With a half-shuffle in my step, I stumbled forward into a small throng of people. They were chatting about something called “java”, but I didn’t think they meant the coffee, as none of them had a coffee cup on them, so I droned it out.
I offered a mumbled apology and kept going, leaving them behind. Glancing over my shoulder, I looked back to where the employee Mark had been standing. He was still there, talking up someone else and no longer looking over in my direction at all.
Phew. That had been a close one.
“That’s what she said,” an unassuming white guy near me said to one of his pals. He gave the pal a suggestive wink.
“You’re such a dork,” his friend replied with a shake of the head. “Piss off.”
Ah, there was nothing quite like a friendly dispute to help while away the time. I craned my neck a little and listened in, but the conversation quickly devolved into plans for the upcoming weekend, of which neither friend had any of note. Typical.
Oh well, it had been worth a shot.
Just then, there was some sort of movement near the main office building—Building One. My target destination. I couldn’t quite make it out from where I was, so I ambled forward while trying to make it look like I wasn’t actually headed in that direction at the same time. Didn’t wa
nt to draw attention to myself more than I had to.
“Attention, Delta Fox employees,” a voice blared over a loudspeaker. It seemed to be coming from multiple directions at once. “We have thoroughly searched the premises and have deemed the threat to be a false report. We will be letting everyone back into their workplaces in the next few minutes.”
Huh? Already? How had they searched the whole campus? The buildings were massive! It should have taken at least another hour or two before they started letting people in. Either they were super fast at their jobs, or more likely, they hadn’t ever thought the threat credible to begin with.
Well, I supposed I’d have to work on my delivery the next time I needed to call in a bomb threat. Make it more antagonizing.
In the meantime, I had lots of work to do and little time to accomplish it. The bomb threat would let me in the building, but I still had to maneuver freely once I was in there. And that would require another little piece of hardware—a badge.
I know what you’re thinking; why go through the trouble of calling in the bomb threat if I was still going to steal a badge? Well, there were two parts to this plan. Getting in the front door was only part number one. Part two was getting into an office where I could find and download the information I needed. That part would require a badge.
The bomb threat would make it so they wouldn’t check my badge too thoroughly and give me some time to wrap up my search before they started cracking down on badges again. Hey, a lot could happen in a bomb threat situation. Losing a badge in the shuffle wouldn’t be that unusual. It was the perfect cover.
I scanned my surroundings. I was probably five hundred feet from the entrance to Building One—the one that would most likely house the VP offices. VPs should have access to the most information, so they were the people I wanted. They should be able to access detailed stuff like team compositions and building manifests. You know, the kind of stuff that would let me know where Bao was stationed and who he sat with.
