Mind Trace

by McCaghren, Holly

  If I can make it to the trees, I can find a place to hide. It will be much harder for them to find me there.

  As she was running, a man suddenly appeared from behind a tree, blocking her path. She panicked and as he reached out to grab her, she ducked underneath his outstretched hands and continued running.

  His hands closed on thin air, but he recovered instantly and began to run after her. She knew that he would catch up to her well before she ever reached the woods. Her best chance to evade capture was to confront him while she could still use the distance between them to her advantage.

  She turned, and instantly assessed the situation. Her mind began to pull up information about pressure points and the best way to disarm an incoming opponent. The man didn't seem to question her sudden change of heart, only running faster as she stopped.

  Given his weight and approximate speed… If I hit him at just the right angle and pressure, he will be incapacitated.

  When he was within feet of her, she acted. She kicked him in the side of the knee, making perfect contact. His knee resounded with a sickening crack.

  Ouch. That seemed a lot less painful in my imagination.

  Alice winced at the pain that ran up her own leg, unaccustomed to that kind of behavior. The man crumpled and fell, momentarily immobilized in pain and shock. Alice noticed a tranquilizer gun in the holster on his leg. She quickly relieved the stunned man of his weapon.

  Before she could start running again, two more men began to approach from the direction of the cabin. She pulled up the gun and fired two perfect shots. Both men fell to the ground, unconscious.

  Did I just do that?

  The first man that she had attacked was starting to get up; Alice panicked and quickly resumed her escape.

  She was about twenty feet from the edge of the trees when she heard a high-pitched whistle. As her brain identified the sound as the launch of a model X84 net-projecting gun, she knew it was too late.

  The net wrapped completely around her and she fell helplessly to the ground. Her vision was severely limited by the netting. Several men came into her field of view, and one of them spoke firmly, "We have her."

  "Good."

  It was Eric's voice.

  No, no, no. This can't be happening.

  "Prep her for our flight. It needs to go as smoothly as possible. Have the rest of the team search the cabin and bring in anything that might give us some answers."

  She heard footsteps approaching, and within a few moments, she could see Eric. He bent over her so that he was inches away from her face.

  None of this was supposed to happen. If I would have just deleted that stupid email!

  "I hoped you would be reasonable, Alice. However, my plans are non-negotiable."

  As Eric was speaking, she felt a tiny prick on her upper arm. His voice started to fade.

  "Don't worry, dear. When you wake up, we can discuss exactly what happened Friday night."

  She could see his hazy outline as he stood up and moved back. Then sleep overcame her as she felt herself being carried away.

  Chapter 6

  Why am I so tired?

  Alice struggled to wake, her mind foggy and incoherent. Her eyelids fluttered and she was aware that it was very bright in the room, as if the sun had risen and was shining unapologetically into her eyes. When they fully opened, she realized that it was not natural light, but the artificial light of fluorescent bulbs.

  Huh?

  Alice jolted up, panicking. She had no idea where she was; she surveyed the room around her. It seemed to be some sort of small hotel room, but a glance at the knob-less door made her realize it was nothing more than a glorified prison cell. There was a twin-sized bed against one side of the wall where she was currently, across from a small desk. Off to the corner were two doors. She assumed one was a bathroom.

  She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, experimentally. Alice swayed, still feeling slightly unstable. Thankfully, she was still dressed in her clothes, including her shoes.

  Okay, move slowly. I need to figure out what's behind those doors.

  As she leaned forward, she heard a sharp click, followed by a whirring noise. The door was unlocked, and slid smoothly into a recess within the wall.

  In the doorway, two men dressed in the same tactical uniform of the day before came into view. She knew exactly twenty-two hours, seventeen minutes, and thirty-two seconds had passed since she was unconscious. Apparently, one of the new abilities she had was an inherent and accurate ability to keep track of time.

  I guess I don't need a watch anymore…

  The two men entered and stood on either side of the room. Another man followed behind with some kind of mobile restraint vehicle, resembling an elaborate chair on wheels.

  Okay, I don't know who those guys are, but they're crazy if they think I'm going to get in that thing.

  As her mind was racing, Eric came into view. He still looked as handsome and immaculate as ever, sporting yet another fitted suit.

  Does he have an endless supply of those?

  Not that it matters, but I must look awful right now...

  "Given the sedatives still lingering in your system, we thought it best if you came along in this," Eric said, gesturing towards the contraption between the two men. "And, it also prevents you from entertaining any kind of foolish ideas."

  "I'm fine, really. There's no need for any of that," she replied, trying to sound convincing.

  Seeing that he had no inclination to agree with her, Alice shot up off the bed before anyone could assist her. She misjudged the effect of being sedated for nearly twenty-four hours, however, and her knees buckled, dropping her promptly to the floor.

  "I can see that, clearly," Eric replied mockingly.

  Two of the men rushed to her sides and each took a firm grip on either arm. Her mind weakly began to access data on different ways to break free from holds, but she knew her body was in no condition to follow through on anything. The men guided her to the chair, swiftly closing all of the clasps on the various restraints.

  One of the guards took a position behind her chair, steering her from the room. The group moved down the hallway, Eric taking a place on her left side. He narrated as they walked.

  "You are quite a fortunate young woman. Do you realize where you are?"

  More accurately than you know.

  Eric did not give her a chance to respond. "We are deep within the sublevels at EngineerCorp, which house some of the most classified and important projects we manage. Most people do not even realize that this place exists, as the rest of the campus above ground is impressive enough. There are nine different levels below ground, and we are on Level Five. The majority of this level is filled with housing suites, conference rooms and observation areas."

  They maneuvered down so many twists and turns, she would have gotten lost if she did not have the entire blueprints downloaded in her head.

  He's doing this on purpose, hoping I will be too lost and confused to know where I am.

  They entered an elevator at the end of one hallway, activated by a retinal scan. To the left of the elevator, a guard stood in what appeared to be a security station.

  As the elevator closed and they began moving, Eric continued his monologue. "Security is of the upmost importance. There are stations on each level by the elevators, and regular patrols on each floor."

  His eyes came to rest on her, as if to drive the point home.

  "I also have seven special ops teams on stand-by. You met a few of them yesterday. So don’t worry, you will be perfectly safe here."

  Safe?

  That was a joke. Alice knew that he might have used the word "safe," but really meant trapped. He was just using this grand tour as an opportunity to make her see the futility of planning any sort of escape.

  While they were waiting in the elevator, she surveyed the men that were with Eric.

  Hmm. Your average security guard type. Nothing exciting there. That third man…he's some
body important. Someone you don't want to mess with.

  He stood next to Eric, and gave off the vibe that he was as close to his equal as there would ever be. No one could really compete with Eric Martin, of course, but this man did demand respect. Her mind began to fill in the rest of the details from his personnel file. Grant Finnigan, forty-eight years of age, former Navy SEAL, decorated with more awards and achievements than even he could recall. He had been working for Eric since the company was founded. Unofficially, he was Eric's second-in-command, and he was completely loyal to him.

  He had thick, black hair, peppered with gray. His face had some wrinkles, but his body was in excellent condition. His arms were thickly muscled, and she could tell, even through his uniform, that the rest of his body was too. Of course, he would not have needed that to look intimidating.

  One look at his face would tell you everything you needed to know.

  The elevator dinged softly, signaling their arrival on the eighth floor. The doors opened onto another hallway, almost identical to the one they left.

  Eric was silent for a few moments before saying, "You know, Alice, I never expected this. How could someone of your age and experience hack into one of the most secure networks in the world? What would possibly prompt you to take on such a task? It’s very curious. Of course, we shall find these details out shortly."

  They had arrived at a large, steel door, with one tiny peephole near the top. After yet another retinal scan, the door opened and she was wheeled inside.

  On the schematic for the complex, this room wasn't labeled.

  Now, I know why…

  In the middle of the room was a wicked-looking chair, not unlike the kind found at a dentist's office. It was also covered in restraints.

  Where do they get this stuff? Is there a catalog of torture devices?

  Alice was doing everything she could to control her emotions, not letting anyone know how terrified she was. Her heart was pounding in her ears, while her overactive imagination did its best to derail her composure.

  Above, and directly next to the chair, were multitudes of medical devices. Knowing what each of them was for, she shuddered and did her best to ignore the knowledge. Alice was trying resolutely to stay calm, although she was finding it increasingly difficult. Eric had been silent since they entered the room, watching her closely.

  "Alice, we are going to try to get some answers. However, if you refuse to cooperate, we may have to take more unconventional means. I am going to do my best to avoid those unpleasantries, but I will need your help to do so."

  Does he actually believe he's doing me any favors? How deluded can a person get?

  He turned to the men surrounding Alice and said, "Move her to the chair."

  No, no, no. This can't end well...

  Whatever fog had been lingering in her brain had abruptly cleared. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wanted to believe that all of this was for show. That she would be too scared to risk the consequences of withholding information.

  Please, please don't be some kind of sick, twisted torturer. Surely, he couldn't have gotten this far in life if he was?

  She remained as unmoving and listless as possible, trying to give the impression that she was still weak from sedation. When her last restraint was undone, she leapt forward from the chair, only making it about a foot before all three men tackled her and regained control. They promptly moved her to the terrifying device, and she was effectively restrained before she had a chance to react.

  Once she was secured, two of the men took position by the door. The third exited the room, presumably to stand guard on the other side. Eric pressed a small button on a console near the door, and a few moments later, a nondescript man in a lab coat emerged through the door.

  Lab coats? Definitely not good.

  "Alice, this is Dr. Eichmann. He is going to monitor a few things while we talk. We are developing a new type of polygraph machine that takes into account much more than any conventional detector. It monitors brain waves to determine if certain key areas show activity, indicating if a person is accessing memories or creating new ones."

  Alice did her best to watch what Dr. Eichmann was doing, but she could hardly move under the restraints. He moved swiftly around her, hooking up several probes at different points on her head, along her arms, and on her chest. She could barely make out the monitor on the edge of her vision, now showing multicolored graphs of activity. Once he was satisfied with his work, the doctor excused himself, saying he would be in the next room if he was needed.

  Eric motioned to the guards on either side of the door, telling them to wait on the outside. Then, slowly and deliberately, he pulled a chair up next to Alice and settled down where she could clearly see his face.

  Breathe. Just breathe. I just have to play it cool, answer his questions as best as I can, without giving him any reason to suspect anything else. I have to relax.

  Alice cleared her throat, and tried to sound calm. "I think all of this has been a big misunderstanding. I'm sure we can talk this out, and come to some sort of agreement."

  She grew bolder as she spoke; listening to the sound of her own voice made her feel less helpless.

  "I'm even willing to overlook this obvious display of barbaric behavior."

  This is ridiculous. I'm strapped down to a chair in some secret underground lair. Who am I kidding? I have no ability to bargain with this man.

  Eric was silent, allowing her to speak. His blue eyes were impassive, revealing nothing.

  Alice went on. "I'm not sure what you think happened here. A couple days ago, I received an email from whom I assumed to be EngineerCorp, asking for a field test against SteelSafe 2.0. So, I decided to take up the challenge.

  "I happened to find a way past the security, only to discover that it was your live servers, which somehow initiated a full server dump. The sudden surge of data across my Ethernet cables proved to be too much for my system, and burned them up before any data was downloaded.

  "I became concerned about the situation, and thought it was a good idea to leave town for a few days to let the whole thing blow over... and give everyone time to figure out what actually happened, before anyone did anything rash.

  "When I saw you in town, asking about where I lived, I panicked, which I think was a reasonable response, given the circumstances. So, yes, I am sorry that I hacked into your server, but I only did so because I was deliberately misled. Fortunately, I didn't compromise any of your data; you can find the burnt wires at my house if you don't believe me. Search my computers, my hard drives; you won't find anything!"

  She caught her breath and looked up at Eric, straining to see his reaction.

  What's he thinking? Does he believe me? I know I talk too fast... Did he even understand what I was saying?

  He sat very still for a moment, and then spoke. "We did find the cables you spoke of. And that is one nasty-looking burn on your hand, if I might add. It must have hurt a great deal. We were able to verify that you were in contact with them at the time of the incident."

  She winced slightly as he examined her hand. He laid it gently back on the armrest and looked at her, deeply sighing.

  "Alice, I might be more inclined to believe you if we hadn't found these…"

  Eric held up the security system transmitter that she had made, along with the drawings.

  She mentally cursed.

  The drawings! How did I forget about those? Apparently having a computer in your head does not make one immune to distraction and exhaustion.

  "We were able to determine that this device has components directly derived from our security system. My engineers have not yet had a chance to examine it fully, but they will. There is no way you could have created this without at least partially downloading information from our servers."

  "And these drawings…" he flipped through the small stack of papers. "Parts of these designs are based on theoretical sciences that have not yet been completely explored. I do not even ha
ve a person in my employ that can fully interpret what these devices are capable of. This uses far more advanced physics and math than I have ever seen. That seems awfully extraordinary to me, even for a person of your experience."

  As Eric was talking, Alice felt a knot growing in the pit of her stomach. How could she have been so careless? She should have been quicker, realized that they would come for her.

  I could have avoided all of this...

  Garrett doesn't even know where I am, or have any idea how to help me, not that he could. What can I possibly do now? I can't answer any more of his questions without implicating myself. The less I reveal, the better off I am.

  Alice thought about denying that she had created those drawings, but she knew that her fingerprints were all over them. No doubt, they had also seen the makeshift workshop she made in the dining room at the cabin.

  One thing I know for sure... there's no way he realizes the truth of the situation. But, this line of conversation is dangerous; I need to redirect his focus.

  Eric had been studying her reaction as she thought through her circumstances. Her face had clouded after he showed her the drawings and she seemed to be deeply considering what to tell him next. Behind her, the monitors were buzzing with activity.

  She looked up at him again and tried to manage her most incredulous expression. "So, let me get this straight. You're telling me you think I somehow downloaded all of the information from your server onto a computer I don't have, with a connection that ceased to exist before it could have completed the download, and am now using the information to make super advanced conclusions in sciences that no one even understands? I have to know...where do you think I am storing your data in the meantime?"

  "Well, Alice, it might be in your head," he coolly replied.

  What? He can't be serious.

  Look at him; he's just fishing for information... he doesn't actually know anything. Don't panic.

  She fought every instinct to stare back at him with her mouth gaped open. Instead, she managed a weak smile and a high-pitched, nervous giggle.

  "That's definitely the most logical conclusion." She paused. "Why didn't I think of that?"