A layout of the floor in her brain showed where she was in relation to the elevator and her own room. Unconsciously, her heart quickened when she discovered that the back wall shared a wall with her cell. While the lab was in a different hallway than her room, apparently these rooms ran parallel to the cells on the other side. The bathroom in her cell and the one in this room were mirror images of each other.
Given the nature of a subterranean complex, the walls were reinforced with the strongest steel. The wall that connected with the main part of her cell was also coated with another rigid material developed by EngineerCorp, designed to be bulletproof and impenetrable. Further analysis of the construction plans showed that the material did not extend completely into the bathroom. The area where the plumbing shared a main water line was steel framed, but covered with sheetrock. Alice guessed that it was designed this way for easy access to the plumbing, should there ever be a need.
The way that the bathrooms were designed, there was not a space large enough for a person to get through the walls there, even if they managed to remove the sheetrock. The plumbing and framing prevented that. From a security point of view, there was little risk involved in such a design.
Even though a person could not fit through the wall, that did not necessarily mean that nothing could fit through. Alice also knew that the security feeds did not extend to the restrooms, to her great relief. If she could manage to make a small hole in the wall, perhaps behind the toilet or under the sink… then, she could pass tools and other things through to her own bathroom. She would not have to worry about the scanner when leaving the lab, because she would never be taking anything out through the main door.
A tiny crack broke through the shell of helplessness that she had been feeling for the past few days.
This just might work.
Now the question remained, what would she sneak through the wall? And what was she going to do with it once it was through?
Chapter 16
Alice finally read through the folder on the desk. She had to maintain the illusion that she was actually working, and she couldn't do that if she had no idea what the project entailed.
The main objective was to create a hovercraft, intended for use with military vehicles. It was designed to help protect soldiers during wartime, a noble quest. The main challenge, and the reason the project remained incomplete, was designing the power supply required to run the device.
I could finish this project, complete with prototype, in less than a week.
She sighed and pushed back her chair in frustration. Her mind was reeling with the different possibilities, aching to be put to use.
Why do I have to be presented with these opportunities here, working for the enemy? I can't afford to show Eric the extent of my abilities. His ambitious desires will never be satisfied with anything less than world domination. I couldn't live with myself if I became yet another weapon for him to wield against those who disagree with him.
There can never be a differentiation between "good" and "bad" projects. Ultimately, everything I create here will be subject to his discretion, where good intentions no longer matter.
Her thoughts irked her, so she decided to explore her surroundings. Alice had to admit, she was impressed. She knew their capabilities should no longer surprise her, but as she considered the amount of effort that went into the workspace, she couldn't help but be amazed.
Alice knew where the room's original security cameras were located, but as she scrutinized the space, she found the addition of several more. Analyzing their field of vision and intersection, she was able to find the closest thing to a blind spot in the room. Given the layout of the equipment, it formed a tiny, unseen niche in between a tower of measurement equipment and several monitors. It was not much, but it would allow her to work on things without a camera directly observing. She took note of the information for later use.
The lab was stocked with every kind of diagnostic, assembly, and analysis equipment that she would ever need…ensuring that she would not be able to use lack of resources as an excuse.
I once would have done anything to have access to this type of equipment…
True to Eric's word, the computers were isolated from the outside. There were research notes, textbooks, and other volumes of information contained on the computer to make up for the lack of access. It also had all the software that she would need to create prototypes. They would have to be manufactured elsewhere, but she could generate the designs for them here.
As she gazed around the room, she wondered why Eric wasn't more concerned about giving her access to so many tools that could potentially be turned into weapons.
Her gaze fell down on her ankle bracelet again. It was almost like her Achilles' heel, reminding her of her helplessness. She would have to find a way to get rid of that before she could do anything else.
It doesn't matter how many people I incapacitate trying to get out of this room…I will be unconscious the moment I step outside the door.
The bracelet was constructed from a flexible metal, infused with titanium in such a way that it was almost unbreakable. For all practical purposes, it was. Tampering with it or trying to remove it forcefully would activate it, releasing the sedatives. The sedatives contained inside would cause an average person to be unconscious for at least four hours.
The bracelet could be disengaged remotely from the server or in-person with the wireless key. The key was designed to send an encrypted signal to the bracelet, telling it to open in the same way a keyless remote worked to arm a vehicle's security system.
Each bracelet was designed with a unique ID signature, known only to the owner. The signal was broken up into two parts. The ID signature of the bracelet was followed by a command. If anything but a genuine signal was received by the bracelet, it would activate. It was an ingenious design, impervious to interference or sabotage…at least, for the normal person.
It would take some time to find a solution, especially without drawing attention to what she was trying to accomplish, but she had nothing but time.
Alice lined up the tasks she needed to complete. She had to create some sort of passive scanner to find the frequency that the bracelet's signal was broadcasting. Then, it was a matter of creating a device to tune into that frequency so she could decode the signal to find the ID signature for her particular bracelet. Alice had access to all of their encryption methods in her own mind, so it would not be difficult for her to obtain the ID.
Once she retrieved the ID, all she had to do was use that information to make her own wireless key, allowing her to unlock the bracelet when she needed to. After she got it working, she could smuggle the makeshift key into her cell through the hole in the bathroom wall to use at an advantageous moment.
Of course, then she had to find a way to get out of the complex without being caught…
One issue at a time. Let's not get ahead of myself.
Somewhere during all of her scheming, Alice still had to make it seem like she was trying to complete the project Eric had given her. It was no easy task, but hopefully having the kind of resources that she had, it could be done.
Piece of cake, right?
Alice took a pencil and some paper and dejectedly arranged it in front of the computer to take notes on a project she would never finish.
***
The days passed in somewhat of a blur for Alice. She spent the majority of each day working in her lab, pretending to do research and taking generic, non-committal notes. If Eric was displeased, he had not said anything to her yet. She was not sure whether she should be nervous or relieved at his lack of opinion. He simply regarded her silently at the end of each day when she handed him the notes from her work, and read them over without outward judgment.
On the second day in the lab, Alice began the first step of her planning. While she was feigning to test some material on a workstation, she dropped some tools on the floor. When she bent over to pick them up, she slipped one of them
in her pocket.
Her weapon of choice for the wall was a precision knife, used for removing samples of materials for analysis. The blade was sufficient to cut through substances much harder than sheetrock. She made sure the cover was over it, and deftly slipped it into her pocket. Alice pulled her shirt down as far as it would go, even though the knife was not visible in its hiding place. She pretended to take some notes at another table before slipping away to the restroom.
Once inside, she locked the door and went to examine the wall next to the commode. The blueprints contained in her mind covered every aspect of the building in minute detail, including wiring and plumbing. When she found a small space of wall concealed behind the toilet, with nothing directly behind it, she set to work. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she worked to keep herself calm and her hand steady.
A few deep breaths stopped her hands from shaking so severely that she was able to make several quick incisions in the first wall. Alice pushed the piece of sheetrock through before making identical cuts on the sheetrock that formed the wall in her cell's bathroom. She verified that the passage was clear to allow items to pass through, and then stood up quickly to survey her work.
In a standing position, the hole could not be seen. Alice was pleased with her efforts. She flushed the toilet for authenticity, and then straightened out her rumpled clothing before washing the particles of sheetrock off her hands.
Alice looked up and was startled by her reflection in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed, most likely from her nerves, but it gave her a rosy glow. Her eyes were also wide and alert, in the sort of way that made her seem bright with purpose. Alice normally had her hair pulled back, but somewhere along the way she lost her hair tie and her hair fell flatteringly around her face. She had not given much thought lately to her appearance, but, ironically, captivity had somewhat improved her looks.
Not that it matters…
She shook her head and hid the knife once again before returning to her workspace.
Alice spent the rest of the day making plans for the first item she needed. The scanner. She mentally created blueprints for the device and compiled a list of supplies in her head. There could be no writing down of anything if she wanted to remain undiscovered.
In order to get what she needed, she had to think of something she could construct with those items that would seem legitimate in a hovercraft. After some complex manipulations, Alice was finally able to rationalize the supplies.
Alice knew her methods cost her precious time, but she could not afford to be careless. She had to take every precaution possible to ensure Eric had no reason to suspect her ulterior plans.
Her efforts paid off. When she gave him the list of things she would need, he simply nodded and handed the list to someone else to be filled.
The next day in the lab, the supplies were there. She sat down eagerly to work, appearing to be creating the item for the hovercraft she planned, all the while siphoning off parts to make the scanner. She slipped the pieces into her pockets as she worked, making sure not to be seen by the cameras.
When she had enough parts, she grabbed a pencil and paper and pretended to settle down to make some more designs. She conveniently sat down at the workstation where the cameras formed the tiny blind spot, and began working.
It was tedious work, appearing to be drawing while actually assembling components. Alice had to be ready to hide her work at any moment, should someone enter the lab. They mostly left her to herself to work, but it would only take one incident for her opportunity to be taken from her.
She finished the crude scanner after several hours of tense labor, switching between assembly of the electronics, and pretending to make sketches and notes on the hovercraft. Since it was not an overly complex device, it was no larger than a cigarette lighter. Alice slipped the device into her pocket and went to one of the instrumentation tables.
She pretended to hook up some equipment to an oscilloscope, but instead she connected her scanner. Alice was able to rig the scope to display the data coming from the scanner. This allowed her to see a frequency graph of the different signals around her. She innocently made sure to tilt the screen away from the nearest camera to prevent anyone from getting too curious.
What she saw on the screen puzzled her. She saw the typical groups of signals like wireless routers, Bluetooth, the security cameras, and the equipment in the lab. There were two remaining signals on the chart. She knew the lower frequency signal belonged to the bracelet she was wearing because the designs for them specified that range for operation. The other one…she had no idea where it was coming from.
The other must have been close to where she stood because it had signal strength comparable to her bracelet's. Alice decided to do a simple test. She walked across the room, pretending to need something, but once she was there she glanced back at the oscilloscope screen, trying to seem pensive.
Both of the signals had decreased in strength, proportional to the distance Alice was from the scanner. It seemed that the other signal was also transmitting from somewhere on her body. The hair on her neck rose as her mind whirred with the possibilities.
What can possibly be sending out that signal? And for what purpose?
Surely, they had all they needed in the GPS tracker within the bracelet on her ankle. What disturbed her even more was that whatever was sending that signal had been concealed on her person without her knowledge. She could not help but shudder at the thought.
Alice selected one of the screwdrivers before returning to the other side of the room. She picked up the scanner, along with some random hardware on the table and pretended to be getting a closer look, but she was discretely moving the scanner to and fro on her body to see where the signal was the strongest.
She had done several passes, coming up with the same conclusion each time. The signal was coming from her head.
Don't panic. Think about this rationally.
She shakily set the scanner down and sat back in the chair.
Did they somehow drug me and put a microchip in my head?
She knew that EngineerCorp didn't possess any kind of brainwave resolving technology, so there was no way that it was sending back her thoughts, or anything like that. What was it then? How did it get there? Why had she not noticed a scar or other mark?
Millions of possibilities were passing through her mind. Was it some sort of permanent tracking device? Would she never be able to escape them again? Paranoia made her irrational, and she worked to calm herself so she could make sense of the situation.
She took her glasses off, setting them on the table, as she rubbed her eyes. She was starting to get an awful headache from all the stress. When she looked up to grab her glasses, she saw through blurry vision that the graph on the scope had changed dramatically.
What on earth…
Her glasses were sitting right next to the scanner. She experimentally moved them closer and further away until she could be sure that it was her glasses that were changing the graph's readings. Relief surged through her as the realization sunk in. It wasn't something in her body that was sending the signal! Just to be sure, Alice discretely ran the scanner near her head again, but saw that she no longer had anything to fear. She shakily replaced the glasses so she could see clearly.
Apparently, her glasses were transmitting a hidden signal to an unknown destination. Her elation from finding out that there was no microchip in her head was short-lived.
A new barrage of questions sprang up in her mind. Sometime, without her knowledge, her glasses had been taken and altered to send this signal. Eric was getting some kind of information from her of which she had been completely unaware. She doubted it was any kind of audio or video signal because she would have noticed anything remotely resembling a microphone or camera lens. No, this was something concealed within the frame itself.
Alice was determined to find out exactly what was being transmitted through the signal. It would take more time, but she had to
figure out what she was up against and if there was a way to stop it. Who knew what Eric was planning to do with whatever information he was receiving?
It also made Alice realize she had to be more observant than ever, so nothing like this could surprise her again. She had to anticipate Eric's next move and be ready with a counterattack. This was no time to get sloppy or careless.
Alice took mental notes over the frequency of both signals before she carefully disconnected the scanner and slipped it into her pocket. She would pass it through the hole in the wall later so it would remain undiscovered.
***
Alice spent the night tossing and turning. She endlessly wondered what could be coming from her glasses and whether or not Eric made a routine of waiting until she was asleep to use her as a guinea pig. When the guards came in the morning to escort her to the lab, she was exhausted with a pounding headache.
Nevertheless, Alice forced herself to focus and work diligently on the second part of her plan. The first part, to create the scanning device had been a success. Now, she had to create a tuner to receive and transmit the information she needed, not to mention find out what was coming from the hidden transmitter in her glasses.
Under the pretense of wanting radio equipment to test out a theory on the hovercraft, she was able to obtain the parts she needed. To keep up her guise, she completed an unimpressive communicator for the hovercraft while working on the tuner.
As Alice worked, the pressure of staying constantly alert did little to improve her irritation and exhaustion. Her eyelids became irresistibly heavy and, without realizing it, she shut them for a few moments.
But the few moments turned into a few hours, and she was woken by someone gently calling her name.
She jerked her head up, ignoring the shouts of protest from her stiff neck and shoulders. She would regret that later.
Behind her, Eric stood and asked if she was okay.
Mind Trace Page 19
