by Aman Gupta
“How do we get in?” asked Emma.
“I swear to god,” said Vik.
“Sorry, sorry. I forgot,” said Emma and backed away.
Through the laptop taken from Atlantis, Vik was able to access Atlantis’ network which was operating at a different wireless frequency. He tried to access the central server through first of his programs that he hoped that a L2 employee installed.
“How are you getting the signal?” asked Emma.
Vik took a huge deep breath. Emma couldn’t help but smile.
“I stole this laptop from Atlantis. Go ahead and ask them to file charges,” said Vik.
He worked on his laptop for a few minutes, while they paced down the entire 50 feet wide plateau in all sorts of directions.
“Bury your phones and stuff. I already buried mine,” said Vik.
“Let’s go to Atlantis,” said Vik. “Kate, you’re driving.”
When Kate and Emma buried their weapons, Vik took out a gun he had, and pointed it at them.
“What are you doing?” asked Emma.
“Setting things straight,” said Vik, and fired three shots near the feet of Kate, Emma and Eric. They were visible scared for a nanosecond.
“This little back-and-forth, the silly laughs and the interactions that happen between all of us, which has made you feel like we’re a team, that’s nothing but my tolerance of you. I tolerate Emma, I tolerate Kate, Eric and even Joey. But let me make something very clear to you all, while you’re still breathing. This is a strictly business relationship, where you deliver your end and in exchange, I tolerate you while I can. The day you don’t hold your end of the deal and stand in my way, is the day I’ll stop tolerating you. Trust me, you don’t want that to happen,” said Vik. He didn’t try to mask his anger.
“Business it is then,” said Eric.
Vik walked away while Kate, Emma and Eric looked at each other.
They walked to their car. Vik arrived few moments later and told them to take Eric’s car. He sat on the passenger seat while Emma and Eric sat in the back.
Kate drove to Atlantis. After a few cars in the queue, it was their turn.
“Scan your hand when the guard asks you to,” said Vik.
“Would that work?” asked Kate.
“I put you in the system. When they ask, tell them you’re returning from offshore work, and invited your friends for the festival,” said Vik.
The guard came over and asked Kate to ask her hand on the portable scanner with him. Kate put her right hand on the scanner. Few seconds later, the scanner read, ‘Jenna Ericson. L1 Employee –Administrative Assistance’.
The guard inquired about the passengers but Kate managed to convince him. Emma pretended to be over anxious for the festival, while Eric tried to act like her boring boyfriend. Vik pretended to be Kate’s. They were let through.
Kate tried to take the R3 at the roundabout.
“Take the R2 towards Locus,” said Vik.
“I thought we were going south, to save Ginny,” said Kate.
“Drop me at Locus. Then, you and Emma use your magical eyes and hands to get into all the research facilities. I created an administrative profile for you, to avoid raising a red flag. While I was reviewing their policies, I learnt that any L1 administrative employee cannot be at a facility for more than 30 minutes in a day without the presence of a L2 employee. So whatever you do, get out of the facility before 30 minutes. Otherwise the system will catch you within few seconds. It has your eyes,” said Vik.
“What if we need more time?” asked Emma.
“That’s where you come into play. If Kate cannot get the job done in 30 minutes, you finish the job in yours,” said Vik. “Or you could both go in simultaneously. Whatever works for you.”
“What about me?” asked Eric.
“You were already in the system, courtesy your promotion by the Mayor as the Sheriff of New Frontier. So my best advice would be to keep the car running. If you manage to escape with the girl, go and hide somewhere. Hopefully, a spot with no cameras. When they find that the girl is missing, everyone would be looking for her. So, avoid a crowd of one or more. I’m trying to work on an exit strategy.”
“Are you in the system?” asked Emma.
“That would make it too easy for them. I can’t just put my prints and someone else’s iris in the system. The system is state of the art, and perhaps maintaining a shadow profile on all visitors. Their security system would detect an anomaly if I create a fake profile for myself. I’m sure they’ll catch up with me soon. I just hope I have bought myself enough time with my program,” said Vik.
“If you managed to access the system, can’t you see which building is the girl in, and where Joey is?” asked Emma.
“That would require S3 or L2 in Research. Which, apparently, only L3 can assign. Only L3 and above can look inside Locus, so that’s another headache I have to solve. This town with their annoying levels,” said Vik.
“How are you planning to enter the building then?” asked Kate.
“I installed two programs when I was in the system. One of which added your profiles, among other things. The second one should get me access to Locus if the stars align,” said Vik.
He got out of the car just outside the perimeter of Locus. They drove to the research facility.
When they reached the research facility, Kate decided to go inside first, while Emma was asked to stay put. Eric was tasked to work out an exit route. They surveyed the building, which was almost at the edge of Atlantis, overlooking the trees. They all started a 30 minute countdown, when Kate walked into the building at 12:15 PM.
Emma stood near the building while Eric drove around working out the route to take and the ones to avoid.
Kate entered the lobby and went to the reception.
“Can I talk to your supervisor? It’s urgent,” said Kate.
“Sorry, Dr. Palridge isn’t here today,” said the receptionist. “What’s this about?”
“I’ve come from Locus,” said Kate.
“For the survey? I thought that’s couple of days from now,” said the receptionist.
“We’ve been put on a schedule,” said Kate. “So, mixing it up a little.”
“Let me connect you to Dr. Fischer,” said the receptionist.
“Fine,” said Kate.
The nurse at the reception asked Kate to take a seat. She made a few calls and looked busy. Eleven minutes passed, ten of them waiting in the lobby.
Kate kept looking at her watch which made the nurse anxious. She probably was scared for her job, thought Kate.
A man came out of the elevators, looking for Kate. He looked like a 60 year old slightly obese, around 6 and half feet tall doctor, who chose to wear spectacles when no one else did, and had a serious look on his face. He came over to Kate and spoke in a grumpy voice.
“This is highly irregular,” said Dr. Bryan Fischer.
“I’m sorry, Dr. Fischer,” said Kate. “But these orders come directly from above.”
“I’ve told Olivia numerous times that we need a notice. You cannot just come anytime unannounced,” said Fischer.
“You must’ve heard about the breach yesterday. This is a routine follow-up,” said Kate.
“What do you want? A survey?” asked Fischer.
“Like I said, a routine follow-up,” said Kate.
“Fine, come with me,” said Fischer. “You got your checklist?”
“In my mind,” said Kate.
“Well, hope you keep up,” said Fischer.
He took her on a tour of the entire building. They went from corridor to corridor, accompanied by a guard. All the doors were covered with a semi-transparent glass film which made it impossible to see inside unless the door was open. Kate was shown the offices and the research labs. Dr. Fischer would occasionally use a medical jargon to explain their work progress, which didn’t mean anything to Kate. She would ask questions about the test subjects to which he would assure that they were in
‘quarantine’. Only nine minutes were left for Kate while another fifteen minutes were left on the tour by Dr. Fischer’s estimation. He would look at his watch every few minutes.
“Can you take me to the quarantine rooms?” asked Kate.
“That’s at the end of the tour,” said Dr. Fischer.
“I’m afraid they are a priority,” said Kate.
“That doesn’t make any sense. Let me talk to Olivia,” said Dr. Fischer and took out his phone.
Kate interrupted, “I’m actually just trying to help you. See, I know your reputation precedes you. I know you got all this taken care of. The idiots back at Locus don’t understand any of this. They would just ask me about the subjects. So why not save both of our time and get this done quickly?”
“That’s highly irregular, but,” said Dr. Fischer. “Fine.”
It took them another two minutes to get to the quarantine rooms. Kate saw a huge impenetrable steel frame, resembling a bank vault door, which separated the facility from the quarantine rooms. She offered to scan her hand to open the door, but Dr. Fischer pointed that he’s the only person in the facility right now that could open it. He scanned both his hands and eyes through the scanner and entered a passcode.
The guard was asked to wait outside. Kate asked about the absence of cameras in this part of the facility. Dr. Fischer announced that it was unnecessary as the door didn’t open from the inside.
They entered the quarantine wing, and started walking down the corridor.
“From the exterior, the rooms on each side look like a regular hospital room, but from the inside, they look like bedrooms customized to the interests of the subjects,” explained Dr. Fischer. “Powerful hologram technology.”
“We tried to go for the real deal, but sometimes the subjects would harm themselves using their surroundings,” said Dr. Fischer.
“What’re the current age groups in here?” asked Kate.
“Oh, every. We got from an 11 year old to three 50 year olds,” said Dr. Fischer. “But for now, Locus only cares about the kids. Am I right?”
Kate smiled. Dr. Fischer smiled too.
He took her to the girl they were holding. Kate recognized her as Ginny. She looked at the timer in her watch and saw only five minutes were left. She asked Dr. Fischer to open Ginny’s door, which he did. Kate bluffed that the purpose of her visit was to transfer Ginny to another facility, but Dr. Fischer rebuffed her claims, saying that she doesn’t have the clearance for the operation. He got suspicious of Kate when she kept insisting that Ginny be allowed out of her room to walk down the corridors. He attempted to lock Kate inside with Ginny. However, Kate punched him in the guts and kicked him across his face. He went down on the floor. Kate kicked him again to knock him out. Ginny woke up on hearing the commotion. Kate told her that she was sent by her parents, and she’s going to take her to West Gate.
“I’m already in West Gate. I’m home,” said Ginny.
Kate asked Ginny to follow her outside the door, to see that she wasn’t home. She took baby steps but went outside and saw the empty corridor. She got scared and crawled back in her bed. With only three minutes left, Kate grabbed her arm and ran. Holding her in her arms, Kate went to the main vault door which was slightly open, with an armed guard on the other side. With time running out, Kate asked Ginny to stop crying and put her down. She opened the door in fear and agony realizing that she had failed, and was walking to her death. She saw Emma, wearing an oversized lab coat and a doctor’s mask, on the other side, standing over the knocked out guard with a rod in her hand.
“Oh thank god,” said Kate.
“Good thing I went in early,” said Emma. “Only two minutes are left.”
“Let’s go,” said Kate.
Emma said, “You go. I’ll get her. If we go together, your time will run out. I still got fifteen minutes left.”
Kate ran down the hall and went for the elevator. She was late by two seconds, as the elevator doors closed in front of her eyes. She turned left and ran for the staircase, looking at her watch which said 91 seconds.
She ran down the stairs, jumped through the steps, even floors, and managed to get to the ground floor of the eight storey building. Breathing heavily and with a blurry vision, she pushed her way out of the building with five seconds left. She wanted to stop to catch her breath but saw the guards coming over to her. She gathered every ounce of her strength and stood up straight, and started walking normally. She saw Eric was parked on the other side of the road. As soon as she got out of the building’s pavement, she collapsed on the street. Eric got out of the car and ran towards Kate. People around her started to gather to assist her and take her to a nearby hospital. Eric volunteered to help her. He picked her up and took her to the car. He took her around the block after noticing that the crowd was still looking at their car, which had prompted him to drive. He gave her some old candies to restore her blood sugar levels. The street nearby was crowded with people celebrating, leading to a massive grid lock.
“Damn!” shouted Eric.
Emma took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on Ginny. She was resistant to go anywhere, but Emma convinced her that her mother was waiting outside. Emma, meanwhile, tied the guard’s hand with her stethoscope and pushed him inside the vault door. She closed the door, hoping to lock him in. After a few minutes of convincing, they went to the elevator and got in.
Breathing heavily, another doctor who entered the elevator from the floor below, got suspicious of Emma, a stranger to him, holding hands with a girl in hospital attire.
He tried to make a move to punch Emma but she countered by giving him a low blow. She kicked him on the face while he was on the ground. Ginny started shouting and crying which further tensed the situation for Emma. Afraid that someone else would get into the elevator, Emma got off on the next floor and went for the stairs. She kept her head down the entire way. A guard on patrol noticed her but she managed to evade him by removing her mask and coat, and hid in an office.
She heard that the doctor was in the washroom, while a purse was on the table. She looked around, hoping to find some clothes for Ginny. She found a wardrobe with nothing but denims inside. Too tall for Ginny, she cut them off from the bottom using the surgical scissors in the room and told Ginny to wear it. She tucked Ginny’s gown inside the jeans, removed the red band on her wrist and moved around her hair a bit.
She looked at the corridor after a few minutes and saw the guard had left. She went for the stairs, looking at her watch which said ‘3 minutes left’.
She ran down the stairs, but could only move as fast as Ginny. She couldn’t afford to pick her up as there were cameras all over the staircase. Ginny managed to pick her pace after Emma manipulated her to race her to the bottom.
They managed to get out of the building with under thirty seconds left. She let go of Ginny’s hand and told her that her mother was just behind the hedges. They went outside the perimeter, and Ginny looked at the road side but didn’t see anyone. She called Emma a liar and started screaming.
“I was hoping that it doesn’t come to this,” said Emma, who took out a syringe from her pocket and injected Ginny. Diazepam Plus, it read on the packet.
Ginny calmed down and almost fell on the sidewalk. Emma grabbed her by her shoulders and started walking together. She looked around for Eric and Kate but couldn’t see them. Ten seconds later, alarms went off in the research facility.
Some guards rushed inside and locked the entrance, while the others circled around the building. Standing only fifty yards from the exit, with only hedges separating her from the guards, Emma looked scared. She walked Ginny down the road, getting the attention of onlookers.
She stood near a pole with cameras, next to payphones. She pretended to make a phone call to divert the attention of people, while handing the other phone to Ginny. The payphone rang. She was forced to pick it up.
“Miss me?” asked the voice.
“Vik. Oh thank god,” said Emma.
<
br /> “How’s our daughter? Enjoying life?” asked Vik.
“Daughter? What are..” uttered Emma, before realizing the reason behind Vik’s intention to talk in code.
“Yeah, she is fine, honey. Where are you?” asked Emma.
“Far away yet I feel like I’m like an eagle, watching you from top of a pole,” said Vik.
“I was waiting for my friends. I hope they show up soon,” said Emma.
“They must be stuck in a traffic jam. I don’t think you should wait for them,” said Vik.
“I don’t know. Our daughter is feeling sleepy,” said Emma.
“Let me call you a cab, honey,” said Vik.
“A cab?” said Emma.
“Yeah. I think she needs to see more purple in her life. Don’t tell your friends though, about me. You know how jealous they get,” said Vik.
“See you soon. I love you,” said Emma.
“You too, honey,” said Vik.
A cab stopped in front of her. She opened the door and put Ginny in the car. She got in and said, “Drive.”
She saw that there wasn’t anyone in the driver’s seat. There was a screen on the back of the driver’s seat with a map. Emma zoomed out and tapped the nearest area with construction sites in the direction shown by her eye gear.
Eric and Kate managed to get out of the gridlock. Kate had regained some of her strength.
“Where’s she?” asked Eric. “Her clock’s over too.”
“There,” said Kate. “She’s in that car.”
Kate shouted Emma’s name but Emma couldn’t hear her. Eric took a U-turn and followed Emma’s cab. The cab dropped Emma at her location. As the cab stopped, a cash tray came out from the side door containing some weird currency notes while the monitor displayed ‘Please collect your balance’. Emma took it and exited the car with Ginny. Emma waited for the cab to go away before moving towards the construction site.
A minute later, Eric and Kate came from behind, and honked. Emma turned around.
“Open the door,” said Emma.
She put Ginny in the back seat and got in.
“Where the hell were you?” yelled Emma.
“We got stuck in a jam,” said Eric.
