by Simon Archer
“Fair enough,” Clem said.
“A-ha,” I cried, pulling a small rectangular object out of the interior of the desk. “Here it is!” I held up the small black phone like a trophy. It certainly felt like one.
“Awesome,” Malthe grinned, his eyes lighting up like a child at Christmas as he grabbed the phone out of my hands.
“Will you be able to listen in on the calls he had with Elias?” I asked, almost as excited as he was.
“Only if they recorded them locally,” Malthe said, shaking his head. “Which I doubt they did since that would be a serious security liability. But I’ll figure something out. We’ll at least learn something from this, like the other number, where the other line is, something like that.”
“Okay, that’ll have to be good enough, then,” I said, only slightly disappointed. This was better than we’d had just a few minutes ago. I’d take it.
“Hey, so why didn’t you ask Halit for his phone?” Clem asked. “Keep him from contacting them again?”
“I did, but he made the very relevant point that they might come calling and then know that he’d squealed to me, or worse, that I had the phone,” I explained. “This is better. But we shouldn’t take this phone out of this room for that reason.”
“Will they know that we’re tinkering with it?” Clem asked, shooting a wary look to the phone in Malthe’s hands, as he had already opened it and was looking through its call history. Kira and I both looked at him as well.
“What?” he asked, not having paid our conversation any attention since he’d gotten his hands on the thing. “Oh, I don’t think so. Not if I don’t make any calls. But who knows? They might have some kind of device tracking it or something. Should I not look at it?”
“No, it’s better to have more information and to give them some than to keep them in the dark and still be in the dark ourselves,” I said. “Can you see the number? Where it was from?”
“No,” Malthe said, shaking his head, and my stomach sunk. Then, hastily after he saw my expression, “I mean, but I will. It’s a blocked number, but that’s a simple enough problem to rectify, for me at least. For someone like Elias, who only knew about modern tech and still only as much as he needed to know to do his job, it would be almost impossible to track. But I should be able to figure it out. I need supplies from my office, though.”
Clem, Kira, and I all exchanged a wary look.
“Back out into the lion’s den, then,” Clem said glumly, shooting a disdainful look at my door.
“They’re our employees,” Kira said, giving him a stern look. “We should be making sure they’re okay, not trying to avoid them.”
“Speak for yourself,” Clem said, raising his eyebrows and crossing his arms. Kira’s tail pointed upward as I knew it did when she was pissed off.
“Okay, okay,” I said, climbing back over the desk and positioning myself between them. “The three of us will go back out there, get the elevator working again, and grab Malthe’s shit. Malthe, keep looking for intel on that phone. Then, Clem and I will go downstairs and figure out what to do about getting our employees out of this mess.”
“I should go by myself,” Kira said, shaking her head at me. “We’ve got people who know more about maintenance than you do already working on the elevator, and if you show your face, it’s just going to piss them off more.”
“That’s… probably true,” I said, not able to find an excuse to argue with her. “But Clem goes with you, just in case.”
“Alright,” she relented, rolling her eyes, and Clem followed her to the door.
“I need the kit sitting on my desk,” Malthe instructed before they left. “The stuff in the black bag. It’s what I used to do the radio stuff last night, or this morning, or whenever it was. Time doesn’t even exist anymore.”
“It certainly feels like that, doesn’t it?” I chuckled. “Who’d have thought.”
Kira and Clem left, and we heard a bit of a commotion outside as they were heckled for more information. But it died down, and we eventually heard the thrum of the elevator working its magic again.
“That was fast,” Malthe remarked.
“We only employ the best,” I reminded him.
“That is true,” he agreed, his nose still buried in the burner phone.
“Anything else?” I asked.
“Just confirming all the data from the map,” he said. “All the TelCorp calls that have ever been made have come to this phone, or at least all the ones we can see did. So that all but confirms that Elias was the only one in contact with them.”
“Oh, that’s awesome,” I said, feeling more relieved at this news than I would’ve expected. “I mean, we already pretty much knew that already, but it’s really good to have it confirmed.”
“It definitely is,” Malthe agreed. “There’s no arguing with that. I really don’t want anyone here to be mixed up in any of this. I like everyone we hired or kept on after the transition.”
“Yeah, me too,” I said, sinking down into my desk chair for a brief rest while Malthe continued to work at Elias’s. “Some have gone to the conglomerate, though.”
“But I kind of get that,” Malthe said. “Not that I’d ever do it myself, mind you, but I do kind of get it, after all. Times are scary, and we haven’t exactly been the most visible bosses the past couple of days.”
“Yeah, that is true,” I said, furrowing my brows together as I considered this. “You know, Kira’s right, we should really get that fixed. I mean, we should talk to them. Tell them we’re going to fight all this, and they can leave if they want to, no judgment just like with the rest of the board.”
“Agreed,” Malthe said. “We really need to treat them like people right now. They’re scared, just like you said earlier.”
Just then, Clem and Kira came back through the door, carrying Malthe’s bag.
“Here you go,” Clem said, handing it to him.
“They fixed the elevator pretty quick,” I remarked.
“Yeah, it was just jammed,” Clem shrugged. “Not too complicated, I guess.”
“Okay, Malthe, you stay here and work on this, the rest of us, let’s go out and talk to our people,” I said.
“Uh-huh,” Malthe grunted absent mindedly, already rummaging through the bag.
I led Clem and Kira out into the hallway.
“Okay, folks,” I called, cupping my hands over my mouth again to get everyone’s attention.
The crowd calmed down more quickly now and turned their undivided attention to me.
“Thanks for listening,” I gave them all a warm smile. “Okay, guys, I know things are tough right now, and you’re worried and scared. I am, too, for the record. But we want to let you know that it’s our intention to fight all this and to fight it now. We’re going to push back against these new laws and this new conglomerate, and we’re going to need all the help we can get.”
The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves again, lower this time, and more nervously.
“I also understand that this may be concerning to you,” I continued. “I understand that you have families, that you’re worried about your own safety, or whatever else. You’re all still here at TelCorp because you care and because you believe in what we’re doing here. But if that’s not enough anymore, given the circumstances, we get that. We won’t judge you if you choose to go. But if you stay after today, be forewarned that that’s the choice you made. After that, there’ll be privileged information we have to protect. So take your out now, if you’re going to take it.”
I surveyed the room. Some of the employees were nodding along in agreement with my words as if they were still committed to the company and its mission. Others shifted uncomfortably on their feet, casting wayward glances in the direction of the elevator. Still others made their way over to it already, ready to leave at the first opportunity.
“I ask that should you want to leave, you make your way to the tenth floor with Kira,” I said, nodding in her direction. �
��She’ll process you there and relieve you of your contracts, with generous severance pay. You’re then free to look elsewhere for employment. I ask that should you choose to stay, you head down to the next floor down and wait there for further instruction. Am I clear? Are there any questions?”
“You won’t retaliate if we go to the conglomerate?” one woman with a particularly annoying, squeaky voice asked.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Think of it this way, if you’re not loyal, why would we want you here in our most trying times? That won’t help anyone. It’s just a liability. Which is why, and I’m serious here, you should leave now if you have doubts about your ability to perform your assigned tasks during this time.”
Several more took their leave at this answer, and I watched them leave with a pang in my chest. Each person who walked away was one less asset we had in our civil war against the conglomerate. But what I said was true. If they weren’t going to be all in, they had to leave now.
“If we do leave?” a man in front of me asked hesitantly, making every effort not to look me in the eye as he spoke. “Will we-- I mean, if this all passes, will you take us back?”
I exchanged a look with Kira, and both saw in her eyes and felt in our bond that we were in agreement on the answer to his question.
“Not if you go to the conglomerate, no,” I said definitively. “But as I said, your severance pay will be substantial, enough to keep you afloat until we have a better idea of what’s going to happen with all this. If you want to come back after that time and haven’t gone to our competitor to give them intel on us, we will consider taking you back and review your file. As I said, we understand these are difficult times and unforeseen circumstances, far from what you signed up for when taking this job. We’re willing to take that into consideration in regard to your future.”
“That’s… generous of you,” the man said, looking me in the eye for the first time and giving me a weak smile.
“It’s what we’re here for,” I assured him as he made his way to the elevator with another stream of people.
Clem, Kira, and I watched as about a third of our employees departed, in addition to the ones who had already left earlier in the day. But when all was said and done, I was pretty sure we were left with well over half of our original workforce.
“I’m proud of all of you,” I said when it was clear those left in the room were there to stay. “What you’re doing is a great service not just to this company, but to the city of Termina. I promise that your efforts will be rewarded.”
“So there’s a plan?” another woman, one of the ones who had nodded along to my original speech, asked hopefully.
“Yes, there’s a plan,” I said, nodding. “We can’t clue you in on all of it since it’s pretty extensive and intricate, but there is one. In the short term, we are going to fight back against the conglomerate and protect the south side. We’re likely going to deploy a lot of you there since we’re in enemy territory up here on the north side, and we already have a lot of our drone force down there.”
“So we’re basically going to war with the other binding corps,” another man said flatly. “And the government and law enforcement. How’s that going to work?”
“As I said, we can’t clue you in on a lot of it,” I said. “But I can tell you we haven’t lost everyone on that list yet. And I think it’s going to stay that way.”
This raised some eyebrows.
“As I said, I can’t give you all the details,” I said before any of them could ask. “But we have a plan. Some of this is going to be by the seat of our pants, I’m not going to lie to you about that, but we do have a plan. And we’re still TelCorp, after all. We’re still the most feared, most powerful force in this city, even if we are diminished a bit now, and the other corps are strengthened by this new alliance. But we’ll figure it out. We’ll get there. We’re still TelCorp.”
“We’re still TelCorp,” a couple of employees in the front row murmured in response. And then it caught on. We were all saying it, and some of those grim frowns across the room turned to smiles.
“Excellent,” I said, clapping my hands together when I thought everyone was sufficiently pumped up. “Now head down to the next floor down, with the board offices, and wait there. Clem and I are going to deal with the situation outside and try to get you home to your families tonight.”
There was more murmuring, and then a few quiet but appreciative thank-you’s.
“No problem,” I said, nodding to them before turning to Kira. “Go ahead and head down to the tenth floor. Clem and I will deal with the crowd outside.”
She nodded and made her way to the elevator, along with the rest of the employees. When they were all gone, I took a long, deep breath and stretched out my arms.
“Man, it’s good to have some wiggle room,” I said, sighing in relief.
“Yeah, no kidding,” Clem agreed, following my lead and stretching out his own limbs, doing a couple of jumping jacks along the way.
“Alright, let’s go check on Malthe,” I said, turning and opening the door to my office.
“How’s it going in here,” Clem asked him once the door was shut behind us.
“Pretty good,” he said, barely looking up from his tech to look at us. “I’ve noticed the temperature has dropped considerably in the last few minutes. You must have gotten rid of the crowd.”
“Yeah, like half of them quit,” Clem said, shaking his head in disgust and sinking down into a comfy chair in the corner of the room.
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration,” I said, shooting him a stern look. “It was more like a third. We’ve got more than half left, I’d bet. We’re gonna be fine.”
“Ah, that’s good,” Malthe said absent-mindedly, distracted by his work.
“Find anything?” I asked him.
“Yeah, where’s Kira?” he asked, finally looking up at us.
“I sent her down to process the quitters,” I said dryly.
“By the way, why are we taking them back when this is all over again?” Clem asked, his voice dripping with cynicism.
“Because we recognize that this is a tough call on their part,” I said, giving him another stern look. “And we’re only taking back the ones who don’t pimp themselves out to the conglomerate. And even then, only after a lengthy review process.”
“Fine,” Clem said, though he didn’t look happy about it.
“Not all of them are young and without families like us,” I reminded him, before turning back to Malthe. “Okay, what d'you find?”
“Got the other number and tracked the signal to somewhere right below us,” he said, his eyes wide with excitement. “So whoever’s making these calls, or at least the ones placed to Elias Berg, is in the tunnels right under the heart of the city.”
“Interesting,” I said, leaning back against my desk and raising my eyebrows. “And it’s probably all the same guy, given the timeline of the calls to Parliament.”
“Exactly, meaning this is either the head honcho or some sucker hired by the head honcho to make all his important calls,” Malthe agreed.
“And I doubt he’d contract out something as delicate as that,” I said, thinking aloud. “Interesting.”
“So we find an entrance up here on the north side and make our way below TelCorp headquarters,” Clem said, matter-of-fact. “Then we take this guy out and boom, problem solved.” He clapped his hands together like it was just that simple. I hoped it was, but I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay, cool, but I don’t know that it’s going to be that easy,” I warned him, rolling my eyes. “And first, we have to deal with the more immediate problem of being stuck in this fucking building.” I kicked the floor in frustration.
“Not to mention protecting the foxgirls,” Malthe added helpfully.
“Exactly,” I said, shaking my head. “If I didn’t have all of you to help me, this might be overwhelming.” It kind of was anyway, but the point stood.
“Aren’t you glad to brought Lin and me into the fold?” Clem asked, flashing me a mischievous grin.
“Yes, though I wish we’d been able to do it a little less violently,” I chuckled, remembering Clem tackling me and holding me to the ground what felt like a lifetime ago, but I knew was only about twelve hours.
“Fair enough,” Clem asked, laughing himself.
“Okay, so anything else from the phone?” I asked Malthe.
“The exact location of our worst enemy wasn’t enough?” he asked, faking being indignant. “In all seriousness, though, no, that was it.”
“You’re right. That’s more than enough,” I assured him.
“So, what’s the plan for getting out of here, boss?” Malthe asked, shutting his computer and leaning back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head.
“The plan is you’re gonna go down to your office and deal with the employees who chose to stay,” I told him, but he shook his head and waved his hands wildly at this.
“Hold up, hold up,” he said. “I don’t do the whole people thing. You know that.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” I said dryly. “Deal with them and order them to do whatever you need to protect the building. Clem and I will go down there and see what’s up.”
“Wait, we’re just gonna walk right into that crowd?” Clem asked, actually indignant.
“What other option do we have?” I asked him. “We have to figure out what they’re game plan is. And if anyone can handle it, it’s us.”
“Well, that’s true,” Clem grinned, responding as I had hoped to this not-so-subtle flattery.
“Good luck down there,” Malthe said, laughing under his breath. “Sucks to be you, I guess.”
“Doesn’t it always?” I shot back, flashing a grin of my own. “Anyway, we’ll be back up if nothing comes of it. Otherwise, hold down the fort here. Worst-case scenario, we’ll redeploy some drones from the south side to deal with this, get out of here, and then set up shop down there.”
