Olivia reached up and touched the side of her face; a smear of elevator grease came away on her fingers. Looking in the mirrored wall of the elevator, she could see that her poor makeup job needed some touch-up. Not only had she collected grease from somewhere, but the bruise on her forehead was starting to show again.
She smiled at the short brunette. “Thanks, you’re a lifesaver. I’m a such a klutz.”
“No problem,” came the reply, followed by a smile.
The elevator slowed to a stop, thankfully breaking any possibility of further conversation. Olivia watched everyone step off and followed. A grand hallway lay ahead of them. Carved wood paneling trimmed the walls. In the center of the wide red carpet were modern spotlit pedestals holding aloft artifacts from ancient history. As she followed the crowd through the hallway, Olivia started noting that the glass-encased objects appeared newer and newer with each step.
A tablet covered in cuneiform, ancient paper with Latin writing, a typewriter, the inner workings of a computer decades old.
The last item caught her eye and made her stop. It was a box with a long, snaking cable ending in multiple copper pins. The grey form, with smoothed corners, lay under glass. The cord was around it as though it was a poisonous viper. It was almost identical to the one the little girl, Sara, had been plugged into.
It took Olivia a moment to tear her eyes away from the object and read the inscription on the bottom. The polyptych device.
She continued to read the small paragraph.
Found in the Quarantine Zone shortly after the fall of the zero-point field (also known as 'The Black Dome’), this device was brought to Neotech and is currently in use as a Rosetta stone to comparatively understand the alien technology. Thanks to such hard work by our very own Dr. Anita Sanders, we are well on our way to unlocking the vault of knowledge and bringing in a golden age of technological innovation.
Olivia looked around to check if anyone else was in earshot before addressing Jack. “They have it on display. Or at least something that looks like it.”
“Really?” Jack said.
“It tells the whole story about how it was found in the Quarantine Zone. Something about a Rosetta stone and decoding stuff with it.”
“Well, that confirms what I thought. They are figuring out how the data compression works. If they can reverse engineer the interface, they can decode the vault of knowledge.”
“What’s this vault of knowledge?” Olivia asked, checking over her shoulder again.
“I don't think it actually exists. It's one of those post-event stories that circulated.”
“Well, then what is it?” Olivia checked over her shoulder and adjusted the strap on her purse. No one was within earshot, and the elevator hadn't deposited anyone since them.
“No one knows. Apparently when the alien ship exploded and the black dome came down, lots of parts of the ship and what it was carrying were spread out over the Quarantine Zone. The vault is this mythical piece that came out of the alien ship that crashed. It’s sort of like a hard drive, or maybe a server or something, but for the alien ship. It might be an artificial intelligence, it might contain star maps of the universe, or it might contain blueprints for the ship, weapons, how the faster than light-drive system works. Who knows. It's supposed to unlock everything. How to use the tech. It’s the holy grail of knowledge.”
“Sounds like something a lot of people would want,”
“Yeah. Maybe kill for ... or kill to keep safe. Be careful,”
“I will. I’m going to head into the party and see what I can find out about this Dr. Sanders.”
Walking away from the pedestal, she stepped out the main doors and onto the largest open-air patio she had ever seen. The sheer size of it was close to that of a soccer field. The white marble of the floor covered every inch. To her right, a bartender was feeding people drinks over a marble countertop, and to her left was a wall of banners. Each highlighted the face of and information about the award recipients.
Olivia walked by the hanging banners, trying to memorize the faces. If she saw them in the crowd, she might be able to ask them questions and get more information. The second from the end caught her eye. A blonde woman in glasses. Her hair was pulled back. From the presentation of the image, it looked like someone had used her ID image. She wore a less than impressed expression.
Looking back at the other images, she saw that each was of different researchers smiling at different angles. They appeared fun and engaged. Dr. Sanders, on the other hand, was unequivocally not. Olivia considered it might be the woman’s disposition. A lack of interest in superfluous things, perhaps.
Under the banner, it indicated that she was receiving the Neotech's annual innovation award for her work with the polyptych.
Olivia whispered quietly, “So it looks like Dr. Frankenstein is getting an award for her use of little kids.”
“That’s kind of sick, isn’t it?” Jack said.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t make sense. Companies like to protect assets. They wouldn’t have done something like this overtly. Let alone given her an award for it publicly. There’s something here we’re not seeing.”
“Can you find her and ask?”
“I’m trying.” Olivia scanned the room. Another crowd of people stepped onto the floor, and the murmuring increased to clapping as they moved toward a raised platform in the middle of the room.
The crowd followed, converging on the center stage as the music stopped.
A heavy-set man in a tuxedo lurched up onto the stage and waved at the crowd. His voice boomed from unseen speakers and microphone. “Welcome, everyone! My name is Nicholas Smith, and as you might know, I am Neotech corporation’s public relations manager. We are gathered today to celebrate our leaders in innovation. These are the top ten achievers of the year. Some of the most brilliant minds in the world work for Neotech. You might say that these people are the ones who, due to their fine research, allow Neotech to be awarded the research grants that keep the lights on, so to speak.”
There was a laugh from the crowd, and Olivia out tuned the speaker. She was carefully and slowly stepping through the crowd, trying to find a good angle to spot her prey.
She could see the ten scientists seated on the stage. At the far end, Dr. Sanders fidgeted with a piece of lint on the leg of her grey business suit. The disinterested facial expression appeared to extend to this setting as well.
Slowly making her way through the crowd, Olivia snagged a sparkling glass of champagne from a server’s tray and sipped on it as she walked. She wanted to intercept Dr. Sanders as she stepped off the stage. Every so often she stopped and stood, watching the talking tuxedo.
The congratulations had begun by the time she reached the far side where the group of scientists had entered. Olivia stood in the front row, sipping on the sparkling liquid. She considered that she should probably enjoy it, but the idea that a single bottle of it was probably more than her office’s rent for the month didn’t seem to make it taste much better.
After twenty minutes of award presentations, Dr. Sanders was called up. Each of the scientists had prepared a few words. The tuxedo man droned on about how vital she was to the company. Only when he had noted that Dr. Sanders was, “...the physical key to unlocking the vault...” did Olivia perk up.
When Dr. Sanders was asked to say a few words about the award, the woman simply took the square, etched block of glass from the man and said, “Thanks.” She turned on her heel and stormed back to the seat she had come from.
Olivia laughed with a mouthful of bubbly and barely was able to contain herself from spitting it out. Swallowing hard, she smiled. The crowd murmured, and a slow, underwhelmed clap washed over it and petered out.
“The woman is an ice queen,” Olivia stated aloud.
Jack’s voice spoke in her ear. “I thought she would say more. Seriously, that’s a big deal what she did. Frankly, I’m a bit disappointed.”
Olivia avoided responding as the tu
xedoed PR rep was wrapping up the speech; she didn’t want to look like the crazy person talking to herself in the crowd.
“Have a great time, everyone. Enjoy the drinks and the music. Feel free to pat these good folks on the back or shake their hands. They deserve it!”
As they had arrived, the group rose and walked off stage. The music started up, and the crowd that had gathered dispersed mildly, shuffling toward the bar.
Olivia stood watching Dr. Sanders as the crowd moved around her like a river would pass around a large boulder. The group of ten scientists peeled off in a group, leaving the PR man to usher them. When Dr. Sanders followed, Olivia witnessed him speak to her and shake his head. Waiving his hand, he beckoned two suited men over. They were both the size of linebackers. From the haircuts and physiques, she identified them quickly as some sort of internal security.
Olivia guzzled the last of the champagne and watched Dr. Sanders stand alone for a brief moment. The blonde woman ran her fingers through her long hair and pulled it up into a bun. A glint of metal underneath showed a port very similar to Jack’s and the little girls.
“It seems like everyone these days has one of those head jack things,” she said quietly.
“Really? She has one?”
“Yup.”
“It makes sense. If it's been in Neotech’s care for almost a decade, she has probably been working on it most of that time. She would need a port to do the deciphering of the compression puzzle.”
“You're going to have to explain this puzzle a bit better to me later,” she said. “Right now I’m going to try to have a chat.”
With the apes in suits closing in and the PR rep out of the way, Olivia strutted forward. Putting on a grin, she threw her arms wide in an obvious welcoming hug. “Dr. Sanders! It’s so good to see you again!” She wrapped her arms around the woman even before she could object.
Dr. Sanders’ cold demeanor fractured, and when Olivia let go, she looked at the guards then back to Olivia. It was a parody of what a mouse would look like when trapped between two cats. The woman swallowed visibly and quickly turned her attention to Olivia, giving the impression that she was somehow stalling.
“It’s nice to see you too. How are you?” Dr. Sanders said, forcing a smile.
Olivia noticed the two apes look at each other and slow their pace to a halt far enough away to not overhear but close enough to engage if there was trouble.
“I’m great,” Olivia stated. “By the way, I wanted to mention I love your work on the polyptych. I was wondering if you have a few minutes to discuss it?”
“I ... I’m sorry, I don’t actually know who you are,” the doctor stated quietly. “I don’t recognize you.”
Olivia extended her hand. “Dana Williams? I met you at that conference on the tech pulled out of the Quarantine Zone.”
Dr. Sanders shook her hand limply. "Oh, yes. There were a lot of people there. I'm not very good with people. I'm sorry, I must have forgotten."
Jack’s voice rang in her ear. “Nice work.”
Olivia was winging it. All the while, she kept an eye on the doctor’s security.
Dr. Sanders continued after a moment of thought, “I don’t think I can discuss much about the work. Most of it is classified.”
Olivia could smell the growing skepticism on the doctor. She could see the woman’s face begin to show signs of fear and worry.
“Well, I’m a big fan on how you got the box hooked up to a little girl to do the decoding for you. It’s impressive.” Olivia played her trump card.
"You're not an employee here, are you?" The woman stepped back; there was fear in her eyes. “You need to leave. Now,” the doctor hissed quietly. Her face was flushed.
“So you did do it?” Olivia focused for a moment, looking for the telltale twitches and eye movements of a lie. But only the fearful truth came through.
“No, no, I never wanted...” The woman took a long pause, looking over her shoulder at the guards. “Look, I don’t know who you are. But I’m not the monster here. I didn’t do that. There are bigger things at play right now, and I don’t think you belong here. They will kill you if they catch you asking questions like that. Leave now while you can. You have no idea what’s going on.”
Olivia could see that the woman was telling the truth in every word. “Why don’t you come with me? Come with me and talk to the police?”
“The police? Are you kidding? Neotech’s been paying off cops for years.” The woman looked over her shoulder again. “I’ve said too much. I have to go. Please leave while you can.” Dr. Sanders took a step away from Olivia toward the entrance she had arrived from
Olivia grabbed the woman’s arm. Her strong hands held the doctor in place. “Come with me now, and I can keep you safe. I don’t know how deep you are in this, but I have friends in the police that are honest and can help.”
“No one can help me. No one. Let me go or you’re a dead woman too.” Dr. Sanders tried to jerk her arm away. Olivia held tight. The two goons could see the conflict now and were closing fast.
“Tell me who ordered the girls experimented on,” Olivia asked. “Tell me about why they wanted to kill the little girl?”
“They will kill you too. It’s how they work,” she pleaded. Tears welled up, streaming down her cheeks.
“That’s my problem. Who?”
“Adam. Dr. Adam Gerrard. He’s in charge of the nanotech. Were all infected. He’s the one pulling all the strings now. It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault,” Dr. Sanders whispered quietly. Olivia watched the burden that the woman had been carrying drop away. Her shoulders sank as the guilt she had been guarding herself against flooded inside.
“Ask her if she solved the neopuzzle,” Jack asked.
Olivia realized she had little time and focused hard on the woman asking the question. “Did you solve the puzzle. Did you solve the neopuzzle?”
The woman was engrossed in panic and looked at the guards who were only steps away. Olivia’s senses were amplified by the adrenaline of the situation. She could smell only the fear emanating from the woman; her facial expressions were locked in the flight or fight response, awash with adrenaline. It was no use.
The guards enveloped the doctor, pushing Olivia away with broad shoulders.
Olivia walked alongside, paralleling them just outside of their reach. “Where are you taking her?”
“Olivia, get out of there,” Jack pleaded in her ear. “Get out now. This is huge. You need to get to the cops.”
“Let go of her or I’m going to make a scene,” Olivia threatened, still playing the part. Her hand was in her purse.
As they rounded the corner of the entrance hallway, the brute closest to her turned. Olivia jumped back and dodged the grab. Pulling the baton out of her purse, she snapped it backward to full length in a practiced fluid motion. The man was off kilter, not having expected her to be so quick, but he was still moving toward her.
Bringing down the composite stainless-steel shaft, she struck at his arm. The crackle of crushed bone could be heard. The brute didn’t even flinch. Double stepping back, she knelt slightly, striking at his knee. The linebacker’s knee folded like a house of cards. His facial expression remained unchanged. She had never seen someone have a bone break and not even flinch. The man rolled to his side and began crawling toward her on his broken knee and distorted forearm.
She had to stare at him for a moment. She realized he wasn’t feeling anything. He just grunted and moved forward to block her path.
“You're pretty persistent,” Olivia said, pointing at him with the asp baton. She sidestepped around, giving him a wide berth. He wasn’t getting back up with a broken knee. She turned to follow the other goon, who was practically carrying Dr. Sanders away by the elbow.
The thud behind her caused her to turn and witness her mistake. With his good arm, the man had wrangled a Taser out of his pocket and was leveling it at her. The targeting laser danced over her body a second before the electrical
prongs fired, arcing toward her, followed by a spool of copper wire.
Her heart sank as she realized the inevitability in that moment. For the second time in a week, she felt pure electrical pain flow through her nervous system. Dropping to the floor, her head bounced off the white marble, dislodging her earpiece.
Surrounding her, heavy footfalls of reinforcements came. Olivia’s only contact with the outside was crushed underfoot as they dragged her motionless body away.
Chapter 11
Olivia woke up lying in straw. The smell of animal feces overwhelmed her. Rolling onto her side, she could feel the pain on her back from where the Taser's darts had embedded deep into her flesh.
She groaned and tried to reach to feel her back to see if the darts were still lodged there, but the plastic cuffs binding her wrists behind her back didn’t let her move her hands very far.
Her headache was back. “Just once I’d like to avoid getting hit in the head.”
The well-lit clear plastic room allowed her to see her neighbor in the next cell. A large chimpanzee was sitting and leaning against the wall. He didn’t look very healthy. A plug similar to Jack’s sat on the side of the creature’s head. The animal looked at her for a moment then rolled away with disinterest.
Looking around, she could see that the two cages were the only ones visible to her, and a group of people were standing outside. One of the two thugs that had dragged Dr. Sanders off was talking to a shorter stout man. The shorter man was going through her purse, pulling things out then tossing them back in.
Olivia was thankful she hadn’t brought any ID or her phone. If she got out of this alive, they wouldn’t know who she was and probably wouldn’t know where to start. She tried to stand and banged her head against the glass roof. The cage was made for a chimp, not for a human.
Kneeling, she rubbed her head and winced. She took a moment to turn away from the men.
"You there?" she said, hoping that Jack was still listening. There was no response. Touching her ear, she realized that the earpiece was gone. Her hands went to the high collar of her dress.
Dark Crypto (Thorne Inc. Book 1) Page 12