by Utley, Todd
He made his way along the dark corridor until he almost couldn’t see anymore. He stopped and removed his shoes from the bag and put them on. He would rather not go into that dark dirty old maintenance room in sock feet. He made his way on down to the end of the hall and down the narrow stairs. He waited for several minutes at the bottom for his eyes to adjust. He got into the bag and retrieved the i-phone, it had a great flashlight function on it so he turned it on and used it to locate the light switch string over the bench. He found it and gave it a yank.
The whole room lit up with the light from the old LED lamp. “Solas Ray to the rescue again.” He figured he could stay down there until morning. No one ever came down there and it wasn’t likely anyone would check there during a fairly routine security sweep. It was nearly 2:00 a.m. now, he only had about 5 hours to get through until the common areas would begin to fill up with people. After that he could easily slip to his dorm room and get cleaned up. He had to leave with Todd in the morning to return to the house.
He began looking around trying to see if there was a spot where he could get comfortable and maybe take a nap. It was damp down there and a little chilly but he was dressed fairly warm. He found an old desk chair that leaned way back and was pretty comfortable. He put his feet up on the table, crossed his arms and fell asleep. He woke up about once an hour because he wasn’t very comfortable and he kept hearing noises in the pipes overhead. He didn’t think any of those old pipes were still being used but sounds were traveling along them none the less. He woke up again at 6:45 a.m. and he just couldn’t wait any longer. The cold had finally soaked into him and he was really feeling tired and hungry now.
He took the voltage probe and the i-phone out of his bag and stuck them in the back of the bottom drawer in the old rusty tool box. He noticed for the first time then that there was a water line on the side of it up about two feet. That must be why the old maintenance room was abandoned, it had a flooding problem. Oh well, it was dry enough to do what he needed for now. He turned off the light without looking up at it to preserve his night vision and then he stood there for about three minutes to let his eyes adjust. He made his way up and out to the end of the long narrow corridor.
He waited about ten feet back of the end of the corridor where it came out int0 the foundry floor area. There were a few people milling around down there sipping on coffee and a few here and there reading digipapers. It was the closest thing these people had to a court yard and many of them used it as just that every morning.
He didn’t want anyone seeing him exiting from the corridor so he waited for just the right moment. He saw his opportunity and he walked out swiftly moving along the wall and then down along the ovens towards the stairs. He made good time and got safely to his room. Inside he quickly started the shower and undressed. He was looking forward to washing off the mustiness of the damp maintenance room. The water was usually quite hot and even though it never lasted as long as he would like, it would warm him up for sure. As he showered he wondered if Alice got in okay. He was quite confident that she would have because she got a much earlier start than he did and he nearly made it himself.
He dried off and got dressed as fast as he could. He knew Todd would be knocking on his door any minute and didn’t want to leave with him until he laid eyes on Alice. He was beginning to have serious feelings for her and he just had to make sure she was okay before he left for the house on the outside.
He grabbed his overnight bag and took the remaining items out from the night before and replaced them with his clothing for the trip to the house. He quickly jotted a note on a sticky pad and slapped it on the door on the way out, it read. “Went down to kitchen.” When he first met Todd he wouldn’t have dared to do something like that, but now that they had gotten to know each other a little better, he felt that Todd would probably still question him but not report it.
He walked just as fast as he could to the kitchen. Sure enough Alice was there, she looked upset and she was looking around nervously until she spotted him. He smiled and he saw the look of relief on her face. No doubt she was tossing and turning all night wondering if he made it out. He went right over and sat down with her.
“Oh my goodness,” she said, “I’m so glad to see you.” She kissed him on the cheek when no one was looking.
“I was so worried,” he said.
“Me too, I thought that Glitch caught you, I laid awake all night in my bed staring at the ceiling and crying thinking that this morning they would have you down on the foundry floor to do God knows what to you.”
“So what did you do about the camera?” She asked.
“I jammed the high voltage probe into it and turned it on, I figured that would fry it pretty good. I yanked the i-phone down, kicked the stool under the desk and went to the back hall by the restroom. I was stuffing everything in my bag when I heard Glitch come in the lab door. I heard his shoes start clicking around in the lab but I didn’t stick around, I slipped out through the women’s restroom as quiet as a church mouse and cruised on out through the PC labs. I was making good time towards my room when I noticed some shadows moving up the hall towards the foundry floor area. I figured Glitch had called for a security sweep. I was a sitting duck all alone in the middle of the oven area holding that bag full of goodies in just my socks. I slipped into the corridor behind the ovens and put my shoes back on and went down to the old maintenance room for the night.”
“Oh my god, you stayed in that dark creepy little room all night, that gives me the heebie jeebies.”
“Well I didn’t have much choice, otherwise they would have caught me and searched my bag and I still had the probe and the i-phone and some hand tools in there. I would have been dead meat for sure. So anyway, I got through the night with only a few spider bites, do you think you got everything done on the clones that you needed to?”
“Well I’m not sure, the fifth clone only got about five seconds of juice before you came running in and scared me to death. The chips in the locked cooler are toast for sure, I zapped them really good. I’m not so confident about the clones though, especially number five. Maybe by the time Cyrus gets to number five, he will just give up and assume that they are all brain dead and not even try number five.”
“Well let’s hope so, we don’t need Cyrus getting information out of Dodge, we need the element of surprise on our side when the team decides to make their strike. I’ll be leaving here any minute, that is, just as soon as Todd finds me. I left him a note on my door, I hope he doesn’t get too angry about my not being there in my room. When I get back to the house, I’m sure they’ll send me back to the Kerrington’s to snoop around some more. While I’m at the Kerrington’s I’ll update them on everything you and I have done in here the last couple of days. I think Dodge and John will be pleased. Oh, here comes Todd.”
Toby had spotted him but Todd had not seen him yet and was still looking around as he stepped into the kitchen area. Toby gave Alice a real quick kiss, and smiled at her as he got up, he grabbed his egg sandwich and headed towards Todd.
“Hey Todd” he said, smiling as he walked toward him.
“Sorry about the note Todd, I was starving and my clothes were still damp this morning. I had to wait a few minutes to get them dry enough to put on and that ran me late getting breakfast.”
Todd didn’t seem to upset but he hadn’t really looked at Toby yet he was looking at Alice and a little grin had begun to form on his face. Toby didn’t know it but Todd saw the two of them together just as Toby was getting up, and he was quite sure he caught the tail end, of what looked like a quick kiss. Just then Todd returned a little hello wave to Alice who had realized she was discovered and there would be no secret now about their relationship, they were busted.
Todd’s small smile had morphed into a big smile and as they turned to walk away, Todd slapped Toby on the back.
“You dog! I saw the whole thing bro, just what have you been up too! Huh? Come on, wet clothes my ass, you’ve be
en cavorting with that little female up in here man, you’re busted.” Todd shoved Toby sideways with one hand as they walked along and Toby shoved him back.
“Come on man, cut me some slack, you’re cool with this right? You’re not gonna? . . .” Todd interrupted, “No way man, I wouldn’t do that to you, in fact I’m kind of starting to like you Tobe, you’re okay. I just thought you were an old fuddy duddy in a kids body and you were gonna be nothing but trouble, but you’re actually pretty cool for an old dude.”
Toby snorted out a laugh.
“Well I don’t feel old, in fact until you brought it up, I sort of forgot that I wasn’t just a kid, damn hormones, I guess.”
Todd smiled.
“Yeah that must be kinda messed up, having to go through that crap again huh?”
“Yeah it’s messed up, but it’s a lot easier the second time let me tell ya!”
They had a good laugh about it as they headed to the dock area.
“So is Tobe my new nick name now?”
“Yeah maybe, we’ll see if it sticks.”
They got in the van to leave but Toby had forgotten all about the bag. One of the guards was eyeing him. “Oh yeah I forgot,” he said, as he grabbed it and put it over his head. He heard the door go up and Todd started the van. As soon as they got clear of the compound Todd said “dude, lose that bag would ya? I trust you and don’t really give a crap about the rules anymore.” Toby took the bag off and looked around.
“Yip, I thought this was where we were at anyway, I could tell by the sounds of the afternoon commute trains and even the aroma from those hot dog vendors over there, smells like they have some peanuts roasting too.”
“Yeah I figured you knew about where it was anyhow, but you know how they are about the rules. Don’t worry man, just keep doing what you’re told and before long they’ll tell you to ditch that bag. You will start getting bigger jobs to do and maybe even some errands here and there. The best jobs to get are the outside watcher jobs, they actually get houses and cars and cash to spend. All they have to do is follow people and keep an eye on them.”
“Where does Cyrus find these people anyway?” Toby asked.
“Well most of them are just like me. He tries to find people that don’t really have too much to lose in life. He takes them in off the street and gives them a place to stay for a while and then offers them a job, and even a new identity if they need one. The trade off is real simple, you have to accept the head implant that can end your life and Cyrus promises you a big pile of cash and freedom after ten years of service.”
“Why would anybody want to take that much risk?” Toby asked.
“Well for example one guy I know about was in a prison on death row when a fire broke out and he managed to escape in the confusion. He figured that eventually he would be caught or he would die an old man and have no means of being restored without a valid identity. If he turned himself in, the authorities would either carry out the planned execution or they would simply let him die of old age with no Restoration available to death row inmates. Cyrus offered him a ten and out deal, ten years of loyal service and he would be given his freedom and a new identity that would be complete with restoration rights. As soon as they agree he sends them off to some secret clinic they have setup where they do cosmetic surgery and they create a complete new identity for them.”
“Has anyone ever got out after their agreement?” Toby asked.
“Well no, but that’s because this has only been going on now for about eight years. There are a few people that say they only have two years to go and they are getting pretty anxious to get out. Of course that’s providing Cyrus honors his agreement and that is a long shot. There has already been one of the eight year veteran guys terminated for alleged insubordination. He was deployed on a mission to another city and never returned. Cyrus gathered everyone together and announced that he was terminated and he showed some news feed of his body being removed from some hotel room as a John Doe and then they showed a picture of his face asking the public to help identify the unknown man. Cyrus announced this is what happens to you when you try to run from Cyrus Slade before your contractual obligations are fulfilled. The maid at the hotel had found him dead in the bed with aluminum foil wrapped around his head and just holes for his eyes, ears, and mouth. He thought the same thing you did Toby, he thought that if he covered himself up in the foil Cyrus couldn’t detonate the charge in his brain.” Toby smiled.
“Well at least we know what NOT to do right?”
“Exactly, we had better just do what we’re told.” After a long pause Toby said “You know I guess I don’t feel too sorry for people that have agreed to work with Cyrus but you know I didn’t agree to this. They nabbed me and faked my death because they wanted me for my computer skills. And the girl you saw me with, she was a very successful geneticist with a husband and children before Cyrus had his men murder her in an alley. They cloned her back up for their own use.”
“Oh yeah, I know” Todd said, “She’s Cheyenne’s friend. She told me about how Alice’s life was basically hijacked by Cyrus.”
“Exactly!” Toby said, with a good bit of anger in his voice. See that’s not fair man. Cyrus does have some volunteers, but people like Alice didn’t volunteer. She really had a great life and he just stole it from her. Now her husband is out there, probably thinks she’s dead, and he’s probably moved on with his life. No doubt involved with someone new, and meanwhile she’s stuck in this horrible place with Slade, that’s evil man, just pure evil.”
Todd looked at him.
“Hey, I agree, I really do, but don’t try goin all hero on me because I still have several years to go to get my freedom. If you drag me into something, I’ll go down with you, and I might not ever get out.”
“Yeah, well, don’t worry, I would never do that to you or anyone else for that matter, I’m just not like that.”
“That’s good to know, I want to be able to trust you.”
Toby was wondering what Todd’s story was but he hesitated to ask, he figured Todd would tell him when he was ready.
Chapter 24 They arrived at the house and pulled the van into the garage off the alley as usual. Toby rode the entire trip without the bag and now he knew exactly where the compound was. It didn’t really matter though because the Black Ops team already knew, but still he felt he had accomplished something by gaining Todd’s trust.
When they went inside they found Cheyenne in the kitchen, she had fixed a nice breakfast and just put it out on the table.
“Anybody hungry?” She asked, as they came walking in. Toby went to her and hugged her.
“Hey girl, good to see you, smells good,” he said. They all sat down and ate and had some conversation with a second cup of coffee. Todd began reading the digipaper, but would still inject a comment once in a while. They were done with their second cup of coffee and were about to get up when Todd lowered the digipaper just enough to see Cheyenne.
“Oh, by the way, ole Tobe here has eyes big time for your pal Alice.” Toby glared at him but could only see the digipaper wiggling a little. It was obvious that Todd was laughing silently while hiding behind it.
Cheyenne’s face lit up with a big smile and she put her hand on Toby’s.
“Oh yeah? I heard a little something about that too, want to share?” Toby’s face began to turn a little red, he wondered how much Cheyenne might already know.
“Hey, I wasn’t going to ask, but if Todd knows, that’s just not fair,” said Cheyenne. Todd lowered his paper and looked at Cheyenne. “Are there some security issues we need to discuss?”
“Noooo,” she said, as she patted Todd’s hand.
“You know women have their own ways of communicating as she pointed to her head and said, brain power Todd, pure brain power.”
“Yeah right, more like big mouth power, I know what goes on,
but I’m telling you that if you get caught you’re on your own.” Todd raised his paper back up and Cheyenne s
tarted making stupid faces at him that made Toby laugh. Todd lowered the paper and looked at Toby. “She’s making faces isn’t she?”
Cheyenne and Toby both started laughing.
“Well maybe” said Toby.
“God, you guys are like two peas in a pod, I’m going in to watch some TV and pretend I don’t know any of this just in case Cyrus tortures me later.” After Todd left the room Cheyenne just sat there smiling and staring at Toby with both her hands under her chin. She got up and poured them both a third cup of coffee. She had her coffee cupped in both of her hands and one bare foot up on the corner of the table with paper towel stuffed between her toes.
“So you’re gonna paint your nails huh?” She smiled.
“Yip, so tell me about you and Alice.”
“Oh jeeze, it sounds like you already know, and besides you’re embarrassing me.” He jumped up from the table and headed upstairs. As he went, she pleaded.
“No, come back, come on, I’ll leave it alone,” then she laughed.
“Todd was right, they were going to get in trouble for sure. Women haven’t changed in eighty years. But men haven’t either, we still can’t stay away from them, we’re just too weak.”
He went up to his bedroom and called Bobby. Bobby answered.
“Hey Toby how are you man?”
“I’m pretty good, what are you doing tonight? You want to hang out?”