by Simon Haynes
"Not the newest commset I've ever seen," remarked Canitt. "I thought everyone your age had to own the latest and greatest?"
"I save my money for important things," said Harriet.
Canitt nodded, and a few seconds later there was another ping. Harriet started, reached into her pocket, but before she could bring the commset out again the lift doors opened onto a short corridor. To one side was another door marked with a staircase sign. Ahead was a sort of airlock arrangement, with two sets of glass sliding doors separated by several metres of blank, featureless passage. Casually, Harriet looked at the staircase access door. Was Alice hiding behind it? Or was it just her bracelet? She remembered what Bernie had said about the only way to remove the thing, and suppressed that thought quickly.
Meanwhile, Canitt led the way to the glass doors, where he swiped a security card. The light turned green, and the doors opened. "We were going to implant a chip," he said, gesturing with the card. "But some of our people have worked for so many different companies they'd have more tracks up their arms than a junkie."
Harriet followed him into the airlock, where they were blasted with warm air. Then, instantly, the inner doors opened. "Was that …?" she began.
"Mild decontamination. Nothing bad, just gets rid of a few common bugs. On the bright side, we don't lose many workdays to the 'flu."
The passage opened into a large, brightly-lit area. Unlike upstairs, every square inch was painted a dazzling white, and looked immaculately clean. There were workstations with powerful computers, glassed-off sections where people in hazmat suits worked with complex chemistry equipment, and at the back, stretching about a hundred metres underground, rows of big stainless steel vats. Each had an inspection port, which was lit from within by an eerie green glow. Harriet could see bubbles, and occasionally something dark and slug-like swam past the round windows like huge, pulsing leeches.
"Are those things … alive?" she said, pointing.
Canitt laughed. "No, the liquid is kept in motion. Stirring stimulates growth."
"Yeah, well it doesn't look like chicken to me. I'll stick to the real thing, thanks."
"I'm sorry, but from now on you're required to eat our product. It's right there in our terms of employment." Canitt saw her expression, and laughed even louder. "Relax, I'm messing with you. Your face, though!"
At that moment, she decided Bernie was wrong about Canitt. He was too ordinary to be some kind of devious super-villain. The lousy jokes, the teasing … they just didn't add up. Unless, of course, he was a super-villain who enjoyed lousy jokes and teasing. Either way, she kind of liked him. Not 'like him' as in fall into his arms the first chance she got, she amended hastily. He just seemed like a decent person, which either made her a terrible cop or a good judge of character. She set that aside for the moment. Now that she'd located Alice, she needed to end the tour quickly.
Unfortunately, Canitt had other ideas. Now that she'd expressed an interest in his business, he was determined to show her everything. "We start the process with basic cells taken from the real thing. They're kept in suspension at a very precise temperature, and …"
He kept going, on and on, and the longer he spoke, the more restless Harriet got. She tuned out, and spent the time thinking about getting Alice out of there. Then Canitt said something which caught her attention immediately. "I'm sorry, what was that?" she asked.
"I said we run this place 24/7, with a smaller staff at night to keep an eye on things. Myself, Willis and TK have rooms on the top floor, so we're right on the scene if something happens."
Harriet muttered under her breath. So much for getting Alice out at night. Now she'd have to sit down with Bernie and work out how they were going to get Alice out, hopefully before someone found the girl hiding in the stairwell. She turned to Canitt to let him know she'd heard enough … and at that precise moment, all the lights went out.
There was an instant of pitch darkness, and then dim emergency lighting came on. After the bright glare which had previously filled the lab, the dim lighting was almost useless, but as Harriet's eyes adjusted she could see enough to get by. The tanks were still lit, presumably running off an emergency power system, but all the computers were dead.
Beside her, Canitt cursed. "Always at the worst possible time," he muttered irritably. "Why can't they have power cuts in the middle of the night?"
Harriet was going to point out that if they did, he wouldn't know about them. But he'd already left her, and was directing people to the exit. "Come on, everyone upstairs. Leave your work, it'll still be here later."
For one awful moment Harriet thought they'd be trapped, since the airlock doors would need power to operate. However, the keypad next to the doors was illuminated, and when someone used a security pass the doors slid open.
"Everyone out in batches," called Canitt. "Nobody comes back through until the scrubbers are running. Understood?"
There were murmurs of assent, and the first dozen people approached the doors. Canitt took Harriet's elbow and added her to the group. "Sorry about this. I'll be busy down here for a bit, but … call me, okay? Let me know what you think."
Harriet nodded, and then she was through the doors and into the airlock. The ghostly glow from the emergency lighting barely lit the entire room, and the other people were just shadows.
The first doors closed and the second pair opened, letting the group out. Harriet saw her opportunity and hung back a little, making sure she was last to leave the airlock. Someone opened the stairwell door, and as people filed up the concrete steps Harriet delayed until she was alone. Then she darted behind the stairs. "Alice?" she whispered. It was pitch black, and she couldn't see anything. Then, to her relief, she heard the girl's voice.
"Harriet? Is that you?" whispered Alice.
"Yeah, but I've only got a second. Are you okay?"
"No, I think I broke my ankle."
"Great," muttered Harriet. "Just what I needed."
"I'm sorry."
"Can you walk?"
"No, it really hurts."
Harriet glanced over her shoulder. The next group would be coming through any second, and they mustn't find her lurking under the stairs. Fortunately it was even darker there, but she didn't need some helpful member of staff coming to give her a hand … and then discovering Alice. She was tempted to help the girl up the stairs and bluff her way out, but there would be questions, and someone would call Canitt, and then Bernie would go bonkers. "Look, I can't get you out now, they're in a panic over this power cut."
"That's all right," said Alice. "I've got a plan."
"Excellent. What is it?"
"I'll wait until they go home and crawl up the stairs. There's a door at the back of the storeroom, maybe … maybe you could meet me there after dark?"
Harriet glanced over her shoulder as the door opened. Hurriedly, she squeezed into the recess under the stairs, and the two of them crouched together and held their breath as a dozen people tramped up the stairs. Then they were gone, and Harriet turned to Alice to break the bad news. "Okay, two things. First, you're not going to be crawling anywhere, not with a broken ankle. And second, they don't go home here."
"What?"
"This place runs all day and night, every day of the week. Canitt just told me."
"Crap."
"Yeah."
"I screwed up, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did." Harriet wasn't in the mood to reassure her. "Look, I need you to sit here and wait while Bernie and I figure something out."
"But —"
"Alice, I mean it," whispered Harriet sharply. "Bernie reckons Canitt could be dangerous, and if he's running some kind of illegal deal down here you might end up getting shot by some jumpy guard."
Alice's eyes were large in the darkness. "All right, I'll sit still."
"Promise?"
"Sure, granny."
"Keep that up and I won't come back for you," growled Harriet. The door opened and another group entered, taking the stair
s with a clatter of footsteps. After the last person had started up the stairs, Harriet stepped out of the shadows and tailed the group, taking the first few steps two at a time to catch up.
Then, as she climbed the stairs to the surface, she hoped Alice would keep her promise. If the girl would just sit still a while longer, Harriet was certain she and Bernie would be able to get her out.
* * *
As soon as Harriet reached the surface she ran along the corridor to the front office. The doors to the outside were open, and there were several dozen people gathered in the car park, all seemingly in good spirits despite the dark and the cold. A number were leaving for the day, with cabs coming and going to pick them up.
Harriet ignored them all and jogged out of the car park. She raced down the block to the Peace Force cruiser and she slid into the driver's seat. Steve blew warm air into the cabin, and she felt like sitting back and letting the warmth flow over her. There was no time for luxuries, though. She needed to organise Alice's rescue.
The commset went off as though Bernie had read her mind, and the robot's face appeared on the dashboard display. "I'm glad to see you safe and well, Trainee Walsh. Tell me, did you get Alice out?"
"Bernie, she's in there, but the power went off!"
"I'm well aware of it, since I instigated the power cut. I thought it would give you a chance to rescue Alice."
"You could have warned me. It was chaos in there!"
"You were underground, Trainee, and my signal could not reach you." Bernie hesitated. "Is Alice in immediate danger?"
"I don't think so. She's well hidden, but she's hurt her ankle."
"Can she walk?"
"She says not. And Bernie … I thought we could sneak her out after closing, but the place runs all day and night."
Bernie was silent. "Very well. Return to the office immediately. We must make a plan."
"Can't we talk here? I mean, I'd like to be nearby in case Alice needs me."
"And how would she communicate that fact? Trainee, if you return to the station immediately I will overlook your earlier insubordination. However, if you disobey me again …"
"Okay, okay. I'm leaving." Harriet cut the connection. "Come on, Steve. Let's go."
The car took off with a roar, and the trip to the Peace Force station took only minutes. On the way, Harriet dwelled on the situation, with Alice trapped underground and Canitt a potential crook.
Then she smiled. The answer was so simple! She'd discuss it with Bernie first, of course, but Harriet wouldn't need much. Just her uniform, some body armour … and a gun.
* * *
As soon as she got back to the office, Harriet found Bernie and began to outline her plan. She got so worked up she paced back and forth in front of the robot, underscoring each point by stabbing her finger in mid-air.
"Trainee Walsh …" began Bernie.
Harriet ignored her. "I'm going to need my uniform, my badge, one of those suits of body armour and a helmet, if we have one. And a gun! I've got to have a gun, it's …"
"Trainee Walsh!"
"… essential," finished Harriet. "So here's the deal. Once I'm kitted up, you'll pull another of those lottery ticket scams to get Canitt out of the way. Or tell him his car's on fire or something, I don't care what. Then, I'll —"
"Trainee Walsh!"
"Bernie, stop interrupting. Just this once, let me finish, okay? Now, I'll go in there in my uniform, and I'll tell them a runaway was seen in the vicinity. She's not dangerous, but her family are worried and I've been sent to bring her back. I know where she is, so I can pretend to look around for a bit and then …"
"TRAINEE WALSH!"
"… I'll find her under the stairs, put her in cuffs and march her straight out of there. It'll work, too, as long as the guards don't shoot her. That would be a bit of a problem. What is it, Bernie? What, what, WHAT?"
Bernie stopped tugging on her shirt. "Trainee Walsh, you have a far bigger problem to deal with right now."
"I do? What is it?"
"You're under arrest. Please hold out your hands."
"You're joking!"
"I'm deadly serious."
"But — I only told you to shut up a minute. I didn't —"
"Resistance is futile. Give me your hands right now, or I'll take them by force."
Silently, Harriet put her hands out, and Bernie promptly shackled them together. "Is this some kind of hazing? Because if it is, your timing sucks. Alice might need a stretcher, or a doctor, or—" There was a tremendous electric shock through the metal cuffs, and she jumped about two feet in the air. "What the hell?"
"The prisoner will be silent," intoned Bernie.
Harriet pressed her lips together. She had a lot more to say, but the electric shock had been painful … and there was no telling how much more juice Bernie could hit her with.
"The prisoner will now accompany me to the interview room."
Silently, Harriet followed. They took the stairs to the basement, where they walked past the firing range and entered a broad corridor. On the right were the cells. At the end was a forbidding door, heavy and very solid.
Bernie propelled her into a seat behind the big steel table, then linked Harriet's cuffs through a thick metal loop welded to the surface. There was no escape, of that Harriet was certain, and she decided to humour the robot until she could work out what the hell was going on. She noticed the whiteboard from the staff room nearby, with a packet of markers on the little shelf underneath. Bernie must have put it there, which meant the robot had been preparing for some time, in between her inevitable recharges. Harriet brightened at that - if she kept Bernie talking, the robot might just go flat! Then she looked down at the handcuffs and her face fell. If the big robot did go flat any time soon, Harriet would die a long, slow and very lonely death chained to the table.
Chapter 19
By now, Alice had decided Harriet wasn't coming back for her. Maybe the whole building was locked up and Harriet couldn't get in. Maybe Canitt had taken her hostage. Or maybe aliens had invaded with orbital death rays, and the planet's entire surface had been melted into a big sheet of glass which stretched as far as the eye could see. Whichever it was, she didn't care. Her ankle was killing her, she was very thirsty and she wasn't going to wait any longer.
She crawled out of her hiding place behind the stairs and tried to stand up. One leg was fine, but when she tried to put her other foot down her ankle exploded with agony. She stood there on one leg, taking ragged breaths as she waited for the pain to subside, her forehead resting against the chilly concrete. Once the pain was under control, just, she glanced at the nearby door. Nearby? she thought. Hah! It might as well be light years away.
Next, she glanced up the staircase. With dim emergency lighting providing the only illumination, the place was like a tomb, but even so she reckoned her chances of getting to the top without being spotted were zero. Sure, the place appeared to be deserted after the power cut, but the lights had to come back on eventually, and the people who'd filed out of the building earlier would just come filing right back in again.
Upstairs, downstairs, or hide? Those were her only choices.
Well, she was done with hiding and upstairs was a trap, so that only left the nearby door. Alice lowered herself to the floor, and set off on hands and knees. Her ankle hurt like crazy, but the going wasn't too bad. She discovered that dragging that leg behind herself was the best way, because it moved the damaged joint less.
When she got to the door she knelt up to reach the handle, then wriggled through the gap before the door closed again. She spotted the elevator doors nearby, and wondered whether to risk it. She'd reach the ground floor in seconds, and maybe there would be nobody around. Then she saw the control panel next to the elevator door was dead, and she sighed. So much for that escape plan, but at least she didn't have to worry about unexpected arrivals.
But if the elevator was dead, what about the big glass doors she'd seen earlier, the ones with the s
wipe card access? No, they were still powered up, and the card reader still shone with a baleful red light in the darkness. Alice crawled to the doors, just in case they were in some kind of standby mode, but they were shut tight and she couldn't get a fingernail into the gap, let alone her fingers.
She cupped her hands to the glass and peered through. She could see patches of green light about thirty metres away, but very little else. Nothing that looked like a bathroom or a kitchen, at any rate. Nowhere to get a drink then, but what about something to bind her ankle? Then she snorted. Even a fully-equipped sick bay would be useless if she couldn't get through the doors.
She turned away in disgust. All that crawling around and she'd got absolutely nowhere. Now she only had two choices: risk the stairs, or sit under them and hope that some alien fleet hadn't vaporised every last human on the surface.
She was halfway back to the stairwell when her right hand slipped on a piece of plastic. Her arm slid away, and she landed on her side with a thump. Her ankle flared up at the sudden jolt, and she lay there in the darkness, surprised, winded and clenching her teeth at the pain. Annoyed, she felt around for whatever it was she'd slipped on, and her fingers encountered a small oblong with a metal clip. She was going to throw it away in disgust, then grabbed it instead, and held it close to her face. In the gloom she saw it was a name badge, with someone's photo on. She glanced at the card reader and its baleful red light. Was this a swipe that would open the door, or just an ID? Well, there was only one way to find out.
She returned to the doors and knelt up gingerly, mindful of her ankle. The reader beeped as she touched the card to it, there was a slight delay, and then … the green light came on!
Alice grinned. Her luck was changing!
The doors parted and she scuttled into the short passage beyond, worried the door might close on her bad ankle on the way through. The second set of doors opened automatically, and then she crawled out of the tunnel and into a huge lab. She looked around, and to her relief she spotted a sign on the wall nearby. Bathrooms. That would take care of her thirst, but what about the ankle? She needed a bandage to strap it up, or failing that, strips of cloth. She looked around for a first aid cabinet, then spotted a lab coat draped over a chair nearby.