Days' End

by Scott L Collins

  Finding that driver’s name had proved to be a difficult task. The actual name of the driver had been acquired from one of the other employees. Alastair had gone to the airport and hunted down drivers from that company. Day in and day out he had gone there looking for drivers he’d not yet spoken to, either the person who’d done the actual driving or someone who knew who had. He’d finally found someone who recognized a picture of Nysa. The driver told Alastair that he remembered her because he’d wished he could be the one to give her a ride. He followed up the comment with a suggestive wink and a smile. Alastair had to fight the urge to punch the man in the nose.

  It had been frustrating how long it had taken. Alastair had expected to find Nysa by now. Instead, he’d only managed to find the name of the person who had done the driving, but no contact information. A small victory, but even the smallest of accomplishment was something.

  On his other front, after having to once again recruit his old friends into a life of crime, Alastair managed to locate the gateway into his program. He had been shocked, yet not surprised by the display of arrogance in Scario’s logon ID and password. It was common knowledge in the hacking world that most individuals were less than creative in their selection of IDs and passwords, but Scario’s went beyond the normal lack of security. Alastair had managed to hack into the building’s security systems in less than five minutes.

  During his earlier conversation with his father about Scario being “The Betrayer,” Carl had proposed that Scario was in fact a shortened version of his real name. While Alastair thought it an odd alias, he tried the full name they’d discussed. Scario had actually used his first name as his logon and his last name as his password. How egotistical could one get?

  After getting in, Alastair had used the backdoor he’d placed into Unique and accessed the programming of the system. He needed to refamiliarize himself with the workings of the system in order to find a way to sneak in physically. After a few hours playing with the coding, he decided to actually take a look at the security in place within the compound. If he managed to find the location of the building, he’d need to see what he’d be up against when he arrived.

  He was distraught by what he saw.

  December 10,

  Outside Castle Rock, CO

  “Mr. Scario wants to induce delivery early,” stated the doctor after he examined Jacqueline and the baby.

  “Why?” asked Jacqueline and Nysa in unison.

  “He figures that his employees would like to go home for Christmas. Once the baby is delivered, the project is complete. Then everyone is free to go.”

  “Is there any danger to the baby?” inquired Jacqueline, placing her arms protectively across her belly.

  “Not much,” replied the doctor hesitantly. “It’s not uncommon to induce labor, just usually not this early. As for the baby’s health, I’m not too concerned. He seems to be growing quite strong. I would guess he’s about five pounds and eighteen inches long. Over the next two weeks he’ll put on roughly two pounds and his lungs should mature. A seven pound baby has excellent chances of survival.”

  “So why do you seem reluctant to induce, Doctor?” asked Nysa.

  “I don’t ever like to induce delivery early. The only time I believe it should be done is when the mother or baby is at risk. In this case, neither of you have any condition that would necessitate my inducing labor early.”

  “Did you tell Mr. Scario what you think?”

  “I told him my feelings on the subject, yes. But I’m sure you know that Mr. Scario has a certain agenda and he’s not going to let my objections stand in his way.” He put up his hand as the women started to object. “He knows that the baby and mother are both in good health, and that the baby will most likely thrive, even if born today. He knows more about your current condition, and the condition of the child, than almost anyone here, including you two. In fact, I’m meeting with him as soon as I’m done here.” Nysa and Jacqueline exchanged a quick glance at the news. Seeing the quizzical look the doctor continued. “He requires updates after every examination. He reads all of my medical reports and even asks additional questions if I happen to leave something out. He’s meticulous in his following of you and your baby. He wants his Christmas Eve baby and he’s going to have it. I agreed because I have been watching the development of you and the baby over the last thirty-two weeks. I feel it would be unfair of me to pass you off to another doctor this late in your pregnancy. Also, should there be any complications, I want to be there. He chose me for the same reason he chose you Nysa, I’m the best at what I do.” The doctor wheeled himself backward, away from the examination table, removing his gloves as he slowed to a stop. “Now, if neither of you have any more questions or concerns, I prescribe another spa treatment for the both of you.” The doctor winked and turned to go.

  “Won’t they need to see the prescription?” Jacqueline asked jokingly.

  The doctor wheeled around, pulled his prescription pad from his pocket, scribbled a note, dropped it on the bed next to Jacqueline, and turned and left the room. She picked it up and read it, giggled and showed it to Nysa. It read: 2 massages of 90 minutes each and see me next Friday, 9:00 A.M. sharp.

  “It’s good to see there are still doctors out there with a sense of humor,” Jacqueline said getting up. She quickly dressed then tugged on Nysa’s arm. “Let’s go, these are some doctor’s orders I can definitely follow.”

  December 10, Castle Rock, CO

  Alastair had been up working steadily over the last few days studying the various security elements installed at the secret facility. As best he could tell, and as best as his small network of friends could tell, there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell he’d be able to break in to find Nysa. In order to get in, the first obstacle he’d have to overcome would be the patrolling guards. He’d seen them while flipping through some of the security cameras. It appeared they were heavily armed. Although he wasn’t familiar enough with rifles to tell what, exactly, they were carrying, he guessed it would be extraordinarily uncomfortable to be shot regardless of the firearm used.

  The next security feature he’d have to defeat would be BLIDs (buried line intrusion detection). He’d had to look these up to figure out exactly what they were. It was not a comforting discovery. There was a grid of fiber-optic cables buried around the building which would activate alarms should he step anywhere in their vicinity. He guessed that the roaming guards knew where they could and couldn’t step, but he didn’t have the faintest clue how to get past them, short of walking up the main driveway. Maybe that’s what the guards had to do as well.

  To make it an even more difficult task, he’d have to accomplish this feat while out in the middle of an open landscape monitored by motion-sensing, closed-circuit televisions, and brightly lit by multiple spotlights. In summary, he’d have to sneak past armed guards patrolling the grounds, across an open field crisscrossed with BLIDs, all the while avoiding being seen by motion-sensing security cameras as well as the guards.

  And that would only get him to the building, not into it. For that he’d need an ID card to gain access through the lobby door of the building. There were other doorways, but from what he could tell they were all fire exits only and had no accessibility from the outside—other than waiting for someone to exit through one and then trying to sneak in. This appeared to be an option until he noticed that they were alarmed and would doubtlessly draw the guards’ attention if opened. All the windows, regardless of which floor they were on, were also alarmed. Alastair knew there was no way he’d be able to break into the compound. A sense of hopelessness flooded through him. He slumped down in his chair and began rubbing his temples.

  On the bright side, he knew that if by some miracle he was able to actually access the building, he’d be able to move about with ease. Alastair was sure he would be able to rewrite the security system to allow him access to any area he desired, and he was fairly certain he’d be able to cover his tracks through the process. Th
e last thing he wanted was for them to realize his intentions and find him before he could locate Nysa. It would take some time to reprogram, but he was pretty confident in his abilities.

  The first order of business was to order a Fargo Electronics card printer and a few Phonex Wireless Web Jacks. With the card printer he could program himself a ghost card that would allow him to move throughout the building without being tracked, assuming of course he could get in. He had it shipped overnight to ensure he would have it in time to create the card he required.

  He would also need to write a program that would tell the security system not only to hide the identity of the card holder, but also to delete the record of the door having been opened. What would be a bit more difficult to write would be the program to freeze the closed-circuit television signals being broadcast in the area he was entering. It wouldn’t do him any good to hide the fact that he was moving through the building if the guards could watch him on the security cameras. However, as he had written the original security program, it wouldn’t take him too long to write a virus to infect the system when the time came.

  While writing the needed programs and learning how to use his new card reader and writer, Alastair also made sure to continue his pursuit of the only other option he had, the driver of the car. It was slow going.

  December 17,

  Outside Castle Rock, CO

  At the end of the appointment, they reviewed the schedule for the next week. To ease her nerves, the doctor explained the entire process. Jacqueline was to arrive at the office at 9:00 AM on Christmas Eve to start the induction process. He told her about ripening of her cervix by vaginally administering a gel called Cervidil. They would then rupture her amniotic sac and administer Pitocin via an intravenous drip to induce the labor. He assured her that the baby would be monitored throughout the process and if there were any signs of fetal distress, he would immediately terminate the procedure or deliver the baby via Cesarean section. All the equipment and staff would be ready should the need arise, but he anticipated a smooth, uncomplicated delivery.

  Nysa and Jacqueline left the medical facilities together and took the elevator up to the spa facilities to soak away their worries in a nice milk bath, trying not only to rid their minds of the recent unpleasantness, but also avoid letting their imaginations get the best of them regarding the upcoming birth.

  Rumors continued to circulate about the death of Dr. Leyden, but they were becoming tamer as time passed. The most prominent one circulating at the moment was that someone had somehow managed to break into the compound and kill him. The question of why was never addressed, nor was the how for that matter.

  “I overheard one of the guards say they couldn’t trace any card key access to his room during the time of the murder,” Jacqueline whispered to Nysa one day in the elevator. Nysa turned and looked questioningly at her friend. “Just something I heard. Strange, huh?” Nysa’s brow furrowed. The elevator arrived and she walked quietly to her room.

  December 22, Castle Rock, CO

  Once again it took him longer than expected to get the information he wanted, but he was finally able to track down a number for the driver by hacking into the phone company databases.

  “Hello?” answered the voice on the other end of the line.

  “Margaret?” asked Alastair.

  “Yes, who’s this?”

  “My name is Alastair. I was wondering if I could get your help with something. Back at the beginning of the year, you picked up a bunch of doctors from the Colorado Springs airport. Do you remember?”

  “Yes, of course,” she replied warily.

  “Do you remember where you took them?” he inquired.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?”

  “Alastair.”

  “Sorry, Alastair, but I was tipped quite nicely with the understanding that the destination for those trips would stay on a need-to-know basis and, according to Mr. Stevens, nobody else needs to know.”

  “Mr. Stevens is dead, Margaret.”

  “What? When, how?”

  “He was killed back at the end of October. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it. They found his body up in the mountains. Somebody broke his neck.”

  “I’m not sure I want to get involved in this. Actually, if people are being killed, I know I don’t.”

  “Margaret, please listen. All I want to know is where you took them. One of those doctors is my fiancée and I need to find her. You are the only person I know of who knows where the facility is. Please help me.”

  “I’m sorry.” The line clicked as she hung up.

  “Fuck!” shouted Alastair, throwing down the phone.

  He spent the rest of the evening at the hotel using his laptop to run Internet searches for Margaret. He didn’t have her last name so he was limited to trying reverse searches on the phone number he had. After a couple of hours he was able to retrieve both her last name and an address. Obviously he’d spooked her when he mentioned Mr. Stevens’ murder. He would have to assure her that no harm would come her way for telling him what he needed to know. He decided to wait until daylight to approach her again. Alastair grabbed the Bible from the bedside table and opened it to Revelations. He had a long night ahead of him and decided to do a little research on the remaining signs of the Apocalypse.

  Alastair awoke to the dull buzz of static originating from the television. It was after midnight. He groaned to himself as he rolled out of bed and stumbled across the room to turn off the television. Since he was up, he decided to start up the coffee machine and take care of another order of business. Since he really had no way of overcoming the security measures in place at the facility, his only other option would be to shut down the system so that he would have only the guards to deal with. Unfortunately, this also meant they would be on high alert and trigger happy. But it had to be done. He couldn’t find any other options that would allow him access to the building.

  The only way to mitigate the potential danger would be to sporadically shut down the system so that when the time came, the guards would be more inclined to treat it as a mere annoyance rather than a breach in the security system. He signed on to the system using Scario’s logon and ID and spent the next few minutes searching for a very specific system maintenance code he’d installed when he’d initially written the program. When he located it, he changed as little of the code as he could while still achieving the desired effect. The system would now shut itself down on a random basis, but at least once a day, for at least an hour.

  He also ensured that nobody at SecTech would be able to locate the source of the problem by camouflaging it in an obscure location in the program. If he managed to make his way into the building undetected, he had to be sure of how much time he’d have to locate Nysa. He didn’t want anyone to be aware that the system was being tampered with from the outside, so he was very careful to cover his tracks as he wound his way back out of the security server.

  December 23, 3:17 PM

  Los Angeles, CA

  “Thank you for calling SecTech. This is Suzy. How may I help you?”

  “Hello. My name is Joseph. My boss purchased one of your products and we are currently having problems with it. I need it fixed, pronto. As in yesterday. Can you help?”

  “What is the name of the system, sir?” Suzy asked as she pulled out her notepad.

  “Unique.”

  “And what seems to be the problem with the system?”

  “It’s keeps shutting down. I’m not sure why.”

  Suzy sat on the phone with the man for the next hour trying to troubleshoot the problem. She finally gave up, took down Joseph’s contact info, and called in her assistant.

  “Please take this information out to one of the technicians. I don’t really care which one. I don’t have time to deal with it right now. Have them call this man back and see if they can fix the problem.” The young woman took the paper and hurried back out of the office, closing the door behind her. Suzy leaned
back in her chair and stretched. “Wish you’d come back, Alastair,” she said to herself. “I could really use your help around here.”

  Today is the day. My peace will come at last. It has been too long in the making. I have been forced to wander this Earth for far too long as punishment for my betrayal of Christ. I have sinned, yes, but isn’t that why the Son of God died on the cross, to save us from our sins? The Church continues to preach of a God who will forgive you of your sins if one accepts Jesus Christ as their savior and the true Son of God. I have done this; where is my absolution? Where is this merciful God I keep hearing about?

  If you are not going to end it for me, I will do it myself. Damn you for abandoning me in my greatest time of need. We will meet again. Soon. Today. Nobody will ever read this diary so I feel free to sign my real name for the first time in ages.

  Judas Iscariot

  December 24, 7:15 AM Jerusalem, Israel

  This was to be his last day on Earth. He stood at the Zion Gate in Jerusalem, facing south, watching the shadows stretch out before him as the sun rose in the eastern sky. The glare of the sun off the windshield of a slow-moving taxi cab caused him to squint.

  His black overcoat hung open and swirled in the wind gusting through the narrow streets. His brand new black and white pinstriped suit was still stiff with starch and his gold watch glistened in the morning light. The freshly pressed black shirt and tie complemented his suit perfectly. He’d had his shoes polished this very morning and could almost see his reflection. His dark brown hair was tossed about by the wind.