by Aman Gupta
“Well, kudos to you. Next time, you stand on the road with a kid shouting, yelling and then knocked out, and I’ll drive around the town,” said Emma.
“We’re sorry,” said Kate. “We got there as fast as we could.”
“I know. I was so scared for her. We almost got caught,” said Emma.
“Is she sleeping?” asked Kate.
“Yeah,” said Emma.
“Let’s hide in one of these buildings till we hear from Vik,” said Eric.
“Yeah,” said Kate.
Emma hid the car in a nearby parking lot while Kate and Eric, with Ginny, sneaked behind the construction workers, and went to an under-construction ten storey residential structure. Emma joined them later.
They waited for a few hours. Ginny woke up from her sleep. She recognized both Kate and Emma, and asked for her parents. They tried to explain the situation to her, about her kidnapping. She calmed down a bit and hugged Emma.
After a few minutes, Emma told Eric that Ginny had asked for food.
“We don’t have money. I’ll go steal some food,” said Eric.
“Here, take this. Found it in the cab,” said Emma. She took out some of the notes and gave them to Eric while kept some in her pocket.
Kate volunteered to go with Eric. They returned an hour later with some burgers and noodles, some new clothes and water.
“The festival’s been cancelled. There’s a curfew in the town,” said Eric.
“Took them long enough,” said Emma. “I think we should stay here till tomorrow morning. It’s past sunset.”
“What about Vik? Should we let him know?” asked Eric.
“How?” asked Kate.
“We could leave a message in that park next to Locus,” said Eric.
“We should. But right now, it’s too dangerous,” said Emma. “Something tells me he knows where we are.”
“Did he contact you?” asked Kate, looking at Emma.
Emma looked away and said, “No. It’s just that I think we need to give him more credit. He has planned the entire thing flawlessly till now. I’m sure he’ll get us out and Joey too.”
Eric nodded, while Kate showed her dissent to the decision.
The next morning, they woke up when they heard footsteps. They hid behind the semi-constructed walls while the workers moved from their floor to the one above. They decided to leave the building and find another location to hide. Kate suggested that they go different directions but meet at the circular park near Locus. Emma pointed that it would be risky for Ginny. Eric decided that he’ll drive around town with Ginny, while Kate and Emma go solo.
Evading and moving around the check points and the road blocks, all of them managed to arrive near Locus. Emma entered the park and scanned the ground for any message from Vik. Kate did the same. But neither could find anything. After a while, a woman came over to Emma.
“Come with me,” said the woman.
“Who are you?” asked Emma.
“My name’s Vanessa,” said the woman. “Your husband wants to meet you.”
Kate came over to Emma after seeing her talking to the woman.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” said Emma.
“Vik has sent me,” said Vanessa.
Emma and Kate went with her towards her car. Kate pointed to Eric to follow them in his car. She took them to a nearby residential complex. They took the elevator to her apartment on the 8th floor. Eric pretended to be another resident along with Ginny, and didn’t make it known that he was with Kate and Emma. Vanessa knocked twice on the door, but nobody opened the door.
Kate and Emma started backing away, thinking that they had been tricked. Vanessa took out her key card and opened the door.
“Come in quickly,” she said.
Kate and Emma looked at each other, and went inside. Eric stayed behind in the hall with Ginny. A minute later, Kate came out and asked Eric to come inside.
Vanessa asked them to sit on the couch, which they didn’t do. She went to her bedroom. Hearing some voices, they asked Ginny to hide behind the couch while they entered the bedroom together. Vik was standing by the window, wearing a towel. Vanessa was making the bed.
Eric noticed that Vik’s clothes were on the floor.
‘Wonder that look on her face is her being embarrassed or heartbroken,’ Eric thought looking at Emma.
“Sorry for the attire. Just got out of shower,” said Vik.
“Sorry, we should give you two some space,” said Emma.
“That’d be great,” said Vanessa.
Emma turned around in fury and walked out of the bedroom, followed by Kate and Eric. A minute later, Vik came out with Vanessa after putting on some clothes.
“Everyone, this is Vanessa,” said Vik.
“Yeah, we know her name. Who’s she?” asked Emma.
“My girlfriend, for now,” said Vik.
“What does that mean?” asked Emma.
“I thought you said she was smart. It means that if anyone asks, say we’re in a relationship,” said Vanessa.
“Enough jokes Vik,” said Eric.
“I’m not entirely joking. We want the eyes and the brain seeing over Atlantis, to think that we’re together. We’re posing that way to avoid any special attention,” said Vik.
Vanessa got some snacks from her kitchen and offered them to Ginny.
“Hey Gin Bee,” said Vik.
“Jay, it’s you,” said Ginny.
She came over and hugged Jay as he went down on his knees.
“Did my friends take care of you?” asked Vik.
“Yes,” whispered Ginny. “Could you take me home?”
“I will get you home. Tell me, does your mom still hit your dad when he’s trying to be funny?” whispered Jay.
Ginny laughed and nodded.
“You two know each other?” asked Kate.
“Duh!” said Ginny.
‘She had come to life,’ Emma thought.
Eric smiled, so did Kate and Vanessa.
“We should go,” said Vanessa.
“Go where?” asked Eric.
“She’s going to work. I’m going to make some arrangements. I’ll be back soon. We will get Joey out and get the hell out of here,” said Vik.
“You know where he is?” asked Emma.
“Locus,” said Vik.
Vanessa and Vik left. Emma, Eric and Kate went looking around the house.
Emma entered the master bedroom and looked outside the window. Kate and Eric came over too.
“He was watching,” said Emma. She pointed that the park was directly visible from the bedroom window.
After two hours, Vik came home. Ginny was resting in the other room. Emma, Kate and Eric were sitting on the couch.
“Long day yesterday, huh?” said Eric.
“Yeah,” said Vik.
“Give it to us straight, Vik. Who’s she?” asked Eric.
“I met her the first time I went to Locus. I had used her login credentials to access the system and what not. Before I could set it right, we escaped, so all the blame fell on her. She was interrogated along with Joey, she said. After her story checked out, they let her go. Yesterday, while I was surveying Locus, she tracked me down. I told her everything about our plan, about Ginny and the other kids. She volunteered to help,” explained Vik.
“What makes you think you could trust her?” asked Emma.
“The fact that I’m still here. She didn’t tell anyone about me, otherwise I would’ve been captured the minute I set foot inside Atlantis. She’s been through some tragic stuff herself,” said Vik.
“What if she’s playing you?” asked Emma.
“Then I’m being played,” said Vik.
“I think your hormones are clouding your judgment,” said Emma.
“I’ve never been clearer about anything before. And don’t worry, I didn’t sleep with her,” said Vik.
“I didn’t ask that,” said Emma.
“If you say so,” said Vik.
<
br /> “What’s the plan now?” asked Kate.
“We leave in two hours. One of you stays here with Ginny. Decide amongst yourself,” said Vik.
“Where are you going?” asked Emma.
“To get some sleep. Didn’t sleep at all last night,” said Vik. He winked at Eric, who could feel the heat of fury radiating out of Emma sitting next to him.
He went to the bedroom.
“I’m going,” said all three.
“Technically, since we two are in the system, we should go,” said Emma.
“What am I supposed to do?” asked Eric.
“Keep the car running. This time, park the car nearby,” smirked Emma. Kate smiled.
“Fine, I’ll stay here with Ginny,” said Eric.
CHAPTER 14: SECRECY
Vik went to a nearby restaurant after being dropped at Locus by Kate, Emma and Eric. He told them to stay safe while they attempted to rescue Ginny. He monitored the perimeter of Locus for a while.
He went to a nearby alley and opened his bag. He took out two vials of Anthony Arnold’s most prized possession – Celaret Larvam. It was less than 2ml in quantity yet it took 8 months to create this vial of magic. Anthony Arnold wanted to create more of it for some sinister motives. Vik had burned down a forest to make sure its rare ingredient was lost to the planet. Anthony had other 34 ingredients, both natural and man-made, with him, but the 35th was necessary to bind them all together. It looked like an ordinary facial lotion and yet when applied to a face, it changed one’s appearance, for all electronic devices. He should have just called it a face lotion, Vik thought.
It took only a few seconds to work, and was extremely itchy. But it worked impeccably, for maximum of ten hours provided that the sun was shining, as it was useless in night vision mode. The lotion would alter the image perceived by a modern day surveillance camera. The small receptors embedded inside its molecules would sync together to create a new facial artistry that even its user wouldn’t know. Even Vik didn’t recognize the picture that the webcam took. Vik uploaded the picture along with his palm prints on the server to create an L2 profile for himself. He felt bad for lying to his friends that he couldn’t create an L2 profile, but for him, his reasons were simply placed better on the karmic scale. He hid the second vial in the wall by removing a brick and putting it back.
He booked a cab by hacking into the department’s expense account, and drove to Locus through the parking lot. He learnt that it was wise to create an L2 profile, since only L2 and above were allowed to access the parking structure underneath Locus. Vik volunteered to scan his palm but the guard asked for a 12 digit code instead, as he was arriving in a vehicle unregistered in the system. When Vik couldn’t produce one, the guard asked him to proceed to the exit.
Like Emma and Kate, he was also on a timeline and had around 7 hours to go, before he lost the daylight. He sat in the restaurant thinking about his next move. He accessed the cameras around the research facility to look for Emma and Eric. While reviewing the situation, he saw Emma standing on the street with Ginny. He zoomed in to notice the payphone’s number, and made a phone call using his L2 access through the central server. After noticing the traffic patterns, he realized that Eric was caught in a jam. He booked a cab by again hacking into the miscellaneous expenses account, and overpaid for the cab to ensure that Emma gets a spare change even after choosing a destination to the farthest point possible. He saw Eric’s car roll up a minute later, who went after Emma. Realizing that Emma was now safe, he logged out. After half an hour of contemplating the potential risks of every possible future action, he decided to upload his iris scan to the server.
“This plan just added a lot more variables. Not as easy as what I initially had in mind,” said Vik out loud.
He walked into Locus using the front entrance. The system flashed a green light as he passed the scanners. One of the security personnel inside, asked to see his laptop for inspection. Vik had already switched the active OS profile, anticipating such a thing. After clearing the security check, he went for the elevator. A woman came running, asking him to hold the door.
“Sorry, not today,” said Vik, as he pressed the button to shut the door. Being alone in the elevator was important for him. He pressed his hand against the elevator door. It showed him a list of floors from 22nd to 44th. Vik tapped on the 44th. When the door opened, it was the greyest wallpaper that he had ever seen, in front of him. He took a right turn and kept walking. It was just a big circular corridor with wall on the left side, and the glass panel windows on the right. After a few minutes, he ended up where he began.
After completing another round, he took to the elevator to the floor below. The same thing happened again. He tried it with every floor from the 44th to the 37th. He was losing time waiting for the elevator as well. The only thing that would change were the camera positions on the corridors, which gave Vik some confidence that he was actually checking out different floors. Everything else was identical, be it positions of the flower pots or the color shade of the walls.
“What a nightmare,” he said.
He had lost an hour and a half to this emotional torture. He decided to start from near the bottom and pressed 23rd this time around.
“Oh, thank god,” said Vik, when the elevator door opened.
The walls were white, which was an encouraging sign for him at that moment. He turned left, the only direction he could go. He walked up to an open area with hundreds of booths.
“Food Court.” It said, on the front wall.
It was completely empty, prompting Vik to yell, only to notice the people behind the counter, who stared at Vik. Almost embarrassed, he walked out of there, when he heard the elevator door open. He ran back towards the food court and pretended to smell the flowers arranged on its side, when he couldn’t find the restrooms. He wasn’t a fan of heights, but the view from the court was mesmerizing.
He heard Olivia’s voice along with another guy, walking to the counter. Olivia noticed a person standing by the glass panel smelling the flowers.
“Excuse me,” she said. “Who are you supposed to be?”
Vik changed his voice and spoke in a broken accent.
“Surveillance,” said Vik.
“You mind turning around to show your face?” asked Olivia.
“Sorry, but I’m married, so not looking to date anyone,” said Vik.
The guy with Olivia laughed for a second but stopped on seeing Olivia’s face.
“What’s your name?” asked Olivia, walking around to get a better look at the face.
“John,” said Vik.
Olivia stopped on hearing the name. She turned around and went away from Vik.
“Leave, with your stupid name. I don’t want to see your ugly face,” said Olivia.
Vik smiled and walked away to the elevators, with his back turned the entire time.
He saw a guy cleaning the floor near the elevators.
“Hey, I’m new here, and completely lost,” said Vik.
“Where are you headed?” asked the guy.
“I got promoted to L2 recently,” said Vik.
“Then you got to go to 33rd. 23-25 is Food and Beverages. 26 to 32 is those surveillance snitches. 21-22 is just files and storage rooms,” said the guy.
“Thank you so much,” said Vik.
They bumped fists and Vik entered the elevator. Vik scanned his palm and pressed 33rd.
He uttered, “Just a little longer, Joey. Just a little longer.”
The 33rd was the Tech floor with hundreds of geeks and nerds walking by, some even pushing Vik to move faster. He abandoned his snail pace and stood in a small queue in front of him. The people were scanning their hands to enter the lobby on the other side of the door. As soon as they scanned their palm, a small holographic image popped up in front, showing their name and a two digit alphanumeric code.
Vik was third in the queue, when the hologram read,
‘Amory Whittaker
C-4’
<
br /> “C-4. That’s deadly,” whispered Vik.
The person ahead of him said, “Yeah, stupid seat names. My buddy works on 34th, his seat is Alpha-Five.”
“Got any buddy on 35th?” asked Vik.
“To the servers? That’s big game, man,” said the guy.
“True, true,” said Vik.
Vik got out of the queue under the pretense of using the bathroom. He opened his bag and took out the laptop. He tried to assign himself a seat, but that required an L3 authorization.
“New plan. I’ll burn this place down when I’m done,” fumed Vik.
He checked to see if his third program had been activated yet, but there were zero execution notifications on Vik’s private server. This program was his endgame and he wasn’t letting anyone know about it.
He went to the 35th floor to somehow enter the server room. As soon as the elevator door opened, he saw two guards posted outside. They pointed their gun at Vik when he stepped out of the elevator.
“Sorry, I think I got off on the wrong floor,” said Vik.
“What’s your purpose?” asked the guard.
“I got told that one of the servers wasn’t responding remotely. So I’m here to manually reboot it,” said Vik.
“Show us the paperwork,” said the guard.
“What paperwork? I wasn’t given any,” said Vik.
“Who sent you?” asked the other guard.
“That smug face, short guy with Ms. Anderson did, but let me go and ask him for the paperwork,” said Vik, and stepped back into the elevator.
“Who? Jerry Dotwight?” asked the guard.
“I don’t really know his name. I was in the food court and he and Ms. Anderson came to me and asked me to do this. Listen, I’m really sorry,” said Vik.
“Step out of the elevator,” said the guard.
Vik complied. The guard spoke to his watch and asked about Jerry Dotwight’s location. The voice from the other end mentioned him being at the food court with Olivia. The guard asked Vik for an iris scan and verified that he was an L2 executive. Vik distracted them when the altered photograph was being shown on the monitor.
“Your story and clearance checks out, but we can’t let you in,” said the guard.