They had just gotten the rhythm of a game Marky called Seven Card No Peek when the group channel lit up with a message from Apolla.
<Guys, I’ve got something. I think we can get you out of there.>
Reece forgot about revealing her next card. <How?>
Apolla’s answer came immediately. <It won’t be easy. There’s an old access vent you can pull open and climb up to get to an air maintenance crawlway. Once you get to the crawlway, it will be dusty and cramped, but fine. Getting there through the vent will take some effort, though.>
<How did you find it?> Marky asked.
<I pulled up some old schematics of the initial architecture. Comparing it to what I can see that now exists, it looks like a newer venting system was put into place and this old vent was simply covered over.>
<Tell us how to find it,> Schramm said. He looked like he was more than ready to get out of there.
Half a minute later the cards lay forgotten on the floor and Trey, Reece, Schramm, and Marky stood staring at a panel that was about Reece’s height, minus her legs, and about the width of upper body with her elbows extended.
<Did you find it?> Apolla asked.
<It was right where you said,> Schramm answered. <But it’s bolted up. I don’t know how we’re going to get into it without a prybar or a torch.>
Trey ran his fingers around the panel, skimming its edges. Then he braced his feet, rounded his back, and wrenched the panel right off the wall.
He threw it aside, then grinned. “I am a prybar. Now let’s get the hell out of here before security remembers that this access panel exists—because if we can get out, this is a way they can also get in.”
It was a sobering thought.
<We’ve got it open,> Schramm said on the group Link. <We’re going to give it a try.>
<Just follow it. Then it opens up into the crawlway. When you get there, let me know and I’ll lead you through,> Apolla advised.
<Understood.> Schramm nodded to Marky. “You go up first. I’ll follow you. Then Trey can follow Reece up, in case her leg gives her problems.”
Marky caught her lip in her teeth. “What if there’s something in there?”
Schramm shrugged. “It’d be better than what’s eventually going to find us in here.” He patted her on the shoulder. “This building isn’t that old, so don’t worry. I’ll be right behind you.”
He helped her step up to the edge and then into the vent.
Marky’s voice come out muffled. “It’s dark. Hang on. I have a light.”
Reece heard faint sounds of shifting movement.
“Okay. There are rungs, but there are only about half as many as there should be. This will be interesting. Here I go.” Marky’s feet disappeared as she moved upward.
Schramm went in behind her.
After a few seconds, Marky called down, “Ah, there’s a ledge.”
A moment later, she sounded further away. “Ledge didn’t last. More rungs.”
Trey gestured to the opening. “Your turn.”
Reece hoped her leg would do its job. She took a breath, stepping in, and immediately regretted it. Marky and Schramm had stirred up a whirlwind of dust. Reece stopped, squinting her eyes shut and coughing violently.
<I hope you have some kind of superior breathing system in that chest of yours,> she sent to Trey. <This is unpleasant, to say the least.>
<Nope,> he answered. <Just regular old lungs.>
To protect her eyes, she closed them to tiny slits, then used her visual display to enlarge that sliver of vision on a side panel. Then she looked at it rather than reality.
That helped her eyes, but there was no helping her lungs. She coughed the whole way to the ledge, then to the second set of rungs. She heard Trey behind her, climbing and coughing some, but not as much as her.
He probably did have some sort of advanced lungs, and he just hadn’t wanted to admit it.
Reece’s leg hadn’t bothered her much from regular walking and running, but it took the opportunity to let her know that she had been recently shot. An aching burn spread up through her thigh, connecting the entry and exit points via the channel between. She gritted her teeth and ignored the pain.
“Keep moving,” Trey ordered from below.
“I am,” she insisted.
“Is it your leg?”
“No.”
“It’s your leg, isn’t it?”
As she struggled to bring it up to the next rung, she sighed. “Maybe.”
How many rungs could there be in here? Surely they had to arrive somewhere soon. But with only the use of her Link to brighten her way and Marky and Schramm ahead of her, she couldn’t tell how much further that would be.
As she was struggling up the next rung, a firm pressure applied itself to her backside, taking her weight off her legs and pushing her upward. It was as if some levitating fairy had put her shoulder against Reece’s butt to give her a lift.
Of course, there was no fairy, unless Trey counted as one, which she didn’t think he did. Which meant he was getting a handful of a whole lot of her ass, but given the current situation, she wasn’t going to complain.
In any case, she was certain he wasn’t enjoying it, and that was good enough for her.
She heard Marky say something up ahead, and while Reece didn’t understand the words, she heard the relief.
Four more rungs and they’d leveled out.
<Apolla, we’ve arrived at the crawlway,> Schramm reported.
<Good. I was starting to get worried. Follow it as far as you can, then when it branches off, let me know. I’m trying to compare the original building’s design with what’s currently on file, which is outdated anyway. We might need a little trial and error to figure it out. But you’re headed west at the moment, taking you away from that cooling room, and that’s good. We need to get you out at some point that lets you get out of the building or establish a more defensible position.>
Schramm and Reece were the first to look up after listening to that long missive from Apolla. Marky’s eyes came up next, and Trey looked up last.
She’d have to tease him later about being a slow reader.
“Same order?” Marky asked.
“I’ll go first here,” Trey said. “There might be junk that needs to be cleared, or it’s possible we’ll encounter people coming in this way. Better I’m out front for that.”
They reversed order, with Trey leading, Reece following, Marky on her heels, and Schramm bringing up the rear.
Crawling through the narrow space wasn’t awesome for Reece’s leg, but she could manage it. There wasn’t as much dust here, either, which was good.
Trey sent them all a group message. <I’m at a junction. I can go north or south.>
<Depends. Do you want your best shot at leaving the building, or at getting to a place they can’t reach?>
Apolla’s message caused them to look at one another.
Marky spoke first. “I vote for getting out. We can always come back after we know which way the board is going to decide.”
Schramm shook his head. “I’m not leaving until I make them acknowledge that I’m not a criminal, or a traitor to my company.”
“If he’s out of Rexcare,” Reece said, “then so am I, apparently. So I’m staying.”
They all looked at Trey.
He shrugged. “My partner’s staying, so I’m staying.”
Reece looked sympathetically to Marky. “You helped us tremendously. You can follow the way out if you want to.”
After a moment’s deliberation, Marky shook her head. “I’m better off with all of you than without. I can’t tear metal off the walls like some people.”
<We’re staying,> Schramm told Apolla.
<Go south, then. I’m going to send you some coordinates to a secure room. If you can get there, you can hold it indefinitely. Cameras show there’s no one there, but it has double-reinforced walls and an internal locking mechanism.>
<The corporate retreat,> Schramm said. <At least
that’s what we call it. It’s a bomb shelter, on the bottom level of the building, meant to protect against terrorist or retaliatory acts. If we can get in, I should be able to close and lock it.>
<They wouldn’t have changed the codes and all that?> Reece asked.
<Since it’s in my best interest to run and stay hidden, probably not. They wouldn’t have thought they’d need to protect the shelter from me.>
Reece contacted Raya. <Raya, are you still out there? We’re on the move to the safe room. You should either meet us there, or better yet, get yourself out of here and pretend you had nothing to do with it.>
Raya didn’t respond immediately. Or within two minutes. As time ticked onward, Reece started to get worried.
Finally, a full six minutes after Reece’s message, Raya responded. <Sorry. I was giving a talk on brand awareness to a group of new exec recruits. I couldn’t break my train of thought at the moment.>
<A what?> Reece asked. <Why?>
<Because someone recognized me and assumed that was why I was here. So I agreed that it was. I’m not coming with you. Go in without me.>
Reece was glad she had the good sense to preserve her reputation, in case all this went wrong.
But then Raya send another message. <I’ll run interference for you, and once you’re locked in, I can act as your proxy.>
Trey said, <No, you should get out. There’s no reason for you to go down with us if all this goes wrong.>
Reece smiled. It was smart thinking.
<I still don’t like it.> Trey conveyed a disapproving tone even as he crawled south ahead of her.
<When all this is done, you can give me a stern talking-to,> Raya answered. <Until then, move faster.>
He didn’t respond, but to Reece, it felt like he’d sped up a little.
Apolla said, <You should be able to see junction numbers every time you pass one. Let me know what you’re seeing so I can track your progress.>
They made it past 2E. Then 3F Then, later, 8G. Apparently, G had a lot of sections. They crawled until Reece’s knees went numb, and then came roaring back to life with a feeling like someone had been drumming on them with hammers.
At 7H, Apolla halted them.
<Good. There should be an access panel ahead of you. Open it.>
This one, at least, didn’t have to be torn open. Trey was able to simply unlatch it.
<It’s an elevator shaft,> he said.
<You can climb down it one level, where you can get out and take the elevator the rest of the way down.>
<Uh,> Marky said, <I don’t feel good about climbing down an elevator shaft. If someone uses it, we’ll be squashed.>
<I’ll let you know if someone is boarding. Right now, it’s sitting at the top, next to an executive suite. I’m guessing it’s being kept there on purpose until the exec wants it.>
<And if he or she wants it while we’re in there?> Marky asked.
<Don’t still be in there,> Apolla advised. <Go fast. It’s just one level.>
“Don’t be in there,” Marky muttered aloud, where Apolla couldn’t hear her. “Of course! What was I thinking, when such a foolproof plan was available?”
Rather than argue, Trey simply stepped out and began climbing down. Reece followed. After a moment, Schramm appeared above her. She hoped Marky did, too.
About halfway down, the rungs vibrated slightly under her hands, making her breath catch.
<Is the elevator moving?> she demanded of Apolla.
<No. Why?>
<The rungs are shaking.>
<Something must have kicked on,> Apolla said. <You’re fine. Just hurry.>
Trey helped her step out of the shaft, then did the same for Schramm and Marky. They replaced the panel and hit the elevator button. Reece held her breath that no other elevators arrived at this particular time.
<I can see you now,> Apolla reported. <The elevator coming your way is unoccupied. There’s no one down in the shelter, either. Your path is clear.>
Reece felt like it was too good to be true. She continued feeling that way as they got in, rode down, and then exited on the shelter level.
As the elevator settled, she got a good grip on Righty and Lefty. Then she changed her mind and palmed her pulse pistol.
The doors slowly opened and Reece shoved forward, ready for a good offense to be their best defense.
But no one was there.
“Are we doing this wrong?” she demanded. “Is there some reason locking ourselves in the shelter is impossibly stupid? Why has no one thought we’d do this?”
Schramm put a hand on her shoulder. “Because we’re smarter. And that’s why we’re going to win.”
Marky grinned. A big, brilliant grin that she turned full-force on Schramm. “Oh, that clinches it. I like you.”
Schramm blinked at her three times rapidly. “Ah. Okay. So…let’s go.” He pointed ahead, then without waiting, began walking.
He keyed in a code and offered his eye for a retinal scan and the door clicked.
Trey opened it and they walked through.
“One more,” Schramm said, locking the door behind him. “I’ll just scramble this one and send the system into impending lockdown mode. But if no one’s in the elevator right now, they can’t stop us. They won’t have time.”
He got them through another door, and then they walked into the shelter.
“Are you kidding me?” Reece said, looking around as Schramm locked the door behind them and verified the final lockdown sequence.
She waved to four doorways. “Those are bedrooms, aren’t they?”
“And a dining room, and bathrooms,” Schramm replied with a nod. “And through the kitchen, there’s a large warehouse with food and supplies to serve thirty people for a year.”
Reece wasn’t one to gasp, but this felt like a gasp-worthy announcement, so she gasped. “Wow.”
She flopped down on a couch in a way she’d never do at home. “All this expensive stuff, and here I am, about to work a non-executive ass-groove into it.
She looked up to see that Schramm, Trey, and Marky were staring at her. “What?”
Trey shook his head. “You’re just…you’ve always been kind of…”
“One of a kind,” Marky said. She looked to Schramm. “So that’s it? We’re locked down? No one’s getting in?”
“Nobody. Nothing unlocks this sucker short of the entire Orion Guard coming and blasting it open, unless we open it from the inside.”
Reece rubbed her aching knees and let out a sigh. “Do those supplies have something to treat bruises? And how about some whiskey?”
Schramm smiled. “Yes, to the first. I’ll have to take a look for the second.”
“I’ll come with you,” Trey said. “I want to take a good look around.”
Marky waved them off. “I’ll check it out later. For now, I’ll sit with Reece.”
They watched the men go through a doorway and Reece sighed and dropped her head to the couch behind her.
“You’re in worse shape than you’re letting on, right?” Marky asked.
“I’ll be fine. Especially now that we’re done crawling. Do you mind updating Raya and Apolla? I’m going to have a little rest.”
“Sure,” Marky agreed. Then she sat up straight. “Oh, damn!”
Reece lifted her head, alarmed. “What?”
“I left my cards in that cooling room. We’ll have
to think of something else to do for the next year.”
Marky was being funny, of course, but the idea of them actually being stuck down here for an extended period didn’t sound too bad, after the past couple of months.
Then she remembered how much she didn’t like living in close quarters with people, and how she tended to be kind of cranky, and most of all, that Kippy was on the outside.
She hoped the board responded to them quickly.
FURTHER ARRANGEMENTS
DATE: 06.06.8948 (Adjusted Gregorian)
LOCATION: Rexcare HQ, Ohiyo, Akonwara
REGION: Machete System, PED 4B, Orion Freedom Alliance
Reece and Trey spent a strange two days with Schramm and Marky in the shelter, waiting to hear from the board. Raya and Apolla had gone on standby, but checked up on them every so often.
Kippy was safe, but laying low. It was him that Reece worried about the most, at the time things had seemed like a slam dunk, but this waiting game was sure to be wearing on him.
Otherwise, they lived in a strange limbo of gourmet food, plush furniture, and existing in a self-imposed prison while the board determined their way forward.
“Two days is nothing to worry about,” Schramm told them. “They know we’re here, and not going anywhere, What’s more, we can’t make any trouble for them in here. We have no way to access critical systems. So we’re simply in stasis, and they can get back to us once they’ve decided what’s best for the company. They’re probably also working on how they’ll spin this whole thing, public relations-wise.”
“It’s a strange world you live in.” Marky had her feet kicked up on a side table while Schramm made lunch in the kitchen.
Reece so enjoyed the sight of an exec working in the kitchen that she’d claimed the to need to rest her knees, which were already much better, to avoid helping.
“Not really,” Schramm said. “It has its own rules and limits, like any other. But it comes with a lot of privileges that others do not.”
“So it’s worth it, then?” Marky put her feet on the floor and sat up to look at him.
“To me, it has been, given the alternatives. I like the work and I like the lifestyle. I don’t love having so little time for personal interests, but that’s the price that comes with the rest of it.” Schramm dropped some onion into a skillet.