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“I can’t let her in,” Aydan protests. “I can only deactivate the cameras twice. I—I didn’t plan for more than that.”
“You mean your hack is fixed, hard-coded?” I can’t help but laugh. Aydan shoots me a poisonous stare.
I know it’s wrong to call him out. This is a tough spot for all of us, but still. I’m tired of his pompous, there’s-no-hacker-better-than-me attitude. I can’t believe he didn’t plan for hiding more than four minutes of camera activity. Two minutes to get in and two to get out would have sufficed if everything had gone as planned; but really, when do things ever go as you expect? Has he even heard of Murphy’s Law? I don’t know what he had to do to accomplish even those two small time windows, but it seems to me he should have planned for more. One can never be too cautious when it comes to hacks, especially those that put people’s lives at risk.
Quick to understand, James starts calling the shots. “Marci, are you up for coming in here?”
“Yes, I want to help.” I don’t know where this bravery is coming from, but it’s too late to back out now. I may as well go all-in.
“Can you scale the wall?”
“I think so.”
“I don’t like this,” Blare growls.
“Do you have a better idea?” James asks her.
Blare throws down the tools in her hands and paces around the room.
“All right. Aydan, deactivate the cameras for her.”
“You realize that on your way out—when I deactivate them a third time—the alarm will go off and you risk getting caught?” Aydan argues.
“We knew this mission would be different. There’s no turning back. We’ll take that risk,” James says.
“Okay, I’ll deactivate them, but don’t blame me later.”
James tells me where to get a lock-picking set, rope and other supplies.
When I’m ready, Aydan pins a camera to my jacket. “The longer we stay around, the greater our chances of getting caught.” He shakes his head. “I personally think this is pushing it. But I guess I’m not the boss. Anyway, just keep running. Don’t stop. I’ll deactivate the perimeter as soon as you get close to the wall. Okay?”
I nod and turn to leave.
“Marci.” Aydan puts a hand on my elbow. “Be careful.” His voice is a low whisper and it breaks a little, as if it’s too hard to show that he cares somehow.
I leave without a word and move toward the wall at top speed. My heart pumps hard as my legs trek through heavy undergrowth and over uneven terrain. I try not to think about what I’m doing, and what would happen if we were to be captured.
Closing my mind to anything else, I concentrate on my body. I relish my agility and strength until the wall comes into view. Then I focus on the task ahead. Quickly, I judge the wall. It looks about nine or ten feet tall. Without stopping, I run straight toward the barrier, building momentum.
When I’m only a few feet away, I jump toward it. As my foot hits the brick, I use the built-up force to propel myself upward. Arms extended straight over my head, I reach for the top. The force of my jump is enough to take my fingers past the target by a couple of inches. When gravity claims me and I start coming down, I grip the edge. I move my feet fast, walking up the wall, using the remaining energy to scale the obstacle.
Muscles rippling, I clamber to the top and, without stopping to think, I jump down. Ducking my head, I roll over my back and keep spinning until I’m on my feet and running away.
I head straight for the front door, looking in all directions. Suddenly, I spot a dark shape next to one of the lampposts on the west end of the building about forty yards away. I duck and hide behind Rheema’s car, by one of the back tires. My lungs are pumping and I struggle to take deep, silent breaths.
One inch at a time, I slide up and peek through one of the back windows. On the other side, I can see a man smoking a cigarette. I freak out for a split second, wondering if he can sense me. But my head isn’t droning, so he’s either too far or he’s not an Eklyptor. I pray he doesn’t walk this way, hope he’s almost done with his cigarette.
Time is ticking down and the man continues sucking away on his cancer stick. Anger brews inside me. Hurry up! I’ve no idea how long he’s been out here or what he will do once he’s done watching into the night through the billowing cloud of smoke. I take another peek, try to determine how long his cigarette is. I curse under my breath. It looks as if he just got started.
“Marci, what are you doing?” Aydan says through the earpiece. “Only twenty seconds left.”
I take a deep breath and decide to go for it. Staying low, I tiptoe from my hiding place, tentatively at first, my eyes glued on the man’s back. I’m only about twenty yards from the entrance, where a wall recess will provide the perfect hiding spot.
Halfway there, I notice Oso waiting for me behind the glass door. He holds his hands palm-up in question, wondering why I’m skulking about. From where he stands, he can’t see the guard. Getting braver, I pick up my pace. When I reach a pathway lined by immaculately hedges, a voice reaches my ears carried by the wind.
“Got another one?”
I look to the left and notice a second guard walking toward the first one. The smoker starts to turn and I know he will spot me if I don’t do something. Panicked, I drop to the ground in a sort of drop push-up. The bushes hide me from view and give me a perfect path to sneak to the entrance, which I do in a military crawl.
After reaching the recess, I stand and press my back to the wall. I point and mime the word “Guards” to Oso. He nods in understanding, then drags the still unconscious Dr. Schmitt to the thumb scanner on the inside. The door slides open with the smallest whooshing sound.
Oso and I exchange no words. He simply drops the doctor and takes off at a clipped jog. I follow right behind. Once at the basement door, he waves me in and I trot downstairs with a surprisingly purposeful gait.
The doubts that gave me pause before seem to be gone now, and I’m not really sure why. Perhaps it’s seeing what lengths AR-Tech goes to protect its spawn creations. Or maybe it’s finally having the opportunity to act, instead of just sit on my ass. Could be that it’s easier to judge others when one isn’t an active party. No doubt I’m involved now. I’m here to help, to be a real part of IgNiTe’s war against Eklyptors.
Suddenly, the possibility of failure is unthinkable. I must succeed, because the thought of innocent babies coming into the world without ever standing a chance at being human twists my gut into knots. If I had set out to imagine the most wicked, despicable thing possible, I could never have come up with this nightmare. Human minds trapped, aware of their imprisonment every second of their existence. It’s like being born an eagle but never allowed to soar across the sky. Worse yet, what about those lucky few who might escape that fate to end up just like me, haunted by shadows, pain and loneliness?
There’s no doubt, now. I’m meant to be here. This fight is my own.