A Second Chance

The Ex

Walking hastily down the clean white hallway, pushing his bucket of water and the mop with it, he met the eyes of one of the white lab-coated scientists and nodded politely to them.

Never stopping, they eyed him quickly in assessment, before returning a nod and briskly continuing on their way in the opposite direction.

Turning the corner he was met with another hallway identical to the last. How he hated this place. It was a miracle he even found the correct corridor.

Looking over his shoulder, the older man made sure he wasn't being followed before quickly ducking into the janitor's closet, bucket in tow. He shut the door behind him and took a much needed breath. Lifting his baseball cap, he wiped tiredly at the line of sweat on his brow. Even with air conditioning he was sweating like an ice coffee in 90-degree weather.

He was getting too old for this kind of work. And unfortunately, his break was not long.

Gathering his thoughts, he accessed his main line of communication to the outside world. It had taken much help from the team on the other end to help make sure the phone wasn't tracked and most importantly, that it wouldn't be detected.

Punching in the numbers, he held the phone to his ear and waited. It didn't take long.

"Access code."

"C7009, this is Gabriel Brown. I have limited time, put me through to the Colonel."

"...Copy that C7009, transferring now."

Out of habit, Gabriel looked over his shoulder as if someone, any any given moment were about to burst through the door and discover him.

He understood why he out of all the other soldiers were chosen for this role, he fit the janitor role rather well, and at the time he felt honored to be given this rare opportunity. Learning only later that this was an undercover op and went quite literally against national security did a little more than shock him, but the offer in return was too good to pass up. It would be a comfortable retirement that promised tropical beaches and five-star resorts as long as he didn't get caught. At the time, he figured nothing could go wrong as long as he played it safe, but playing it safe was impossible in this game.

That safety net he had created in his mind, went right down the drain when he got on site and caught a glimpse of just what he was getting into.

The statement 'locked tight,' was an understatement to what this governmental facility was. Being hired was a nightmare he did not want to relive. And now that he was made part of the full-time staff, he was more than a little jittery. He was terrified.

His heart seized, as he heard the sound of the line change. The command swiftly followed. "Status report."

"Colonel, sir, I have new intel regarding a top secret part of the building. It's not as easy as we were hoping. They have badges that correlate with a different keycode." That and it seemed like his check-ins were rather prompt which meant sneaking away from his given route for a few minutes was hell. Stiffly, he waited for a response.

The Colonel sighed deeply in the speaker. "Clarify that for me, Brown."

"It's not the same generic password each time, it changes per person depending on their identity card."

The other side of the line went quiet, as he seemed to contemplate this. "Then if we are to figure out what the hell is going on, then I suggest you follow the work pattern of one of the scientists. Memorize their routine, which halls they take, watch their code, befriend them if you must to get close enough to see it, and report back. If we're lucky we should be able to snag that keycard and use it to get in."