Connected

The Plan Part 1

"You're not going to like it." I stared across the table at him.

"I figured as much when you said I would have to work with the Captain." His face didn't show emotion one way or the other. This was Lee Know when business was discussed.

"I don't want the bug to be weaponized." I tried to look as serious as I possibly could.

"Of course not. As you were all talking I realized that it's not just financial institutions that use time as another factor of authentication. Actual governmental weapon stores can be accessed with the correct timing. It would be a security nightmare for the entire world."

I bit my lip trying to figure out how to say what I needed to say. "Lee Know?"

"Just spit it out already. You're tearing up your perfect lips."

I stuck my tongue out at his teasing. He was just trying to release some of the tension that had built up but it wasn't helping. It only made me more anxious about what I was going to suggest.

"Fine." I took a deep breath. "We need to let the Captain in on everything. And, he needs to let his people know where we are."

"Why?"

"Because they can help us." I stood up and began pacing. "None of this was ever part of the original plan. If things continue like this, we are looking at charges of terrorism or espionage, kidnapping of a federal authority, extortion, the list goes on and on."

I paused looking at Lee Know's expression. He wasn't looking at me, instead he was staring at a bookshelf across the room. "Your original plan had you leaving the country anyway. Now you still can."

"We talk to the Captain and explain what those people wanted. I go on and make the bug that they want, modified, of course. Then, when they show up to collect, the Captain and his people can catch them trying to get it out of here. You can slip out while they come in and get out."

He thought for a moment as I tried to catch my breath and think about anything I had missed. "Why do you need a phone not traceable to me?"

"Your phone is probably bugged for all of your calls." I shrugged, "Have you never seen any police shows?"

He chuckled, then his face turned serious again. "There are only two phones that I can think of that aren't linked to me in any way. Are you sure you want to include them now, after trying so hard to keep them out of everything?"

I sighed and sat back down. "Might as well. I try to keep them out of it and they end up being a part anyway. No use trying to keep them out of everything now. Besides, as much as I hate it, they like helping out in any way possible."

He nodded, "I'll make the call."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys and tossed them to me. I caught them, "Go talk to the Captain and get his take on things."

He began pulling out a cell phone and I looked down at the keys. I gulped and stood, walking back into the foyer. I looked back and forth between the two halls and chose the set of stairs Lee Know had walked me up just an hour ago. There was no way I would make it down the original stairs and stay conscious.

I stood at the top and looked down the new set of stairs into the basement. They were definitely newer than the others. Thankfully these steps didn't make me nauseous. But, the faint scent of mildew wafting up still made my breath hitch as my heart rate accelerated.

It's ok Y/N. Different staircase. Different part of the basement. No door down this way. And... I held onto the doorframe and took a deep breath. And, he's dead.