The Billionaire's Assistant

Chapter 76

Thomas' office was miniscule, barely larger than a broom closet, and a lightly stained wooden desk and black swivel chair were the extent of the room's furnishings, its undecorated cream walls seeming to press in on either side.

Kat slid past the chair and wrenched open the overfull drawer awkwardly, wiggling the handle from side to side in an attempt to ease it open quietly. She reached back into the draws deepest corners, hoping to feel the familiar contours of the Tillibenton standard issue laminated ID badge and nearly yelping in excitement once she did.

She nudged the badge forward, sending thanks heavenward that Thomas had actually placed the deactivated badge where it should go, then pulled the badge completely from the drawer, the strings used to affix it to an employee's neck dangling and catching on something still in the drawer. Kat gave it a little tug, then another, freeing the badge and revealing what it had been entangled with.

Another badge, also with Thomas' name and picture prominently displayed on the front.

Kat knotted her eyebrows together in confusion. Why would Thomas have two deactivated badges awaiting industrial shredding? She had just deactivated his badge that morning, why would the badge he was reissued be deactivated again?

She held the two badges directly next to each other, examining them for telltale differences. They seemed identical, and, at a loss, Kat flipped them to the badges plain back. The back of one of them was not plain however, and sported a barcode that Kat had never seen on any Tillibenton ID, had never even seen mention of in the handbook. She ran her fingers over it lighty, as if that would elucidate its purpose.

Kat set both badges down on the desk, then sat, already shuffling through the papers on the desk's surface. She was determined to read through everything, to find an explanation for the nearly identical double badges.

The first few pieces of paper on Thomas' desk were technical jargon relating to the processor that she had no hope of understanding, but on the 5th wrinkled sheet she hit paydirt. A memo to the department from the Director of Research and Development that was all about workplace safety and how to foster it.

Kat's eyes scanned the page quickly, her heart sinking as she took in the information. HVA scientists would now have to go through multiple identification measures to complete their rotations, including a digital badge verification process that would be overseen by the guard at the core processor's door.

New badges with user specific barcodes would be issued to all employees on 21, and in order to phase in the replacements, all employees on 21 were required to have their old badges deactivated by Monday of this week. With no idea of the inner workings of the department, Kat hadn't deactivated his old badge, she'd accidentally deactivated his new one.

She realized with a start that the whole plan would fail, that it was doomed by the department's new abundance of caution. The only way to enter the core processor would be with an active badge, and they had absolutely no way of getting their hands on one. Anyone that worked at Tillibenton, especially anyone with any kind of clearance, would report a missing active badge immediately, meaning it would be deactivated before they would have the chance to try anything.

Kat's stomach began to twist and she wanted to lay her head on the desk, to curl up and go to sleep instead of having to go back to the den and report what she'd learned. She'd been so tired lately and all she really wanted was a break, a rest. She knew the second she fell into bed tonight she'd be out like a light, but she was dreading everything that came between that, dreading the conversation she'd have to have with Andy and the rest of FES.

She tucked the badges back into the drawer then changed her mind, grabbing them anyways in order to show the group the barcode. It was a risk, especially considering the fact that this may not be her last day after what she'd just discovered, but she figured that at the worst, she could return them tomorrow.

She tucked both badges into her briefcase then left Thomas's office, pulling the door closed quietly behind her despite her solitude. She rode back up to 55, planning to wait about ten minutes to avoid suspicion before taking the elevator all the way back down and leaving through the front lobby.