The Valuable

Chapter 15

I slide my finger down the sheet of paper displaying all of the care center employee's duties for the day. I find my name at the end of the list immediately next to the words 'Electronic Lab' written in bold type. I speed off to the lab and sit down at the only computer in the dingy room. Noticing that there is nobody else present, I shut the door and get down to business. Contrary to The Leader's belief, I'm not actually working on patient files. I'm getting hold of important information for my grand plan. I click on a computer file labeled with a series of numbers and letters all jumbled together. I scroll down with the mouse, and a pop-up appears demanding a password. This has to be good if it's only password accessible. I sit in the lab for fifteen minutes trying to crack the password, but I have no luck. I get up to leave when I here light breathing coming from the corner of the lab. My heart rate speeds up and I'm sure that this room will be the last thing that I ever see.

I grasp on to the edge of the computer desk, searching for some sort of weapon with my other hand. I reach for a stapler and hold it above my head in attempt to be menacing. I creep around a bookcase blocking my view from the breathing in the corner. In one swift motion, I jump into view of the corner and throw the stapler towards it.

"Watch it, girl!", a man's voice whispers.

"Rupert?", I say a little too loudly.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me. Let's not get into all the sappy stuff as we don't have much time to crack that password and get this staple out of my thumb.", Rupert grumbles.

I notice the metal staple sticking out of Rupert's bloody thumb.

"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry!", I gulp.

I help Rupert up and lead him to the computer. As I use my nimble fingers to remove the staple, Rupert begins typing in a series of codes and scripts.

"Who knew you were a hacker?", I say jokingly.

"You pick up a thing or two over the years.", Rupert says, shrugging

It takes Rupert all of three minutes to hack into the computer file and expose a long document on the screen. Rupert and I both scan it with our eyes until we find something very interesting.

'Current Ruler: Armelle Bexley; as of 1997.'

Could that be The Leader's real name? After successfully removing the staple and flicking it into the trash can, I focus my attention back on the document.

'Daughter of Frederick and Magnolia Bexley; deceased', I read aloud.

Glancing up at Rupert, I can practically see everything clicking together in his brain as he figures it out.

"My ruler, The Master's, name was Frederick. I'm sure of it. He wasn't so secretive about his identity. This all makes sense. Armelle Bexley is your current ruler, The Leader. If we keep searching, I'm sure we'll be able to figure out more about her and her plan to access the chip's port!", Rupert exclaims excitedly.

"Alright, but we don't have much time.", I say biting my lip.

Rupert and I spend the next hour searching through the rest of the file along with conjoining files attached to the original. Seeing that I only have until 3:00 PM on the dot to work in the Electronic Lab, Rupert and I get right down to it. We soon piece together everything that we can about The Leader's past, and her future plans. I scribble down a few notes as we scour for information, which eventually results in a full page of my chicken scratch printing.

A loud buzz blares from the speaker above Rupert and I's heads in the Electronic's Lab.

"You have to go.", I say to Rupert nervously, acknowledging the buzzer as a signal of the work day's end.

Practically pushing him towards the open window in which he came in, we arrange to meet on the hospital roof later tonight. As soon as Rupert is out of sight, I make a beeline for the door of the lab. I notice immediately that the hallways are particularly empty. Dismissing that fact, I decide to peek into Joel's room once more. Pulling the door open ever so quietly, the sound of Joel's light snores fill my ears. I smile in spite of myself, watching his body rise and fall in unison with his snores. Thinking it better not to risk getting caught by The Leader again, I decide not to go into Joel's room. I blow him a kiss instead, despite his lack of consciousness.

"Goodnight Joel, I-I love you", I utter in a barely recognizable whisper.