Anarchy [ Watty's 2016 ]

IV: Jade

A few minutes after we got to the meeting room, the Director started what I guess was a debriefing. "As you all know, our time for completing project ARCHANGEL has been reduced to a mere two days, so we must act quickly. That is why I've decided to perform the mission today."

That certainly got the others muttering. I shot a look at Alex, who shrugged helplessly. After everyone quieted down, the Director continued. "I trust our young Miss Ryder will live up to her name?"

I gulped. I hated having so much pressure on me. "O-of course," I managed.

He nodded. "Then all we need to say is 'good luck'. You will be taken to ARCH-CORE headquarters within the hour."

_____

Now, when the Director said, 'within the hour' what he really meant was 'in the next ten minutes'. I didn't even have time to start pacing back and forth. I had just put my combat knife in my boot when I was ushered into a sleek, black Lexus. The driver didn't talk, so throughout the entire ride, I fidgeted nervously with the hem of my jacket. He gave me a small earpiece and what looked like and electronic lockpick before dropping me off a block away from the ARCH-CORE main building, said something about clicking my tongue, and then sped off.

With a resigned sigh, I walked the rest of the way to the building. The sun was starting to set, and the actual office had publicly closed, so there wasn't supposed to be anyone inside. I put the earpiece in before entering the building.

Of course, I was immediately stopped by an office clerk. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but the office is closed."

I tried my best to sound confident, which was pretty hard, since I could barely hear my own voice over the sound of my heart racing. "Yeah, I, uh, I have an appointment?" I mentally slapped myself. It's not a question, idiot!

The clerk didn't seem to notice—in fact, she seemed incredibly bored. "Name?"

For a second, my mind went blank. I probably looked like an idiot. Luckily, I remembered the alias I'd been given. "Nicole Hudson."

She typed something into the computer, then glanced up at me. "All right. Head on in."

It took all my willpower to not sigh in relief. I calmly—well, as calmly as possible—got in the elevator and chose the highest floor. I was just contemplating shooting the elevator's speakers when the elevator shook violently and halted; the lights, along with the incredibly annoying music, all went out, leaving me in near-total dark.

"What the?" I muttered to myself, prying the doors open—they were made so that, in the case of a power outage, so they opened easily. The entire building was dark; from what I could make out, every other building on the block's power was out, too.

"Hello? Come in, Ryder. Do you copy?" The voice came from my earpiece, nearly giving me a heart attack. The voice sounded familiar, so I figured it was Will.

Seeing as I had no idea how to activate my own microphone, I waited. "I'm tracking your activity. I repeat, do you copy?" I heard someone muttering in the background—it sounded like Alex?—and a sigh into the earpiece. "Nobody told you. I get it. Click your tongue to activate the mic—and twice to deactivate."

Oh. That's what the driver meant. I clicked my tongue and answered, "Yeah, I hear you. Sorry. What's with the power?"

"We activated an EMP," explained Will. "It'll only last about ten more minutes, so you need to be quick. The alarm system shouldn't be back up 'til then."

I nodded—more to myself, considering they couldn't see me. "Better get going then," I said, then clicked my tongue twice. I ran down the hallway; the target was in the room off the last door in the center of the hall.

Inside, the room was mostly empty; a few shelves were against the far wall, a desk in the center of the room, and a high-tech safe in the corner. I walked over to the safe and took out the electronic lockpick. Everything was going according to plan when the lights suddenly switched back on.

Shit, I thought. I didn't have time to worry about it, so I fumbled with the lockpick, which connected to the safe. The safe's display flickered, then turned red and flashed the message, "INCORRECT. 2 TRIES REMAINING."

"Come on, come on! Why isn't this working?" My hands were trembling, and I could distinctly hear an alarm being raised. So much for the 'fool-proof' plan. Hurry up, hurry up! The screen flickered again. No luck. It buzzed and read, "INCORRECT. 1 TRY REMAINING."

"What's your status?"

I ignored the question. My heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. "Please, please, please..." I let out a sigh of relief when the screen flashed green and opened. I stuffed the contents in my jacket pocket, then whirled around to the exit.

"Come on, do you have it?" I could barely hear him over static and interference. I vowed that when I got back, I'd have words with whoever set up the frequency. I could do a better job in my sleep.

I clicked my tongue. "Yeah," I said under my breath. "Yeah, I got it. Getting out is the hard part."

"You know what your options are. Good luck."

I shuddered involuntarily at the ominous phrasing, and replied, "I might need it." I rushed toward to the door I'd come in, but upon opening it, I found myself staring straight into the barrel of a gun. I stopped dead in my tracks and gulped.

"My, my," mocked the man behind the gun, "what have we here?"