New Rome

15. Wife of the Imperator

The commute-shuttle into work was packed. Wylo snoozed as the stops whizzed past, her head repeatedly lolling forward - waking her up for her to nod off again minutes later. Her neck ached and she was grouchy from lack of sleep. She worked as hard as she could, throwing herself into it, in the hopes of crashing at night, but it didn't always work and when it didn't - she was trapped. Lying wide awake as the hours crawled by – just staring up at the ceiling.

The stop for the Deacon was popular enough that it got a voice announcement. Wylo shuffled quickly out with the crowd, wiping saliva from her chin with the back of her hand. The Deacon was an impressive building when seen from aboveground, but Wylo approached it always by the safer underground entrance. This entrance was grimy with exposed strong granite blocks that were supporting the great domes above. Wylo didn't care, for her – a strand of DNA was the most beautiful thing in the world. The great crystal domes of the Deacon held no appeal for her.

The crowd had to squeeze into single file to get through security. When it came to her turn, Wylo swiped her key card – same as she did everyday – only this time it didn't beep. Frowning, she tried again and again. The crowd was building behind her and she could hear exasperated sighs of frustration and some muttering. They wanted her to step out of the way.

At last, Wylo gave up. Was her card broken? She stepped out of line and retrieved her Self from her pocket – calling her department.

"Wylo," her department head's voice sounded strange, "err... security is headed down to you."

"Security? What's going on? Has something happened?"

"I'm sorry, Wylo. My hands are tied." He hung up.

Wylo took a few minutes to find the news updates on her Self – she didn't usually pay attention to them. But her first thought was that something had happened with the Imperator. However, the news was, as usual, all about Amen and the war. 

"Miss?" A security guard addressed her from the other side of the barrier.

"My badge isn't..." her voice trailed away as she registered what he was carrying. It was box filled with items from her desk – including a photograph of her with her brothers, Kaze and Claudius.

"I don't understand."

"Your clearance has been revoked, you will please leave the premises immediately." The man told her, stretching out his arms to pass over the box.

"I'm fired?!" People were looking curiously at her as they passed but Wylo didn't care – how could she be fired?

"Miss! Miss!" The guard called after her, flabbergasted. Wylo had leapt over the barrier and was now sprinting across the foyer towards the lifts. 

The guard charged after her, calling for her to stop. More security appeared, all converging on her. Wylo weaved and dodged through the throng. She had to get to her lab – there was a misunderstanding of some kind – she needed to clear this up. She couldn't be fired. This job, this work – it was her life.

A security man caught her, snagging her wrist and pulling her back. There was gasps from onlookers and few started recording as she was tackled to the ground.

"You can't do this. I belong here!" She shrieked at them, attempting to struggle free. They hoisted her up into the air, carrying her out of the Deacon. "Get your hands off me!"