“Your firewall will
scan it and see that it poses no threat by itself. There should be no problem.”
Leconte stared
at him for several seconds before speaking. “How does this sound, Maya? Can
this really work?”
“I know that
Alek is just like his father,” she said with a slight smile. “He’s the best at
what he does. I think his plan’s worth trying.”
Just then, an
alarm went off. “What now,” Leconte said as she looked off to one side,
obviously reading something on her contacts. Her face suddenly lit up. “Maya
and Alek, please come with me.”
She turned to
leave but Maya grabbed her arm and stopped her. “What’s wrong, Rebecca?”
Leconte turned
and smiled at her. “Nothing’s wrong, my dear. In fact, it’s quite good news.
One of the hostages is coming out of interface.” She looked at Alek. “It’s your
father.”
o o o
Alek followed
Maya and Leconte down the hall to an elevator that took them down one level to
a heavily guarded lobby. Judging by the circular shape, Alek guessed that they
were back in the center of the building, directly below the computer center.
After the guards cleared them, they entered a cylindrical glass elevator and
began descending again.
A moment later,
they dropped into another circular room. Through the glass walls, Alek could
see that this room was about the same size as the lobby and had six doors
equally spaced along the walls. Instead of stopping, they passed through the
floor and entered another room exactly like the one above. The elevator slowed
to a stop, and the doors slid open.
A blast of cold
air hit Alek in the face. He was about to mention it, but noticed that neither
Maya nor Leconte seemed bothered by the temperature change. As he followed Maya
toward one of the doors on the outer wall, he saw the reason for the cool
temperature. The floor surrounding the elevator was actually a raised walkway
that floated over a pool of some sort of liquid coolant. Something on this
level was running hot.
The door ahead
of them opened and a young woman with brown hair stepped through, almost running
into Leconte.
“Ms. Aston,”
Leconte said, stepping aside to let the young woman pass. She wore the same
uniform as Cloudhopper, although she filled hers out much better.
“Lorena,” Maya
called out as the woman breezed past her.
“No time, Maya,”
she called out without slowing down. “Have to get this data to Roy, ASAP. You
know how he is.” Alek watched her jump into the elevator just as the door
closed.
“Who was that?”
he asked.
“Lorena Aston,”
Maya said. “She’s a friend of mine. One of the few I have here, actually.”
“What does she
do?” he asked, still staring at the elevator.
“She’s one of
our best systems engineers,” Maya said over his shoulder. “You two probably
have a lot in common. Too bad that she doesn’t like men, though.”
He turned back
toward her. “So, you two are friends, huh?” he asked with a smirk.
She raised an
eyebrow. “Jealous?” She turned and walked through the door before he could answer.
Alek followed
her into what was obviously an interface room, with seven oval-shaped pods lining
the outer wall. One of the pods on the far left side had someone inside, as
evident by the glowing display screen above it. Some sort of bio-neural
readout, he realized, showing a cutaway view of a human body. The display
showed a heart beating in the chest, blood flowing through veins and arteries,
and flashes of colored light in the area of the brain.
The main walkway
led to a raised circular platform in the middle of the room and a series of
control panels ran along the outer edge, facing outwards. A woman wearing a
white doctor’s uniform stood in front of one of the panels.
Maya and Leconte
stepped down to a narrow walkway that led around the room to the chambers. He
looked down and realized that the walkway was too narrow for his powerchair, so
he headed toward the center
scan it and see that it poses no threat by itself. There should be no problem.”
Leconte stared
at him for several seconds before speaking. “How does this sound, Maya? Can
this really work?”
“I know that
Alek is just like his father,” she said with a slight smile. “He’s the best at
what he does. I think his plan’s worth trying.”
Just then, an
alarm went off. “What now,” Leconte said as she looked off to one side,
obviously reading something on her contacts. Her face suddenly lit up. “Maya
and Alek, please come with me.”
She turned to
leave but Maya grabbed her arm and stopped her. “What’s wrong, Rebecca?”
Leconte turned
and smiled at her. “Nothing’s wrong, my dear. In fact, it’s quite good news.
One of the hostages is coming out of interface.” She looked at Alek. “It’s your
father.”
o o o
Alek followed
Maya and Leconte down the hall to an elevator that took them down one level to
a heavily guarded lobby. Judging by the circular shape, Alek guessed that they
were back in the center of the building, directly below the computer center.
After the guards cleared them, they entered a cylindrical glass elevator and
began descending again.
A moment later,
they dropped into another circular room. Through the glass walls, Alek could
see that this room was about the same size as the lobby and had six doors
equally spaced along the walls. Instead of stopping, they passed through the
floor and entered another room exactly like the one above. The elevator slowed
to a stop, and the doors slid open.
A blast of cold
air hit Alek in the face. He was about to mention it, but noticed that neither
Maya nor Leconte seemed bothered by the temperature change. As he followed Maya
toward one of the doors on the outer wall, he saw the reason for the cool
temperature. The floor surrounding the elevator was actually a raised walkway
that floated over a pool of some sort of liquid coolant. Something on this
level was running hot.
The door ahead
of them opened and a young woman with brown hair stepped through, almost running
into Leconte.
“Ms. Aston,”
Leconte said, stepping aside to let the young woman pass. She wore the same
uniform as Cloudhopper, although she filled hers out much better.
“Lorena,” Maya
called out as the woman breezed past her.
“No time, Maya,”
she called out without slowing down. “Have to get this data to Roy, ASAP. You
know how he is.” Alek watched her jump into the elevator just as the door
closed.
“Who was that?”
he asked.
“Lorena Aston,”
Maya said. “She’s a friend of mine. One of the few I have here, actually.”
“What does she
do?” he asked, still staring at the elevator.
“She’s one of
our best systems engineers,” Maya said over his shoulder. “You two probably
have a lot in common. Too bad that she doesn’t like men, though.”
He turned back
toward her. “So, you two are friends, huh?” he asked with a smirk.
She raised an
eyebrow. “Jealous?” She turned and walked through the door before he could answer.
Alek followed
her into what was obviously an interface room, with seven oval-shaped pods lining
the outer wall. One of the pods on the far left side had someone inside, as
evident by the glowing display screen above it. Some sort of bio-neural
readout, he realized, showing a cutaway view of a human body. The display
showed a heart beating in the chest, blood flowing through veins and arteries,
and flashes of colored light in the area of the brain.
The main walkway
led to a raised circular platform in the middle of the room and a series of
control panels ran along the outer edge, facing outwards. A woman wearing a
white doctor’s uniform stood in front of one of the panels.
Maya and Leconte
stepped down to a narrow walkway that led around the room to the chambers. He
looked down and realized that the walkway was too narrow for his powerchair, so
he headed toward the center
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