Chapter 34: 10.1 Security Troubles

  Wolf woke up multiple times throughout the night. He would raise his head and look around, only seeing Jack leaned against the opposite wall, asleep. He would lower his head back onto his forepaws, not knowing that it was his own whimper that had caused him to wake. His eyes would close only for a new whine to start up shortly after, beginning the cycle again.

  Wolf wakes once more and finds Jack sitting next to him but looking away as their backs press against the same red-brick wall. Jack’s knees are drawn up with his forearms resting on top. He’s rubbing his hands together as he looks out to the people passing along the street outside their alley. His hands are coarse and callous-covered, filling Wolf’s ears with the sounds of hard work.

  Wolf’s eyes are weary, and he makes a smacking sound as he opens, then closes his mouth.

  Jack turns back, noticing him. “You’re awake,” he says.

  Wolf’s eyes roll to meet Jack's, then to the people walking by the alley.

  Jack nods. “I should’ve known it was too good to last. It was just a dream, and we’d need to wake up eventually.”

  “Wha—” Wolf begins, croaking before closing his mouth to swallow. “What do you mean?” he asks, still hoarse.

  “The jokes, the laughing—it was all just another world we went to for a while and now we’re back in the real one. This thing with her grandmother, it’s a rot and if we’re not careful, it’ll spread. The longer we take to cut it out, the more we’re going to have to remove when we finally do.”

  “Her grandmother,” Wolf starts, then checks that their alley is clear before continuing. “Did you know about the other one?”

  Jack adjusts his arms on his knees, using one hand to grasp the opposite wrist. “I assumed. I knew there was a topic that she wasn’t talking about, something she kept talking around and a person she was deliberately not mentioning. Did I know who? Or why?” He shakes his head. “We all have things we want to keep private, so I can’t fault her for that. All I knew is that there was something she didn’t want to talk about, so I made sure to never bring it up.”

  Jack looks over to Wolf, seeing his eyes heavy. “I’m sorry, Wolf. For not saying anything to you before.”

  Wolf shakes his head, becoming distant as he faces the wall across from them. “You’re not responsible for what does and does not come out of my mouth. I’m a sly wolf, right? So, I’m smart enough to know when I’ve done something I shouldn’t have. I can own that.”

  Jack lets go of his wrist and his fingers extend as he reaches to scratch at the ears lying flat atop Wolf’s head. But he stops, his fingers curling into a loose ball that he sets on his thigh instead.

  Wolf lays his head down, closing his eyes as his chin rests on his paws, then rolls onto his side and by happenstance, a simple matter of not realizing how close he is, the back of Wolf’s head presses against Jack’s leg.

  Jack looks down at the contact, just nodding before returning to watch the passersby.

 

  Thirty-six, thirty se—thirty-nine, Jack counts as people move past and Wolf continues to rest. A raven perches on the building beyond the people. It prompts him to begin looking around, glancing back down the alley, then looking up. Sarah is above them, standing atop the opposite wall as she glares at the raven snitch.

  “Stupid ass birds,” she says, shaking her head and aiming her gun at it. It caws and flies away. She opens a portal beside her and steps out next to Jack.

  “Is it time to go?” Jack asks, climbing to his feet.

  “Yeah, we need to pay someone a visit. It’s why we’re here. Are you two ready?”

  Jack looks over to see Wolf’s head raised but looking to neither of them. Jack nods. “Yeah, we’re ready.”

  Sarah opens another portal and begins to walk through.

  “Sarah,” Jack blurts out. She pauses and turns around. “Me and Wolf don’t know what you’re going through, and we don’t pretend to. We just want to make sure you don’t confuse don’t know with don’t care. And we’re here when you need us.”

  Sarah nods. “You had to tranq me back there. You did what you had to and that’s all I expect from either of you. Do what you can and what you have to.” She opens her palm and extends it towards him. “Pass me a few of those adrenalines, would you? I may need them if we get separated or if I need to shake off another tranquilizer.”

  Jack nods and fishes out a pair of the metal tubes from a pocket, checking the viewing glass for a green liquid before passing them to her.

  Sarah accepts them and tucks them away. “Jack, Wolf…thanks for having my back.”

  Wolf looks towards her as she moves through the portal. He glances up to Jack as he returns an approving nod, then beacons for him to follow.

  The two of them step out onto a sidewalk as Sarah is rounding a corner ahead of them. The building next to them is forty stories and occupies a space roughly the size of a city block. Its property sits higher than the surrounding commercial buildings, elevated two stories above the streets that pass around it. One story lower, a sidewalk wraps around the property, with a causeway for foot traffic to pass into the adjoining commercial and residential districts.

  The building’s elevated space has a lush landscape of green grass and manicured flowerbeds. It doesn’t escape Jack or Wolf’s attention that there are a lot of divots and torn up grass cutting across one corner of the property, this being the place they had fled when they first arrived.

  “Is it a good idea for us to be back here,” Wolf asks, as he continues to slink behind Jack.

  “I wouldn’t think,” he replies. “But it must be important that we stop here.”

  They round the corner and almost bump into Sarah as she waits for them. “What’s taking you two so long? Hurry up. We’ve still gotta get through security.”

  “What’s going on here, Sarah?” Jack asks.

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  “I’ve got an R&D girl here and I need to check in with her about some things. Just follow my lead when we meet security. And, Wolf,” she looks down to him as he peeks around from behind Jack’s leg, “it’s probably best that you walk upright here. We can just play it off as you being a bot prototype.”

  Wolf simply stands and nods back.

  They round the building and pass through a glass entryway. There are badge scanners, metal detectors, and extra conveyors to check things passing through. Sarah approaches one of the security members as he stands next to a scanner and a gate to the side of the other security measures. The guard seems to take pride in his position and responsibilities. His black slacks, blue shirt and cap are very neat, being creased in all the right places.

  Sarah passes the professional gentleman a pair of badges, which he accepts and begins to look over.

  “Signed off by the late Dr. Lanning?” the guard asks. “You must’ve been pretty important. Can’t say I’ve seen many authorizations by the man. Maybe none.”

  Sarah nods. “He was a pleasure to work with.”

  The guard turns and scans the badge over the reader, then looks over to a nearby screen. “Sarah Hood, aka Red,” he reads.

  “That’d be me.”

  “Well, your clearance checks out, so either Dr. Lanning’s word still carries some weight around here or they just didn’t think to purge it from the system. Here’s your security clearance and…” He pauses before returning the second badge, but then passes it over. “Concealed and open carry permit. That doctor sure was fond of you. I realize this is one of our clearances, but I know that I’ve never seen one come through here.”

  Sarah smiles back as she takes the cards. “Guess he felt I was just that reliable.”

  “Indeed. Well, you’re clear to pass, Miss Hood.”

  “Oh, and these two are with me,” she says, gesturing.

  The guard nods and opens the gate, allowing them into the atrium.

  The three pass out from under the low ceilings of security, walking across large tiles that are checkered back and white. The ceiling stretches high and away, sitting atop a rounded chamber, its perimeter adorned with balconies and office windows that face the atrium. A fountain sits in the center of the ground level, surrounded by curving benches and palm trees.

  There are a set of steps that walk up from security and two guards stand atop them, chatting about sports. One of them has a rounded belly that doesn’t allow his shirt to stay tucked in. He’s twirling his night stick and abruptly stops his conversation as the three of them approach the stairs. “Whoa, Cupcake,” he says, holding up both hands. “You can’t bring those weapons in here. You’re going to have to head back and turn those over.”

  “Well, if you don’t like how the rest of security is working, how do you feel about magic?”

  The security guard blinks, confused. “What does magic gotta do with it?”

  “Because if you call me Cupcake one more time, I’m going to magically turn that stick into a suppository,” she says, pointing to his baton.

  He looks at his club for a moment, then reappraises her. “Like those bank vault boxes?”

  “No,” Sarah says, shaking her head. “That’s a safety deposit. I’m saying I’m gon—”

  “Take care of it,” Jack says, interjecting and gripping Sarah’s shoulder.

  “Jenkins!” calls a voice from behind them.

  The security guard snaps upright and looks beyond the three of them. “Yes, sir?” he calls.

  Sarah glances back to see the professional gentleman on the inside of his gate, looking their way. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “I was just making sure the—”

  “Boy, you better get that ass back over to x-ray.”

  “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.” He stammers and begins walking down the stairs past them. He looks to Wolf as he passes on the stairs. “What’s this?” he asks, tapping his stick against Wolf’s arm.

  “It’s a prototype,” Sarah replies. “And if you hit it again, you’re going to lose that arm…and I’m not talking about the bot’s defense mechanism.”

  The guard stumbles and grabs the railing as he backpedals down the steps, panic in his eyes.

  “Have a good day, Miss Hood!” the gentleman calls out.

  “Thank you, sir,” Sarah replies with a wave.

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