Jeremy Robinson - The Didymus Contingency

She broke a sweat by the fifth floor. She ran every day and she was in perfect shape, but the nervous tension gripping her muscles made every movement a struggle. It was exhausting. She crept to the stairwell door. George’s office was just down the hall, but Sally knew this would be the most difficult portion of her covert operation. George, ever the paranoid, had two guards posted outside his office at all times. But Sally knew George wasn’t just being paranoid, he was being cautious. No one puts two armed guards outside a room unless they have something inside to protect. This is why Sally believed the office would contain the robot insects Jake had so proudly described. She would steal the little bugs and make it look like corporate espionage. They had plenty of tough competition that wouldn’t be above such a stunt. Hell, even LightTech had engaged in theft and espionage before.

Security was impregnable from the outside in. Getting into the LightTech facility was pretty much impossible. But once inside, security was lax. Though from Sally’s perspective, security was downright impervious. She peered down the hallway. Damn. The guards were wide-awake and ready for action. She felt sure she could outrun Chuck, the chubbier of the two guards but the other man, Sean, looked to be in Herculean shape. Probably took his job too seriously. He might be a problem. The only weapon Sally had brought was a five-year-old stun gun she took when she went running, and it could only fire once.

The sound of approaching footsteps from the right caught her attention and Sally quickly and silently closed the hallway door so that only a sliver of space remained to peer through. She glanced at her watch. Damn again! The building would be flooded with employees in a half hour. She ducked back as a body moved past the door, toward George’s office and the guards.

Sally watched through the small opening. It was Jake…and he was waving the guards away.

“Chuck, Sean, you guys can take off. Go get a coffee or something. I’ll only be a few minutes,” Jake said.

Chuck looked confused. “But Director Dwight ordered us to stay until he-”

“Yes, yes, but who delivered the order?” Jake asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, technically, you did, sir.”

Sean crossed his buff arms, trying to look like an authority figure and said, “Sir, may I remind you that it’s against regulations to-”

“And now I’m telling you to go. Consider it an executive order. Take a walk. Come back in a few minutes. I won’t be long.”

“But-”

“Now,” Jake insisted with a cold gaze.

“Yes, sir,” Chuck said. “But just for a few minutes.”

Chuck and Sean turned and headed toward the opposite end of the hallway, away from Sally. Thank you, Jake! Sally was thrilled by Jake’s advantageous appearance, but wasn’t thrilled with how he so easily issued orders with executive power. What else could Jake be doing without LightTech knowledge? Jake entered the office and the door slowly moved toward the closed position. This was Sally’s chance! The two guards were nearing the end of the hallway, which turned left, but if she waited, the door might close and lock. She had to risk it.

Sally opened the door and breezed into the hallway, mixing with the shadows and moving like a cat. The guards didn’t hear or sense a thing as they rounded the corner and disappeared into the adjacent hallway.

The door, still ten feet away, was only three inches from closing, and it was moving swiftly. Sally bolted forward and dove to the slick linoleum floor. She hit hard and the air was thrust from her lungs, but she slid quickly. She reached out as the last shard of light from inside the office began to shrink away. The door bounced gently, without a sound and began to reopen. Sally rolled onto her back and caught her breath; she caught the door with her index finger only a centimeter before it closed.

Sally returned to her feet and entered the room silently, stun gun armed and ready for a fight. But the office was empty! Jake was nowhere to be seen. The room was pristine and nearly barren. A large desk sat in the center of the room, one chair behind it and two chairs in front. That was it. Sally didn’t know where Jake had gone, but she didn’t have time to figure it out. She launched into the desk drawers. Empty. Empty. Empty! Where the hell did George keep his secrets? He’d want them within sight of his place behind the desk. He’d want them hidden, but easily accessible. Sally pulled out the plush leather desk chair, which seemed heavier and sturdier than most, and sat down. There was nothing to look at! Just three bare walls and a door!

She was about to give up when she instinctively reached down and pulled a lever, which allowed the black leather office chair to recline. Sally stared at the chrome light fixture on the ceiling. It was very plain, but it was something else about the ceiling that caught her attention. The light in the room was changing. It was getting brighter. Sally leaned forward and snapped her head to the right. The wall had opened up without a noise!

Sally stood and gawked at the newly discovered chamber. She felt a moment of envy: I don’t have a secret room! But this wasn’t any ordinary room-far from it. Sally stepped into the alcove and after absorbing its contents, came to the startling conclusion: George has a secret lab! The laboratory was forty feet long and lined with robotic equipment, carefully labeled vials of liquid and even more carefully stored computer components. Jake was at the rear of the room with his back to Sally. He hadn’t heard a thing. Sally tiptoed toward him, stun gun in hand.

She walked to within four feet of Jake’s back. She didn’t want to miss. She felt her face turning purple as she held her breath, frightened to make even the slightest sound. If he moved, she might miss. Even if only one of the electrodes that would launch from the stun gun missed its mark, she would be done. Sally thumbed the stun gun’s trigger and pushed it down. Click. Nothing happened! Click, click, click. Nothing! Damn!

Jake whirled around and gasped. Apparently, not only was Sally’s outfit stealthy, but also quite frightening. “Who-who are you?” Jake asked.

Sally didn’t say a word, in part, because she didn’t want her voice recognized, but she also didn’t know what to say. “What do you want?” Jake asked, his voice shaking.

Sally could see his nervous eyes wandering. He was sizing her up. Looking for anything to make sense of this dark figure that had frightened him. He found it in her eyes. The steely gaze. The penetrating eyes. “Sally?”

Sally froze. He had seen through her disguise. She knew Jake didn’t think fondly of her. She knew he was stronger than she was. And she knew she had to strike first before Jake came to the full realization of what was happening. Sally was going rogue and Jake was the only one in her way. Whack! Sally acted on instinct, punching Jake in the throat. She had taken a self-defense class five years ago and was amazed at how quickly it came back and how well the techniques taught for defense worked just as well for assault.

Jake’s legs crumpled below him and he fell to the floor as his hands clenched his throat. He forcefully sucked air into and out of his lungs as blood rushed to his head. Sally was horrified at what she had done but quickly returned her attention to the task at hand. She turned and looked at the countertop where Jake had been working. She saw two cases and opened them both. The first contained four syringes of what she assumed was the antidote to the robot’s poison. She opened the second case: empty. Though from the impressions made in the protective foam, this is where they had kept the insect robots, four of them. The fact that they were gone meant that Sally was too late. She would have to alter her plans.