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Emmett couldn’t remember the last time he left Belport.
It was probably to see Aunt Rose—the only family on his mom’s side that was close by. She was about an hour away, if there wasn’t traffic. Dad insisted on driving when there wasn’t any traffic, which meant they always left at odd hours. Sometimes that meant super early on a weekend morning or late at night. Most times it meant whenever Dad felt like it—10:30 AM or 2:30 PM.
Maybe that was why Emmett was thinking of that right now…
They’d spent the last two weeks of Summer and another week of September planning to leave Belport. TINA had run simulations. Based on road traffic and drone patterns, 11:15 AM on a Tuesday was the optimum time for them to leave Belport. There also happened to be a commuter bus leaving around that time.
So, Emmett, Clara, Athena, and Lock set out with an array of disguises and masks. Most of them would pass with hoodies and obscured faces, but it was harder to hide Lock’s size. The nanites coalesced into an oversized work jacket and a graying beard.
Clara chuckled. “You could be Emmett’s dad.”
Lock scoffed. “Let’s just get this over with.”
They packed light—each bringing just a backpack with a few spare changes of clothes. TINA reassured them that they could always return to Athena’s apartment, but it didn’t feel like any of them believed her. If the backup lab was viable, then they could make anything they needed. Coming back to Belport would be an unnecessary risk. That risk would only grow as time passed and the Binary Brotherhood expanded the reach of their drones and surveillance.
Packing light also meant they left most of TINA’s servers behind. Once they got out of Belport, her processing power would be limited. They wouldn’t be able to change masks and disguises until she got established in the new lab’s systems. It wasn’t a total loss, though. Once established, TINA could reconnect with her servers in Athena’s apartment and use them as a springboard.
When the group was ready, they half-walked, half-jogged to the edge of the city, then boarded the outbound commuter bus. Thankfully, the bus was mostly empty, and the group managed to grab an entire section at the back of the bus.
Between TINA covering them physically and digitally, they easily crossed the city limits, leaving the city of Belport behind.
~
The backup lab was twelve miles outside of Belport, nestled between abandoned buildings just off of the highway. Emmett and the others threaded through narrow alleys filled with trash and graffiti. So far, they hadn’t run into any people or drones, but no one let their guard down.
Emmett scanned the alleys and rooftops. He also had a small map in the Heads Up Display of his cybernetic eye. It marked not only the location of the backup lab but also his location and that of his teammates. If TINA sensed anyone else, they would appear there too.
…But there was something else.
He could feel the backup lab. If he wasn’t with Clara and the others, he probably would’ve stopped to examine the sensation more.
Since becoming a cyborg, he’d developed several new senses—UV and infrared vision, and controlling his prosthetics and nanites. He’d even been able to use his whip like a feeler—like an insect might use an antenna to sense things they couldn’t see.
Sensing the backup lab was similar to that. Even though Emmett couldn’t see it, he could make out the beginnings of the structure. The lab stretched out beneath the pavement. It wasn’t nearly as large as Venture’s main lab. This one felt much smaller than a single city block—maybe just two or three buildings in width. As for depth, Emmett couldn’t quite guess.
Emmett whispered, “TINA, are you able to see anything yet?”
They crossed the last alley and came to a small dumpster with a chained fence surrounding it. The group huddled around it and waited. Meanwhile, Clara leapt upward to scan the rooftops.
Lock asked, “You sure we aren’t being followed?”
Emmett replied, “You can trust us.”
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Clara landed in a crouch beside them. “No one in the sky or on the rooftops.”
Lock nodded. “It’s not trust... I’m just not used to being the one snuck up on. Not a fan.”
Athena replied, “I think it’s going to be like that for a while. We are on the run, you know.”
TINA interrupted them. “Initial scans complete. The backup lab appears intact. No signs of intrusion. Next step is a direct connection.”
Emmett fumbled for the hidden keypad and pressed his fingers down on it. It wasn’t actually a keypad—it was a fingerprint scanner.
Clara cut in. “You’re sure about this? Dad might’ve left booby traps…”
Emmett replied, “Only one way to find out.”
Lock muttered, “Here’s hoping the doc added you to the system.”
“I can handle any defenses and firewalls.”
A moment later, the lock disengaged. Both the fence and the faux dumpster behind it opened. The dumpster facade was part of a heavy blast door, every bit as thick as the doors of the original lab. There was no question that they were in the right place.
Emmett replied, “So far, so good.”
Beyond the heavy door was a long stairwell. Tiny red lights along the steps attempted to push away the darkness. Emmett paused, trying to listen, but he didn’t hear any sounds below. No hisses or hums of systems and equipment. Even though he could feel the structure below them, it seemed utterly dead, like they were entering a tomb.
TINA said, “We’ll need to get inside to get a direct connection. Proceed… with caution. Just because the door systems recognized you, doesn’t mean there aren’t defenses or other problems below.”
Emmett understood. There was always a chance of sabotage, but even something as simple as a faulty connection could prevent systems from talking to one another.
“I’ll take the lead. Stay behind me, just in case.” Emmett shouldered his fusion rifle and pressed forward. The black and gray swirls and scales of Emmett’s supersuit appeared as nanites around his body reconfigured, focusing on an extra layer of defense instead of disguising him.
Between his nanites, cyborg senses, reaction time, and connection with TINA, he had the best chance of surviving and disabling any security measures.
No one protested. Lock, Clara, and Athena followed a few paces behind.
Even though the stairwell only went down three stories, it felt like much longer until Emmett reached the bottom. He could see clearly in the near-darkness, but his eyesight didn’t help his apprehension—nor did his growing feel for the underground structure. Even if he couldn’t have seen the bottom, Emmett would’ve known where the stairwell ended.
Emmett used his connection with TINA to ask her how it was possible for him to feel the layout of the lab without needing to see it. Instead of hearing her reply or seeing text in his HUD, he just knew the answer.
Which was fitting, because everything had to do with Emmett and TINA’s connection. His newfound sense for the underground structure was simply an information request. Emmett had gotten so used to communicating wordlessly with TINA that he was doing it unconsciously. He’d asked her a question and gotten an answer without even realizing it.
TINA could sense the backup lab’s structure because it wasn’t completely offline. Some systems still had power, like the locks and security systems, and there was still residual power beyond that. Wiring and piping hung in Emmett’s vision like a ghostly outline of the structure. Emmett could see it because TINA could see it.
The three stories of the stairwell stretched on, Emmett’s enhanced brain and time dilation working against him. The steps echoed through the structure, as steady as the ticking of a clock.
Finally, they reached the bottom of the stairs.
It was almost like the original lab. Pipes and wiring ran along the hallway like bundles of nerves, but a stillness hung over everything. The air was stale and a fine layer of dust covered the surfaces. There were three doors interspersed through the hallway, each with their own security computer. Emmett pressed on, leading the group to the first door. Instead of the familiar triple digit markings of the original lab, there was a simple 1 painted on the metal door.
Here too, there was a sensation of déjà vu. In the old lab, each door had a slightly different security computer—some access panels and security features were strangely low tech or analog.They were a stark contrast to the rest of the futuristic lab. Now Emmett knew that was because of Midas. Venture had thought that different levels of tech would mess with Midas’s abilities.
At a glance, the security panels for all three doors looked the same. There was just one problem—
Instead of a retinal or fingerprint scanner, there was only a keypad. Emmett relaxed his rifle and examined the keypad. His cybernetic eye zoomed in on the keys, but he couldn’t see any smudges or fingerprints. It was almost like the place had never been used.
Lock asked, “Was the old lab this creepy?”
Clara gave him a half-hearted shove. Even with her thinsuit it wasn’t enough to move Lock.
Athena replied, “You clearly haven’t used a safehouse before. They’re supposed to be dusty, as long as everything’s going right.”
Lock scoffed. “I’ll choose the safehouse next time. You know, instead of death.”
Emmett asked aloud, “TINA, do you happen to have a code?”
“Not yet.”
Nanites slithered off of Emmett’s arm, forming a set of improvised wires from his prosthetic to the security panel. Nanites pushed their way into the panel, filling gaps between wires and connections. The terminal flickered.
“Direct connection complete. Bypassing defenses. Overriding controls. Securing access.”
The door hissed open.
~ ~ ~