Guard post, Windowless Building, New York
Bryon Kowalski loved his new gig as a night watchman. His security clearance allowed him to take employment at one of the most secure facilities on the east coast. The best part was Jeremiah was dead, and he would not interfere in his life again. He often wondered if he should pursue the relationship he had with Jeremiah’s daughter. He hadn’t reached out when he heard of his death. On some level the man still terrified him.
When the time was right, Bryon planned to visit his daughter—well, she wasn’t his real daughter, but he thought of her as one. His friends at the Dark Angels had gotten him this job; hell they’d done more than that, they had saved his life. Being on a platform in the middle of the Black Sea with no one to talk to for weeks at a stretch was almost too much to bear.
At least I’m not on that dammed platform again, he thought.
The phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID. Security from the twenty-third floor. I’ve never gotten a call from anyone that high. That area is top secret.
Bryon picked up.
“Is this the main desk?” a voice asked.
“Yes, it is, can I help you?” Bryon replied.
“I just wanted to make sure—there have been a lot of systems problems in the tower, and we never have problems.”
“What’s the emergency?”
“We caught a group of intruders on a frame of video. One moment there were the machines and an empty row of metal racks, and the next a group of at least three were visible. The strangest thing is they looked like teenage kids.”
“Are you sure someone didn’t bring their kids to work or something?” Bryon suggested.
The guard hesitated for a moment.
“No, this floor is supposed to be locked down to all non-essential personnel.”
The phone went dead.
Moments later, his phone rang again. It was IT Security. Bryon picked it up.
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“Are you the duty guard?” a male voice asked.
“I am,” Bryon replied. “Who is this?”
“I’m Frank from Cyber Incident Response. We need to lock down the building to all visitors. Lock all entrances—we have a communications breach.”
“I hate to break it to you, Frank, but I think it goes beyond communications. The guard on the twenty-third spotted a group of kids. Anyway, I will need an authorization code to start any lockdown protocol.”
Bryon heard a click as the phone went dead.
Hmm, I guess there was a communications problem. I don’t know why he called me—he should have called the security operations center. Is it down?
Bryon called the operations center himself. If there was a real security issue, they needed to know about it. The line was dead. Now the phone system was nonoperational. He grabbed one of the handheld radios and switched it to the secure channel—dead.
What the hell is going on here?
Bryon took out his cell phone, and the display read: No Service
“Shit, something is happening.”
After a few more agonizing moments of indecision, Bryon decided to initiate a full building lockdown. He unlocked a small safe behind the desk and took out a red envelope that contained a single key. After locking the doors of the main entrance, Bryon hurried down a darkened hallway. He unlocked another nondescript door, then entered. It was about the size of a janitor’s closet, except instead of brooms, it contained a rack of wires and equipment locked behind a glass cabinet. He used his special key to unlock the cabinet.
What’s next? he wondered.
He couldn’t remember the procedure he had learned during his onboarding ritual. That week had been a blur and involved many sleepless nights. He remembered stressing about the exam required at the end of that week. When he’d asked what would happen if he failed the exam, his instructor had given him a look of contempt.
“If you cannot pass the exam after a week of training, then someone made a poor hiring decision,” the instructor had said.
The drawer!
He tried pulling on the edge of the blank area of the cabinet; it didn’t budge. He punched the cabinet out of frustration.
I’m going to get fired for sure. I need this job since Jeremiah ruined my reputation in the industry. I’m glad that bastard is gone.
Then the blank panel he’d tried to pull popped out. He was then able to pull the drawer the rest of the way out.
Stupid trick panel.
He opened the panel. A black screen with green text appeared. He typed in his username, then entered the password when prompted. A system menu appeared with two options:
1) Start Lock Down Protocol.
2) Exit.
He pressed the number one button, which then asked him for his login to confirm. Once he did, a siren with a female voice emitted from unseen speakers. The light inside of the room went out, and the only illumination came from the equipment and LED lights on the network sockets.
The power is out too?
“Building lockdown started. Please gather in your designated emergency area,” the female voice said.
He took out a portable flashlight, secured the cabinet, then made his way back to the guard post. Gates were lowering from the ceiling. He heard a massive clunking sound as the last gate descended. The bars reminded him of a prisoner locked in an isolation cell.
Communications are out—I can’t leave. What now?