Y - Novel Teaser

Containment

Angela felt her teeth grind together as she closed her eyes. One hand lifted as she pinched the bridge of her nose, and her other hand pointed to one of her security guards. "Alright. Okay. They are two boys. They can't possibly get too far on their own." Her eyes opened as she snapped her fingers at the guard. "You said that he locked down the maintenance access codes?"

The woman nodded back at the Overseer. "Yes, ma'am. Tech's reporting that the codes were wirelessly accessed and changed by administration override. They said the only way that Mister Mathews was able to do that was if he had the master codes."

"Marlie Mathews, I could kill you all over again," Angela growled as she nodded once. "That must be how she escaped the labs and Tech this morning. I don't suppose Tech has a solution to the problem?"

The guard shrugged, but nodded quickly as she watched the Overseer's eyes narrow. "I'll... check in on them now."

"Good. You do that. Make sure they're tracking elevator sensors for a match on Mister Mathews' biometric data in case he slips our net." She turned to another guard. "You. Have a team placed at every maintenance access hatch on the level. They'll have to come out eventually for supplies, especially if they plan to flee the tower." She frowned at a woman who wore a different uniform, tinged with red and with a toolbelt rather than a holstered weapon. "Where are we on restoring main power?"

The woman touched a finger to her ear and the earpiece stuck there. "I've got people working on the conduit now, ma'am," she replied. "Thankfully, the damage is localized to the main conduit. It'll be a couple hours before we're at full power, but I believe we can restore critical systems and near-full functionality to most affected systems within fifteen minutes."

"I want it done in ten. And you," Angela added as she shifted her glare to point at the guard who'd shot the door, "will explain to me how in the world we would spin the assault of two young breeders in training."

That woman blinked and glanced around the room at her fellows. Not one of them would meet her gaze as she stood up before the Overseer, and the engineer was already on her way out the door. "I... don't know, Overseer," she replied as she bowed her head.

Angela snorted once as she folded her arms. "Of course not. And were you given an order to fire?"

"No, Overseer." She closed her eyes and bowed her head.

"Had I given up trying to talk those boys down, yet?"

"No, Overseer." She'd begun to tremble.

"No. Okay, everyone; listen up!" Her voice raised and every woman in the room immediately turned to face her. "You were all assigned to this tower because you represented the best that the United American Territories has in the way of military training. If those boys escape the tower and the information that they are carrying leaks to the outside world, then I will have each and every one of your heads on my desk by morning." Her lips curled back in a toothy snarl as she cast her gaze around the room. "Are there any questions whatsoever as to the legitimacy of my claim?"

When none of the gathered women dared reply, Angela drew herself upright. "Rohan Mathews is still on this level. Anyone without a task assigned by me or by a superior officer, I want to hear what we can do to capture him."

One of the guards stepped forward. "Ma'am. We should have Tech Control change the codes on every system and subsystem in the tower after your ordered reboot. If he has the current codes, we need to change them as soon as possible and start with the security systems."

"Good. See to it." Angela nodded and sucked in another deep breath as the woman set to her task. Finally. Some competence. "What else?"

The guard who she'd had disarmed after frying the door stepped forward. "Ma'am. If we enact a security lockdown, we can halt any potential travel off this level. Security lockdowns are tower-wide, sealed by level, and alert external forces to our need for assistance. More personnel will help us track them down faster."