Connor and Vince fight their forbidden attraction as they attempt to rescue themselves and fellow residents of the underground Refuge facility from a toxic breach.
*****
Conn...
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"Who's on the line? Identify yourself." The man's voice was big, bold, and held curiosity in his tone.
I placed the earbud snug in my ear. "This is Connor Nichols. Number seven-one-six from level seven."
"How and why are you calling from the upper hemi?"
"Randolph's son, Vince Moore, is up here with me along with Tamara Arnold, my mother Emily Nichols, and hundreds of other survivors." I didn't allow him to respond, afraid of answering questions that would further prevent us from getting to the point, even though I knew establishing trust was necessary to execute my plan. "You need to stop Randolph from detonating the explosive on Ten."
"Uh, can you repeat that. I'm not sure I heard you correctly."
Tick, tick, tick.
I exhaled forcefully. "Listen, the upper hemi isn't contaminated. Hundreds of people will die if you detonate that explosion. Randolph is not telling you all you need to know. Just ask Dr. Smith."
"One second. We're connecting with Randolph."
"No!" I gripped the edge of the panel. "Wait. Please. Just listen." I scrolled though commands, looking for the communication log.
"What do you need?" Em was at my side.
"The recording from Dr. Smith." I looked into her eyes, pleading without using the words.
"I hope you know what you're doing." She pressed a few controls and the recording played through the speakers.
The sound of Dr. Smith clearing his throat blasted from the speakers. "This is Dr. Samuel Smith... It's confirmed that the three missing cadets-Tamara Arnold, Vincent Moore, and Connor Nichols, your son-are the cadets in your custody. Randolph is well-aware that they are up there, but has no idea they are still alive. He has not yet made the public aware that they slipped through, that you or the hundreds of people are alive and sound, or that there is no real contamination threat-which I doubt he ever will reveal-and he has not yet decided to take action to retrieve or rescue them. I'll keep you posted. Please continue to keep them safe."
"Thank you, Samuel." Em's voice ended the audio only for it to repeat.
"This is Dr. Samuel Smith...
"Control? Please. Trust me and get Dr. Smith." I tapped my fingers against my chin in anticipation. We needed their absolute cooperation.
"We're required to pass this kind of information on to Dr. Randolph, and Dr. Smith has been detained, so-"
A different voice came through my earbud. "Hello? This is Jim. I'm friends with Dr. Smith. What exactly are you requesting?"
"This is our last resort. These people don't belong up here, and they don't deserve to rot up here either. If only everyone was aware of what was really happening and what they're really fighting for. Otherwise, this is murder, Jim. And you know you couldn't live another fourteen years with the suffering and deaths of hundreds of innocent people on your conscience."
