Page 5 of Deadly Security Breach
“Did Dr. Roth call the police?” she asked as he motioned for her to climb into the back seat of a UTV. The vehicle was as big as a Jeep, but it was open to the elements, so she kept her head tucked down out of nervousness as Zac fired it up.
“I’ll explain when we’re there!” Cal said over the roar of the motor.
Head down and eyes squeezed shut, Iris did her box breathing to keep her anxiety level in check as they bounced and rattled through the wheat to a road. The ride smoothed out considerably then, but she didn’t look up. Cal had his hand on her back, which made her feel infinitesimally better about the situation. On the inhale, she pictured Rebecca’s face covered in blood, and while she held her breath for four counts, she remembered the fear in her voice as she described what had happened. When she exhaled, she pictured herself at the keyboard, bringing the safety protocols back online to protect everyone from an unseen evil. The imagery allowed herto square her shoulders and lift her head slightly just as Zac slowed the vehicle.
Across the road, a building was half buried inside an earth dome. “You’d never know the terrors of the world are held inside there,” she said, noting that Cal nodded from the corner of her eye.
“Which is the point, but obviously, someone knew it was here. And that someone has plans we need to put a stop to. Are you ready?”
“Not even a little bit, but I know I’m part of the solution, so let’s do this.”
“That’s my girl. I’m proud of you every day, but today even more so,” he said as Zac rolled the UTV around to the side, where there was a small loading dock. Zac jumped out to start unloading while he waited for Declan to catch up in the other UTV. Cal punched a button by a side door and spoke into the speaker, announcing their arrival to the only person inside—Rebecca Roth.
The door clicked open, and Cal motioned her forward, leaving the guys to deal with the supplies. They walked into a cavernous space that defied the outside dimensions.
“Where are we? I thought this was a lab,” she said, and Cal nodded.
“We’re in the loading bay. The lab is upstairs.”
He pointed at a door marked Stairs, held it open for her and joined her as they went up a flight of stairs that opened into a hallway. Cal turned left, and she followed, noting an employee break room on the right, along with several restrooms.
When they left the hallway, on their right were glass partitions separating multiple labs with sliding doors thatopened into the large center workspace. Inside each lab was equipment Iris had no idea how to use, as well as rows of test tubes and hanging ventilation fans.
In the center of the room were large tables for standing while working. That was where a disheveled and nervous woman stood wringing her hands. She’d cleaned the blood off her face, but the cuts were copious and dotted her beautiful alabaster skin. It didn’t steal from her essence, though. An essence that drew Iris in and made her curious to know more about the woman. “Thank you for coming so quickly.” It was easy to hear the fear in her words as she shook Cal’s hand. “I don’t know what to do next. My ears are still ringing, so you’ll have to speak up.”
“That’s why you called us,” Cal assured her in his even yet commanding tone, slightly louder than his normal voice. “Dr. Roth, let me introduce you to Iris Knowles, our cybersecurity expert, who will work with you to resolve this situation.”
Iris stuck her hand out to shake while staring at the doctor’s shoes. That made it easier for her to make physical contact with strangers. Rebecca slid her hand into Iris’s, and the sensation was difficult to describe. Iris knew she was supposed to speak but struggled to form words as Rebecca’s touch overwhelmed her. When her warm palm caressed her skin, all she could think of was sunshine on a rainy day. Iris knew she was here to do a job, so as the doctor released her hand, she lifted her head and made eye contact with the woman for an instant. Rebecca imprinted on her soul in that short moment, sending an unexpected shockwave through her.
“Nice to meet you, Iris,” Rebecca said, her voice softer, calmer. “I can’t thank you enough for coming.”
“It was a lot of work to get here, and I didn’t want to come, but I did.” Iris grimaced as she stared at the floor. “I’m sorry for saying that.”
“Iris has lingering effects from a traumatic brain injury,” Cal explained. “She finds traveling to new places overwhelming. She’ll need a few minutes to adjust.”
“He’s right, but I promise it won’t interfere with solving your problem. Fair warning that I don’t know how to lie or be anything but honest and straightforward, or what some might consider blunt. It’s an unfortunate result of having my brain scrambled.”
“I understand,” Rebecca said, but not in the kind of pitiful voice Iris was used to. Those two words were said with respect, which she proved with her following sentence. “If I can do anything to make it easier for you, don’t hesitate to tell me what you need, and I’ll make it happen. I prefer honesty over lies anyway, even if the delivery is blunt. We must contain this situation, which will require us to work together as a team.”
“Social skills have been difficult for me to learn, and I’ve tried, but unfortunately, my brain often forgets how to do that, so honest and straightforward is what you’ll get from me. Sometimes to a fault, as Cal says,” Iris admitted.
“But she always means well,” Cal added with a wink.
Rebecca laughed, lifting the mood and Iris’s head. “In this situation, be honest to a fault. We’re going to need it to get through this.”
Iris noted the woman’s full lips pull into a thin line as she glanced around the room at the labs. “That is alsomy assessment,” she agreed. “Don’t worry, though, Dr. Roth, I won’t sleep until you have control of your lab again. My brain is already messed up, so the last thing I want is to feel it burning.”
Cal and Rebecca snickered in response to her sentence, which lifted Iris’s lips into a smile for the first time since the call sounded this morning. She’d made a joke, and people laughed. A new skill unlocked!
“Please, call me Bec,” she said as she motioned them toward a desk where a computer sat. “All my friends do.”
“But I’m not your friend,” Iris said before she could stop herself. Cal gently grasped her forearm to remind her to be calm.
“Yet,” Bec said with a wink. “I have a feeling that will have changed by the time we finish this project. As you can see, all the computers have the same screen and message. It’s been hours since we found the message, but nothing has changed, and there have been no ransom requests.”
“Unless kidnapping the other doctor was the message,” Cal said, motioning at her face.
Iris followed as they walked toward an office strewn with papers and shards of glass. The scene was terrifying, and she hadn’t lived through it with a flash-bang and kidnapper. Her heart went out to the woman whose hands shook as she described what happened to her colleague. Iris could only think of one thing to do. She walked over and put her hand on Bec’s shoulder. Without pausing her story, Bec laid her hand on hers, and she noticed the scientist’s hands stopped shaking immediately.