They also had access to what she thought of as real weapons—the kind that could kill—for use when things were desperate. Jessica13 had assumed it would only be when someone actually managed to break into Sanctuary and they needed to fight invaders.
Now, she wasn't so sure.
They looked relaxed and leaned against one of the tables the bulletfoots had worked at while they chatted and laughed. None of them suspected someone would try to escape Sanctuary today. In all probability, none of them imagined anyone would want to.
She wondered if they were in the know. Were they aware of the lies that had been told or were they exactly like her and had simply been deceived for their entire lives? Did they believe that they protected the safety of the bunker when in fact, they merely perpetrated the same falsehoods they had been fed since they were children?
All she needed to do was walk past them. She only had to look like she had permission to be there to work on one of the mechs. They had no reason to question her and even if they did, she had signed paperwork from Armstrong7 that said she could take one of the mechs out for a stress-test.
"Hey, bulletfoot," one of the security men said as Jessica13 tried to walk past them. "The hangar is off-limits for the day, which is why most of the other mechanics were sent elsewhere to work. Sorry, admin orders. They don't want anything or anyone to disturb the peaceful lives of the drones below."
"Drones?" she asked, her head tilted in confusion.
"Oh… That's what we call the folks who work on the lower levels—farming and power source, stuff like that," the guard said and shook his head a little sheepishly. "It’s not the nicest name, I know, but you should hear the names they have for us. Anyway, don't think we think you guys are drones, though. You're the first line of defense against the Outside. We're the last."
Jessica13 nodded. "Well, I need to work on one of the mechs."
"Sorry, admin orders," he said again firmly and an apologetic look crossed his face. "No one's in the hangar. Maybe tomorrow?"
She bit the inside of her mouth while her mind raced. On the one hand, she could come back tomorrow and maybe Armstrong7 would actually sign the paperwork to allow her to do the stress-testing. Or they would do more drills and escape would be impossible. She couldn't predict what would happen tomorrow.
Her attempt had to be made today. She needed to take the risk.
"Look," she said and eased her pack onto the floor at her feet since she could feel it beginning to make her shoulder ache. “Armstrong7 told me I need to stress-test one of the support mechs. A couple of upgrades were installed after the attack to make it more effective, and if you don't get the processing units and the power cores working perfectly in tandem, you'll have everything shorting all over the place. Then, you have the coolant systems going right to shit—"
The security guard raised his hand. "Okay, I think I understood about half of that. If you have Armstrong's signature to clear you for indoor stress-testing, go ahead."
"I’m actually cleared for outdoor testing," Jessica said and placed the form on the table for the man to look at.
"Outdoor?" he asked and glanced quickly at the paperwork. "Really?"
"You can't stress-test a mech's OS indoors," she said.
"OS?"
Another guard leaned in closer and whispered something in his teammate’s ear.
"Anyway, if you have the signature, everything's clear for you to keep going. Have a nice time Topside, although you shouldn't be out there for too long."
"Mech stress-tests don't take longer than ten minutes, provided everything goes well," Jessica13 replied and tried not to reveal the relief that washed over her in any way in her expression.
Was she supposed to look anxious about heading Topside? Maybe a little excited? Or maybe a little bored, like this was something that she did every day?
It didn't appear to matter. The moment they had checked the form she had left on the table, they resumed the conversation about what they had discussed before she arrived.
Something would go wrong, her inner voice warned. No, it wouldn't, her determination asserted. She would get out of there. No one would stop her and she would get herself out of the damn place. She would not be stuck there for the rest of her life. Nothing would stop her.
Her mouth was dry but she didn't hesitate. She didn't dare think about the fact that the only water she had was what was stocked inside Mini for an emergency. It was something to worry about later. No matter what, she would make it.
"Hey, bulletfoot!" one of the security guards called.
Her heart plummeted. She wouldn’t make it and would die in the recyc level, breathing smoke for the rest of her life. Jessica13 couldn't move. Her feet felt like they had been magnetically locked to the causeway and there was no to make herself move again.
No, it wouldn’t end like this.
She was fucked. So fucked.
Chapter Nine
So very, very, very fucked.
"Shit," Jessica13 whispered and dragged in a deep breath.
"Hey, bulletfoot!" the security guard called again and this time, he caught the attention of the pilots who still worked in the hangar. "What the hell—are you deaf?"
She had to make a split-second decision but had no idea what the right one might be. If she turned and engaged him and he knew what she was trying to do, she would be dragged away. If they had no idea about what she was doing and she sprinted away from him, he would know she was up to something and he and his team would try to stop her.
"Can she hear me?" the man asked. "Are the Athena freaks deaf? No…shit, come on, I know you heard me. You stopped when I called you."
Well, damned if she did and damned if she didn't.
Jessica13
