Chapter Eight
Zac held his hands out for calm, but she didn’t feel that way. “Iris, no,” he said. “No one is mad. We were just worried.”
“But you don’t know that,” she whispered, walking backward until she bumped into Bec. She nearly tipped over until Bec grasped her waist and held her in place. She was trembling and embarrassed, knowing her misstep had caused confusion and concern for the team.
“Iris, take a deep breath,” Bec instructed. “Focus on my words. Breathe in quickly twice and back out slowly.”
Iris followed her instructions, trying to keep from spiraling into all the situations that could arise from her inability to remember things outside her regular routine.
She could write code all day and never forget a character, but other tasks—things like what to get at the store or remembering she needed to carry the walkie-talkie around—were more difficult.
When she started living independently, she needed notes to remind her of every task, but she no longer needed to depend on them as she used to.
“I don’t usually have one and forgot to put a note on my phone the way I usually do when I have to remember something important. ”
“Why didn’t you call her phone?” Bec asked, and Zac smacked himself in the forehead.
“Never even thought of it. That’s on me. I’m sorry for upsetting you, Iris. I should have texted you. We’re used to using the walkies, so I didn’t think about it.”
Bec patted Iris’s waist before she spoke. “Listen, everyone here is under a lot of stress and pressure, so let’s make sure we give ourselves and each other a little bit of grace, okay?”
“Secure One, Charlie, and I couldn’t agree more,” a voice said from behind them, and they all jumped to see Cal standing there with several others.
“Cal. When did you get here?” Iris asked, her voice steady now that Bec had her arm around her.
“We took the stairs,” he answered, motioning behind him.
“I got the ventilation system going again,” she said in response, wanting him to know she may have screwed up one thing, but she was still doing her job. “Bec said that’s important but not as important as the containment system, so I’ll do that next.”
Cal stepped forward and patted her shoulder. “I’m proud of you, Iris. Way to go! I knew you were the right woman for the job.”
“But I messed up and—” Bec squeezed her waist, and she stopped speaking, taking a deep breath rather than continuing.
“You forgot the walkie, which is no big deal,” Cal assured her. “If I know you, and I do, you didn’t sleep much and then got up early to get back to work on the system.”
“Yes, sir,” Iris answered, glancing up to read his face.
He didn’t look upset, which was a relief.
That was when she noticed Selina in the group.
“Selina!” She ran and hugged her, which was not an uncommon reaction for her as they had become good friends since she started working at Secure Watch.
She was worried about Bec’s arm and was glad she’d come with Cal this morning.
“Hi, Iris,” Selina said with a pat on her back. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes, but Bec got hurt more than she said yesterday. Could you look at her arm? It’s burned.”
“Burned?” Selina asked, glancing at Bec.
“There are some blisters. I don’t know what happened. I do remember it was the arm I threw up to cover my face.”
“Stun grenades can cause burns,” Cal said. “The heat of the blast can heat things in its way. Like this metal table.”
Bec’s lips drew into a thin line. “It’s possible that I touched one of these tables when disoriented.”
“I’ll look at it once we’re finished with the update,” Selina promised.
“Iris was just telling Zac that she got the ventilation system working again,” Bec said, motioning toward her. “Thank God for that.”
“But then Bec told me if I don’t get the containment system online, Ace could release all kinds of things, so it wasn’t that great of an accomplishment.”
“Wrong,” Cal said, his brow dipping. “Any system you can get back is an accomplishment. We can’t protect the world if we don’t protect this facility.”
Bec nodded once. “She’s had less than three hours of sleep but still got this far. I know she can get the containment online, too.”
“What’s left after that?” Cal asked, glancing between them.
“Nothing that could kill anyone,” Bec answered simply. “But if she can get the lab door function back, at least I could lock things down further inside the main lab to protect everyone were we forced to abandon the facility.”
“That’s what we do then,” Cal said. “Iris, how long do you think before you get the containment system online?”
“If I apply what I learned with the ventilation system, and assuming Ace isn’t aware that I’ve messed with his code, which I don’t think he is, I should be able to do it in two hours. I have to write a workaround for his code and then protect it, so he doesn’t kill it again.”
Cal’s nod was tight. “Once you have the containment system live, I want you to rest. While Bec is correct that we want to protect everyone from what’s inside those labs, it can’t be at your expense.”
“I’ll grab a few hours and then get back at it. I’ll feel better once I know Bec can protect the world from that nasty virus.”
“I want to know why we haven’t heard from Ace yet,” Bec said, glancing between the team. “He kidnapped Walter almost twenty-four hours ago. Why do that if you aren’t going to ask for ransom?”
“A question I’ve asked myself, but this isn’t unheard of,” Selina said. “Sometimes people are kidnapped, and it’s days or even weeks before a ransom is demanded.”
“They’re letting us sweat,” Iris said, her gaze on the table. “If we think he has control of everything and also the head scientist of the lab, the one person who can fix anything, then we’re more likely to cooperate with him.”
“That’s a possible scenario,” Cal agreed.
“Walter isn’t the head scientist,” Bec interjected.
“He’s a scientist, but an administrator-level scientist at this point.
He’s near retirement and hasn’t worked in a lab for decades.
He has nothing to do with the pathogens other than to write the proposals and accept the assignments.
Ace should have taken me if he wanted that kind of bargaining chip. ”
“Would the general public know that?” Iris asked, peeking at her as Bec shook her head.
“Probably not. It would be an assumption of someone unfamiliar with the way places like this are run that he was the one to take.”
“That was Ace’s first mistake,” Iris said with a shrug. “His second was underestimating your ability to think on your feet and bring in the firepower needed to handle this situation.”
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Cal agreed with a chuckle. “While you’re working on the code, we’ll tighten our security plan and prepare exit strategies should we need them. Selina, join us downstairs when you’re done checking Bec’s arm?”
“It’s fine, really,” Bec said, holding up her hands. “I can manage it.”
“If it’s blistered, then I disagree,” Selina said. “That means the burn is at least second-degree and will need special cream and care until it heals so you don’t get an infection. I’ll check it every day while I’m here. I’ll grab my medic bag and meet you in your apartment.”
Selina headed to the elevator as Bec grinned sheepishly at Iris. “I guess she told me.” That got a snort from Iris. “She can do her thing with it, and then I’m going to make some breakfast and bring it up here for you to eat while you work. You’ll be okay while I’m gone?”
“Yes,” Iris said with a nod. “I’m not afraid to be alone. I’ve been alone all my life.”
The look on Bec’s face before she headed toward the stairs told Iris that it made her sad, and she felt terrible for doing that to her.
It wasn’t her intention, but she didn’t know how to do anything but tell the truth.
Sometimes, like right now, it would be easier if she could tell a little white lie now and again.
“Shouldn’t have said that,” Iris said when she was gone. “Now she’s going to feel sorry for me, which I don’t want.”
“Bec doesn’t strike me as the type to feel sorry for anyone, Iris,” Cal soothed. “Let’s stay on track. Do you need Mina’s help with anything? She’s waiting in the wings if you do.”
“Is she still running down the information on the scientists we gave her last night?”
“Yes, that’s her plan for this morning, but she can drop that at a moment’s notice if you need help with something.”
Iris nodded and blew out a breath as she rubbed her forehead. “Once I get the critical parts of the lab running again, I’ll search Ace’s code for a signature.”
“Signature?”
“Usually, coders who spend time on the dark web or those with God complexes like Ace will have a signature. Something they do every time they code that makes them feel superior. It’s usually how they write a specific tag or start the first part of a line,” she explained, alternating her gaze between him and the poster on the wall.
It was about pathogens and how they travel between people.
“I hope to send some lines of code to Mina. If Ace is familiar to the community, we’ll know quickly.
It’s faster for her to run that down while I keep working on protecting the system here. ”
“You have the support of all of Secure Inc.,” Cal assured her. “I know you can do this, so I’ll let you get back to it, but Iris?” he asked, and she shifted her gaze to his. “I never knew you had such beautiful eyes.”
“Sir?” she asked, tipping her head in confusion.
“That was the first time you made eye contact for over three seconds. Thank you for trusting me.”
She lifted her head and held it high, even if she was staring at the poster again. She nodded. “It’s not that I didn’t trust you.”
“It’s that you couldn’t show me,” Cal said. “I’ve always understood that, and I accept you no matter what. You’ll see that’s true of others if you give them the benefit of the doubt.”
“In time, I suppose that will get easier,” she agreed. “For now, I better get back to my work so we don’t feel like we’re watching the clock tick down on a bomb we can’t disarm.”
“Couldn’t have said that better myself. I’ll have Selina bring you the walkie-talkie when she’s done helping Bec. You know where to find us if you need anything?”
When she nodded, he strolled from the room, whistling like they weren’t fighting for their lives.