Snow. Nothing but snow. Damn video chat. Damn. Damn. Double damn. If anything irritated Shannon about having little to no communication with her big sis; it was the fact that when they did, they could never chat for long because while Elsie's workplace had all the best technology; but Shannon's laptop was ten years old and the webcam connection was like her sex life. Present, but slow as shit.
Finally, the snow dissappeared and Elsie's face appeared on the screen. Shannon smiled and leaned forward.
"Hey, El." Shannon said.
"Hi, Shanny. How are things in the Windy City?"
"Well, it's been snowing like crazy. Boss man closed the bar for two weeks for a little vacation. No pay, of course."
"You shouldn't be working for that asshole anyway. You should be here." Elsie said.
Shannon sighed. "El, let's not get into this."
"Why not? You'd be a great engineer. Remember all the bots you entered in competitons?"
"You know how I feel about Westworld. It creeps me out. Those things are so real. Besides, the way you talk about the hosts, it sounds like they don't need improvement." Shannon said.
"Well, they're better behaved than the humans." Elsie muttered.
"Something on your mind?" Shannon asked.
Elsie shifted in her seat and briefly lifted her gaze before returning her focus to Shannon.
"Only me and a colleague know about this. If that one host hadn't lost it, no one would have been suspcious. There's big going on here, Shanny; someone's been trying to smuggle data out of the park."
Shannon gave a short, nervous laugh. "Okay, what's the punch line?"
"This isn't a joke. You think I'd lie about something like this?"
Shannon ran her hand down her face. "Elsie, this isn't like someone has been caught sleeping with the boss. This is corporate espionage. You need to tell someone about this."
"Listen, we're not even sure who it is yet. I shoot off my mouth and point the finger at the wrong guy? I'm fired. I nail the right person, and it's a clear way to a promotion."
"What if this someone catches on? Did you ever think about that? You could be putting yourself into danger." Shannon argued.
"Don't turn this into a crusade, Shanny. I'll be fine."
"Elsie, listen to me. You-"
The screen started to fragment and there was loud, short beeps.
"No, not now. Not now." Shannon muttered.
More fragmenting and more beeps. Then, nothing but snow. Shannon slammed down the top of her laptop.
"Damn it!"
Shannon sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She always found it funny that Elsie was the only one in the family that didn't have blonde hair. She remembered a time when they were teenagers that Elsie made a sarcastic remark about how she couldn't possibly be her father's daughter. Sarcasm was always her way of hiding feelings. Funny how there wasn't a hint of sarcasm in Elsie during their conversation. Funny how Shannon could hear a slight quiver in her sister's voice when she said she would be fine. Like she was nervous.
"You have to understand, when a park employee dies, we have to do our own examination. Just to be safe. I mean, the hosts can't kill a human, but they can spaz and accidentally hurt someone enough that the injuries become life threatening. Fortunately, it looks like your sister just broke her neck. I'm sorry, that must have sounded very insensitive."
Shannon heard the voice of the rambling Westword employee named Stubbs. She heard every word he was saying, but she wasn't paying attention. Her focus was on the pale, lifeless body of Elsie that laid on the table in front of her.