Chapter 13
So here we are, unlucky number 13 (well, it's technically 14 but that's not the point!)
"Will you be back next cycle?"
Beck asked her this as he escorted her to the portal. They had just gotten back and she expressed the need to get back to the User World for some well needed rest. She looked up at his question.
"I should. I might try to get back sooner, if I can manage it."
"How?"
"I might take the day off from work. But first," she yawned and stretched, "I have to go home and sleep."
He nodded and stopped in front of the portal. She climbed up and stood in the portal's light. Beck waved bye and she grinned before she closed her eyes.
Moments later, she opened her eyes to the dark room again. With a sigh, she leaned back against the chair.
They did it! New Argon is going to prosper now!
Not only that, they seem to trust me now.
Smiling at this, her eyes began to close as she leaned back, dreaming of tomorrow.
SLAM.
The door was thrown open. Nico jumped and turned to see two bulking forms coming towards her, silhouetted by the dark, but she didn't need to see them clearly to know who they were.
Security.
"Oh my god." She breathed as she got out of the chair. She cleared her throat and held up her hands in an attempt to stop them.
"Gentlemen, I work here! Here's my pass_!"
They grabbed her upheld arms. She's cut off as they grabbed her and slammed her to the wall.
"Ow." She winced but they didn't pay attention to that.
They forced her arms behind her back and with a click, a cuff snapped around her wrist.
"Crap."
They said nothing to her, as they begin to pull her out the room, and down the hallway. She glanced at her workroom as she they walked past.
"Officers, that's where I work, trust me_"
But with one firm look from both of them, she went silent.
They continued past and to the elevator. One of the guards (his nametag said Eddie) pushed the button on the elevator and the doors opened. They ushered Nico in and she glanced over to see 'Eddie' push the top button.
"Uh, that's not the lobby button, genius." She blurted sarcastically.
He gave her one, mysterious look, then looked back straight forward and said:
"We're not going to the lobby."
We're not?
Then where are we going?
The elevator rose and they stood in awkward silence. Nico fidgeted. She hated awkward silences. She began to bounce her leg, wishing her fingers could help ease her awkwardness by tapping on her leg…
"Stop it." The other guard snapped and Eddie threw him a glare. She flinched though, and did, trying to keep as still as possible.
"That wasn't necessary." Eddie said after a moment and that's all that was said for the rest of the elevator ride.
Finally, the doors opened with a ding. Eddie sighed and they escorted her down the hallway to a set of double doors near the end. She tensed at the ominous tone of the dark hallway and what seemed to be an imminent doom.
When they came to the door, Eddie straightened, then knocked. After a moment, he opened the door.
Inside, four people were present. One sat in a desk, with two on either side of him, looking at a screen, all three of them male. The fourth, female and the only unfamiliar person to her, looked up from her book as she heard them enter. Their eyes, green, blue and grey, all watched her piercingly. After a moment, they stopped and the woman put down her book to watch whatever she sensed coming.
After a moment of silence, the man in the desk, the man she had met in the elevator on her first day, spoke, reading off her file, "Nicolette Sanders_"
"I prefer Nico."
He ignored her, "Twenty-five years old and currently employed here at Encom as a programmer. You were supposed to have gone home earlier today sick, but here you are. So," He looked up over his glasses, "Why are you here, much less in a restricted area?"
Nico bit her lip.
"….will my answer get me arrested?"
"That depends on the reason." The man on his left said. Her boss, Roy, and he watched her with careful emotions. Among them though, was shock and disappointment. She felt bad, but she had other things to think about at the moment.
"I've got a question before I say. Why is it off limits?"
The man on the right sighed and she could tell who he was right away. Sam Flynn, CEO.
"That's my personal workspace."
"Then you shouldn't have left the door wide open when I found it! Then I wouldn't have bothered it!"
Sam sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just… it doesn't matter now. What were you doing on that computer?"
Nico stiffened. If she told them about the Grid…
They'd want to take charge. Rule.
The programs made it quite clear they didn't want to be ruled by a User.
She wasn't about to let them down.
"Does it matter? I mean, it's not like I ever got far on the computer."
"There isn't much on it anyways. I have to know what you touched on that computer."
She didn't answer.
"What did you touch? Was it any command strings?"
She turned on him, "WHY DID YOU ASSUME THAT! MAYBE I JUST SURFED THE INTERNET FROM IT! GEEZ!"
By the way he paled, she knew immediately said the wrong thing.
"Y-you can't do that! Just arrest her!"
The guards grabbed her with a grunt. As they began to drag her, she dug her heels into the floor.
No nonononononononononononono
"NO!" she yelled, fighting against their grip. They watched her silently, and she broke the guard's grip to latch onto the doorframe. They began to pry away from it with force but she clung tight.
"Wait."
At the simple words, everyone stopped. The woman in the chair closed her book, got up, and walked up to Nico. Her blue eyes searched the girl and after a moment, she smiled.
"You found them, didn't you?"
"What?"
She turned to Sam, "She figured out the mess code. She found them."
Slowly, a shocked smile began to spread on Sam's face.
"She….did?"
"Now hold on! I never said any of that!" Nico protested.
"You didn't have to." She said gently in return, eyes alight in joy, "I know what a User looks like after they've found the Grid."
"What do you mean_"
"Wait a moment."
Everyone's attention turned to Alan Bradley as he stood.
"Sam what's going on? What didn't you tell me?"
Sam looked caught between a rock and a hard place and Nico couldn't help but smirk at that, "It's a long story….why don't we just have…ummm…"
"Nico."
"Nico! Show us how to get there."
He turned to her with a smile, but it faded at her solemn expression.
Nico looked down, not wanting to meet their gaze.
The woman faltered, "…What's wrong?"
She felt like she could trust this woman, so she looked up and said, "The programs don't want Users to lead them. I'm afraid if you guys go, you'll…."
The woman nodded in understanding after a couple moments, "We promise not to take over their work."
She turned to the men, "Right?"
Sam looked uncomfortable while Alan and Roy were confused.
"Right?"
After moments of hesitation, he uttered his agreement.
"Good."
Sam went to the guards, and after a sigh, pulled out a couple hundred dollar bills. "Uncuff her and never mention what you heard in here. Got it?"
The guards quickly nodded and pocketed the bills. They uncuffed her and left quickly. Nico shook her wrists to regain feeling, but barely got a breath in before the woman grabbed her by the arm and they began to walk together.
"Name's Quorra." she added with a giddy grin as Nico looked to her. "And thank you for finding them."
"Uh….no problem?"
She laughed and pulled Nico along, almost as if she knew where they were going.
Moments later, she led them to the door, still wide open. Stiffening, she went inside to find nothing disturbed after she had left. She went over to the computer and pulled up the command string. She began to type.
"You've been there a lot the past few weeks." Sam noted, taking in the multiple copies of the same command string.
"Well…yeah. They really are amazing. By the way, how do you know them?"
When he didn't answer immediately, it clicked. She stopped typing and turned to look at him, "Shut. Up."
"Hey!" Sam protested.
"What?" Alan looked between them both, "What's going on?"
Nico threw Sam a suspicious look, "Nothing better come from you."
When he didn't say anything in reply, she turned back and finished typing.
"Alright everyone, stay completely still. This may tingle."
She clicked the enter button and she heard the portal start up. She heard someone start in surprise but they didn't jump out of the way as the portal collected all of them. And for the first time, she didn't close her eyes.