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Chapter 10
Jesse closed connection between himself and Brennan. He figured the comrings actually had a 70-someodd percent chance of working down here, but he didn't really want to be interrupted while he was working. For good measure, he slid the ring of the finger of his right hand and shoved it into his pocket.
Turning on the heavy-duty flashlight, he shone the light around the area in which he stood. There was a rock wall that ran diagonally 20 feet to his right, and another behind him. Shining the light up, he coughed, getting another mouthful of the settling dust that his landing had stirred up. The ceiling was a good 25 feet above his head. Looking back down and around, Jesse shook his head. He was amazed that he had managed to phase through the 103 feet of rock and 20-someodd feet of air and come out relatively unscathed. He had landed rather hard, though; his ankle had twisted out from underneath him. He considered himself fortunate this time, considering the bruising his rib cage had gotten last time he had phased through a floor. And that time the distance was only a small portion of the distance he had just traveled.
Having finished his survey of the area around him, he glanced back down at the diagram in his hand. The computer terminal that was there to control the security grid was in a cavern several hundred feet away. Twisting the head of the flashlight to broaden the beam, Jesse started down the hallway, making observations as he went. There was definitely dust lying around, but most of it was centered in the area where he had landed. In addition to keeping people out the security grid must have sealed most of the area from exposure, thus keeping the dust out as well – hence the pile of it where he had landed. The dust had fallen off the rock exposed to the cavern. He was pleased to see that there were no cobwebs, and he hadn't seen any other living creatures. Adam must have done a thermal scan, making sure there were no living things inside that could mess with the equipment, before sealing the place off.
After 10 minutes, several strange turns and several studies of the diagram, Jesse reached the security terminal. He made a cursory examination of the equipment, which essentially consisted of three flat screen monitors and an upright processing unit on the left side resting on a countertop attached to a wall, and then flipped the power switch and waited for the equipment to run the standard self-diagnostic that was initiated on start up. While he waited, he jerry-rigged the flashlight to shine where he needed it without him having to hold it up.
Finally, the computer flashed a dialogue box indicating its readiness. Typing in the requisite passwords, Jesse found his way to the mainframe. The first thing he found, however, had nothing to do with the security grid. Jesse couldn't hold back a small glimmer of amusement. It seemed Adam did have some priorities straight. The first thing the computer directed him to do was access and activate the ventilation system, to make sure that there was oxygenated air circulating the cave. It made sense. Even with such a large area, and only one person, after a few hours the air was sure to become saturated with carbon dioxide, poisoning the occupants. Doing as the computer prompted – repeatedly entering passwords and decrypting codes – Jesse activated the air vents.
After doing so, he was finally able to reach the security files. Taking a cursory look at the system map and lines of code, he sighed. This was going to take a while. He'd have to be careful too. It seemed as though Adam had installed numerous security firewalls and protection measures. Just in case anyone else managed to discover the cave's existence; just in case anyone else managed to get through 100 feet of rock and into the cave; just in case anyone managed to have the passwords to get past the initial start-up sequence. Jesse's thoughts were sarcastic. Still, better to make sure it was someone friendly before allowing access. Adam had a point, there. Jesse pushed aside his pessimistic thoughts about Adam, knowing they wouldn't help him here.
Jesse shrugged out of his jacket and ran his hand through his hair. He was glad that he had cut it – he had wanted to disguise his look a little, and for him, the best way was by cutting his hair. It gave him a very different appearance than a few days ago – emphasizing instead of hiding his firm facial features – but he was still unaccustomed to the shorter length. Giving up on his hair, he automatically reached behind him for the chair – and found there wasn't one. He laughed. Adam may have been brilliant, but he often forgot the most mundane of things. Given the height of the counter, he would have to stand while he made his way through the security levels. The next few hours were going to be very long ones indeed.