A/N: Again, beta-read by the wonderful ivefoundmygoldfish(melonpanparade)!
The handler's name Siegmund comes from the Niebelungenlied, a German saga.
Chapter Eight: Time Pressure
They walked in silence, each of them dealing with the apprehension of what lay ahead on their own. Although Kay walked slightly ahead of her, he'd matched his strides to hers, all the while maintaining the casual walk of a scientist making his way to their lunch break. His confidence in his abilities grounded Morgana somewhat, and she forced her breathing to stay even as they neared the lift.
Kay opened the door with his ID. After checking no one was inside, they both stepped in and the doors closed behind them. Without hesitating, Kay swiftly pulled out a small black card from his coat pocket, turned to the control panel and held it in front of the ID reader. A faint clicking could be heard, then silence.
They held their breath for a moment, both standing motionless side by side.
"Okay, I'm in." Morgana almost jumped at the voice in her ear, but heaved a sigh of relief when she realised who was contacting them.
"Siegmund," Kay greeted their – or rather Morgana's – handler through the inbuilt microphone of his own Kingsman-issue glasses. "Are we ready to proceed?"
"Yes. I've got control over the security cameras in the lift and on the sixth floor. But remember, beyond that I'm powerless."
"Understood,"Morgana replied steadily.
There was no going back now. Not that she'd ever back down from a challenge. Kay seemed to know that, too. He nodded reassuringly at her – the faintest of smiles ghosting over his normally steeled features – and unlocked the door with his ID.
"Good luck, Morgana."
The doors opened to reveal the deserted corridor of the sixth floor, and Morgana had no chance to reply. She stepped out and the doors closed behind her, leaving her alone. It had been clear from the beginning that Kay would not be able to accompany her, since his presence would cause questions. Should she fail, at least Kay wouldn't be an immediate suspect. It was a small victory, and a compromise Morgana was more than willing to take, if it meant a second chance.
Having left the safety of the lift behind, Morgana didn't speak but tapped her glasses instead.
"I'm here," Siegmund confirmed. "You have a time window of approximately 45 minutes before I lose control over the cameras and won't be able to suppress the signal that disrupts the transmission feed anymore."
Morgana nodded, confirming she understood his warning. If she exceeded the time limit, she would not only be blind, but security would spot her in seconds.
"The sixth floor has one main laboratory, seven smaller ones, one conference room, and an offices corridor," Siegmund explained while Morgana moved forward. "Try to stay away from the offices, if possible."
She came to a halt before a fireproof door; to her right was what Siegmund confirmed as the wing that harboured the offices and to the left another corridor leading to the conference room and two storage rooms.
Peering through the door window, Morgana made out two scientists currently occupied with their experiments. Although her presence alone might be enough to convince the employees that she was authorised to be on the sixth floor, it would be a risk she wasn't willing to take. But this laboratory was the only access to the rest of the floor. Save for the office wing.
She knew from Kay that the neurotoxin was tested in a laboratory used only for that very task, likely one of the smaller ones to not take up too much space.
Quickly making up her mind, Morgana headed to the storage rooms. The closest one held shelves containing files and rarely used equipment. She read through the labels, took two files containing research data on pain suppression, and went back to the laboratory again. After straightening her lab coat, Morgana pushed open the door.
The comm crackled as she stepped over the threshold, and for a terrifying moment Morgana thought she was finally left alone, but the sound stopped as soon as the doors had closed behind her and Siegmund was back in her ear. The scientists merely looked up as she walked through the room, the files firmly in one hand, and returned her nod before getting back to their work.
Not looking back, Morgana opened the door on the other side of the laboratory and stepped out into another long corridor. The lock fell into place with a soft click.
"38 minutes left," Siegmund informed her. Before her were six identical doors, all without a doubt leading to smaller laboratories. She had no choice but to take a look into every room, and 35 minutes to do so without being discovered. Morgana sighed.
~oOo~
"Great, just great!" Eggsy proclaimed sarcastically. Groaning in annoyance, he fished another twig out of his perfectly styled hair.
As it had turned out, the coordinates they found were located in a forest, making it impossible for them to land close by. So they'd been forced to leave the plane on a field about two kilometres away instead, and proceeded to scramble their way through the trees.
Roxy halted to take a look at the GPS, causing Eggsy to almost run into her from behind.
"Hey!"
"We're nearly there. I propose we stop speaking now to minimise the risk of being seen."
Eggsy wasn't sure whether Roxy was simply trying to shut him up or really concerned, but he nodded anyway.
~oOo~
Standing on her tiptoes to have a better view, Morgana peered through the window of the last room. Seeing it empty, she stepped inside and quickly took a look around. No success. Whatever room they used for their research, it wasn't this one. Nor was it any of the other rooms she'd searched.
But Siegmund had said seven, leaving one laboratory she'd not yet searched. Morgana held up six fingers, hoping Siegmund would understand what she needed.
He did, but his voice was apprehensive. "The seventh laboratory is separated from the rest. You'll have to get past the offices to reach it."
Looking at her watch, Morgana cursed inwardly. 25 minutes left.
She hurried back out the room, down the corridor and through the main laboratory as fast as she dared. Surprisingly enough, there had been few scientists so far that had crossed her path, all merely acknowledging her presence. But the office wing would, without a doubt, be more crowded.
Her suspicion was confirmed as she stepped through the doors of the office wing.
Morgana kept her gaze fixed on the files she picked up earlier in an attempt to look busy, and to avoid making eye contact with anyone else. With Siegmund's guidance, she made her way past open and closed office doors, scientists talking in the hallway and a rather stressed looking man in a lab coat running past. She only had to turn around and duck around a corner once, when one of the women who'd seen her as surveyor downstairs unexpectedly exited one of the offices.
It wasn't long before the fireproof, white door of the seventh laboratory appeared before her. Since it was located at one end of the wing and attached to a less used hallway, taking a peek through the window was easy.
Morgana did, and was met by the yellowish colour of a blind blocking her few. A good sign. Holding her breath, she pushed down the door handle.
It didn't move. The door was locked.
Shit.
"I'm sorry, but I can't help you," Siegmund said regretfully. "I have no access to the ID–panels and doors."
Knowing her time was running out, Morgana quickly turned around and walked back to the offices. She only stopped shortly before the biggest room to take a calming breath and take a second look at the door sign, before knocking on the door and pushing it open.
"Professor Lorenz?" Morgana asked, her voice sounding strangely distant in her own ears. Her gaze found the older man sitting in a chair behind a huge desk – Professor Dr. Wolfgang Lorenz, head of the scientific research carried out on the sixth floor.
"Ja?" He looked up from where he was crouched over his papers and gazed at her in puzzlement. Wrinkles under his eyes and around his mouth betrayed the still rich colour of his full brown hair. For a moment, Morgana was reminded of her grandfather – who'd awakened in her the wish to become a doctor – and she almost felt guilty.
The professor's gaze wandered to the name tag sewed onto her coat. "Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen, Frau Dr. Hoffmann?" [How can I help you, Dr. Hoffmann?]
"Herr Dr. Schmidt schickt mich. Er braucht dringend Ihren Rat bei seinen Untersuchungen hinsichtlich zeitweiliger Unterdrückung postsynaptischer Potenziale an Muskelzellen." [Dr. Schmidt sent me. He needs your immediate advice on his research about temporary suppression of postsynaptic potentials on muscle cells.]
He frowned, but seemed to believe her. Morgana had read the name on a file in the storage room. It had been a report on said topic and was dated fairly recent, making it a valid story. But still, since he obviously didn't know her, he had no reason to believe her.
But he nodded and rose from his chair to exit the room and find a man Morgana hoped was currently on his lunch break. She thanked him and pretended to leave the room as well, but suddenly stopped and turned on the doorstep. Just as expected, the professor crashed into her and Morgana let go of the files. They fell to the floor, loose papers covering the laminate.
"Oh Gott, das tut mir leid!" [Oh god, I'm so sorry.]
They simultaneously crouched down to take care of the mess.
He picked up one of the files and read the inscription while placing the papers back inside. "Sie entwickeln neue Analgetika?" [You are developing a new analgesic?]
She flashed him her most charming smile, praying he couldn't hear the thumping of her heart against her ribcage. Painkillers were a topic she could talk about. They were, after all, the medication she prescribed the most. "Nein, nicht ganz. Ich habe einige Untersuchungen in Bezug auf die Verträglichkeit und Kombination verschiedener Analgetika durchgeführt und man hat mir zeitweiligen Zugang zum sechsten Geschoss gewährt um einen Blick in die hier bereits gewonnen Erkenntnisse zu werfen." [No, not really. I'm doing some research on the compatibility of different analgesics and received temporally access to the sixth floor to take a look at your results.]
Apparently satisfied by her answer, he handed her back the files. "Dann wünsche ich Ihnen viel Erfolg." [Good luck, then.]
"Danke."
They stood and left the office. Morgana waited until Professor Lorenz had disappeared out of side, before pulling out the ID she'd nicked as he'd rammed into her. She grinned triumphantly, sending a silent 'Thank you' to James for teaching her a few tricks while they'd sat through a tremendous storm in Norway.
"Well done, Morgana," Siegmund congratulated her. "You have 15 minutes left."
Enough time to get in, take what she needed and leave the floor.
After quickly walking back to the laboratory, Morgana held the ID over the panel. The door opened and she stepped into the room. So far so good.
She was about to relax when suddenly the same crackling noise interrupted the feed, only this time getting louder. Morgana turned just in time to see and hear the alarm going off before the doors closed behind her.
As it turned out, 15 minutes had been a miscalculation. Her clock had just hit zero.
Reviews make me extremely happy!