. Zarah knocked on the door again. Shallsee sighed.
"He's not here, Zarah. Can we go look for him somewhere else?
Maybe he's in Corridor 15."
"Give me one more minute. I want to talk to the man," Zarah
said, knocking again. Still no answer. She tried the door handle. It
was locked. She jiggled the handle. Still locked.
"It's not going to open, dear. What next, are you going to cross
your arms and nod your head?" Shallsee was getting impatient. They had
been there for almost ten minutes.
"Nod my head?"
"Sorry, pop culture reference. Ignore it." Shallsee turned to
leave when she heard the door open. Of course, can't have a lock in
here that she can't open. They both entered Sydney's office.
******
"OK, what are we looking for?" Shallsee leaned back in Sydney's
chair. Zarah had been rummaging through his files for a few minutes.
"Information." Zarah shut the filing cabinet. "It's not here. But
I think.... Would he have left it there?" She walked towards the door.
"I have to go see an old friend. See you later." She walked out the
door.
Count to ten, Shallsee told herself. She is only 18. Allow her to
act like it for one minute a week. I wonder if I can still make it to
the late movie in town. If I speed. Oh well. I can get there a few
minutes late. First ten minutes are previews anyway. She got up and
left the room, being careful to lock the door behind her.
****
Zarah entered the control room just as the sim concluded. The
pretender was a teenager, a bit younger than Alia. He was discussing
the sim's outcome with one of the doctors. Zarah entered the sim room.
"Micheal?" The boy looked up. He grinned and waved at her. He
said something to the doctor, who nodded and left. He loped over to
where Zarah stood. "Good sim?"
"Yes. It worked just like I thought. It is possible to create the
right conditions on the station to simulate optimum crystal growth.
Why are you here?" Micheal's voice had changed a year earlier, and
could still pitch high when he was excited.
"I can't come and see my favorite pretender without a reason?"
Zarah said with a smile. He was so like a child still. He would smile
at anything. To her answer, he laughed.
"Good reason! Not the real one today, but I like it. So, dearest
one, what can I do for you today?" Micheal asked with a bow.
"Charmer. I need a file. And I can't find it," Zarah said,
motioning him to follow her. They walked into the hall. "It contains
some data crucial to my latest project."
"But why ask me? If you need a computer hacker, ask Jane. She is
the best hacker we have now." Micheal sounded a bit confused. But
then, Zarah had never made much sense to him. Who would want to work
in the Tower? With that much power, why not just leave the Centre? But
Zarah's mind worked in mysterious ways.
"This isn't computer data. It is a psychiatric file from more
than twenty six years ago." Zarah stopped by the elevator. "It has
been hidden by one of the doctors, and I need it. Soon."
"So why ask me?" Micheal frowned. This didn't sound good. In fact, it sounded bad. Very bad.
"You can help me. So are you in or out?"
"One question. What was the name of the patient?" Micheal didn't
like the way Zarah paused.
"Catherine Parker."
Micheal turned around without a word. He started to walk back
towards the sim room. He didn't stop when Zarah called him. He didn't
stop when he heard her running after him. Only when she grabbed his
arm did he stop. She had never grabbed him before. In fact, he had
never seen her touch anyone.
"I need your help on this. I have to find that file. And soon.
Time is running out," Zarah asked. Micheal was astonished. He had
never seen this much emotion in her. Normally, she was cool and calm,
too calm. Very detached. But now, her cheeks were flushed and her eyes
sparking. Her tone almost sounded like begging. Zarah, begging? This
scared him even more. Here was a woman who had single handily taken on
the Tower administration, forced Raines out of the Firestarter
project, could make even the most unfazable sweepers shudder with
terror at the mere sound of her voice, and she was asking HIM for
help. But Catherine Parker? Everyone knew what happened to her. She
asked the wrong questions. She crossed the wrong people. It was said
that anyone who tried to find out what happened to her would end up
sharing her fate. And that made Micheal scared. He knew his life
hinged only on his pretender abilities. If they ever failed, he would
be dead. If he ever crossed the people who ran the Centre, he would be
dead. But he would do anything for Zarah.
He swallowed his concerns, and asked, "What exactly do I have to
do?"
"Just become someone else, and answer a few questions," Zarah
said, smiling at him. She held his hand in hers, took his arm, and
walked down the hall with him.
*********
Alia skipped down the hall, past the elevator and into Miss
Parker's office. She wasn't in. Frowning, Alia went to Sydney's
office. Not in. Shallsee. Not in. It seemed everyone was busy. Alia
stood in the middle of the hall and turned in one place. She flung her
arms out and spun around. Round and around and around we go, where we
stop, no body know. Spinning....
Stop. Alia tried to stand still and upright, but couldn't. She
stumbled against the wall. Why was that so fun? Disturbing inner ear
equilibrium. Gettin' dizzy. My, but it was fun. She giggled and
continued down the hall. Maybe I'll go see Zarah. See how the dear is
doing. Back to the elevator. Type in security code. Up, up and away...
Long elevator ride. Alia yawned to pop her ears as the lift rose
out of the earth, into the sky. Down the hall. Why did the carpet in
here suck up all the sound? It was like walking through a mausoleum.
Not that Alia had ever done so, but she had heard Shallsee use the
expression one time and it sounded neat. Stop, knock on the door.
"Hello? Zarah? It's me," Alia said through the door. Silence, a
thump, a muffled giggle and then the door opened. It was Micheal. He
smiled shyly at her. She smiled back.
"Alia? Come in here, and get Micheal to shut the door," Zarah's
voice drifted past the boy in the doorway. Micheal stood to one side
as Alia brushed past him. She felt strange at being this close to him.
But it was a good strange. Zarah was sitting on the couch by the wall,
papers strewn everywhere. She looked tired, but satisfied. "We found
it. The major reason."
"Huh? I don't get it...." Alia looked from Zarah to Micheal.
"What are we talking about?"
"Never mind. I have to go drop this off. Do you want to stay
here? We can get something to eat later." Zarah stood and walked to
the entrance. She turned to look back at the children, now sitting
side by side on the couch. "Micheal, do you want to keep her company?"
Micheal looked at Alia, then quickly away. "Sure." Zarah turned
and left the room. She leaned back against the closed door and smiled
to herself. She could see the confusion in their eyes. It was so cute,
their little forays into puppy love. What a strange expression, puppy
love. But it did describe the two. Alia always had a small grin when
she was near him, and Micheal acted very shy around Alia when Zarah
was about. But when she wasn't.... Well, she decided to let well
enough alone. They were both relative innocents in this whole field,
and may as well learn together.
This train of thought had brought Zarah to the elevator. This
entire project revolves around elevators. We go up, we go down, we
live and die. Poor Cathy. Poor Missy. Poor me. The last thought made
her chuckle. Then she sobered. And a remembrance made her close her
eyes in pain. Was it watching her sister and Micheal playing shy? Or
was it a thought of Cathy's demise? She couldn't put her finger on
what had dragged the memory to the surface. People wondered why she
was so aloof, so .... what was that word one sweeper used? Frigid? She
just didn't want anyone to touch her. She felt insecure being so close
to people. She didn't trust a lot of people, not since.... She slammed
her thoughts down. She would NOT think of that. Not now. Too much
depended on her completing this project. And she needed her complete
concentration. She could not dwell on past mistakes. And this one hurt
too much to remember. She got off the elevator, in just a bit more
pain than before.
A dull pain in her chest, just below her breastbone. But it was
nothing she couldn't handle.
She walked down the hall.
