“Please close the door,” the General said as the second guard entered the room. He looked at both of them without saying a word for almost a minute. This time of silence solidified that General Archon was in control, and he was letting them know it. It also had the extra benefit of increasing the fear level of those who stood on the opposite side of the General’s desk.

The General picked up the report attached to a clipboard.

“Mr. Rawlins,” the General began.

“Yes, sir,” Rawlins stated a little too loud for the small office.

“I see that you clocked in a few minutes late for your shift.”

“It was only one minute, sir.”

“Could you explain to me why you clocked in a minute late?” Archon slammed the clipboard down to emphasize his displeasure.

“It wasn’t my fault…” Rawlins stammered. “She couldn’t figure out the simple directions I was giving her.”

“Her?  Who her?”

“Just as I entered the lobby, some lady asked me where the nearest subway terminal was. I tried to explain it to her, but she kept getting confused. She kept turning the map this way and that way…” Rawlins paused. “I’m sorry, sir,” Rawlins pleaded. “It will not happen again.”

The General turned to Wilson.

“And what about you?”

“I have no excuse, sir.”

The General let a smile creep onto the edges of his mouth.

“Then maybe you can give me a reason.”

“Had to move a bike, sir.”

Wilson was all business. The General wished he could hire more like Wilson. In order to maintain the cover of the building above them, they had to rely more on the sophisticated security system to protect the assets contained in the lower levels of the building and use civilian unarmed guards from a local agency. This made sure that no one questioned the security in place at the building.

“And why did you have to move this bike?”

“It was a hazard. She had parked it across the entrance.”

“She?” General Archon’s internal alarms sounded.

“The bike messenger. She left it leaning on one of the doors. I was moving it when she ran out and attacked me.”

“Attacked you?”

“Well, not really attacked, but when she grabbed the bike out of my hands, she sort of pushed me. I said some things, she said some things. It was over quickly. But it still made me late, and I apologize for that.”

The General looked at them both. He turned to Rawlins.

“Can you describe the girl you helped?”

Rawlins scrunched his eyes as he concentrated.

“She was Caucasian. About five foot nine, a hundred and twenty pounds, sandy blonde hair, blue eyes.”

Wilson’s mouth opened in shock. The General noticed.

“Something wrong, Wilson?”

“That’s how I would have described the bike messenger.”

***

Denny looked around and didn’t see any computers in this room either. This was the third room he had tried and with each failure Denny became more agitated. Denny silently cursed as he thought about spending more time wandering around down here with General Archon also wandering about. The longer he was down here the greater his chances were of being discovered and captured.

Denny needed to find a computer and connect the satellite modem Nick had provided to the USB port. Denny peeked into the hallway. It was empty. He stepped out of the room and moved on to the next door. This one was locked but Denny made short work with the pick kit, and the latch clicked its surrender in less than fifteen seconds. Denny opened the door hoping that this room held the computer that Nick was looking for. As far as Denny was concerned he would accept any computer at this point.

***

“Did she touch you as well?” Archon asked Rawlins.

“I thought somebody touched me when I was showing her the subway on the map. I looked around and didn’t see anyone near me. She was looking at the map and hadn’t reacted, so I dismissed it.”

General Archon told both the guards to turn around and stand still. He went up behind Wilson and ran his hand along the shoulders and around the neck. He pulled his hand away and something the same color as the guard’s uniform was sticking to his hand. The General looked at it closer and saw that it was a micro tracking device. He ran his hand along Rawlins’ uniform and got another one just like the first.

Archon remembered that he rode in the elevator with someone he didn’t know. He stood with his back to the wall and the other man stood in front of him the entire time.

Unless.

The General lifted his shoe and saw the dot that was the same color as the guard’s uniform stand out against the black tread of his boot. He pulled it off and set it on the table with the other two transmitters.

“What floor did the new visitor go to?”

“Which visitor?” Wilson asked.

“The one who rode in the elevator with me,” Archon demanded.

“Mr. Bloom?” Wilson asked. “Um, Five, sir.”

That was the same floor as the archive. If someone gained access to any computer on that floor, he would have immediate access to everything in Digital Storm.

“Is there anyone else here?” Archon asked.

“Only you and the visitor from section seven. It has been a pretty quiet morning.”

“It’s about to get a lot noisier.” The General tossed the three microdots onto the desk. He radioed the other guards and ordered them to guard the entrance to the main elevator and restrict access to everyone, no exceptions. The General looked at the two guards before him.

What he really wanted was a team of highly trained soldiers. Archon looked at these men who were nothing more than glorified crossing guards. He had no choice but to use them. This was a numbers game and these were the only numbers he had to play with.

“Either of you ever shoot a gun?”