Chapter 9
December, 31st, 2006
Jenni could barely breathe. She was sure that everybody knew. She was sure that everybody was looking at her with the utmost suspicion. She kept her eyes trained to the ground, as she walked through the upstairs offices. She just wanted to get into the lab. She needed to get the medication over to Ethan, before it was too late.
She reached her lab door and pushed it open. “Jenni,” Mr. Rogers called from behind her, forcing her to turn and ignore the room that she had been so eager to reach. “I was hoping that I could have a word with you.”
“Sure,” Jenni nodded.
“It’s about Ethan,” Mr. Rogers frowned at her.
“What about him?” Jenni could feel her cheeks starting to flush. He knew. He knew that she was trying to break Ethan out. That’s why he hadn’t arranged their final interview. That was why she hadn’t managed to get the medication over to him.
“Well, this is kind of a sensitive subject,” Mr. Rogers looked uncomfortable. “You see, all of our interview rooms, have a certain level of security measures attached to them. Obviously we don’t have cameras and recording equipment constantly running in them, because that would just be asking for trouble. We do have cameras, which are temperature controlled though. They kick in whenever the room hits a certain temperature,” he paused to take a breath. “It’s the temperature that a room rises to when a fight is taking place,” he explained. “Only, when one of the cameras turned on in an interview room a few days ago, it wasn’t a fight that was shown on the screen,” he looked away from Jenni. “It was you.”
“Oh,” Jenni wasn’t sure what to say. She was embarrassed, but kind of relieved that he wasn’t talking about the break out plan she’d devised.
“Needless to say, I can’t have you working with Ethan anymore,” Mr. Rogers told her. “I did think about dismissing you completely, but I like your father, so I’m not going to do that.”
“What do you mean I can’t work with Ethan anymore?” Jenni cut Mr. Rogers off. She could feel her heart starting to race. If she couldn’t see Ethan, then how would she slip him his medication? How would she ensure his cell was unlocked, so he could escape and start the fire, which would provide him with the distraction needed to get out of the building?
“You crossed a line Jenni,” Mr. Rogers frowned at her. “You can’t sleep with the captives. They’re not even people. I don’t think you understand the degree of wrong you’ve reached.”
Jenni shook head, but she didn’t argue. There was no point. She was going to need to find a different way to get to Ethan. “Okay,” she tried to smile at Mr. Rogers. “Well, I appreciate the fact that you’re not firing me.”
“Good,” he nodded and then walked off in the opposite direction to her.
Jenni went into her lab and grabbed the small vial of red liquid from the fridge, where she’d put it the night before. She knew that Ethan only had one question left to answer, before he would be put down for his execution, so he wouldn’t be in the interview room for long.
She headed towards his cell with her eyes open. She’d been right about the date. The place seemed empty as compared to normal. She made it to his cell and unlocked it. There was a small bed pushed up against one of the brick walls. She walked over to it quickly and hid the vial with the key to the cell and the left.
It was the best she could do. If she spoke to him directly then it might arouse suspicion. She quickly closed the door to the cell and walked away. She needed to get out of the building. She needed to get to the forest. “Jenni, I need to talk to you,” her father’s voice called from somewhere behind her. “Can you wait a minute?”
Jenni stopped. She couldn’t walk away from her dad. “What’s wrong?” she asked, when he’d caught up with her.
“I’ve just been speaking to Mr. Rogers,” he looked deeply unhappy. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done to my reputation?”
“I don’t think has anything to do with you,” Jenni frowned at him. “I’m sure Mr. Rogers knows that it was me.”
Her dad shook his head. “You don’t understand,” he looked angry. “I’m the man with the freak for a daughter. I’m the man whose daughter slept with a freaking alien,” a look of disgust poured over him. “I raised you better than that. I raised you to stand for the right side.”
“I am standing for the right side,” Jenni let her eyes meet his. He frowned. He could see her inner confidence and it rattled him.
“What have you done?” he asked her, as sirens started to blare.
Jenni’s hands shot up to her ears. The blaring sirens were almost too much to take. She could feel her eardrums vibrating in her head. “I didn’t do anything,” she shrugged. “I was with you the whole the time.” She turned, before her dad could say anything. If Ethan was doing his part of the plan right, then the bunker wouldn’t be safe for much longer.
The few workers who were at work were all at the stairs. A desperate panic was starting to fill the atmosphere, as people who were usually friends fought to get in front of each other. Jenni didn’t push or shove. She watched for open spaces and took them, until she’d reached the front door.
The sound of people screaming pierced the air around her. The fire was spreading quickly over the building as though it was made out matchsticks. She watched, as the sky dimmed around her and the snow stopped falling., Her great plan sparked into life.
*****
THE END