Seb is gone. Why haven’t you inserted the drive yet?
Milo:
Because there are cameras! They’re gonna know!
Unknown:
Don’t worry about the cameras. They won’t be an issue once you insert the drive.
Milo:
But… There’s a freaking cage down here! I’m freaking out!
Unknown:
Just fucking do it, Milo. What did I say about questioning me?
Milo:
You’re a pushy dung nugget, you know that?
Unknown:
MILO!
Milo:
OKAY! I’M DOING IT!
Taking a deep, shaky breath, I forced myself to get up and cross the room to the stack of modems and drivers that controlled all the tech in this room.
The war-drive was a simple USB stick, and it took all of three seconds for me to find an empty port and install it.
A tiny light on the side of the drive lit up, and I watched as it blinked once, twice,threetimes, before a friendly, feminine voice flooded the speakers in the room.
“Ah, that’s better. Thank you, Milo.”
“Uhh, NOVA?” I asked, recognizing her as The Forgotten’s AI.
“The one and only!” she chirped, and I felt the corner of my mouth twitch.
“Things are going to get messy for a bit, but just do what we say, and you’ll be back with your mom soon, okay?”
“Uhm, yeah, okay,” I agreed, just as the muffled sound of what sounded like an alarm began to sound outside The Cave.
WARNING, WARNING, ALL NEUROVANCE EMPLOYEES ARE ASKED TO EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL.
I frowned, wondering for a moment if I should use this opportunity to escape, when NOVA’s cheerful voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Just stay put, Milo. He’s coming.”
I didn’t need to ask who was coming, and my suspicions were proven correct when the elevator opened to reveal the masked man who had turned my entire life upside down.
Iwas so fucking close.
Milo was standing next to the stack, looking as shell-shocked as I was feeling. The cage that I’d spent most of the last two years rotting in mocked me, and I did my best not to look at it so I could focus on the task at hand.
It would be nothing but a pile of rubble soon.
