Deeks took care to keep his head down as he passed the numerous security cameras, consulting a clipboard as if deep in analysis, and he reached Lab Three without incident. To be sure, alarm bells were ringing throughout the complex, and he saw groups of armed security guards stationed at several intersections, but he was sure that nobody was concerned with the whereabouts of the lowly, insignificant Technician Deeks at this perilous time.
The Tech swept his security pass through the card slot on the lab door, but he was greeted by a dull buzz, and a flashing red light told him his access had been denied. Frowning, he studied the card, wiped the magnetic strip on his white coat and tried again, with the same outcome.
So that bastard, Terrence, locked me out, did he? Deeks thought. Is he ever going to be surprised when he finds out I know some access codes that he doesn't even know exist!
He had not made a complete waste of his life as a Technician, and he had spent a lot of time delving into mysteries of the security systems.
Still, that was not going to get him through this door, so he pressed the 'Attention' button by the card slot. After a few moments, the door opened, and he felt pleased to see the familiar Technician Redmond standing in the opening. This should make things a little easier.
"Hey, Deeks, what's going on here?" Redmond asked. "First, we had that message over the PA, and now there are all these alarms. What's up?"
"Oh, you know; the usual security SNAFU, Redders," Deeks lied with a fluency born of years of practice. "Pacification didn't take on those two wizards, and they're on the warpath. As far as I know, it's a bit messy, and Terrence wants me to take this girl back to the Security block until things blow over."
Deeks glanced over Redmond's shoulder, and he saw the girl sitting, passive, dull-eyed and beautiful, in the corner of the room. Her long hair flowed in gleaming cascades over her back, and she wore a seductive, clinging dress that left little to the imagination. To the unwillingly celibate Deeks, she represented amatory prospects beyond his most lustful dreams.
Redmond folded his arms across his chest. "Why didn't you just swipe in?" he asked, with a trace of suspicion.
"Ah, you know, Redders. I left my card in this coat when it went for washing," replied Deeks. "Bloody thing doesn't work worth a damn now."
Redmond frowned. "I can't let you take her without written authorisation from Terrence or Armitage," he said. "You know the rules as well as I do, Deeky: if it ain't in writing, it ain't worth a damn."
"Oh, come on Redmond, all hell could be breaking loose out there," the portly Technician whined. "Cut me some bloody slack, won't you? The situation isn't exactly what you might call nominal right now. Believe me, I'd rather be in my bed right now, but I have my orders.
"All I know is that Terrence told me to take the girl. You can check with him if you want."
Deeks gambled that Redmond would not go that far: although a loyal Haven man, he would surely not want to risk the Senior Technician's wrath by interrupting him during a possible emergency situation.
At last, Redmond stepped aside. "Okay, Deeky, take her, then," he said shaking his head in apparent resignation. "To tell you the truth, this little bitch has been more trouble than she's worth; she tried to take my eyes out with a bloody metal comb before the drugs took hold. She bites, too. I had to use a double dose, so you shouldn't have too much trouble with her."
That's just what I wanted to hear, Deeks thought.
He would hack into the central control system and give himself sysop privileges, erasing all traces of his actions from the database; then, he could find himself a nice little love-nest until everything had resolved itself. Sated and satisfied, he would be in good shape to take command when the people of Haven cried out for a new leader.
"Oh, just one last thing, Redders," he said. "Better give me a few ampoules of those meds. I don't want her turning nasty on me."
"Sure thing, Deeks; all I can say is, you're welcome to her," Redmond said.
Deeks suppressed a smile as he led the docile, bleary-eyed girl out of the lab: this was going to be good.
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Chapter 11: Impasse
Grimm sat up and shook his pounding head in an attempt to rectify his blurred vision. That was a mistake; the room seemed to swirl around him, stirring nauseous sensations in his stomach and sending hot waves of pain through his head.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Questor Grimm," a familiar voice said, and Grimm managed, with some difficulty, to focus on the figure in front of him.
"Oh, hello, Crest," the Questor muttered.
As his vision cleared, he saw a scene of devastation within the Haven Control Room. Shattered equipment sparked and sputtered, illumination flickered fitfully, and dark-red stains covered a large part of the room. With care, he managed to turn his head without causing additional distress, and he saw the mighty albino, Tordun, standing in an empty doorway, brandishing his sword and shouting dire imprecations at an unseen foe. Armitage was cowering under a bank of technological equipment, his ashen face a mask of sheer terror.
To his right, he saw Xylox massaging the back of his neck. The senior mage wore an expression that promised bloody retribution to whoever might oppose him, and Grimm knew his ill-tempered colleague was no forgiving soul.
"What happened, Crest?" the young thaumaturge asked, turning back to the elven thief. "I remember Questor Xylox blowing in the door, and then… nothing. What devilish Technology laid us both low with such consummate ease?"
Despite the pain in his head, he had not forgotten his solemn promise to Xylox to use only formal speech until the Quest was resolved.
"Ah, Questor Grimm, you were a little too unwary of more mundane threats, such as this." The thief lifted a thick rod of metal from the perforated metal floor. "You were hit on the head; nothing more. Just give thanks to your little friend, Thribble. He managed to free Tordun and me in time to save your skins."
The imp's grey, stubbly head popped up from one of Crest's many pockets.
"Yes, it was once again your trusty, quick-thinking friend, Thribble, who saved you, human!" the tiny demon crowed. "I sent the message that freed you from Armitage's rule, I stopped them from shooting noxious vapours at you, and I freed the two warriors; what stories I shall have to tell, when I return to my own kind!"
"Your modesty and humility overwhelm me, Thribble," Grimm said to his netherworld friend, in a deadpan voice. "Nonetheless, I thank you for our deliverance. You are a resourceful fellow, and it is good to have you around. I will not try to leave you behind again; as far as I am concerned, you may accompany me on all my future Quests.
"If any," he muttered: Xylox's threat to have the young Questor dismissed from the Guild still hung over his head like a dark thundercloud.
"Thank you, Questor Grimm," the demon replied. "Humility is one of my besetting virtues; indeed, I believe that I am one of the most modest…"
"A soldier is approaching!" Tordun cried from the doorway, cutting off Thribble's self-indulgent monologue. "He is waving a white flag of truce; what should I do?"
"Is he alone?" Xylox asked.
"So it seems," the mountainous albino rumbled.
"Let him come," Xylox said. "A single man can pose little threat to the four of us."
"Very well, Haven man," Tordun yelled into the corridor. "Approach with your hands in plain sight, and leave any thoughts of deception or misguided heroism at the door. We have Armitage here, a lot of important-looking machinery, and a pair of very angry Questors with sore heads."