*****
“Stop right there,” Lola commanded, holding a sonic blade near the neck of the newcomer, as he exited the lift.
“Mayor John Grayson,” Hannah identified. “Why are you here?”
“I could say the same for you. This is my office after all…” John replied. “And I see you brought two other former citizens with you,” John added trying to sound nonchalant.
“You know who we are?” Nathan asked.
“Of course I do, I am Mayor of P1, aren’t I?” John replied. “Listen to me Hannah, I know why you’re here and I can help,” John continued. “Provided of course you call off your bodyguard.”
“I’m not her bodyguard,” Lola responded flatly, while holding the blade firmly in its place.
“I see… Well, are you willing to hear me out before you kill me?” John asked.
“No…” Lola responded.
“Yes,” Hannah interjected. “Let’s hear what he has to say,” Hannah added and after a prolonged pause Lola withdrew her blade.
“I don’t trust him,” Lola said.
“What happened to her, her file classified her personality as jovial; for that matter what happened to you?” John asked as he made to walk to his desk.
“Stop right there,” Hannah commanded, keeping her weapon trained on him. “You kicked me out, remember? Duke, sit at his desk, watch his computer and make sure we aren’t been observed in here,” Hannah added, silently wishing that she had done that earlier. “In case you’re confused, I’m the one asking the questions here,” Hannah said to John. “What do you know?”
“Direct as usual, at least that much hasn’t changed,” John replied with a smile. “You are here for the same reason that I am, Atlas. This all powerful AI doesn’t have Safe Haven’s best interests in mind and I intend to put a stop to it.”
“And how do you plan on doing that?” Lola asked.
“Unlike you, I have unrestricted access to the Sky Hub,” John replied, waving a key-card in his hand.
“What about Select?” Hannah asked.
“I am sure that you have already taken steps to resolve that problem,” John replied.
“You’re right, I have,” Hannah responded as she lowered her sidearm.
“Why do you look so surprised Lola? Did you think that as Mayor I would sit back and watch Safe Haven destroy itself? This is my home too and they are my people,” John said to Lola, who responded with silence.
“He has the code we need,” Hannah said.
“It doesn’t mean he has to come with us,” Lola responded.
“True, but what if we encounter another access point, or something else that requires high level codes?” Nathan said.
“Alright then John, it looks like I have no other choice but to trust you,” Hannah said. “Let’s go, you lead the way.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” John replied and started to approach the security door in the office, which hid the lift that led to the Sky Hub.
“Duke, I need you to stay here,” Hannah said to Nathan as he began to rise from John’s desk. “Keep an eye on his computer and make sure no one else is able to access this floor, we don’t want any more surprises,” Nathan nodded, resuming his position.
“Let’s go ladies,” John said impatiently from inside the lift, at the other side of the security door, Lola and Hannah joined him and the lift doors closed. “Oh, by the way Atlas’s Sky Hub has some sort of field that sometimes causes problems with electronic devices,” John added as the lift began its long ascent.