Harmonics: Rise of the Magician

  *****

  Jorge listened carefully as the voice issued instructions. He had heard the voice only one other time in his life, and that was when he had found himself in quite the pickle. He had listened to the voice that time too, and had been very thankful ever since. The voice spoke rapidly through the comm. Jorge listened intently, making mental notes about his assignment. The voice finished and the comm went dead. Sixteen minutes. Jorge checked his timepiece and started for the elevator.

  After pulling on gloves, he pulled out the security card that an anonymous man had slipped into his pocket the first day on the job, and directed the elevator to the secured floor. Upon exiting, Jorge turned up the hallway.

  Fifteen minutes left.

  The dead guard was lying just inside the door. Jorge had expected as much. The doorway itself was scrunched upwards from the floor and the sides bowed outward, giving it a funhouse look. Jorge drew his sidearm, stepped over the guard, careful not to touch the body or anything around it, and entered the apartment. The light filtering in from the hallway was the only thing illuminating the room. The seconds ticked by.

  Fourteen minutes.

  Jorge sparked his torch and drew it alongside his gun. He swept the room and then proceeded to the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and finally the study. He paused to steady his breathing.

  Eleven minutes.

  Jorge found Dr. Shu in his study. Blood covered most of the wall. Jorge checked the floor. There was no way around treading on the blood-soaked carpet. He quickly holstered his sidearm and stepped into the room. He put two fingers on Dr. Shu's neck, confirming what he already knew. Jorge took out a small vid feeder and logged in to the encrypted server with the credentials the voice had given him.

  Nine minutes.

  Jorge started to stream vids of the room, close ups of Dr. Shu and the blood spattered walls. He walked backwards out of the room and got shots of the remainder of the apartment and finished with the doorway and the dead guard.

  Five minutes.

  Jorge stowed the vid feeder and pulled out another small device and waited for it to boot up.

  Four minutes.

  He flipped it open and then ran it above the guard, the floor of the doorway, the doorframe, and just outside of the apartment.

  Three minutes.

  He checked the readings, and like the vid feeder stowed the device. Jorge moved down the hallway and hit the stairwell. He flew down the stairs and exited one floor beneath the secured floor. He raced down the hallway as he pulled the small device out once again.

  One minute.

  Looking up at the ceiling and the end of the hallway Jorge found the spot right below Dr. Shu's apartment. Again he reached up and passed the device below the ceiling and around the area. He checked the readings and sent the log to the same encrypted server as the vids. The master alarm sounded.

  Jorge started back towards the stairs just as someone came around the corner at the end of the hallway. Jorge reached for his sidearm, but then stopped as the man approaching him held out his ID badge. The tactical gear, assault helmet, and Tiger 35 rifle also made Jorge think twice about pulling his weapon.

  "That hallway clear?" called out Jorge to the man. The visor of the helmet nodded up and down. "Good, I'll check the floor above."

  Jorge quickly moved past the man before he had to answer any questions about his assigned floor duty. Once in the stairwell, Jorge checked that the file had uploaded successfully and then ran upstairs as if for the first time.