Page 122 of Implode

I struggle to get free, wiggling and stomping on his foot to try to get him to loosen his hold.

The demented clown chuckles with a demonic howl. “You can’t get away, sweets. You are the main attraction.”

31

NIC

“I feel very uneasy,” I admit, showing Asher the control room where I have all of the cameras set up. I sent away all of the staff and just gave some excuse that I’m doing some software updates—which is a lie. I can’t afford to tip anyone off with my fears.

“You installed all of these?” Asher asks, looking over all of the equipment and taking some pictures with his phone to reference later, I assume.

“Yeah. As soon as I took on the job, I made it a mission to basically start from scratch. I even cleaned house here and”—I pause as I pinch the bridge of my nose—“got tipped off that one of my former workers is working with your man, Tyler. I now no longer believe it. I think the whole plan was for me to become disloyal to those that deserve my trust.”

“Who shared all of this information with you?”

“The second lead security officer here, Dan King.”

“What happened with your first?”

“Eugene didn’t make the cut. He and Dan were vying for the top position prior to me joining the team. However, Eugene kept having breaches on his watch. So, I fired him.”

“And Dan?”

“Trying to make a name for himself. He’s a hard worker.”

“Then start with him,” Asher says flatly. “Let’s put a tracker on him and see what he’s been up to.”

I nod. “I’ve been thinking the same thing.” I’ve been avoiding using my skill set, but these vague threats have gone on for way too long. “I just wish I knew a motive that would help me to understand why anyone would want to break into HH. I had this place running like a fortress.”

“Then it’s probably an in-house job.”

“Again, I agree with you,” I admit. “But that still leaves the question of who is sending my girlfriend photos as threats and breaking into her apartment. The image that Tyler sent over appears to be of a female.”

“Perhaps everything is connected? Someone joining forces for a common goal?”

“Yeah…maybe.”

“Have you been checking motion during the evening and following through by looking through the recorded footage?”

“Yeah, but I never got any notifications…well, at least not over the past three weeks.”

“So, the cleaning crew or night guard doing security sweeps doesn’t set off your notifications?” Asher inquires.

I think about it and inwardly scold myself for not cross-referencing the crew schedule with my notification dashboard. “Something is off. I should definitely be getting some sort of warning.”

“Maybe you are being tested to see how well you are paying attention. Let’s take a look at your sensors. Do you have remote access or just physical?”

“Both.”

“Well,” Asher says, leaning against one of the tables, “let’s turn them all on and see if your dashboard will light up like a Christmas tree. How many people are present in the building right now?”

“Probably around six hundred, give or take. Teams often stagger lunch breaks.”

“Surely with that many people, you will get some action,” he says coolly.

“I have everything set up in my office behind a hidden locked panel.”

“Then let’s head there.”

---