Page 11 of Blackstone's Heart
Lance nodded. "Just about. Alright, the system is set up with voice recognition and biometrics. Place your left hand here."
Krista laid her left palm on the silver disk that lay on the desk. A few seconds later the machine beeped and flashed green. "That's cool."
"Very. Now, for voice recognition. I want you to come up with a phrase that is unique to you. Like, your favorite line from a song or book. The system will read your voice patterns. Even if you have a sore throat, it will still pick up your vocal patterns. It will also recognize stress levels." Tony replied with a chuckle.
"Stress levels?" Jerry questioned.
"Yes. If someone broke in and tried to force Krista to disengage the system, an alarm is immediately sent to us and someone from Blackout would be here within minutes. It would also trigger a lockdown of the house. And for good measure notify Austin's boys in blue." Lance explained as he typed away on the keyboard.
"But what if I just finished a workout and tried to turn it off?" Krista inquired with a sassy lift of her brow.
"Ethan's right you are a smart ass." Lance said without a smile as he glanced over his shoulder at her.
"That kind of stress level is different. The system is designed to detect fear tremors in a person's voice. Even if you don't sound scared, your brain would still release the chemicals that reflect that and the system will pick up on it." Tony grinned.
Krista nodded. She tapped a finger on her chin as she tried to think of a phrase. As a writer phrases were second nature to her. So after several minutes she finally found the perfect one. Nodding to Lance that she was ready, he hit the series of commands to record her voice.
"You do what you have to, to come home to me."
Again, the system beeped its acceptance. She caught Jerry's raised brow at her choice and merely shrugged at him. She turned back to watch Tony and Lance as they finished typing up a few commands.
"And you're all set Krista." Tony stated.
"Sweet. So, how do I work this thing?" Krista asked moving toward the chair.
Lance helped her sit in the computer chair and brought up the main system screen. "Okay, this is the home for all commands for the whole system. Cameras, locks, alarms, audio, all of it. If you want to shut off say the cameras in a specific room or even the whole house for whatever reason you just open the file and select the command."
Krista did as he said. She had been a bit worried that this system would be complicated and that she would inadvertently screw something up. Something she had actually done with her old system.
"Looks like even you can't screw this up sister." Jerry teased.
"Fuck you Jerry." Krista snarled, flipping him the bird without looking away from the screen.
"Thought you were good at computers?" Tony said, hiding his grin.
"Regular computers yes, but security computers like this? Not so much. Hell, I accidentally sent out a call to the fire department with the old system when I was trying to turn it off to replace a battery in one of the smoke detectors." She elaborated somewhat embarassingly.
The men all laughed, except Lance who merely smirked, which made Krista glare at all of them. Lance spoke up first, clearing his throat. "Don't worry about that with this system. We’ve replaced your old smoke detectors with ours. They are solar powered and a backup battery with a lifespan of a year. You'll be fine."
For another fifteen minutes, Lance and Tony showed Krista and Jerry how to use the system. Jerry was impressed and told the guys so. Krista smiled a little at her best friend and agent. Yes, he was a sweet guy with a fun side, but he was as protective of her as her brothers and despite his appearance, he was one hell of a martial artist.
"So, since you've been working here for the last few hours and missed lunch, how about I whip up some chow for you." Krista offered when they came back downstairs.
"We don't turn down free food." Tony grinned.
"We don't want to inconvenience you." Lance added, elbowing Tony.
"If it was an inconvenience Lance, I wouldn't have offered." Krista winked as she turned toward the kitchen.
Once she was out of the room, Jerry faced Tony and Lance. "I want to thank you, all of you for helping."
"It's our job." Tony nodded.
Jerry sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I know, but...hell. Look, Krista can take care of herself, I know that and so does her family. Between her dad, brothers, me and her mom, I'd pit her against anyone and not worry about her coming out on top."
"Then what are you and her family worried about here?" Lance inquired.
"The fact that this asshole is anonymous. He, or she, could be anyone and be anywhere. That makes him just a bit more dangerous. Krista loves her fans, loves interacting with them. Especially at book signings and conferences. Yes, she can get a sense if a situation is off, but if this guy blends in as well as her dad and I think he does, she may not sense it till it's too late." Jerry elaborated.
