The Paranoid Thief (5 page)

“Do you know it now?” Jill questioned, her
voice sounding more even and controlled.

“Only as a place on the map,” Randolph
answered truthfully,
then
he faced forward and asked,
“So tell me, do you work here?”

“Yes, no.
Well I did
but I guess I just got fired.” She sniffed. “Ten years down the drain because I
tried to help out a friend.”

“Ten years, huh, so you would know a great
deal about this place, such as the roads and the nearest skimmer-port?”

“Yeah sure, but what good is that? These
cells are five levels underground. And if you’re thinking of overpowering the
guards, forget it. Their passkeys are coded to their current height and weight
when they log in each shift, so when the passkeys are used, any change will
alert the security system,” Jill freely supplied that rather useful information
and then caught on to his question. “Wait a minute—you’re planning an escape
aren’t you?” Jill became quiet for a moment,
then
her
voice perked up. “John, take me with you, please. I don’t want to go to jail.
I’ve heard what it’s like there.”

“Hold it, girl, who said anything about
escaping? I was just trying to figure out where I am.”

“I maybe a lowly secretary, John, but I’m
not stupid. You’ve figured a way out. Well, if you don’t take me with you I’ll
tell you nothing else of use.”

Okay,
so I hadn’t been subtle enough,
Randolph admonished himself,
a mistake that.

“I mean it, John,” Jill stressed. “You
either take me with you or I swear I’ll tell the guards.”

Randolph rolled his eyes skyward on her
threat and enlightened her on the realities of their situation. “As these cells
are most likely bugged, that admission is rather redundant, for you already
have.”

“Oh,” Jill answered lamely.

“So tell me, with a figure like yours, do
you work out?” Randolph needed to get a better feel of her capabilities, as she
appeared to be a necessary factor in his escape plans.

“My figure?
I
thought you didn’t know me?”

“I saw you though the meal slot,” Randolph
enlighten her.

“Oh...” Jill answered slowly before she
asked. “So, did you like what you saw?”

“I like a little more meat on the bones,
but yeah, you’re not bad looking.”

“You mean my breasts aren’t large enough,
don’t you?
The story of my life.”
Jill sniffed. “All
my girlfriends kept telling me if I wanted to get anywhere in this corporate
world, I’d need to enlarge them and the size of my butt.” Jill then slammed her
hand on the door in anger and complained, “But surgery is so expensive and on a
secretary’s salary a bit out of reach unless I slept my way into a better
pay-scale.”

“Is that why you’re wearing the latest
mini-skirt and panties?” Randolph asked to try and understand her mental
stability as he had only one shot at this.

“Yeah sort of,” Jill admitted. “I mean,
I’ve seen those women on the top floors with the D-cups and matching hips, and
knowing I’m smarter than them doesn’t help.” Jill paused a moment before she
asked, “John? What is it about breasts you men are so fascinated with? I mean,
all they do is hang there. Why is it a woman with small breasts will be over
looked for those who have larger?”

“I think it’s more of a primitive desire in
our psyche,” Randolph supplied with a shrug.

“Well, why do you like them, then?”

Not able to truly answer that question,
Randolph changed the subject. “Never mind that, do you know what time it might
be?”

“Maybe,” she answered hesitantly. “Are you
taking me with you?”

“In truth, I have no choice. Now then, what
time is it?”

“Well, it was 6:20 when I was caught. I
think that would make it around 8:40 now.”

“Morning or night?”

“Oh, sorry,” she giggled. “8:40 p.m. Not
much later, I’m sure.”

Randolph reset his internal clock.

“So when do we go?”

“Probably never, if you keep asking stupid
questions like that,” Randolph snapped in irritation.

“Oh, sorry.
It’s that
I’m a bit claustrophobic, but I can control it for a short time.”

“Good.” Randolph sighed and rubbed his eyes
in annoyance to this whole business, for he really despised being dependent on
anyone other than himself. “Now then, when do the most people get about in the
hallways upstairs?”

“I’d say at the change of shifts, about
4:30 in the afternoon.”

“Okay, get some rest if you can.”

“Are we going tomorrow?” Jill asked in
surprise.

“Don’t be stupid. I’ll need more
information before I commit myself. Besides, I need to get to know you better.”

“What, something other than my bra size?”
Jill
asked,
her sarcasm thick.

“Jill, if you’ll remember, you were the one
that brought that up. I asked if you worked out.”

“Oh yeah.
Um, so
tell me, did you like my butt? I’ve spent half a month’s salary on a body tan
to wear these panties.” When Randolph didn’t answer right away, Jill asked, “Or
are you a leg man?”

Randolph shook his head and lay down; it
sounded as if Jill was self-conscious of her figure.
Oh well, we all have our idiosyncrasies.
Out loud he told her,
“Your legs and fanny looked pretty cute to me.”

Without interruptions that night,
Randolph’s mind wandered about and came up with an unanswerable question.
Why did she assume I could get us out of
here? And why would she risk it? She’s only going to suffer the loss of her job
and a fine, or at most a year in a city prison, that’s not much. Granted,
prisons are not a cushy place, but while inside, those still showing prospects
have their pick of training and of course with a body like hers, she could
always choose military service instead of jail.
Randolph mulled over his
question,
then
conceded he held no time for answers.
If he guessed right, the corporation would scare the wits out of her a few days
before the city police picked her up. So if he were to get out of here, this
afternoon would be his best chance.
Well,
with her help,
he corrected. So around three in the morning, by his
internal clock, Randolph lay back in bed and made certain his blanket kept him
covered. With the knowledge of what was to come next, Randolph gritted his
teeth and took a strong hold of his left arm. Next he took in three quick
breaths before he pushed and turned the arm. With a wish to let out a scream of
agony, Randolph bit back a cry of pain as scar tissue tore and the arm popped
out of joint. As tears engulfed his eyes, Randolph let go of his arm to push on
a button in the long bone. This action activated a precisely-calibrated spring
to slice an exit in his skin for a slender tube to eject halfway out. With
trembling fingers, Randolph removed the water-repellent tube from the cavity in
the bone and unscrewed a cap on the cylinder with teeth and fingers. Once the
threads disengaged, Randolph allowed the lid to fall in his mouth so a pain
capsule nestled within could fall out. Once Randolph spit out the lid, he
chewed the capsule to pulp and allowed the pain reliever to slide down his
throat to hit his empty stomach like prime seasoned steak hitting battery acid.
After ten long minutes had passed, Randolph sighed in some relief. Five more
and all the pain was gone. Now able to breathe normally, Randolph worked to
reattach his arm and applied a skin-colored patch from the tube to the damaged
area.
I bet whoever invented this molding
material never conceived it could be mistaken as a human bone by X-ray film.

“John?” Jill called out. “John
are
you all right? You sounded as if you were in some pain.”

“I’m fine...” Randolph smiled, now that the
painkiller was working to its fullest effect. “I just stubbed my toe while
sleep walking,” he improvised.

“Sleepwalking?
Do
people really do that?” Jill asked with curiosity, not sounding like she did
earlier in the evening.

Now able to move without the annoyance of
pain, Randolph popped the arm back in place and moved it about to make certain
all seemed well. This had been the second time he’d suffer through such action
since the surgical procedure seven years back replaced the real bone with the
molding material. “Well, apparently so, if I’d just told you I was doing it.”

“You don’t have to get all huffy about it.
It’s not as if we know each other intimately,” Jill accused.

“Jill, um, why don’t you go back to sleep?”
Randolph tried with less annoyance in his voice.

“Humph, I can see why you worked alone. You
have no tolerance for someone trying to get to know you.”

“The middle of the night is hardly the time
to divulge deep dark secrets, now, is it?” Randolph reasoned.

“What does that have to do with anything in
this place? Night or day, we’re not going anywhere, at least not until you’re
ready. And as I’m dependent on you, you’d think you’d have some compassion for
my feelings, especially as I’m your ticket out of here,” Jill huffed.

“Listen, we have plenty of time to get to
know each other later, so will you please go back to sleep?” Randolph insisted
with some exasperation, rolling to his side so he could pour out the contents
of the cylinder next to his chest.

“Boy, you sure are surly at night. Are you
always so rude when you don’t get eight hours sleep?”

Randolph took in a breath but decided to
keep his mouth shut.
She’s so full of
questions,
his mind threw before his thoughts.
Well, you can’t really blame her,
he
then told himself,
soon she’ll be fully
dependent on my capabilities and speaking of which…
Randolph decided to let
her ramble as he concentrated on the small items from the tube. With total
familiarity of the parts, it was a simple task for Randolph to assemble the two
electronic devices he’d specifically designed to snap together without the use
of solder.

“John, are you still awake?” Jill asked
with a slight catch in her throat. “I only wish to talk a little. It would
better help me with my problem.”

“Yes, Jill I’m still awake.” Randolph
sighed, with a wish she’d shut-up. With one component complete, he started in
on the other. “How can I not be with your voice echoing in my cell?”

“I was just thinking, once we get out of
here, where do we go?”

“You’re talking as if I’ve done this
before,” he butted in, feeling around for a very small resister and closing his
eyes with a sigh once he found it.

“Well, haven’t you?” she asked. “Remember,
I’m not one of those D-cup-size toys upstairs whose pay out matches their IQ by
several digits. I can add one and one, and you’re too calm for a simple businessman.”

“Perhaps I’m calm because I’ve been trying
to meditate,” he shot back, screwing the cap back on after he finished the
small but powerful laser pen.

“I doubt that seriously. Within our
conversation you’ve sounded angry, annoyed, bored, bothered and not all in that
order.”

“What are you, some kind of psychiatrist?”

“I’ve told you I’m a secretary. I have to
know my boss’s moods to keep from getting on his bad side every day or worse
yet, fired. Of course that’s all redundant now, as I’ve used his computer once
in two years and—and here I am.”

“I thought you said you worked for him ten
years now?” Randolph probed the inconsistency in her story while he
check
to make certain he’d not missed any components.

“No, I said I worked here for ten years.
I’ve worked for my cold-hearted boss for two of those years.” After a moment of
silence she asked, “Do you think if I’d screwed him a few times he would have
over looked my slip up?”

Still on his side, Randolph opened his
coveralls and pushed the laser pen up into his rectum. He used this
uncomfortable precaution in case his cell and person was searched once he
activated the frequency disruptor he still held in his hand. The small device,
shaped like a large pill, made it easier to swallow once activated and harder
to find. So with a touch, Randolph triggered the timer and swallowed without
water, knowing in about four hours it would emit an ever-increasing electronic
disruption till around noon, when it would stop. Then four hours later it would
restart, but this time the disruption would be complete for half an hour, time
enough he hoped to be on his way out of here.

“John, did you hear me?”

“Yes, Jill, and no, I doubt it. You don’t
have the body for it. Besides, by handing you over it shows he’s loyal to the
corporation, a plus in any-one's jacket.”

“You sound as if you were a company man
once.”

“Far from it, but I’ve known people who are
and how screwed they got. Corporations live only for the top executive’s credit
accounts. If you can’t make them richer, then you’re dead weight and very
replaceable by someone who’ll give up life and family. Now, please, I would
like to get some sleep.” Making
himself
comfortable,
Randolph ignored her next few questions and closed his eyes.

After his morning meal of grits, Randolph
used the washcloth provided and stripped completely to give
himself
the best possible bath as could be had. As he had of yet not done so, Randolph
knew this would stir the interest of the guard on duty while they tried to
track down their system problem. But since he showed no other signs of
knowledge to their visual problem, Randolph felt fairly assured the guard would
settle back and await the electronic team. Once done, Randolph put his plate on
the small ledge in the door slot and did the best he could with his hair after
redressing.

Before noon, a team of electronic repair
men ventured up and down the hall trying to discern the problem with their
standard equipment. When the noon hour came, the team left as the problem
stopped.
Good,
Randolph thought,
now a problem will be registered with no
expectant reactions from the prisoners. The team will logically attach no hurry
when next the problem flares up. However, as for maintaining the routine I’ve
set up these past days, they were understandably interrupted with Jill’s
arrival. Not to mention her constant talking. But could I really blame her?
“Hmm…” That very question did unsettle Randolph, as Jill sounded too much like an
inquisitor, though subtler; then again, he could be just paranoid. After a
moment of thought, Randolph shrugged and gave in to answer another of her
questions. “No, I’ve never been married. I move around too much.”

“I thought by the sound of it you had a
permanent office?”

“Nope, I travel from client to client.”

When the disruptor vibrated amidst his
bowls, Randolph jumped out of bed and fished out the laser pen from his rectum,
giving it a wipe down on the bed covers. Next
came
a
wash down of both hands and pen to break down the smell before Randolph vaulted
to the wall next to the door. Then with his left hand fingers spread out,
Randolph located the spot he suspected the main magnetic wires and circuitry
were located behind the wall.

“So who were you working for when, well,
when they busted down your door? Do you suppose you uncovered something someone
didn’t want known?”

“His name is Mr. Hilden, and yes, something
like
that,” Randolph answered with a flick of his
thumb to activate the pen. With the use of his other hand to hold the pen a
finger thickness from the wall, Randolph squinted against the sparks as the
laser pen drilled a small hole in which he could see in-between the walls.
Another flick turned off the laser and activated a light to aid in finding the
circuit board and wiring.

“John, you seem a bit distracted. Did I hit
a nerve?”

“Again yes and no,” Randolph answered with
a heavy sigh and a shake of his head. “I’ve something on my mind I’m trying to
work out and your constant babble is not helping.”

“So you think I babble, do you?” Jill
huffed, “I thought we were trying to get to know one another. Isn’t that what
you wanted?”

“Yes, of course,” Randolph answered,
wanting desperately to tell her to shut-up, “but all you’ve been doing is
asking about me. Why don’t you tell me more about yourself? Like your family,
friends, likes or dislikes?
Hmm?”
He moved up a hand
span plus two fingers over then reactivated the laser and cut a larger hole in
the metal wall right beside the circuit board while holding his breath.
When no alarm went off, Randolph let out his breath and looked
inside; now came the tricky part.
If there wasn’t enough loose wiring
inside, he’d never rewire the current to kill the magnetic lock and still fool
the board into believing nothing was wrong, thereby making it reluctant to set
off the alarms.

“Well, to be truthful, I don’t like talking
about myself, at least not to strangers.”

“Fine then, you pick a subject. Any subject
other than me,” Randolph snapped and looked skyward for patience.
The damn woman is not catching my flagrant
hint to leave me alone!
he
fussed within himself.
But as time was at a premium, Randolph discarded his wish to vent freely and
tried to concentrate. For even though the video-cameras were out, it in no way
guaranteed the sound system was out, though it should be.

“Okay, as sex is always on the mind of men,
why don’t you tell me why that is? Why can’t a woman do a simple task like bend
over without your eyes glued to our breasts or our butts?”

Randolph let out a sigh of frustration and
shook his head; he tried once more to steer her off from asking him questions.
“Besides the obvious, like all the advertising by the commercial world and
women themselves, you tell me?” After only a moment to evaluate the circuit
board, Randolph selected the needed wires and melted off the casings to jump
the wires and bypass the alarm. Once the new junction of wires cooled, Randolph
allowed the laser pen to melt the remaining wire and heard the satisfying click
of the magnet disengage. To this sound Randolph’s lips curved upward in
pleasure, for now it was an easy thing to reach in and rotate the three
deadbolts out of place, thus allowing the door to swing open with but a touch
of his hand. He then secured the pen to his collar and peeked out the food
slot, just to be sure of no uninvited surprises.

“You’re copping out,
John,
”
Jill spoke up, sounding miffed, “the corporate world only makes available what
consumers are willing to pay for. If men didn’t want sex twenty-four hours a
day, seven days a week, then marketing wouldn’t package men’s products using a
woman’s body. And as for women,” Jill continued as he moved to her door
unrolling a slim magnetic key-card, designed with a simple trace program to
acquire and resend the last key-card codes. “As men show no interest in women
unless we wave our breasts or butts in their faces, you can’t blame us!” This
last she said with a bit of heat in her voice, like she was remembering an
experience she once had.

Randolph rolled his eyes on her chosen
topic, for it is true men had sex on their minds most of the day.
But why not?
With all the garbage we deal with everyday,
why can’t we daydream about something that gives us pleasure?
But as the
program ran its course, Randolph pushed aside the argument to tell her in a
quieter voice, “Look, if you wish to discuss this another time we’ll do so but
at the present, you should be readying yourself to move as I’m about to open
your door.” The mechanism gave off a satisfying
click.
Randolph slipped out his card to swing her door open and
found Jill staring up at him with the strangest, puzzled look, as if she truly
didn’t believe he’d just side-stepped fifteen security steps and a
sophisticated alarm system, while having a conversation.

“Look,” Randolph began in a no nonsense
voice, “we’ve no time for familiarities,
so
listen
up.”

Jill’s brown eyes changed from disbelief to
something more calculating, while she remained seated on her bed.

A
very bad sign if you ask me,
Randolph thought,
but as she’s my only hope of getting out, I’ll have to catalog it for a
later review.

Then all of a sudden her eyes went misty
and she bolted up to him, flinging her arms around his neck.

“Oh, Jonathan, I can’t believe you really
came for me,” Jill cried.

Randolph reached up and with a bit of
effort pulled her arms apart so he could push her back and say plainly, “The
name is John. No adaptations.” Then he looked her square in the eyes and added,
brutally frank, “And if I had no need of your knowledge of this building and
surrounding area, I would not be taking you along. Got it?”

Randolph saw her lip quiver to his
bluntness and felt like a heel,
But I’m
not out to win any popularity contest,
he told himself when she nodded. He
then pushed his feelings aside. “Good! Now then, you’re to do as I say, when I
say it with no questions asked. When I move, you glue yourself to my shadow.
When I ask, you give me the shortest answer. Up, down, right, left or straight.
If I need to know something, tap my shoulder and whisper. Got it?”

“I believe so,” Jill answered softly, her
eyes holding hurt within.

“No!” Randolph stressed in a harsh whisper.
“You either do or don’t. One slip up and it’s back in the cell for the both of
us, and the next trip I do on my own!” he added to emphasize she was a luxury
he really didn’t need, which of course was a lie, but he had to make certain
she was in the right frame of mind.

Nodding, she answered, “Yes, John, I get
it.”

“Good! Now there are bound to be
surveillance videos in the hallways. However, I’ve activated a scrambler which
should take care of them, but we’ve only half an hour and we’ve wasted ten
minutes of it. So let’s move.”

Like a couple of mice, the pair moved along
the wall to the first door while Randolph looked for trip lasers. Once there,
Randolph inserted the magnetic card while Jill whispered the information he’d
need for the next hall. When he pulled the door open an inch, he signaled Jill
to squat and inverted his pen to open the end and allow a single ball bearing
to roll out into his hand. This he rolled down the center to check the hall for
strong currents which were tell-tale signs of other security measures. Not
until after the ball’s straight path to the far door next to a plastic-steel
window and security entrance door twenty feet in, did Randolph point out the
three trip beams at ankle height along the wall to Jill. Once she nodded
understanding, he moved them past the security booth to the secured door before
the elevator.

Now
comes the tricky part,
Randolph considered.
With the key-card port on the other wall, opposite the security window,
I’ll have to watch the room and slide the card in at the same time. Of course
with the video down, the guard might be rather busy with the equipment or if
luck is with me, he’ll be kicked back reading, waiting for the techs to arrive.
So risking a peek, Randolph inched up under the window and saw the single guard
being overzealous by way of checking his equipment AND the wiring. This meant
he would need good timing. For the guard’s eyes could spot Randolph’s bright
orange jumper over the gray hallway fairly easily. Randolph squatted and
checked his mental clock. If he were right, fifteen minutes had gone, not
leaving much time for the perfect opportune to move. So with a quick rundown of
possible scenarios, Randolph decided a slightly tan skin texture was far less
eye attracting than his bright orange jump suit. So disregarding his present
company, Randolph shucked off his jumper and took his chances. Low to the
floor, Randolph inched up to the panel and while watching the window, out of
the corner of his eye he caught an unexpected appraising look on Jill’s face.
Distracted by the expression, Randolph risked a fuller inspection and found
Jill’s eyes roving over his body with a hungry look before giving him a quirky
smile and shrug of her shoulders.
So much
for sex only in the minds of men,
Randolph thought with a roll of his eyes
before he went back to work.

With a slow hand Randolph slid the card in
and after only a moment, he heard the hall door
click.
The sound also drew Jill’s attention whereby she flattened
herself into the corner. An act he himself might have done.
But for an amateur?
Hmm...
Unable
to waste any time on conversation, Randolph pulled his card and backed up next to
her and opened the door. He then ushered Jill in the hallway with the elevator
and retrieved his coveralls. But while buttoning up the front, Randolph filed
Jill’s behavior along with that slight eye change he thought he saw, reasoning,
I best keep a closer tab on her, because
she should be more nervous, scared and jumpy, nothing like she is acting.
And then it hit him.
Could she be acting?
Could I be some sort of lab experiment?
Perhaps a test on
their security measures?
Randolph looked her up and down covertly
and had to admit she wasn’t a typical secretary. She held confidence, an
athletic build but then…
But then what?
Troubled by such a possibility, Randolph looked her in the eyes and swore he
noted her irises fluctuating again, and this time it was not from the change of
lighting. When her eyes steadied and she saw the look on his face, Jill
returned a look of puzzlement. As Randolph held no choice in her company, he
rolled his eyes skyward, pushed his uncertainty aside and asked her about the
elevator and the floors above.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know,” Jill
whispered, “I was a bit tied up trying to reason with the two bull dogs.”

“Okay I’ll give you that, so which floor
would we get off on?” Randolph activated his pen and began to work on cutting
around the button touch key pad.

“Oh, sorry, I thought you wanted to know
how to operate the elevator,” Jill apologized. “Uh, this one doesn’t open on
any floor except at the security desk. But once past that, it’s a simple walk
down the corridor to an intersection where the main one is.”

“So where’s the guard’s desk and is it
behind a window?” Randolph asked next, tilting the panel out of the wall to
examine the wiring.

“It’s in the open, a few feet away,” Jill
answered, trying to see over his shoulder at what he was doing.

Randolph nodded he understood and found the
override security wire and jumped it to the power wire long enough to activate
the doors. Then he repositioned the panel so to the casual observer it would
look normal before following her into the elevator. Even a second or two added
to their escape time could make the difference. Now of course came the iffy
part which Randolph held no control over.
With
the video cameras coming back up in our vacant cells, will the guard settle
back in his chair and believe the two lumps under the blankets are us, or will
he check the cells out? And what of the guard watching the elevator feeds? Will
he believe it’s the same problem just jumping about or will he consider
alerting someone, especially after it starts moving? Questions, questions… this
is the very reason I’m so highly priced to hire—research, research.
However
there were times, like now, when Randolph had to leave things to chance. So
touching one of the only two directional buttons, he found out from Jill where
the desk was in relation to the elevator and moved her so they wouldn’t
automatically be seen.