Byte Back | 6 Underground

20. The 103rd Floor

July 11th, 9:16 a.m.
1 day before the Infiltration
13th Floor, Merchandise Mart, Chicago

Everything Dominic did was carefully and meticulously planned out. Every single thing. Even his pee schedule. Most people thought he was smart for doing that. A great man always has a plan. But others thought it was an idiotic thing to do. Foxwell did not care for others' opinions. They didn't have the money he does.

"Have you checked with the building director, Cassandra?" He asked the woman in front of him.

"Yes. They will have everything ready for you, sir. The director thought it would be proper for you to have the meeting at the Sky Deck."

"What's the director's name?"

She looked down at the tablet on her lap. "Mr. Gary Clark, sir."

"Okay, Cassandra. That will be all. You can go now."

Cassandra stood up and approached the door. "May I ask what this meeting is about, sir?"

Dominic looked at her. "I was planning for this to be a surprise."

She gave him seducing eyes. "So I can't know?"

He sighed. "Very well. I want to have an office at the Sears Tower. It would be like a training space for interns. The young Millennials are becoming terribly incompetent. They can't seem to do anything right."

"That's a smart idea, sir."

"Yes, I know," he said. "You can go now, Cass."

Cassandra ignored his order. "Are you ready for tomorrow, sir?"

Mr. Foxwell did not give his answer a second thought. "Of course I'm ready. Many things will happen tomorrow. Many exciting things."

July 11th, 1:26 p.m.
Haunted House, California Desert

Although One told us he was going to take care of the guns, I wanted to pack a few weapons for myself. I thought carrying a dagger wouldn't hurt anyone. Besides, I was going to spend some time with Foxwell by myself, I had to have some way to defend myself.

"What are you doing here?" I heard Five say from the other end of the room.

"I'm just looking at the knives," I answered, trying to see where Five was.

She walked forward and revealed herself. "Are you scared?"

"Why would I be scared?"

"Because you're gonna go back to your hometown. And you'll be nostalgic." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Not to mention you'll be by yourself with a sociopath."

"I'm nervous. Not scared."

"Yeah. It is your first mission after all."

When she was about to go, I stopped her. "How did you feel in your first mission?"

"Well, I was scared because I was a doctor with a bunch of professional killers. I felt like I didn't fit in. But then it was all good after I shot someone's shoulder."

"So, until I shoot someone, I'll feel better?"

Five laughed. "I guess that's how it works. But you're used to it, aren't you? Going on missions?"

"I mean, yeah, but not at this scale. I'm gonna hang out with one of the richest men in the world. I'm fucking nervous."

"As you should be," One said from the shadows.

"Come out, you big bad wolf. I already did that," Five said.

One walked toward us as he said, "Oh you're no fun," childishly. He looked at me. "What are you doing?"

"Knife choosing," I said as innocently as I could.

"Why?"

"Because I'm gonna be by myself for a little while and I need some way to protect myself."

"Four and I will watch you and Foxwell."

"Yeah, but you won't be in the building."

"I will. And Four could just break the window or something."

"Can I just take a couple? Just in case."

He sighed. "Do you know how to throw them?" I shook my head. "Yeah, sure. Take 'em."

Five looked at him disapprovingly. "You're so irresponsible."

"In my defense, she might intend to hit someone on the leg but will instead kill them."

She rolled her eyes and I internally laughed at One's carelessness.

"Go pack," he said. "Wheels up in thirty."

July 11th, 4:31 p.m.
N4500X Jet, Over Missouri-Illinois Border

The number of mini cameras and technology overall One put me in charge of was unhealthy. Not only unhealthy but irresponsible as well. I liked that he trusted me with that many things. But it made me nervous as well. He told me that I wouldn't carry all of them at once and that I was not the only one who would use them. It still made me nervous, though.

Four and I were helping Three perfection his Blackjack skills. Five was practicing her poker face skills with Two. I think we were all nervous enough to overprepare for any situation.

"We're an hour away, Ghosts," Seven said over the intercom. "Almost there."

Many questions polluted my brain. The main one being, "We'll wear bulletproof vests won't we?"

They all shook their heads in unison. "Only bulletproof masks," Two said.

"So there's a high chance one of us will get shot?"

They all nodded. "But none of us will. Nothing like that happened last time," Five answered calmly.

Before I could panic, even more, One said, "Eight, synchronize the pods and the cameras." The intercom made his voice sound weirder than usual.

I stood up and got the bag full of technology from the overhead bin, my hands were slightly shaking.

"Why do you need WiFi for cameras to work?" Three asked.

I sat down. "It's like a VPN. The cameras will transmit the footage to One's phone. They need WiFi to do that."

His mouth was open. "Why are you so nerdy?"

I shrugged. "I didn't have friends growing up."

"That's sad."

"Yeah, well, people are assholes."

One appeared from the cockpit and looked at us, hopeful. He pointed at me. "You need to teach them how to install a camera." He then pointed at Four. "You and I need to talk."

Five took Four's seat and Two sat beside Three. One and Four sat in the back. "It's not rocket science," I told them. "The mechanism is in them. All you have to do is stick them on a cold surface. They have some sort of thermal tape. Just place them on a cold surface and you're..."

"The 103rd floor?!" Four shouted as he stood up. "Do you want me to fucking die?!"

"The glass is thick. I really need you to do this," whispered One. "And I gave you the Gecko Gloves."

As soon as One reminded Four of the Gecko Gloves, he sat down. "Okay fine. Whatever."

"Damn, someone's manstruating."

"Leave me alone. Tomorrow is a big day."

One walked back to the cockpit while Seven announced, "Prepare for landing."