Chapter 5 - Locked In
Maeve spun around, her eyes widening in horror as she stared at the heavy brass bolt now securely locked from the hallway. Footsteps faded away down the private elevator foyer.
“They know,” Maeve whispered, the blood draining entirely from her face. “Elena heard us, or Viktor saw my shoes by the bathroom door. They’ve locked us in.”
Julian didn't panic. Instead, a grim, humorless smile touched the corners of his mouth. He reached down, flipped open a hidden compartment beneath the armrest of his wheelchair, and pulled out a small, heavy black device with a glowing red LED light.
“They didn’t lock us in because they’re going to kill us right now,” Julian said calmly, his fingers dancing expertly over the keypad. “They locked us in because they think we’re trapped, which means they’re about to initiate the apartment’s security lockdown protocol. In ten minutes, this entire penthouse will vent its oxygen supply to burn off any digital footprints.”
Maeve stared at the device in his hand, her mind racing. “A clean-up protocol? Are they insane? They’ll kill themselves too!”
“Elena and Viktor aren’t here,” Julian explained rapidly, his eyes fixed on the tiny screen. “They left the building five minutes ago. They’re watching us on the security feeds right now, waiting to see how long it takes us to figure out we’re out of time.”
“Then override it!” Maeve yelled, stepping up to the keypad and trying to press the buttons herself.
Julian slapped her hand away gently, his grip firm. “You’ll trigger the failsafe if you press random sequences. I built this security system with my own money before the accident. I’m the only one who knows the master bypass code.”
“Then type it in, Julian! What are you waiting for?”
“The code requires a biometric retinal scan,” Julian said quietly, leaning back in his seat and looking up at the smart-lens camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling. “And the scanner is mounted six feet high on the wall by the grand doorway. Well out of my reach from this wheelchair.”
Maeve froze, looking from Julian’s paralyzed legs up to the tiny, glowing blue lens of the camera mounted high above the door frame. The red LED on the heavy black device in Julian's hand beeped faster, the sound growing louder with every passing second.
“You need me to lift you,” Maeve realized, her voice trembling.
“Not just lift me,” Julian corrected, his eyes locking onto hers with absolute, unflinching seriousness. “You have to hold my entire weight against the wall, keep my head steady enough for the laser to read my iris, and do it while the security countdown reaches zero.”
Maeve swallowed hard, wiping her sweaty palms on her beige maid’s apron. She stepped behind the wheelchair, gripping the heavy handles before looking straight at Julian. “If my grip slips and we miss the window?”
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Julian didn't answer with words. He simply pressed the central button on the black device, and a deafening, high-pitched alarm began to shriek throughout the penthouse.
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