Freak of Nature

Chapter Twenty-One

Lucas looked up from his computer, as if he had been concentrating on something important, when Harrington stormed into the room. The man’s face was dark red, a vein pulsed on his forehead, and he had balled his hands into fists. The door slammed behind him. “How the hell did this happen?”

“It was always a risk,” Lucas said evenly, carefully composing his face into a calm expression. “Why else would we have armed guards, and keep her under lock and key if we didn’t see this as a possibility? You give someone that much technology …” Lucas leaned back in his chair and frowned, rubbing his temples. “She must have felt threatened. She is programmed to react to threats. We should be glad she ran instead of killing everyone in the room.” 

That silenced Harrington. He shoved his hands in his pockets and gazed out the window, his eyes distant, lost in his own thoughts. “Dammit!” he burst out. “We need to get her back. Why isn’t her GPS working? What the hell is the use of all this technology if it’s not even going to work? You realize it would be the end for all of us if the media got ahold of this story, right?”

“With the extensive nondisclosure forms you made us sign, we were well aware of that potential when we took the job.” Lucas leaned forward and tapped on the keyboard. “I’m not sure what’s going on. Look at this … the signal shows her still in her room.”

Harrington came around the desk and stared at the screen over his shoulder. “Could she be back?”

Lucas didn’t answer.

“Do you think she was smart enough to reprogram the system to throw us off? Could she have had access to the programs?”

Pushing his seat back, Lucas stood up. “You know, I bet that is exactly what happened. I never thought of that. She certainly has enough knowledge stored in her database.”

“We made her too well,” Harrington mused bitterly.

“It could just be a glitch. As you know, computers are not fail proof.” Or maybe I helped her escape, Lucas thought wryly. 

Ever since he had sounded the alarm, Lucas had been a nervous wreck. In order to keep suspicion away from him, he had to be the one to notify the guards about her escape. After seeing her off into the night, he sounded the alarm. 

He had to hide a smile. For Kaitlyn, getting off the compound would have only taken minutes.

Hopefully he had done enough to keep him in the clear.

According to the initial reports, she’d managed to evade the security team so far. At one point, they were on her trail, but lost her. Not even for a second did he doubt her ability to evade capture. He was more worried what would happen once she tried to blend in with civilians.

Harrington paced the room. The burly man looked like he was about to blow a fuse. “I am supposed to renegotiate the terms of the hand off with the Secretary of Defense. Tomorrow. How in the hell am I going to explain we’ve lost the package?”

Lucas knew Harrington would find a way. He always did. 

“You could call and tell them you have to push back the negotiations due to a conflicting schedule,” Lucas suggested. 

Harrington swiveled and stared at Lucas like he’d lost his mind. “Son, we are talking about the United States Government. They wait for no one.”

“Well, then tell them you are having second thoughts and need more time. This is, after all, a huge commitment for IFICS.”

The usually calm and collected Harrington growled with frustration, and angrily swiped the pen holder across the desk. It clattered to the ground, pens rolling across the white tile floor. “It looks like I don’t have a choice.”