slicked with sweat. He took his phone from the rig and held it to his face as he left the office.
Lucy stood in the middle of the game lab, one hand in her long dark hair, her face a picture of fear.
JD put a hand over the mouthpiece of his phone and asked, “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Lucy said. “This has never happened before.”
JD nodded, gave a polite wave, and headed for the exit.
“Mirae,” JD said, “what’s happening?”
“Yeun has locked the building down to trap Enda’s conspirators.”
“Can you get us out?”
“This is beyond my ability to circumvent. Ending the lockdown requires confirmation from two executives, but David Yeun is the only one on-site this early. I could spoof credentials for another executive, but we will need to find a card writer, like the one at the reception desk.”
“Can I make it to reception?”
“No. Security personnel have disabled the elevators.”
“Then why did you— Shit. This alarm is giving me a headache.” JD reached the double doors that led out of the lab and pulled on the door handle. The ding of an elevator made him pause, and he watched two security guards emerge onto the floor, dressed in expensive suits, with tasers drawn—perpetually bored corporate goons excited to finally play soldier.
“Fuck,” JD said.
The guards turned and saw him in the doorway. JD shut the door, and on instinct reached for the table laden with snacks. The table was heavy—legs and frame made from sturdy metal—and packets of chips and cookies tumbled to the floor as he dragged it across the opening.
He heard the blip-bleep of a security card at the scanner. The door rattled as they tried to open it. The table shifted as they shoved the door harder. JD was already moving. He rounded the far side of the nearest workstation island, bore down against the edge of the quad-desk, and pushed.
The developer dozing beneath the desks stirred, blinking confusedly into the dark red-lit space. “Huh, what’s happening?”
“Sorry,” JD said.
The muscles ached along his back and arms. JD clenched his teeth and winced when a monitor crashed to the ground. Power cables were yanked violently from the backs of the rigs as JD strained and shoved the desks four meters across to the doorway. He slammed them into the snack table and closed the door on the hand of one of the guards. They howled and swore beyond the door.
JD turned and began to run. “Sorry,” he said again, this time to Lucy, who now looked more confused than afraid. “Mirae?”
“The other stairs,” I said.
He rushed between the islands of desk, headed for the far corner. He reached the stairwell door, emblazoned with a plaque that read: emergency exit.
He pushed the bar across the door, but it didn’t budge.
“Fuck,” JD shouted. “Mirae?”
“The door will only unlock in case of fire or other emergency.”
“Why didn’t you say so before?”
“I am still learning the building,” I said, my voice breaking with digital artifact. “I am barely managing to hold together.”
“I’m sorry, Mirae. Can you get into the fire system?”
I scouted the contours of the fire safety system as more fragments of my self were quarantined and destroyed.
“Mirae?” JD shouted.
I opened the voice channel to both JD and Enda: “I only have time for one task before the security algorithms quarantine my final pieces—breach Zeroleaks for Enda’s file, or hack the fire system and get JD an exit.”
“Get JD to safety,” Enda said, without hesitation.
“But—” I said.
“No,” JD said, “we can do both.”
“Mirae, get JD out.”
“Processing. If the fire safety system is initialized, I will be able to override the lockdown,” I managed, self fragmenting, speech becoming more difficult.
JD leaned against the door and shook his head. “They’ll never let me hear the end of this.”
* * *
Soo-hyun wasn’t the type to worry about blaring alarms, but they didn’t find the look of consternation on the receptionist’s face very reassuring. They walked over to the street doors and waved their arms in the air, trying to get the motion sensor to trigger. The doors stayed closed, the street beyond empty, the city still asleep.
They felt their phone buzz deep in the bottom of their bag, and reached in to retrieve it. It was JD.
“Annyeong,” they said.
“I’m trapped up here, security are coming, and I need to get down the fire exit. Mirae can get into the fire safety system, but only if it’s initialized. Do you know what that means?”
Soo-hyun’s exhaled sharply. “Yes, I do.”
“Do you have Dad’s lighter?” JD asked.
“I never