Red alarm washes the hub in pulses. The upload lattice above the terminal goes solid green, and every nearby panel snaps into lockdown mode. Outside, seal doors grind toward closure, leaving a narrow, bright slit to the corridor.
Arthur Blues
It uploaded. Abby, it really uploaded.
Arthur stares at the confirmation on his tablet, then at the doors, his shoulders tight with exhausted relief. A security drone swings toward the master log instead of Abby, its lights strobing as the purge begins somewhere deeper in the building.
Sera Nadi
Lockdown cascade confirmed. Move now, or they seal you in.
Sera's voice crackles over the intercom as the corridor beyond the gap flashes with running figures and descending barriers. The drone hesitates, caught between its orders and the fresh evidence flood consuming Meridian Kline's own systems.
Arthur Blues
Abby, I stay with you. Tell me where to route the last cleanup, or run.
Arthur steps closer, open hands, ready to obey. The seal doors shudder once more, the gap shrinking to a handspan, with security converging on the chamber from both sides.
Abby Stone
The exit is almost gone.
The next move is hers, now, with the upload done and the facility turning itself inside out.
“Send all the evidence to the police and tell them to get down here. We wait in here until the criminals thst wronged us are in custody.”
SUCCESS (Great Computers, rolled +2)
Abby keys the evidence package to the police channel, and the terminal accepts her authentication without hesitation. The upload lattice splits into multiple secure outbound streams, each one tagged for civilian law enforcement and preserved audit copies.
Abby Stone
Send it to the police. Get down here now, and hold the perimeter.
The message rides out with the files. On the terminal, the transfer status flips from local containment to external custody, and the master log stamps the handoff in bright green.
Arthur Blues
It is out. I am staying. Tell me what to clear, and I clear it.
Arthur lowers his tablet and plants himself beside Abby, open and steady. Beyond the shrinking gap, the corridor lights stutter as security shifts from pursuit to response, and the first distant siren thread reaches the chamber.
Sera Nadi
Police dispatch just acknowledged the package. Units are being routed here now.
The seal doors finish their descent with a heavy thud, leaving the hub locked, the evidence gone, and the three of them sealed inside until help arrives.
Quest Complete
Get Arthur to prove his loyalty
Seal lights flashed red as the hub doors slammed shut around them.
Sera Nadi
Police are in route. Stay clear of the inner ring and hold position.
Abby Stone
Evidence is away. Let them come.
Arthur Blues
Then I am staying right here with you.
The facility held its breath under lockdown until outside sirens finally cut through the steel. Meridian Kline Biologics was no longer a sealed secret, but a crime scene under arrest, its conspirators taken as the doors opened to law and daylight. Abby Stone stood through the aftermath with Arthur and Sera, exhausted, safe, and finished with running.