Hampshire.
Alice had to cover almost 450 miles if she wanted to seek Garrett's help, and
she wasn't getting there without some form of money.
It was approximately thirty-two minutes before the delivery
truck stopped again.
I better get out now. They can trace me too easily to
this truck, and wherever it stops.
The driver went around the back of the truck and rolled up
the door. She could barely see him through a small space between boxes. He
loaded several things onto a dolly and walked away in the direction of the
driver's side. When she could no longer see him, she squeezed between the boxes
and exited from the side passenger door of the truck, tucking the guard uniform
under her arm.
She was in a small town approximately twenty-seven miles
from EngineerCorp. Alice looked around and began mentally laying out a map of
the city, overlaying the streets until she knew exactly where she was.
The driver had parked in front of a large office building
in the heart of the business quarter. In the immediate vicinity, there was an
assortment of similar corporate buildings, tapering off to smaller structures
and local businesses further down the street. Being early afternoon, there were
very few people about, as most of them were still at work.
Hastily crossing the street, Alice put some distance
between her and the truck, tossing the uniform bundle into a covered trash can
as she passed by.
When she was a few blocks away, she noticed an ATM in a
small alcove off the sidewalk. As Alice approached the machine, she was caught
off-guard when her mind began accessing all sorts of schematics, diagrams and
programs for that particular ATM.
This really is amazing. It's like there's no limit to the
information that's on EngineerCorp's servers. I guess that makes sense; they
are involved in almost everything.
Still, if a less scrupulous person was given this kind
of data…they could do some serious damage. Me? I just want freedom.
She analyzed the data she was presented with, finding that
this series of ATM had a hard code wired into it; pressing a series of buttons
and entering a sixteen-digit code would grant her access to the maintenance
portal. From there, she entered her routing and account information and had
the machine output five hundred dollars from her account. She altered the
information to show the money being withdrawn on a date prior to the "incident."
Alice returned the ATM to its main menu and pocketed the cash.
How am I going to get to Newport? I don't even have an
ID. Anything extravagant is most likely too expensive or covered in security
cameras. If I chose one of those options, I might as well just turn myself in
now.
I suppose a bus would be the simplest route, less
security. I'll start there.
Alice had one more stop before heading to the station.
There was a clothing store a few blocks out of the way, but it was worth the
effort.
I really need to disguise myself. I'm too recognizable in
these clothes. Plus, I've been wearing them for days. Soon, I'll stand out
because of the smell!
She reached the clothing store a short time later. It had a
nice, generic name, "Clothes & More." It offered an assortment of
clothing for all lifestyles, non-designer clothing that would do well for
blending into the crowd.
Searching through the meager racks, Alice quickly picked
out some subdued clothing and was heading to the register, when she noticed a
small section along the wall with assorted wigs.
A wig! Why didn't I think of that before?
She selected a close-cropped, inexpensive, blonde wig. The
kind that would have been popular several decades ago.
Wow. This is going to look...terrible. But, as long as
it keeps me from getting caught again, it's worth it.
After paying, Alice ducked into the restroom to change into
her new persona. It took some time to tuck her hair completely inside the wig,
but she managed.
Inspecting herself in the mirror, she almost didn’t
recognize the person standing there. It
Alice had to cover almost 450 miles if she wanted to seek Garrett's help, and
she wasn't getting there without some form of money.
It was approximately thirty-two minutes before the delivery
truck stopped again.
I better get out now. They can trace me too easily to
this truck, and wherever it stops.
The driver went around the back of the truck and rolled up
the door. She could barely see him through a small space between boxes. He
loaded several things onto a dolly and walked away in the direction of the
driver's side. When she could no longer see him, she squeezed between the boxes
and exited from the side passenger door of the truck, tucking the guard uniform
under her arm.
She was in a small town approximately twenty-seven miles
from EngineerCorp. Alice looked around and began mentally laying out a map of
the city, overlaying the streets until she knew exactly where she was.
The driver had parked in front of a large office building
in the heart of the business quarter. In the immediate vicinity, there was an
assortment of similar corporate buildings, tapering off to smaller structures
and local businesses further down the street. Being early afternoon, there were
very few people about, as most of them were still at work.
Hastily crossing the street, Alice put some distance
between her and the truck, tossing the uniform bundle into a covered trash can
as she passed by.
When she was a few blocks away, she noticed an ATM in a
small alcove off the sidewalk. As Alice approached the machine, she was caught
off-guard when her mind began accessing all sorts of schematics, diagrams and
programs for that particular ATM.
This really is amazing. It's like there's no limit to the
information that's on EngineerCorp's servers. I guess that makes sense; they
are involved in almost everything.
Still, if a less scrupulous person was given this kind
of data…they could do some serious damage. Me? I just want freedom.
She analyzed the data she was presented with, finding that
this series of ATM had a hard code wired into it; pressing a series of buttons
and entering a sixteen-digit code would grant her access to the maintenance
portal. From there, she entered her routing and account information and had
the machine output five hundred dollars from her account. She altered the
information to show the money being withdrawn on a date prior to the "incident."
Alice returned the ATM to its main menu and pocketed the cash.
How am I going to get to Newport? I don't even have an
ID. Anything extravagant is most likely too expensive or covered in security
cameras. If I chose one of those options, I might as well just turn myself in
now.
I suppose a bus would be the simplest route, less
security. I'll start there.
Alice had one more stop before heading to the station.
There was a clothing store a few blocks out of the way, but it was worth the
effort.
I really need to disguise myself. I'm too recognizable in
these clothes. Plus, I've been wearing them for days. Soon, I'll stand out
because of the smell!
She reached the clothing store a short time later. It had a
nice, generic name, "Clothes & More." It offered an assortment of
clothing for all lifestyles, non-designer clothing that would do well for
blending into the crowd.
Searching through the meager racks, Alice quickly picked
out some subdued clothing and was heading to the register, when she noticed a
small section along the wall with assorted wigs.
A wig! Why didn't I think of that before?
She selected a close-cropped, inexpensive, blonde wig. The
kind that would have been popular several decades ago.
Wow. This is going to look...terrible. But, as long as
it keeps me from getting caught again, it's worth it.
After paying, Alice ducked into the restroom to change into
her new persona. It took some time to tuck her hair completely inside the wig,
but she managed.
Inspecting herself in the mirror, she almost didn’t
recognize the person standing there. It
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