Jimmy sprinted back to his room, bursting through the door. He rushed to his closet, grabbing the lab coat he had stolen the night before, the one with Dr. Phil's tag. With the coat on, he immediately dashed back out into the hall.
"I have to get to him. There's so much I need to ask," he muttered to himself, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps as he weaved through the crowded hallways, colliding with people without a second thought, drawing unwanted attention.
"Javelin, I think we have a situation," a voice crackled through a nearby earpiece. A hall warden, watching him on a security feed, placed a hand to his comms. "Suspicious individual."
Jimmy ignored the growing alarm, his focus locked on reaching the corridor where he had last seen Eric. He rounded a corner, panting heavily as he neared the hall. But just as he did, a massive mechanical door slammed shut, sealing off the hallway.
"What?!" he yelled, his heart sinking.
"Hey, you there! Hands up!" a voice roared from behind him.
He slowly raised his hands and turned to face two hall wardens. They advanced on him, weapons drawn and ready.
"State your name and purpose," one of them demanded.
Jimmy forced a calm smile. "Ah, sorry, I forgot something and I'm in a hurry to retrieve it."
"That section is off-limits to non-militant personnel. State your name for confirmation," the warden insisted as they closed in. The other warden pulled out an Identity Verification Device (IVD).
"Haha, it's Dr. Phil... I'm Dr. Phil Sedi," Jimmy said, his voice a little too cheerful. He brushed off any sign of nervousness.
"We'll need to scan your tag. Stand by for identity verification," the warden with the IVD said, holding it up.
"You look very young for an Atlas official," a female voice echoed from inside the second warden's masked helmet.
A wave of panic washed over him. Getting caught meant losing his one chance to talk to Eric. He considered trying to distract them, but knew they were too well-trained for that. He had to stick to the lie.
"Yeah, well, I was an early scholar, and I had connections. That's the main reason," he said, holding his hands up and keeping the smile fixed on his face.
"Hmm," the masked warden replied, her gaze lingering on him suspiciously.
"Alright, the device is ready," the IVD warden said. "Hold still. Don't make any sudden movements." A beam of light shot out, scanning the tag on Jimmy's coat.
A few tense seconds later, the device beeped. "It says here, Dr. Phil Sedi, Nanobiology Department, thirty-five years of age. Profile picture is still loading."
"You don't look thirty-five," the masked warden said, raising her weapon higher. "Is there foul play in action here?"
"Haha, no! I tested a new NanoBio experiment on myself. It was successful and made me look younger. That's why I'm in such a hurry to write down the research," Jimmy blurted out, a panicked excuse.
"Until we receive a profile picture, you're not allowed to leave this position," the masked warden commanded.
Beep! Beep!
The IVD let out a louder sound, indicating the profile picture had finished downloading. The warden looked down at his screen. It was now or never.
Jimmy immediately shoved the masked warden away, knocking her and the IVD to the ground. He turned and ran.
"Javelin! Suspect is on the run, repeat, suspect is on the run!" the masked warden yelled into her mic.
With a slight minute of hesitation, Hordes of wardens appeared from every corner, a chaotic chase erupting through the halls. Jimmy pushed and crashed into people in his way.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he yelled over his shoulder, a frantic apology.
His chances of escape were shrinking fast. With wardens closing in on all sides, he saw an elevator and dived in, frantically hitting the button to go down.
"Javelin! He's heading toward the bridge! Block all exits immediately! Everyone, head to the bridge!" a warden's voice screamed through the comms. Narrow doors opened on the walls, revealing suction tubes. One by one, the wardens dived in, rocketing downward.
The elevator doors opened, and Jimmy scrambled out onto the bridge. It was a massive, open area with dozens of aircraft and vehicles. But to his shock, it was completely empty of people. And all the exits were sealed shut.
"No, no, no! I can't get caught!" he whispered, desperate to find a hiding spot.
He banged on the doors of a few vehicles, but they were all locked. Then, he heard the suction tubes activate again. The wardens had arrived.
He flattened himself, crouching low between two large vehicles.
"Search every corner!" a warden yelled. "Every military hardware, tanks, trucks, birds! Everything! The suspect is here and hiding!"
Wardens fanned out, their footsteps echoing through the cavernous space. Jimmy began to sneak, maneuvering through the tight spaces between vehicles.
"At this rate, I'm going to be in so much trouble," he thought, his heart pounding. He peeked out from his hiding spot, scanning for wardens.
Suddenly, his foot landed on something. A quiet click echoed in the silence. He looked down and saw a remote. The sound wasn't loud enough to alert the wardens, but it had opened the hatch to the spacecraft he was hiding next to.
"Shit," he breathed, but a moment later, he saw his opportunity. He sprinted to the open hatch and clambered inside. "I hope this works," he said to himself as he slammed the hatch shut.