CHAPTER 07_THE FRAME UP
"Ethan you need to look at the screen and tell these officers why a man with your exact build was messing with my laboratory door at three in the morning."
Marcus Vance sounds like a concerned uncle but his eyes are as cold as the frost on a morgue freezer. We are sitting in a cramped security office at the university and the air smells like stale coffee and floor wax. Two police officers stand by the door with their arms crossed while they watch me like I'm a ticking bomb.
"That's not me Marcus." I say while I stare at the grainy black and white footage. The figure on the screen is wearing a hoodie and moving with a familiar slouch but the face is a blur of pixels. "I was home in bed."
"The timestamp says otherwise Ethan." the older officer says while he taps the monitor. "And Dr. Vance here says you've been acting erratic lately. Stockpiling supplies and talking about some kind of disaster. Is that true."
I feel the sweat prickling at my hairline while I look at Marcus. He's leaning back in his chair with his hands folded perfectly on his lap. He looks like a man who's spent his whole life being the smartest person in the room.
"I mentioned to the officers that Ethan might be experiencing some mental health difficulties." Marcus says with a sigh that sounds far too heavy. "Stress from work can do strange things to a person and I'm more worried about his welfare than pressing charges for a simple case of trespassing. Perhaps he doesn't even remember being there."
"I wasn't there." I say and my voice comes out sharper than I intended.
"Then where were you Ethan." the officer asks while he leans in close. "Your girlfriend says she woke up and you were gone. No note and no phone call. You have anyone who can vouch for your location at 3 AM."
I think about Elena. I think about the way she looked at me in the coffee shop and the scars on her hands. If I tell them I was with her Marcus will find her. He'll connect the dots and she'll be the next person to disappear in a subbasement.
"I was walking." I mutter while I look at my hands. "I couldn't sleep so I went to the park. I didn't see anyone."
Marcus shakes his head with a look of disappointment that makes me want to jump across the table and wrap my hands around his throat. "It's a classic sign of a fugue state officers. He's confused and he's projecting his internal chaos onto my research. I'm happy to let this go with a formal warning if Ethan agrees to seek professional help."
The officers exchange a look and I realize the trap has snapped shut. Marcus doesn't want me in jail. He wants me on record as being unstable. He's building a paper trail so when the world ends he can point to me and say he saw it coming.
"You're lucky Dr. Vance is a patient man Hale." the officer says while he stands up. "Get out of here and listen to your doctor. If we see your face on camera again it won't be a conversation next time."
I walk out of the security office and see Morgana waiting in the hallway. She's leaning against the brick wall with her arms wrapped tight around her waist. When she sees me she doesn't run over to hug me. She just stands there and watches me with eyes that are full of fear.
"Did you do it Ethan." she asks when I get close. Her voice is barely a whisper. "Were you really there at his lab."
"No Morgana." I say while I try to take her hand but she pulls back. "The footage is grainy and it's a setup. Marcus is trying to make me look crazy."
"Why would he do that Ethan." she snaps while we walk toward the parking lot. "He's been nothing but kind to us. He offered me a job today as his research assistant and he told me he'd help you find a therapist. He's trying to save our lives while you're out here acting like a criminal."
I stop by her car and look at her. "He offered you a job."
"Yes." she says while she digs her keys out of her purse. Her jaw is set in a hard line I haven't seen before. "It pays twice what I make now and the benefits are incredible. Marcus said he needs someone he can trust because people are trying to sabotage his work. People like you apparently."
"Morgana don't take it." I say while I grab the car door to keep her from closing it. "Please. He's using you to get to me."
"You sound exactly like the man on that tape Ethan." she says while she slides into the driver's seat. "You sound paranoid and controlling and I'm tired of being scared in my own house. I start Monday and I'm going to use that money to get us through whatever this mess is you've created."
She drives me home in a silence that feels like a physical weight. I watch the trees blur past the window and the blue screen in my vision flickers a violent red.
WARNING: Morgana Chen now working directly with Marcus Vance. Compromise acceleration: CRITICAL. Estimated time until complete betrayal: 18 days.
I don't go inside when we get to the apartment. I wait for her to close the front door and then I walk three blocks to the park. I find Elena sitting on a bench near the duck pond and she looks like she's ready to kill someone.
"He framed me Elena." I say while I sit down beside her. "He's got security footage of me at his lab and he's got Morgana on his payroll now. He's moving so fast I can't keep up."
"I saw the alert on the university server." Elena says while she taps a rhythm on her knee. "He's smart Ethan. He's building a legal case that makes you look like a dangerous stalker. If we go to the board now they'll just think I'm an accomplice to a nutcase."
"He's using her as a shield." I say while I watch a dog run across the grass. "If I attack him I'm attacking her boss. If I try to save her I'm the abusive boyfriend."
"We need the data Ethan." Elena says while she turns to look at me. Her eyes are narrowed and focused. "We need Subject Zeros testimony and the files on my brother. We need the proof that the dimensional bore is a bomb and not a bridge."
"How are we going to get into his private server." I ask. "It's air-gapped from the main university network."
Elena reaches into her bag and pulls out a small black USB drive. She looks at it like it's a holy relic.
"I've been working on a remote access tool for three years but I need a physical bridge into the sub-office network." she says while she looks back at me. "Morganas new assistant credentials will give her access to the research servers. She'll have a login and a hardware key."
I feel my stomach turn over. "No Elena. Don't ask me that."
"If we can get her login information and plug this into her home laptop while she's logged into the VPN I can remote access the entire database." she says while her voice stays perfectly steady. "I can mirror his drives and find out exactly what he's doing to Subject Zero."
"You want me to steal her credentials." I say while I stand up. "You want me to hack my girlfriend using her own identity while she thinks she's finally getting her life together."
Elena stands up too and she steps right into my space. She's shorter than me but she feels like a giant in this moment.
"Do you have a better idea Ethan." she asks while she grips my arm. "Because in eighteen days she helps Marcus Vance kill you in a cold warehouse and four months after that eight billion people freeze to death in their own beds."
I look at the playground across the street where kids are laughing and I realize there is no version of this story where I get to be the good guy. I'm already a ghost. I'm already a monster in the eyes of the person I love.
"How do I do it." I whisper.
Elena hands me the USB drive and her fingers are warm against mine. "She'll bring her work laptop home this weekend to set up her remote access. Wait until she's asleep. Plug this in and let the script run. It won't leave a trace on her machine but it will give me a backdoor that Marcus won't see until it's too late."
I tuck the drive into my pocket and the weight of it feels like a mountain.
"She's going to hate me Elena." I say.
"She already hates the man Marcus told her you are." Elena says while she turns to walk away. "Now go home and pretend like everything is fine. We're running out of time Ethan and the ice doesn't care about your feelings."
I walk back to the apartment and find Morgana in the kitchen. She's humming a song while she makes dinner and for a second it looks like the first life again. It looks like a world where we had a future.
"Ethan I'm sorry I was so sharp earlier." she says while she turns around with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I just want us to be okay. Dr. Vance sent me my welcome packet and a company laptop. He wants me to log in tonight to check the security protocols. Isn't that great."
I look at the laptop bag sitting on the kitchen table and I feel the USB drive burning a hole in my pocket.
"Yeah babe." I say while I walk over to kiss her forehead. "It's great. I'm really proud of you."
She hugs me tight and I can feel her heart beating against mine. It's a fast frantic rhythm that tells me she's still terrified even if she's trying to hide it.
"Everything is going to be perfect now Ethan you'll see." she whispers into my chest.
I close my eyes and I see the blue screen flickering in the dark.
New Quest: The Trojan Horse. Objective: Secure Morgana Chen's login credentials. Reward: Access to Marcus Vance's private files.
"I know it is Morgana." I say while I pull her closer. "I know it is."