Dagmara

Her cell phone coming to life woke Dagmara from her slumber. Usually a light sleeper, she was awake after the first ring. Looking at the number on the screen, the lab, she swiped the arrow and brought the phone to her ear.

“Dagmara,” she said curtly, not overly pleased at the disturbance, but also knowing it must be important for someone to do so.

“Director Slindon, it’s Taryn at the lab. There’s been an escape,” she blurted.

Sitting up in her bed, Mara swung her legs over the edge, “How many?” she asked, running a hand through her long loose blonde hair, knowing Taryn could only be referencing the subjects being monitored in the lab.

“Well, at present there are seven unaccounted for and on the loose, and well, two dead,” Taryn replied, panic increasing the rate of her speech.

“Relax,” Mara soothed, speaking calmly trying to assuage the anxiety in the intern, “This event was not an unanticipated outcome, right now I want you to seal sectors A, B, and C and remain within the facility. See if you can locate any of the other missing subjects in the area,” she instructed.

“Yes ma’am,” replied the girl.

Hanging up, a contemplative look crossed Mara’s beautiful but cold face. As she dressed, she called Madeline, briefly explaining the situation before directing her to alert Hope and Kari and get them to attend the lab post haste.

A brief smile brushed across her lips as she hastily pulled on her shoes and exited her rental suite. She had been assured by all the ‘experts’ the model was essentially escape proof, well her little charges just proved otherwise. Pulling her hair back into a pony tail as she made her way across the parking lot to her car, she found she was fairly excited by the turn in events. Something new.

She arrived at the lab building seconds behind Hope, the latter holding the door for the director and together they walked into the building.

Navigating through the maze of halls, Mara swiped her card and pushed open the door, stepping in right behind the psychologist.

Dr. Wolcott was already there, examining the squashed remains of one of the subjects on the desk. The limp form of another inmate lying close by. Both Julie and Taryn were still there.

“What are we looking at Kari?” asked Dagmara, crossing over to the medical doctor.

Looking up, “Two dead, looks like Cornelius fell, his wounds are consistent with impact trauma. This little mess, well, Julie inadvertently stepped on this one,” Kari advised.

“I’m so sorry,” Julie offered contritely, eyes wide.

Mara smiled and waved her off, “Can we tell which subject that was?” she asked, pointing at the human wreckage.

“Under the magnifier, there are a few identifying tattoos so I’m pretty confident these are the remains of subject #7, Russell Thomas,” she replied.

Turning to look at the two young interns, Dagmara nodded, “Did either of you search in this room for any others?” she asked.

Julie nodded her head, “We looked first in the habitat, and when we saw everybody had gone, then searched the rest of the room, but only cursory,” she explained.

“We didn’t dare go out in case there might be others in the hall in section B, we didn’t want to step on them,” Taryn added.

Mara held a hand up, “No worries, as of now, I’m issuing the Omega Protocol for this project, all subjects to be terminated,” she ordered.

No one questioned her order, though Madeline made no effort to conceal her disappointment.

“Do want us to start looking?” Kari asked, hands on the examination table.

“I’m going to review the video footage for any possible information that might be relevant. We have to assume they’ve managed to breech the lab and may be in sector B,” she advised. Turning to look at Taryn, “You did initiate the lockdown on Sectors A, B, and C?” she asked.

The girl nodded emphatically, brown hair bouncing. “Absolutely, only access card overrides will work,” she assured.

Dagmara smiled, “Good. Since no one other than four of us,” she started, referring to Madeline, Hope, Kari, and herself, “Have entered since the loss of containment, there is no way for our wayward little desperados to get out of the facility. Start here in the lab proper, see what you can find by opening lower workstation drawers and shelving,” she informed before retiring to her office.

Sitting at her desk, two synched computers monitors glowing, she split the screen on the monitor to her left into four panels, populating the fields with material from all four cameras and reviewed the footage, fast forwarding until she arrived at the moment subject #5 simply pushed open his cell door. Noting the time stamp on the footage, she nodded. They had a means of disengaging the locks.

“Interesting,” she mused, surprised at how easily the door opened. How? She wasn’t sure yet. Letting the footage continue at normal speed, she shook her head slowly as each of the little convicts got out of their cells in the same fashion, just by pushing tier doors. There must be something obstructing the locking mechanism. She laughed softly, marveling at the craftiness of her little test subjects.

Their original intent was obvious, once they slipped the collars, they were trying to blow a hole in the wall, but failed. However, the blast was significant enough to displace the roof panel. Step by step she watched the little felons get out of their confinement and escape the model. Gathering bedsheets to fashion a homemade means of descent. It was the very last scene that captured her attention, the one with Jack Taylor, subject #1, standing and looking defiantly into the camera and speaking.

Rewinding it, she played it again, and a third time. Contrary to the lament in his message, there was indeed live audio pick up, the microphones sensitive to clearly hear his taunting words, “Too bad there isn’t any audio here because I just wanted you to know you lose.”

The smile on her gorgeous face was broad, pink lips pulled back revealing pearl white teeth, “I lose?” she asked aloud, eyebrows raised in amusement, a soft chuckle in her voice. The sheer audacity, chutzpah of the man. She liked it, the fact that even during his flight to perceived freedom, he tarried to specifically try and heckle her. Balls of steel.

Strumming her nails across the surface of her desk, she nodded slowly, smile never waning. “Why Mr. Taylor, if it’s a game you want, well then challenge accepted. Let us play and see in the end who loses,” she said, laughing softly as she got up from her desk.

Walking out from her office and back into the lab, she motioned for the other women to come gather around her, “I’m rescinding the order to exterminate them, I want them alive, or as many of them as we can capture alive,” she said, nodding her head authoritatively. “Most specifically, I special precautions taken for subject #1. I will have him delivered to me alive,” she clarified, eyes narrowing.

“Does that mean I might get to keep one?” Madeline asked, bringing her hands excitedly together.

Mara just smiled.