Mind Trace by Holly McCaghren Page B

She awkwardly pushed the man off and
got to her feet.
    Sorry, mister, but I'm going to need those clothes if I
want to get out of here without getting caught.
    She had just started to remove his uniform when he began to
stir. Without thinking, she planted a karate-style punch to the side of his
neck, making contact with a pressure point.  He fell completely unconscious under
the blow, and Alice felt a sense of awe and disbelief that it actually worked.
    I hope he'll be alright. He definitely won't be very
happy when he wakes up. Hopefully, I'll be far enough away from here that it
won't matter.  
      She hurried with the rest of his uniform, not wanting to
wait around to see how effective her blow had been.
    When Alice had completely removed his outfit, leaving only
his underclothes, she went ahead and handcuffed him to prevent any more issues.
    She pulled the uniform on over her clothes and tucked her
hair inside the patrol cap. Alice had a difficult time with the boots; they
were too large, but she found she could still walk convincingly in them. Not
wanting to leave her own shoes behind, she slipped one in each of the huge
cargo pockets on either leg.
    She stepped in the bathroom to survey her appearance,
making sure there were no obvious signs that would betray her identity. As long
as no one looked closely, her disguise was more than passable.
    She quickly went back into the room and added all of the
guard's accessories to her belt. She noticed happily that one of them was a
tranquilizer gun.
    Can't get enough of these lately. You never know when
someone needs to get knocked out!
    Alice removed the ear bud from the guard's ear, and placed
it in her own.  As she suspected, it was transmitting the radio communications
used by security. Her ear filled with the typical radio chatter: check-ins,
requests, and other similar conversations.
    As she was about to tackle opening the door, the smell of
the food reached her nose and her stomach rumbled uncomfortably.
    I know I don't have much time, but when am I going to
eat again? Better to be safe, than sorry.
    She lifted the lid on the tray, quickly devoured the
sandwich that was there, gulped down some water, and then moved to the security
panel.
    Alice did not know the code off the top of her head, but
she knew the algorithm used to change the code and how often it was changed. It
was only a matter of seconds before she was able to derive it. The door would
not open, however, unless the correct code was entered after a palm scan. She
glanced over at the guard lying on the floor.
    Great.
    Frustrated, she hurried over to the almost naked man, and
began to drag him awkwardly across the room to the keypad. Luckily, she had
cuffed his hands in front of him, so she was able to place his palm
uncomfortably on the scanner. After a brief moment of hesitation, the scanner
glowed green. She eased the guard back onto the floor and hastily entered the
six-digit code into the keypad. A few seconds later, the door whirred open.
    Here we go!
     She sucked in her breath and started forward. Alice forgot
to take into account the position of the guard, and clumsily tripped over him.
She caught herself at the last minute and stepped breathlessly into the hall. 
There was no one, patrolling or otherwise, that she could see.
    That was close.
    The door to her cell closed, and she hesitantly made her
way to the employee terminal. It was in a small room off the main hallway,
accessed only by a key code.  She kept her head lowered so she would not be
recognized on the security cameras, with the hat hiding most of her face.
    She stopped at the door, taking a moment for her mind to
generate the correct code, and then swiftly entered the room. There was not
much security there, as this terminal was designed for the guards to put in
requests, close work orders, and manage timesheets. To the average user, there
was nothing else that could be done.
    Just enter a few commands here and there…Voila!