ADVENTURES IN MINIATURIZATION
By Minimizer
Chapter 45
Caitlin just stared at the screen. The very language the writer used made her ill. They were all nothing more than lab rats!
All at once she felt her petty anger and jealousy of Kevin melt away. She felt awful. Now she knew why he had never tried to escape, and what he was hiding. He could have just refused to come with them, and stayed safely tucked away in his room, but he was risking everything to help them get away. People he barely knew.
"But what does it all mean?" asked Randi uncomprehendingly.
"Kevin has a tracking device on him," replied Caitlin flatly. "He's bugged."
"Oh, God, no!" said a horrified Randi. "Then that means we can't bring him with us! How do we tell him?"
"We don't," Caitlin answered. "Quick, make that thing disappear or whatever it is you do."
"You just close the file, like this," said Randi, forcing the mouse across the table until the arrow pointed at the little square in the upper right corner of the document. Then she clicked, and the obnoxious report went away. "If I were full sized, I could just use the hotkeys," she explained. "It's a lot easier that way."
"All right," said Caitlin, "you saw what that thing said. If he moves far enough from the building, they can't track him. All we have to do is move quickly once we're out. By the time they find out he's gone, we'll be far out of range."
"But what about Tania?" Randi asked, looking over at the nearly completed staple ladder. Tania was holding several staples while Kevin hammered one into the wall with his fist. Once it was in, he climbed up and with a quick leap reached the window sill. Then he reached down and helped Tania slide up alongside him. She gave him a little hug, and they congratulated themselves on reaching their goal.
Caitlin sighed. "Maybe we'll never have to tell her," she said hopefully. "If we get far enough away, they'll never need to know."
"Come on!" they heard Tania yell at them from the distance. "We made it! Come on up!"
"Just a minute!" Caitlin shouted back. Then she turned to Randi. "Is there any way the scientists can find out we used this computer?"
"I doubt it. As long as we close everything and turn it off. All I did was open the last file the owner used, so they won't be able to tell I was ever here. Why?"
"In case we get captured," Caitlin replied, "I don't want them to know we got any more than we should out of this room."
"Good point." Randi forced the mouse upwards and closed Word, then all the way back to the Start menu again, from which she shut the machine down.
"If you turn it off from there," Caitlin asked curiously, "why does it say 'Start?'"
"Beats me," Randi replied, heading around back to make sure the power switch was completely off.
"I'll never understand computers," muttered Caitlin as they headed towards the waiting ladder. Then she started to climb, but was interrupted by a question from Randi.
"Wait," she whispered. "I just thought of something. What if they have tracking devices on us, too?"
"If they do, we're dead anyway," Caitlin replied, shrugging. "But I don't think so. Otherwise, why would that report only mention Kevin's bug and not ours? Why say that they were sure we'd stay together? Nah, I think he's the only one."
"What if they're tracking us right now?" Randi asked, looking around furtively.
"If they were, why haven't they stopped us?" Caitlin started up the stairs. "Now come on, and stop worrying about every little thing. That's my job."
They clambered up the makeshift staircase until they reached the edge of the window sill. From here, Kevin easily lifted them up to the dusty surface. "Glad you could make it," he said as he pulled Randi to her feet as if she weighed nothing at all. With a grin, he added, "I suppose you're wondering why I called you all here today."
Tania laughed at that. "I'm pretty sure we know," she replied, forcing a smile.
"What did you find on the computer?" Kevin asked.
"Nothing," Randi replied before Caitlin could speak. "All I found were a couple of worthless emails. Most of the disk was password protected."
"Well, it was worth a try," Kevin said. "Now, here's what we're going to do. As you can see, I've tied this rope into an anchor staple." He indicated one he had hammered in near the edge of the window. The coil of multicolored thread lay nearby, one end securely attached. "After I break the glass, I'm going to lower myself to the ground and hold it steady while the rest of you come down. It shouldn't be too hard, but we are four floors up, and it's bound to be windy up here. I can see the building next door out this window, so we're between them. Hopefully, that'll cut down the wind a bit."
As he spoke he had been fishing in the laundry bag he used to carry his supplies. Finally he found what he was looking for and drew it out. It was a pocketknife. "This is one of the things I had on me when they put me on the table all those months ago," he explained. "I don't think they ever knew I had it. I wouldn't even try to shave with it, much as I wanted to, for fear they'd find it and take it away."
"What are you going to do?" asked Randi.
The knife was one of the smaller Swiss Army types with a variety of folded blades. He opened up one of these. It was not a knife, they saw, but a long point similar to the end of a screwdriver. "An ice pick," Kevin explained as he wrapped his hand around the knife, holding it in a fist so the bared tip extended out between his knuckles. Then he pulled a spare sock over his bare skin. "I'm going to go through this window with it."
"No! You'll break your hand!" Tania protested.
"I doubt it. I've been through worse than this." So saying, he walked over to the window, moved near one side, and drove his fist into it with a loud bang. The glass shook, but did not break.
Tania looked horrified. "Doesn't that hurt?"
"Just a little!" he replied through clenched teeth. He was obviously biting back the pain. "It'll give, I know it will." Then he punched the window again. This time, a small crack appeared in its surface.
"It's working!" Randi shouted excitedly.
He slammed his fist against it again and the crack widened. Again and again he struck the glass, until finally it came apart with a satisfying crunch. Now he forced the pieces loose by pushing on them with open hands, until the hole was large enough to fit through easily. He seemed totally unconcerned about being cut by the sharp-looking edges.
He put the pocketknife and sock away, looking at his bare fist. It was bright red, and his knuckles already looked slightly swollen. Tania came over and took his hand, massaging his fingers tenderly. "That was really something," she breathed. "I'll bet that really hurts tomorrow."
"It was worth it," he told her. Then he looked over at Caitlin. "We should go. The sooner we're out of this place, the better, but I don't think I can climb for a few minutes, until my fingers recover."
Caitlin looked at him. His hand seemed to be working just fine, despite the swelling. Did he just want a chance to be alone with Tania, or was this some kind of noble gesture on his part? "That's all right, I'll go down first," she answered, trying not to sound suspicious. "You stay here and help the others."
"All right," he agreed readily. "See you on the ground."