Descent

When the elevator door yawned open, Sandy hesitated for a long moment before she stepped on. No matter how much she scolded herself, she had never been able to get on board without being flooded by anxiety.

Just do it, Lieutenant! You’re a badass, a vital member of a top secret Special Projects team. Riding into the earth’s core is the easiest thing you’ll ever do at this job. A safe, secure ride. Six minutes, nineteen seconds. Nothing to worry about.

She glanced sideways to catch a final glimpse of the badlands of Southern Saskatchewan before her descent. The sprawling two-story building with its rooftop parkade was allegedly a storage and administrative centre for military manoeuvres, but it housed a subterranean secret.

A special elevator behind a locked door with the forbidding advisory MINIMUM LEVEL SIX CLEARANCE transported the elite members of a Special Projects team to a top secret facility where all information was on a “need to know” basis and non-essential communication was strongly discouraged. Sandy was a competent and reliable administrator used to keeping secrets, but she often wished that her special skills had been overlooked and she was still working on the surface. Much as she appreciated her promotion and pay increase, the endless security rituals weighed heavily on her shoulders.

She stepped onto the elevator, pushed the lowest of the array of buttons, and focused on the swirling colours of the relaxation app on her phone, wishing that she had not forgotten her earbuds, which would have bombarded her brain with rhythmic binaural tones and persuaded her nervous system to stand down.

After only three deep breaths, the elevator stopped. Another passenger! Who could it be? She tried to focus on her phone and ignore the intrusion. The door slid shut and the floor dropped away under her feet, unleashing a wave of nausea.

“Sandy?” a male voice inquired with an undertone of incredulity. “Sandy Turnbull?”

She looked up. Her fellow traveler was a man with a disconcertingly familiar face, wearing a major's uniform.

“Sir?” she said, masking her dismay with her best military manner. “I’m Porter. Lieutenant Porter.”

The major frowned faintly and shook his head. “Well, Lieutenant, you have a doppelganger. You don’t have an identical twin, by any chance?”

“I’m an only child, sir.”

Sandy dropped her eyes back to her phone. Major Yves Caldwell stared at her, looking for some clue to confirm her identity.

I can’t believe that this is not Sandy, as lovely as ever!
My nemesis.
Why did I let myself be seduced by that dating app? But it was wonderful while it lasted. And here she is, or a reasonable facsimile, to torment me all over again.
“We’ll find the perfect mate for you,” they said. “No more lonely nights or meaningless days. Your life will never be the same.”
They were right about the last part, anyway.

So here she is again, large as life and twice as dangerous. Is she lying about her identity to lull my suspicions and set me up for another sneak attack? A psychopath would do that, and she certainly is one.

Sandy gripped her phone more tightly.

Yves never told me that he was in the armed forces. Of course, I never told him about my career either. We didn’t exchange any personal information to speak of. We were too busy enjoying each other’s company, until … until … is he here to kill me, or at least have me arrested?

This is a top secret installation. He can’t possibly have security clearance. Maybe that uniform is a fake and he stole a key somehow. Should I call for help?

There’s no Wifi connection here. The best I could do is push the panic button. The elevator would freeze and it could hours before security arrived. Would there even be enough oxygen available until then? 

My best option is to keep calm and reconsider my options once my feet are on solid ground.  Just another three minutes of so.

The elevator stopped with a jerk. Yves swore. Sandy screamed and dropped her phone. The lights winked out.

“This had better be a test,” Yves growled. “I don’t have time for a real emergency.” He pulled his phone out of his back pants pocket, turned on the light, and opened a panel in the wall, revealing a keypad. He stared at it for a long moment, entered a code, and confirmed it with his thumbprint.

EXTRACTION CODE ACCEPTED, a tinny computer voice announced. SECOND PARTY CONFIRMATION REQUIRED IN TWENTY, NINETEEN …

Yves swore again and turned to Sandy, who was sitting on the floor, hugging her knees and hyperventilating.

“Do you have an extraction code?”

“Extraction c-c-c-ode, sir?”

“A brand new code. You should have received it a couple of days ago.”

“I have a code bank in my phone. I know we’re not supposed to …”

“There isn’t time for that. Just focus. TLN 7 … What’s next?”

“The Latest Buzz,” Sandy murmured. “Seven Little ducks. Twenty-one hunters. The End.”

“For Pete’s sake, woman, pull yourself together!”

“TLN 7 LD 21 HU Omega.”

Yves repeated the letters and numbers after her as he typed.”

“No!!!” Sandy gasped. “Correction, sir. It’s not a TLN series, it’s TLB. The Latest Buzz.  I don’t know why they make things so com—“

“Correcting,” Yves interrupted grimly, “TLB 7LD 21 HU Omega.”  He swiveled and grabbed her hand. “I need your thumb print.”
Sandy whimpered and tried to pull away.

“Lieutenant!” Yves roared. “ON YOUR FEET!”

She was on her feet instantly, galvanized. “Sir, yes sir!”

He yanked her arm and planted her thumb in the designated area just as the computer countdown reached THREE.

Light blossomed with an eerie grinding sound. Sandra collapsed into Ivan’s arms. He held her tightly until they were deposited on the Central Control Transfer Pad. Brigadier General Horace Grayling was standing beside the control panel, stopwatch in hand.

Sandy freed herself and backed away. She pulled herself together into her smartest military posture and saluted.

“As you were,” General Grayling purred. He was grinning from ear to ear. “The emergency extraction program worked perfectly. No one will ever be stuck in that elevator again.”

Sandy’s knees buckled and she collapsed at Ivan’s feet. He hunched down beside her. “Sandy – are you okay?”

“Yes sir,” Sandy said faintly as Ivan helped her up. “Sorry sir. This was my first extractions. It was more overwhelming than I expected.”

“Sandy?” the general queried. “You two know each other?”

“We have met previously, sir,” Sandy said. “We were out of uniform. I had no idea Major Caldwell works here.”

“We brought him in to consult on the Cassandra IV project. He was in command of the previous Cassandra missions. We had to scrub them, but we are confident that this one will not disappoint.”

Sandy paled and started to sway. Ivan reached out to steady her.

“We have a strict non-fraternization policy here,” the general growled. “Non-essential communication is detrimental to security protocols. Do not engage in personal conversation or disclose your previous relationship to anyone. You first official contact will be the mission briefing tomorrow.”

“Understood, sir,” Ivan said. “Lieutenant, you need to sit down until your head clears.”

“Carry on,” the general said over his shoulder before proceeding down the hall, whistling a military march tune. 

Ivan settled Sandy in a chair, checked to make sure that the general was out of earshot, and turned to the technicians, snarling.

“Second-party authentication? Are you crazy? If I had been alone, I would still be stuck in there! Who wrote the extraction program, anyway?”

“You did, sir. For the Aurora mission. We adapted it …”

“Well adapt it some more! That program was written for a team scenario. It needs to be fixed yesterday!”

Ivan stalked from the room without waiting for a response. Sandy jumped up and ran down the hall after him.

“Sir! A word, sir!”

Ivan stopped and performed a reluctant about-face. “What is it, Lieutenant?”

“I’m sorry I tasered you. It was a terrible misunderstanding.”

“Was it something I said? A flaw in my tantric technique? What?”

“Nothing like that, sir. When your phone made that weird sound, it woke me. I followed you to the bathroom and listened through the door. I heard you say Understood. Terminate Cassandra.”

“So – Cassandra III was scrubbed. Why would that concern you?”

“My name is Cassandra, sir. I thought you had been ordered to kill me.”

Ivan’s brow furrowed as he processed the information. “Sandy – Sandra – is short for Cassandra?”

“I thought the name was too old-fashioned, sir.”

“Do you always bring tasers on your dates?”

“Standard army issue, sir. Because our projects are top secret, I am a potential target. All Level Sevens and higher are required to carry firearms and tasers at all times.”

“I suppose I should be grateful that you didn’t use your sidearm.”

“I liked you too much for that, sir.”

Ivan smiled. “Why did I know you as Sandy Turnbull? Were you under cover?”

“I use my maiden name in the civilian world to make me harder to trace.”

“Maiden name? You’re married?”

“Not any more. My husband couldn’t adjust to my unexplained absences. He said it was like being married to Wonder Woman.”

“If that position is still open, I’d like to apply,” Ivan said.

Sandy’s eyes lit up. She smiled briefly, and then frowned. “I like my job, sir, and I think you like yours too. Fraternization could destroy our careers.”

Ivan sighed. “Just my luck. I’d really like another date, minus the weaponry.”

Sandra nodded. “Me too, sir,”

“Would you consider civilian employment? I have a friend who runs a private investigation agency, and I’m sure you have the perfect skill set--”

“Would you be willing to give up your career for me, sir?” Sandy asked.

Ivan considered the question for two endless minutes, and shook his head.

They stood for a long moment, gazing into each other’s eyes. A tear rolled down Sandra’s cheek.

“Dismissed, Lieutenant!” Ivan ordered sharply.

They saluted and marched off in opposite directions.