Claire recognised the tall concrete building that haunted her childhood, teenage years, and so much of her adulthood. 'Moore Pharmaceuticals' was visible from miles away, shining in bright white neon lights that never turned off.
She knew so many of the company secrets that it didn't seem even that difficult to work out all the possible ways in. The challenge, of course was, to get inside in the middle of the night, without alarming the security. She was likely to get killed on the spot if she were to be found.
No one would suspect her of murder because she didn't exist, but also she was easier to kill and get rid of because she didn't exist. It was a double edged sword.
Claire walked the perimeter of the large square, careful to be concealed with the hedge between her and the view of the building. Her learnt vigilance came in particularly handy as she spotted the security guards patrolling the building instantly. Some wore the uniform with the 'Security' logo, but some wore casual clothing. It must've been an additional precaution.
Claire pulled the hood of her coat over hear head as she started counting the men on patrol, their weapons and equipment, and distance between them. At the very best she had seconds to find a way in without getting spotted.
She second guessed her decision. Maybe she should've let Pierre know, or Rosa. Maybe they could've helped. But they didn't deserve to die, and by now it was very personal. She needed closure, vengeance and revenge. For the first time ever, she wanted to inflict pain.
She was in afraid of the consequences if she were to succeed. She was terrified if she were to be caught. She knew that the retaliation wasn't going to be solely her death. Her family, friends, Gabriel, they all were going to be punished equally or even more severely than her.
Claire walked around the building twice to make sure that she got the numbers right. Ten security guards. Four armed with guns. All had tasers. No clear way in. No clear way out. But she only needed to get in.
Claire squatted behind the hedge. A deep breath in, and a deep breath out.
There was no clear path in. She needed to make it herself. She counted until the guard patrolling was out of sight and she run towards the window. She used a knife and hit the thin layer of rubber lining surrounding the frame. She run the knife through as much as she could, counting until the next guard was going to be near. After twenty seconds she run back and hid out of the line of sight. She counted. Every second feeling like eternity, holding her breath whenever someone passed by. A minute and another gap. She run up to the window and did exactly what she did before, trying to wedge the knife between the silicone and the frame, trying to get it to reach the locking system. Twenty seconds and she run off again.
Her hands shook violently. It was the stupidest plan she ever had. She wished that she took something with her to break a window silently. But it was too late.
She repeated the process two more times before the knife was deep enough in the silicon that she could feel the metal lock. She pushed it up, relieved when the window opened.
One look around and she climbed through into the room. She laid low straight away, ensuring that the window looked closed. She was in the storage room with the door closed. There wasn't much more than boxes of printing paper, stationary, and some unused lab coats.
Claire placed her feet carefully as she approached the door. She placed her head against it, trying to listen out for any sounds. Nothing.
She laid down on the floor, trying to see under the door any moving shadows. Minutes passed and she saw the pair of black shoes walking past. A security guard was patrolling the corridor.
It was difficult to steady her thoughts. There were definitely cameras and security that monitored it at all times. There were a very few reasons why someone would still be walking around.
Aside of one obvious reason. Claire's gaze fell onto the pile of lab coats.
Claire removed her coat as silently as she could and put on a lab coat on.
She looked down at herself and realised that she looked a bit off, too sterile. With a knife she frayed the edges of the sleeves trying to replicate constant use. She broke the biro pen and smudged the ink across the side of her hands and strategically around the chest pocket of the lab coat and the sleeves. She saw her mum in the lab coat many times before so it wasn't hard to imagine what she should look like. She found some elastic bands in the stationary box and tied her hair up in a messy ponytail.
She then proceeded to place a gun in the right pocket of the white lab coat which had a 'Moore Pharmaceuticals' logo on, and taser in the left pocket. The knife was hidden in her trouser's pocket - just in case.
She then grabbed a few pens and a clipboard with some paper, as well as a batch of the plain printer paper.
Another deep breath and waiting for the footsteps to pass again. She was certain that it took a good ten or fifteen minutes between them. She had plenty of time to find her way around. She remembered many of the corridors so it wasn't that hard.
Once the footsteps quietened well into the distance, Claire came out of the room and walked in a hurry, still trying to remain as silent as she could. She tried not to look around too much as to not alarm the security monitoring the cctv. She needed to act as naturally as she could.
She took yet another corner.
"Excuse me." A man's voice sounded behind her straight after the sound of the door closing behind him. Of course he had to come out of the room at this very moment. Claire forced a smile and turned around.
"Yes."
"What are you doing here?"
"Just grabbing the printer paper. We run out on the second floor." Claire pointed at the printer paper, her stomach twisting.
"Why are you in so late?"
"Report is due tomorrow before the clinical trial. I was trying to print it after a whole 18 hour day and here I am. It's always something." Claire faked the frustration very well. She didn't even have to pretend to be exhausted. Past few months wore her out enough. Her dark circles were pretty convincing.
"I don't recognise you."
"I've just started about two weeks ago." Claire smiled. "I've joined the project instantly in its full swing. What a way to be introduced to the team and the company!"
"What is your name?"
"Anne Smith." Claire lied. She had so many names by now that it wasn't that hard to come up with a new one.
"Where's your badge?"
"My badge?" Claire pretended to look flustered as she looked down at her chest. She didn't have a badge. She wouldn't. "I must've left it by the printers."
"Did you do the safety culture training yet?"
"No, sir. I am due to do it next week. Why?"
"You must wear a badge at all times."
"Oh." Claire batted her lashes in the most innocent way. "I'm sorry. I didn't realise. I never had a badge before."
"Didn't you?"
"It's my first proper job since uni and I had most of my classes online so I never had to wear a badge on campus. I'm sorry. I'll remember to wear it. I hope… I hope that you won't tell my manager? I've just started and…." Claire managed to force tears into her eyes.
"No, don't worry. Treat this as a warning. No point scaring off a new recruit so quickly. You seem to have enough on your plate. Also…" the man pointed at his cheek. Claire repeated the motion towards her own cheek. "I think the pen must've leaked in your pocket."
"Oh no. I hope it washes off!"
"Try a good stain remover but if not, I'm sure that you can request a spare lab coat. Just go onto the employees hub page."
"Thank you." Claire smiled. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"Geoff."
"I'll remember you. I'll try to bring you some coffee some day as a thank you."
"Don't worry about it. Go get that report sorted."
"Thank you." Claire smiled and waved before turning around and continuing to walk towards the library. She couldn't believe that she lied her way out so easily.
Library wasn't like a proper library. There were mostly just books on pharmacology, chemistry, and anything related. It was very modern, with beige shelves on the walls, and then a few more rows of it.
Claire placed the content of her hands down on the table and looked right at the fireplace. It was an electrically lit up log on the bottom. This place was to clean and sterile for any real fire or warmth. It wasn't huge. She leaned in and touched the back of it. The bricks felt rough but with the tips of her fingers she could feel the tiniest bit of difference between the texture of the bricks in the centre and on the outside. She pushed the bricks on the left one by one, until she heard a click. Diane told her the truth. That was one thing she forgot to consider, but Diane did speak truth. It was a passing relief as she knew that she neared the very end of everything.
She pushed the back wall and with an ease it swung open revealing a shaft with a ladder on it.
Claire looked around the room one more time before she crawled through the fireplace and into the shaft, holding onto the metal that was attached to the brick wall. There was no natural light there. She should've been prepared for that. Claire clenched her jaw with anger at herself as she started climbing into complete darkness. Thankfully the ladder led all the way to the floor of the basement.