Free Silo 49: Going Dark by Ann Christy

clarification where questions existed, orders when such were needed and encouragement to all. And avoiding Tony wherever possible.  He gave him his instructions, which sent him off and running.  Whatever else there was to say about Tony, in every aspect of IT except the important parts, he knew what he was doing. When he finally did manage to duck into the server room with enough privacy to go below, he knew they must have tried to reach him at some point and he took a few minutes to calm himself.
    It turned out that wasn’t hard to do at all and he looked at his canteen, thinking perhaps he put just a little too much happy juice in it. He felt really good at the moment and that was probably not the mood he was going for. He shrugged and took another sip.
    He made his way down the little hallway and into the kitchen facilities, dumping the remaining tea from his canteen and giving it a good wash to avoid the temptation of further indulgence. He didn’t have to worry about the water here, since by design it was pumped from the pre-conditioned water and utterly un-dosed. He cleared his throat and gave himself a stern mental talking to on the importance of remaining serious.
    When he reached Silo One, he sensed a great deal of consternation at the long days since he had last called given the situation. Apparently, Silo One had tried to reach him several times but he had never been notified. He reiterated that they had only a fraction of the personnel they needed and he had to do many other jobs. That was entirely true and he felt the tension on the line ease.
    He, in turn, had to suppress a giggle. He definitely had way too much of the calming additive. Negotiations ensued, though Graham doubted the voice at the other end would have called them that, and in the end, he had promised to come to check once per four days from that day on.
    The reason for their repeated calls had been to ask why no records were yet available on computer. Graham thought he did a passable job of listing the enormous number of emergencies they were dealing with and then at sounding completely sincere when he apologized. He told them he would get right on it.
    He figured they would be watching him until he actually took steps to do as they instructed, so he had gone from his lair beneath the servers and made a public show of compliance by sending a wire to the medic and asking him his progress in his collection of records. He decided to add a little flourish to end the message by writing that he was anxious to finalize the plan and get started.
    As he hit send, Graham hoped the medic wouldn't be equally anxious and actually start scanning records. He hoped the medic in question would be busy enough trying to tend to too many jobs and blow him off entirely for a day or so. Maybe Graham could arrange for the medic to get a dose of that calming additive too. It was great for feeling no sense of urgency. It was something to consider.
    The trio needed a few more days to get their act together and he didn't want Silo One to get any notion they had all that they needed. There was just so much to do. Talking to the right people in the other silos needed to be next on his agenda and he would need all his wits. No more happy juice for him, he decided.
    For this he finally procured the right communications gear, tailored using favors and bribes and detailed instructions provided by Silo 40 long ago but never acted upon. He needed to smuggle it to his rooms on level 5 before turning it on, just in case they were watching.
    He could have just stuck it in a bag and walked up but that was a bit of a waste of a long trip, so he volunteered for food duty. After removing rubbish, this was the least favored job for the residents on any residential level. While the rubbish required sorting and movement of loads, it was all downward movement and a quick shower before returning upward made for a fresh climb past shopping and other sights. Food, on the other hand, was much