Free Son of Sedonia by Ben Chaney

She grinned. Perfect.
    “Save and attach to New Local Text,” Liani said as she stepped out of the porto-can. She started walking down the catwalk like she was headed back to the platform. Kept an eye on the guard as she entered the code string into the Text. Her roommate in school was a Neural Media major and showed her this cool trick to scare the shit out of their friends. Usually a ‘BANG!’ or a random screamed word like ‘Tallahassee!’ Good times. She hit the floating ‘Send’ button and waited.
    The guard jumped about a foot and looked behind him at the hatch. As he keyed his throat mic, Liani stooped. Retracted her heels to form comfy, arch-supported shoes. Best invention ever...
    “This is Schaefer at 1A, did anybody hear that?” she heard him ask. Schaefer waited for a response Liani couldn’t hear, then buzzed the hatch open. Good boy. Here we go!
    “Stand by, I’m checking it out,” Schaefer said. Liani broke into a run, muffling her steps as best she could as the hatch slowly closed. Shitshitshitshit SHIT! It was too far away. Liani whipped the purse off her shoulder and chucked it at the door. The strap draped over the hatch frame, stopping it from latching.
    “ Yes! ” Liani whispered to herself. She peeked through the door, picked up her purse, and stepped in. Quietly shut it behind her.
    The place looked more like a battleship than an office complex. Reinforced plate-steel walls lined the hall with exposed piping and valves running the length. Every door she passed was a heavy slab of metal with hydraulic hinges. Like a fallout shelter...nervous about explosions, are we? Hurried footsteps approached. She ducked into a narrow hall and pressed against a wall in time to avoid Schaefer’s notice. Waited to hear Gate 1A open and shut.
    Two hydraulic double doors capped the end of the corridor. The words ‘Conference Room 1A’ embossed the surface. She scurried to the end and hung a right into the hall to the lavatories. Entered the ladies room, closed the door, and tapped her temple.
    “ Call Corey ,” she whispered. Three beeps later, he picked up.
    “You didn’t fall in, did you?” he answered.
    “ Corey! Corey, hi...I need you to do me a really big favor. ”
    “Uh oh...I don’t like the sound of that. Are they out of TP or something?”
    “ Ha ha, asshole. I was thinking more along the lines of a diversion. ”
    “Uhh...come again? What the hell do you mean by ‘diversion’?”
    “ The kind where you trip and fall into Gate 1A, make a lot of racket, and get into a big argument about ‘Freedom of the Press’ with any guard who comes your way! ” Moments of static passed.
    “Does this mean we’re actually after some real News?”
    “ Yes! ”
    “On my way.”
    “ Awesome! I’m sharing the feed from my ring cam...stay tuned. ” Liani ended the call. She sent Corey the cam invite, straightened her hair, and waited. In a matter of minutes, she heard the deep vibration of the conference room double-doors open and rapid footsteps break off down the hallway. She stepped out of the lavatory and tiptoed to the doors. Godddd, what the hell are you doing?! Liani winced as she crouched, placed the ring on the ground, and skated it across the linoleum with a flick of the wrist.
    “You fucking fascists are all the same!” Corey’s voice echoed down the hall as Liani snuck back to the lavatory. She pulled up the ring cam feed.
    It had landed perfectly under a solid oak table, peering out into the posh, circular conference room. The light was much warmer inside, reflecting off of spartan mahogany wall panels, dark cream marble floors, and fluted columns. Finley’s characteristic laugh snorted through the chamber.
    “Create jobs? That’s essentially your answer isn’t it? ‘Create jobs.’ Mister Governor, I fail to see exactly how increasing my workforce by forty percent could possibly lower costs. It may help you curry favor with the electorate, but...heh heh...if you think a