Nora frowned, her brows furrowing. She was beginning to question Zuse's decision to not put security cameras in the vault. She made a mental note to order some.
Security cameras. Wait…
"When did you say it was opened?" she asked slowly, pivoting on her heel and walking to her desk.
“Umm… about four or five microcycles before Markus went down to get the energy for the club tonight.” Cor said, looking at the data again. “You got an idea?” he smirked a little as he glanced over at her.
"I do," Nora said, pulling up the computer screen, her hands dancing delicately across the controls. "The security cameras in the club are always running, even when the club is closed… they should show us if anyone entered the service elevator."
A few moments passed in silence, and then Nora groaned softly and gestured to the screen. "Nothing. They must have gotten in via the access tunnel at the bottom of the building, and I don't think there are security cameras down there."
Cor almost smiled as she pulled up the security feed, honestly a little doubtful that it could be that easy. As he watched with Nora he let out a soft sigh and shook his head. “This just keeps getting more and more complicated. It has to be Cyrus at this point. I don't know why he would do this but everything else just adds up.” he groaned, running his hands through his hair.
Nora looked up at Cor. "…You didn't see, did you? The programs, in the club. They're all… acting strange. Listless. Even Skye."
“Uhh… No, I didn't really look at them.” Cor shook his head. “Is it worse than earlier?” he asked, heading over to look down at the crowd.
Nobody was dancing. Everyone was limp, standing around staring at each other with those wide, haunted eyes.
"I don't know what's going on," Nora confessed, closing the screen and coming to stand next to Cor. "I don't think they've even noticed that the bar is closed."
“Well, that might be a good thing.” Cor commented, suppressing a shudder at the way everyone was staring. “Did someone call the Black Guard yet? If things get bad, I’d rather have them get beat up than us.”
"I don't know if the Black Guard can… do anything," Nora confessed. "I think what we need is a medic, but I'm nowhere near qualified."
"I can get a medic," Markus volunteered. "There's one just around the corner from the Silver Building."
Cor nodded, agreeing with the idea of a medic. “That might be a better plan. Flynn knows what that psycho could have done.”
Nora nodded as well. "Markus, go get a medic. I'll continue looking at the security cameras. There has to be something, somewhere."
Cor sighed, rubbing his forehead thoughtfully. “Can… Can I double-check that security feed?” he asked, a little doubtful that he would actually find anything.
Nora nodded, pulling up the screen, while Markus exited the office. "Go ahead."
“Thanks.” Cor said as he moved back to the desk and played the video again. He wasn't really sure he would find anything but he wanted to make sure that they weren't missing anything.
Nora, meanwhile, was considering hiring Black Light. She knew there were other security cameras, of other buildings, that would have a viewpoint on the other door. She knew she couldn't access those if she tried, but Black Light…
She didn't know how to hire him, that was her only problem. Perhaps she'd ask him the next time she saw him.
Cor kept his eyes on the screen and rewound the footage again, going back a few microcycles further. He watched carefully for any sign that Cyrus had tampered with the camera or somehow managed to cloak himself but kept coming up empty. “I hate to say it, Nora, but I can't find anything. The son of a glitch is just too good.” he sighed, already planning on coming back later once End of Line was empty.
(Son of a glitch. That's glorious. I'm stealing that and using it)
Nora frowned as she watched him. "Well, I didn't expect anything. He is, as you said, too good to have made such a… a rookie mistake."
(go ahead! It was just a spur of the moment and I thought it was fitting. ☺️😆)
“Right.” Cor nodded as he closed the viewing screen. Of course Cyrus was… extremely good at subterfuge and chaos that the only way Cor could think of that would give him a chance would be to try hacking. But obviously he couldn't do that right now.
Nora walked to the front of the office, folding her arms as she looked down on the programs. Even the DJ's had noticed something was wrong, by now: the music had stopped. And you could hear the programs down below - or rather the absence of their chatter, just a dull, ringing silence save for the few programs still struggling with the bouncers.
Markus reappeared, stepping out from the service elevator with three medics behind him. Giving a wide, hopeful smile to Nora, he climbed the steps to her office and stepped in. "Well, the medics are here. Let's hope they find something."
Cor was trying to ignore the eerie silence coming from the club. It was just so wrong… and it made his code crawl. “Thank Flynn.” he sighed, looking up when Markus rejoined them.
"Anything new happen?" Markus asked, his smile lessening when he looked out over the silent club.
Nora shook her head, watching the medics examine programs. "And that's what worries me."
“I really hope they find something.” Cor sighed as he walked over to stand beside Nora and Markus. Though a part of him, honestly, wouldn't be too surprised if the medics couldn't.
Nora nodded and started fiddling absentmindedly with the light strip on her chest. It was a nervous tic.
"Should we let the other programs out?" she asked. "The ones who aren't drunk?" She didn't want panic spreading through the city.
Cor nodded. “Probably. Maybe we can have a medic give them a quick check, just to make sure?” he suggested.
Nora nodded. "That's a good idea. Markus, can you do that?"
Markus nodded and hurried down the stairs, talking to a medic with long, dark hair. Together, they started making their way over to the programs by the door.
"Have you found anything yet?" Nora asked Cor.
Cor shook his head at her question. “No, and I don't think I'll be able to find anything more.” he admitted, leaving out that the only way he could would be to hack the security system. “But I did have a thought about that blank code key. Cyrus is known for repurposing code. If he was somehow able to get his hands on one of any kind, then he could probably use that as a basis for a skeleton and be able to get in any security that would need a code key.”
Nora's mouth curled to one side as he told her that. "I just don't understand why he'd hit End of Line. Spiking energy… from what I've heard, that doesn't seem to be his normal behaviour."
Cor nodded. “Yeah. That's where I start drawing a blank too.” he agreed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Only thing I can think of that might make sense is that this is a distraction for someone or something else. Or the psycho has a bigger plan and we just can't see it yet.” he theorized.
Nora sighed and fiddled with her light strip again. She was beginning to feel nervous. It was a feeling that was relatively foreign to her, and she didn't like it, this prickling feeling in the pit of her gut.
Markus came back to them, hurrying up the stairs. "The medics say that the programs are good to go. The ones who aren't drunk."
Nora nodded and headed over to her console, unlocking the elevator.
“Thank Flynn for small favors.” Cor sighed with a small brief smile as he watched the few sober programs make their way towards the exit. “Have the medics started checking on the others yet?”