Aris lived on the North side of the Green View Echelon, not too far from where Alex lived, so the three of them walked briskly to his apartment. Once inside, they had a chance to calm down and reflect on the situation.
"Maybe we're just being paranoid and nobody will notice we hacked the system," Aris said.
"Oh, they'll notice," Alex replied.
Before they left Alex's apartment, Alex activated the camera on her computer. Using her access pod, she established a live remote feed, allowing her to view her apartment from Aris' place. They all gathered around and watched. A few minutes went by and nothing happened; her apartment looked safe and sound. Aris lost interest and stopped watching.
"I think we're being too paranoid here, nobody's coming for us."
"Wait," Alex said in a hurried tone.
Aris rushed over just in time to see three armed guardians enter Alex's apartment. They spread out and searched the tiny dwelling. One of the guardians pointed to the empty drawers that were still opened. Another guardian pointed directly at the computer. They walked over to the computer and confiscated it, causing the feed to cut out.
"Still think we were being paranoid?" Milo said in a mocking tone.
"I think coming here was a mistake," Alex said. "It's only a matter of time before they search all the apartments on this floor.
"Alex is right", Milo agreed, "they were able to track me down me in this building in a sea of chaos. We must leave now."
"Guys, we can't go now, this place will be crawling with guardians. Besides, your image is probably being blasted on every monitor in this place."
"This is all your fault," Milo said aggressively as he grabbed hold of Aris and slammed him against the wall.
"Milo, relax, let him go," Alex said with authority.
Milo released Aris, but was still in his face. Aris caught his breath and straightened out his jacket.
"They shouldn't find you here because they don't know Alex and I even know each other," Aris said.
"How did you ever graduate with that puny reptilian brain of yours."
"What?"
"You moron, you're assuming they're only going to knock on the doors of people she knows. What's more likely to happen is they'll search every apartment on this floor, and when they haven't found her, they'll shut down the entire building."
"There's over a million people in this building on any given day," Aris retorted.
"It doesn't matter, trust me. They have ways of tracking people down." Milo's rage began to boil again, "Why did you have to mess around with the computer?" he snarled.
"Leave him alone, Milo. What's done is done. Now we just have to deal with the situation we're in."
"Hey, pal, your nose is bleeding," Aris ridiculed.
Milo raised his hand to his nose just in time to catch a drop of blood.
"What's wrong with you?" Aris taunted him. "You should go easy on the steroids; they're obviously making you a little high-strung."
"Milo, are you okay?" Alex asked. "Just tilt your head back, I'll bring you some tissues."
"That's the third nose bleed this week. I think it's the altitude up here, it's drying out my sinuses."
Milo took the paper towel that Alex handed him and held it against his nose to stop the bleeding.
"You know, since nobody is looking for me, and Milo is falling apart, I'll go on a reconnaissance mission and assess the situation."
"That's a good idea, Aris. Thank you," Alex said.
"No problem. It's the least I can do."
Aris left his apartment and walked toward the tram. With his head down, he was trying to maintain a low profile while inconspicuously being on the lookout for guardians. He spotted several within his short walk to the tram. It was not uncommon to see guardians patrolling the pyramid, but their presence was stronger than usual.
Aris boarded the tram and within a few minutes was at the ground level. He casually exited the tram and went over to a vending machine to buy a drink.
"What, two Units for a Titus Boost, that's a rip off!" he said to himself. He held out his hand an inch from the sensor on the vending machine until he heard a beep. Then a mechanical arm selected his beverage from the shelf and placed it into the receptacle.
Aris opened his drink and stood idly by, scanning the area. There were several guardians positioned at every entry and exit point scanning the faces of people as they walked by.
A bipedal robot approached Aris and began speaking.
"Hello, Aris. May I interest you in a Titus Boost?"
"I already have one, thanks."
"Would you care for another refreshing drink?"
"No, I'm not interested. Now buzz off," Aris said in irritation.
"Very well. Have a pleasant day," the robot said before walking away.
"Stupid robot."
Aris took another sip of his drink before heading back upstairs. He figured he had seen enough. Once he arrived back on Green View Echelon, he realized Alex and Milo's paranoia was justified. The entire floor was swarming with guardians. Evidently they were going door to door, searching apartments. Aris slowed his pace so he could gather as much detail as possible. From what he observed, the guardians made a brief announcement, citing some obscure anti-terrorist law before barging their way in.
They were only a few doors away from Aris' apartment, so he hurried inside to warn Alex.
"How'd it look out there, Aris?" Alex asked as soon as Aris entered the apartment.
"Not good. They're going door to door searching people's apartments."
"Please tell us you're joking," Milo said.
"Unfortunately not, they should be here any minute."
Almost as if he had planned it, there was an aggressive knock on the door. "Guardians! Open up!" they announced.
"What should we do?" Milo asked.
"Don't worry, they're not looking for you, Milo. Just stay calm and act naturally."
Aris opened the door, allowing the two guardians to enter. "How can I help you?" he said with an overly enthusiastic smile. "Would either one of you care for something to drink?"
"We're here under the Anti-terrorist Act, Declaration A â subsection 7.1." one of the guardians said pushing his way passed Aris.
"Ah, okay, whatever that means," Aris replied.
"Have you seen this girl?" another guardian asked as he displayed a 3D digital image of Alex.
"No, but I wish I had; she's beautiful."
The guardians ignored Aris and helped themselves to a complete inspection of his apartment. They saw Milo sitting on the couch looking nervous. They looked him up and down then proceeded to the bedroom. They walked in and out of every room, checking high and low. "All clear," one of the guardians said.
As they proceeded to leave, one of the guardians stopped. Milo's heart was pounding uncontrollably. He kept telling himself to keep it cool, but it felt like he was going to pass out or have a heart attack. The guardian walked across the room and stopped. "Nice view," he said.
"You can't go wrong with mountains," Aris said.
One of the guardians held up a device next to Aris, capturing Aris' bio-stats. It came back clean. He then aimed the device at Milo. Information about Milo's recent arrest populated, which piqued the guardian's interest. The guardian took a step closer. Aris' eyes shifted back and forth between Milo and the guardian.
"Why are you so nervous?" the guardian asked.
"Guilty conscience I guess," Milo replied. "I used to shoplift candy when I was a kid."
A silence hung in the air as the guardian processed Milo's vocal modulation in his access pod.
After a moment, the guardian said, "You two have a nice day." The guardians turned around and left Aris' apartment. As soon as both guardians exited, Alex removed her invisibility cloak and breathed a sigh of relief.
"I can't believe that worked," Aris said. "You should patent that thing."
"It's funny you say that, Milo suggested the same thing to me last week. You guys may have a lot more in common than you realize."
"Somehow I doubt that," Aris said.
"Alex, we should think about relocating you," Milo said. "It'll only be a matter of time before they do a thermal-image scan and detect three bodies in here."