​     Livia breathed a sigh of relief​ when she finally made it to the safe room. 

     A room where the walls, floor and ceiling were all made of concrete four inches thick. 

     A room with computer access to everything else in the building. 

     A room stuffed with enough weaponry to hold off a small army. 

     A room fortified with enough food and beverages for her to live inside there for a month if she needed to.  

     She closed the massive, iron door and locked it tight.

     Yes. Oh yes, she'd made it. 

     "And what, exactly, do you believe all this is going to achieve?" Valtair asked.  

     Livia screamed. He stood right next to her. He'd appeared out of thin air. "How in the hell did you..." 

     "We had an agreement. We felt that it was quite an equitable agreement. And now...well, now, here we are."  

     "You...you bastard..."

​     "Normally, we'd have you killed instantly for breaking our agreement."

     "I have no intention..."

     "No. No posturing. I couldn't bear it. Allow me to demonstrate how we articulate our displeasure for those who break their agreements with us."

      Valtair touched Livia's elbow, and every muscle in Livia's body spasmed like she'd just been given an electric shock.

     Her scream was enough to make even Valtair startle.   

     "You see? You see that immeasurable jolt of pure agony I just caused you to endure? I could increase that until I killed you outright. The problem: the computer network installed in this building wasn't designed to our exact specifications, even though that was what we requested. You had someone else brought in, didn't you, you naughty girl?"

     "I've..." 

     "Yes, you had someone brought in behind our backs. Someone good, too. They must have cost you a pretty..." 

     "You thought I'd just..." 

     "We shouldn't need you at all at this juncture. Given the specifications we've provided for you, we should, if we liked, be able to launch those two hundred missiles ourselves, yet we find we can't. Only you can do that, with a secret spoken word that only you know. Why did you do that, Livia? Why are you treating us in such a disrespectful manner after all we've done for you?" 

     "I never should have..." 

​     "You're going to give me that code, Livia. Those missiles are flying tonight, within the hour, and there's nothing you can do to stop it." 

     "If..." 

​     Valtair grabbed her arm, and this time her body convulsed for a full twenty seconds. Livia's eyes rolled back in her skull. Her body dripped with sweat. Never in her life had she known such torment. It had never occurred to her that such pain even existed.   

     Valtair refused to let go of her. 

     "Would you like another one?" he asked. 

​     "No, please, I..." 

​     "Then tell me quick. What is the code?"

     "I...I..."

​     "WHAT IS IT?" 

CONTINUE