Page 89 of Emergency Exit
December 28
“Ash!” The door to his office popped open, and Ash looked up as Romeo and Mel tried to jam themselves through the doorway simultaneously.
“Don’t hit accept on that invite I just sent you!” barked Romeo, pointing an accusing finger at Ash. Romeo wore a cosplay level of preppy wear, including a white sweater with a faux varsity letter. Ash blinked in surprise at both the tone and the outfit. Romeo usually trended toward Goth. It was one of the reasons he and Mel got along. They shared a base DNA strand of emo.
“Uh, OK,” said Ash, trying to subtly close out his Sim game that he was wasting too much time on. “I hadn’t actually opened it yet.”
“Romeo figured out what was wrong with the calendar,” said Mel, coming around the desk to grab control of Ash’s mouse and keyboard.
“I asked a question,” said Romeo. “You solved it. I just thought I was starting to go totally delulu.”
“Well, I thought maybe it was on Harper’s end,” said Ash, “but I watched her hit accept on her invites.”
“Only later, they mysteriously got canceled, right?” asked Romeo.
Ash nodded in surprise as Mel furiously opened panels and began changing settings.
“Yeah. That is... because Romeo... deleted her from the invites.” Mel paused between words like they always did whenthey were thinking about something else while talking.
“Uh, what?” asked Ash.
“Only it wasn’t me,” said Romeo, with a mad grin.
“One or more of us is confused,” said Ash. “Also, why are you dressed like you’re a closing sale for Abercrombie & Fitch?”
Mel snickered, and Romeo glared at both of them.
“I’m meeting that citizenship lawyer after work.”
“Oh, great!” exclaimed Ash. “You are billing that to me, right?”
“I’m not sure,” said Romeo, glancing nervously at Mel.
“He’s serious,” said Mel without looking up. “Stop freaking. Track it and put it on the work account. Gary will figure out how to code it later.”
“I feel weird about it,” said Romeo. “I know a lot of people who can’t afford to even start the process, and having you pay for it makes me feel some kind of way.”
“Well, I feel some kind of way about the idea that you could be deported, and then my entire life would fall apart,” said Ash. “Maybe I can do some sort of annual citizenship scholarship thing. You’re my first recipient. Congratulations, Dreamer, you can now afford to talk to a professional who will guide you through the miles of paperwork that are about to become your life.”
“Paperwork is my bitch,” said Romeo. “Fifty-year-old white bros in MAGA hats scare the shit out of me, but I can fill out forms in triplicate all day long.”
Mel grunted in agreement.
“Do I want to know what you’re doing to my computer?” asked Ash, as he realized that Mel had been typing a long time for what he assumed was a calendar glitch.
“When the office got broken into,” said Mel, “someone accessed the front desk computer. I think they logged in and then smashed the computer, hoping we wouldn’t notice.”
“But you said the computer didn’t have access to anything, but the…” Ash trailed off.
“The office calendar,” finished Romeo.
“They changed the recovery account on the front desk email,” said Mel. “They’ve been accessing the calendar from their end and deleting Harper off the invites.”
“But why…” Ash trailed off again, realizing that the answer was staring him in the face. “It was Emma. She’s been showing up at events that I’m at. I thought it was just a coincidence.”
“I can’t prove that yet,” said Mel, typing into a black screen with a string of gibberish. “But the next time she logs in, I can pinpoint her location. At the moment, I’m trying to confirm that she hasn’t been able to infiltrate further.”
“Well, what do we do?”
