Three weeks earlier...

[amandanoon]

Amanda Noon sat back in her chair and stared out of the window of her office. She had to admit she was going to miss the drama of this view, the fact that she was now looking out above the clouds was only the start of it. Being able to see at least five other buildings also peeking out above the clouds just added to the drama. There was something

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[amandanoon]

Two days later Noon was sat at yet another computer, in the background the news channel muttered away and the general feel was getting more urgent as the day went on. It seemed that at least two factions had now come out in the open about their future plans. Evacuations weren’t officially happening but the city outside sounded a lot quieter. Noon had eaten breakfast out on the patio off the fifth floor refectory and you could hear the birds singing. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard the birds singing in the city. It had given her a well needed push and she had cleared another dozen computers. The call from her brother had been heated, he wanted her to leave straight away and she had disagreed, there was still too much “delicate” information left on the machines in the offices for her to leave just yet.

“Anyways if the worst comes to the worst I can head into the shelter, that is why we built it.” She’d said firmly. “I’m sure you’ll figure out how to get me out of here in the end.”

“Great idea, expose yourself to who knows what for the sake of a few files.” He had said crossly.

“If it was a just a few files would I really still be here?” she asked him and he’d had to agree. To leave anything of value to the scavengers would be devastating to the family fortune. Worst still would be to leave any clues as to where they had fled to. So she persevered, tapping away and only stopping long enough to take a stretch and fetch a snack.

On the fourth day the newsies got more insistent, and finally the government issued the Evacuation Order for ten main cities in the country. Noon sat in her seat and watched the announcement, then looked around her, only twenty more to go and then she could pack up and leave. The emergency generators would keep going long enough to let the machines finish wiping their memories. After that the next program to kick in would cause the machines to start overheating, which in theory should make any chance of disk recovery impossible. Who knows what the terrorist groups would unleash next but hopefully that would ensure that no-one would ever read these computers again. Then all Noon had to do was get the small portable device and herself out of here safely.

An hour later and the phone call with her brother was not a happy one.
“There’s no way you’ll make it out in time. Our inside sources say that two groups have already set deadlines. You need to get to the shelter within the next two hours. You’ll never get out on the roads and they aren’t letting us fly within the evacuation zone any more.” Her brother voice sounded strained.

“Yeah, I’d guessed that from the news feeds. So you got a plan to get me out of here?” she asked keeping her tone calm and matter of fact.

“Working on it, just don’t do anything stupid and remember there are others with shelters around you doing the same thing. The password is our old one from when we were kids, you remember it?” he asked, not daring to even use it on the phone. Even if the line was secured he wouldn’t trust this to anything.

“I remember, love you, see you soon, ok?” she said softly, biting back her tears.

“Yeah, love you too, see you soon, and be good.” He said and hung up.

Noon sat back and laughed "When was I ever good?" she asked the room.