Marcus radioed the front desk, pulled his bypass kit, and headed for the junction box on floor 9. He wasn't running. There was no reason to run. The car wasn't falling. Someone was just stuck and probably aggravated.
But he moved with the unhurried purpose that characterized every emergency he'd ever handled. Quick and calm and already thinking three steps ahead, he accessed the intercom panel. This is Marcus from facilities, he said. You're stopped between 9 and 10. I can see it on the board.
I'm going to manually walk you down to 9 using the bypass. It'll take about 4 minutes. Are you injured? Can you confirm the emergency stop is engaged? The pause that followed was brief.
I'm fine, said the voice from the intercom. Clipped, professional, not panicked exactly, but working at controlling something. Not injured. The stop is engaged. I pressed it when the car lurched.
Good call, Marcus said, already working the bypass panel. The lurch is a sensor. We've got a faulty proximity trigger on this shaft. It's been flagged for replacement. My fault for not getting to it sooner.
I'll have you moving in under 5 minutes. Another pause. You said my fault, the voice said. Most people in your position would have said the part failed or the system failed. Marcus glanced at the intercom as though the speaker could see him.
It is my responsibility to catch failing parts before they fail on people, he said simply. 4 minutes. He worked in silence. After that, the bypass sequence was familiar. He'd done it a dozen times on older lifts and the car descended smoothly to the ninth floor landing.
He had the door open before it fully stopped. Viven Callaway stepped out. He knew who she was. Obviously, you didn't work in a building for 2 years without learning whose name was on the lobby wall. But he hadn't interacted with her directly before.
She was taller than he'd expected somehow. Or maybe it was the posture, the particular kind of straight spine stillness that came from years of being the most important person in every room she walked into. She looked at him with the dark eyes that were still recalibrating from what had clearly been despite the controlled voice on the intercom. At least a few minutes of genuine discomfort. You okay?
Marcus asked. Yes, she looked at the elevator then back at him. Thank you. That was faster than I expected. The bypass is straightforward once you know the shaft.