<COMMENT>Aemer's Inbox</COMMENT>
<P>When I am the evil overlord my fortress guards will be instructed to respond by unusual or threatening sounds by checking the locks on the doors, the safeties on their guns, and the reception on their radios before continuing their duties with an increased alertness. They will be told explicitly NOT to respond by opening the door and taking a look.
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<P>The doors will be equipped with multiple sets of locks, depending on how paranoid I feel this may be as simple as a key-lock accessible only from the inside in addition to an ordinary one, a large metal bar made of the latest alloys that must be removed in order for the door to open, or something equivalent to a bank vault.
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<P>(Unlocking the door from the outside is more of a signal that you do indeed deserve to be inside than an actual way in, after that lock is successfully disengaged verbal contact will be made, the encounter will be reported to the security office and, if the person has legitimate business inside, the inside locks will be disengaged and they will be let in quickly but kept at gunpoint until their identity and allegiance is confirmed. Alternatively they might be rendered unconscious, thoroughly searched, disarmed, and kept that way until their identity and allegiance is confirmed.)
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<P>(It might be worth pointing out that the fortress will have an airlock like system, thus making it in through the outside door and overpowering the guards there will be useless as you will have gained access only to another door. A system that will seal any such intruder in and fill the room with gas capable of rendering people unconscious may or may not be used.)
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<P>Henchmen needing to quickly enter a shelter (ones that can not wait for the door to be unlocked by someone on the inside) will go to innocuous looking structurally reinforced safe houses that have stocks of food, money, medical supplies, weapons, clothing, communications systems and no less than three different means of fleeing the area. Each henchman will only be told the location of some of these, thus it will be difficult to compromise them all.
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<P>At least one safe house in every city I operate in will be in the basement of an orphanage, children's hospital, or daycare that I own. Hopefully would-be heroes will hesitate before putting children at risk and using some of my resources to help children will make people less likely to suspect that I am, in fact, striving for or currently enjoying world domination.
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<P>- Chris