Chasing a Familiar Shadow

by Aman Gupta

“What plan?” asked Marie.

  “He said you approached him regarding a..what’s the word he used? Oh yeah, a hostile takeover,” said Victor. “Do you not like me, Marie? Do you think you can do a better job?”

  “It wasn’t me. He’s lying. I never talked to him about anything,” said Marie, crying. “He approached me.”

  “The tears are ruining your makeup, which is making it difficult for me to continue looking at you,” said Victor. “Wipe them away.”

  Maia removed the cuffs.

  Marie wiped away the tears with her hands.

  “So, you’re saying Horath is lying?” said Victor.

  “Yeah,” said Marie.

  “Maia, would you bring Horath here?” said Victor.

  “Okay,” said Maia, and left.

  Victor saw on his computer that Maia had gotten inside the elevator.

  “So let’s talk about your involvement in this entire ordeal,” said Victor. “Start from the beginning.”

  “I lied to you that I don’t have access to our moon. I can access it. Horath has been blackmailing me ever since he learnt about it. He wants to use it for his own gains. He wants me to turn it into a weapon,” said Marie.

  “You have access to our moon?” asked Victor. “Which one?”

  “MN-9342S,” said Marie.

  “I see,” said Victor. “That’s your entire involvement? You don’t know anything about the hack?”

  “No, I don’t,” said Marie. “I just accessed someone’s system.”

  Victor began sharpening the knife with a steel rod in his drawer.

  “The guy stays in Morrow,” said Marie. “That’s all I know. I swear.”

  Marie began crying again.

  “Morrow?” said Victor. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes,” said Marie. “I followed him when he was heading towards Morrow from TS – 17.”

  “Do you know how he looks like?” asked Victor.

  “No, I didn’t get a good look. But I think he was the one behind Atlantis too,” said Marie.

  Victor’s eyes grew in size, as wrinkles multiplied on his forehead.

  “He had placed a tracker inside the chip that Sylvia brought me,” said Marie. “I tracked his location by reverse engineering its signal. I know I should’ve told you, but I wanted to know more.”

  “Would you excuse me a moment?” said Victor.

  Marie nodded and stepped out of the room. Sylvia was sitting at her desk. Marie sat on the chair opposite Sylvia.

  “That rat bastard!” yelled Victor.

  Victor called Clay. “Head to Morrow. Pick up a guy named Vik Miller. He works for the police department. Get his address from Sylvia.”

  “Should I bring him to Sierra?” asked Clay.

  “Bring him to the cliff compound,” said Victor. “Treat him as well as you can, once you reach there.”

  “Will he come along peacefully?” asked Clay.

  “Get him a 10 second conversation with the girl,” said Victor.

  “Why?” asked Clay.

  “She’s his daughter,” said Victor as he disconnected the call.

  Clay immediately ordered his men to head to Morrow. They left Atlantis without spotting the shadow looking at them from the top of the plateau.

  Almost an hour later, Maia returned with General Horath, who delivered devastating news. Alessia had been asked to report at Victor’s office as well. The aerodrome had been hit, destroying their helicopters.

  “It’s here,” said Victor.

  “What’s here?” asked Horath.

  “The war you wished for,” said Victor. “Begin evacuation.”

  “We need time,” said Horath.

  “I was talking to Maia. You are staying right here,” said Victor. “Take him to his room and lock him.”

  Maia nodded. Two guards approached Horath and arrested him. Marie and Alessia were also standing in the room.

  “She’s lying, Victor,” said Horath. “About everything. Did she tell you about the moon? She’s been playing you since Day 1.”

  Alessia walked into Victor’s office and shared eye contact with Maia.

  “Maia, would you elaborate?” said Victor.

  “With pleasure, sir,” said Maia. “I made a mistake.”

  “What mistake?” said Horath.

  “I mentioned that Marie was staying at R-18,” said Maia. “It was an honest mistake.”

  “Yet, you send the drone to R-17,” said Victor. “Almost as if you knew where Marie was. R-17 is on the East End, while R-18 is on the West End.”

  “You told me to,” said Horath.

  “No, I remember. I said R – 18,” said Victor. “But don’t worry, you won’t be alone. Alessia will accompany you.”

  “Me?” said Alessia, looking a bit shocked.

  “Yeah,” said Victor. “I had Jason run an update on your ambitious plan to create a new network cluster. Turns out all it did was install a bug in the IT server that allowed access to the Utility mainframe.”

  “And when the damage was done, you removed it, which allowed Jason to reset the system,” said Marie.

  “That’s a lie,” said Alessia. “Everything I did was to protect Sierra. From Marie. From Horath.”

  “No, that was a well-planned bluff,” said Victor. “It doesn’t take 30 seconds to bring Yolk online from the power station. It would take one minute unless it was shut down manually from inside Yolk. But what really threw me off was how you described Beth’s death. Do you know why I hired Beth to be my IT head? She was so paranoid about cybersecurity that she used computers without webcams. We had to place a special order for it. Only Jason knows about it.”

  “I...I...” said Alessia.

  “Don’t worry; I’m not killing you yet. You’ll kill each other if the starvation gets to you first,” said Victor. “Take them both to the holding cells in Sierra – B.”

  “This is a mistake,” said Alessia. “Marie is lying.”

  “Save your breath,” said Victor. “Take them away, Maia.”

  “With pleasure,” said Maia.

  Alessia kicked Maia standing behind her, on her left knee. Maia went down. Alessia picked up the gun and pointed it at Victor.

  “My sister told me you would try something like this. She’d proud of me when I tell her about your death,” said Alessia as she smirked.

  “Who’s your sister?” asked Victor.

  “Vicky,” said Alessia. “Shame, I couldn’t put Anton to rest myself. I was loyal to you, Victor. But you killed my sister.”

  Alessia pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. She did it again, but it didn’t work.

  Maia chuckled. “It’s got a biometric lock, you idiot. For situations like these.”

  Alessia glanced at the gun. The grip had turned red.

  “Here’s how a normal gun looks like,” said Victor, as he pulled out his gun and aimed at Alessia.

  “No, no,” said Alessia. “Please.”

  “There’s only one thing in the entire world that I can’t forgive,” said Victor. “Care to guess?”

  “I’ll be loyal again. Please, don’t kill me,” said Alessia as she went down on her knees, begging for mercy.

  “Your sister is waiting. Give her my regards,” said Victor. He put two bullets in Alessia’s head. Alessia died instantly.

  Victor took the red button off Alessia’s body and put it back in his pocket.

  Horath was hit on the head with a rifle. A couple of more soldiers arrived and took Horath with them in a wheelchair. Maia instructed a soldier to bury Alessia’s body in the field.

  “Burn it,” said Victor. “You can never be too cautious these days. And assume control of Yolk, till Clay gets back. As of this moment, the awareness level is being raised to Sierra-3.”

  Maia nodded.

  Marie and Maia left. Sylvia told Victor that she had given Vik’s address to Clay. She mentioned she gave Nucleus’ address too.

  “Sarah had called earlier. She learnt about an explos
ion in Morrow. Apparently, someone blew up a part of the town,” said Sylvia.

  “It’s him. I think he’s behind the drones too,” said Victor. “Why did Sarah call?”

  “She wanted to speak to you,” said Sylvia. “I told her you were busy.”

  “Call the guards and tell them to keep an eye on her before she does something stupid,” said Victor.

  Sylvia walked backwards. She glanced at the spot where Alessia had died. The carpet was still red. She grinned for a second, before leaving.

  Victor sat back on his seat and went back to his mind palace. It was a tough day for him. He hoped for a quiet night. He dozed off to sleep a few minutes later.

  He dreamt of the day he had told Jay about relocating to DC, to be near to President Clifford. If only he could go back in time and punch himself before uttering those words. If he had realized his mistake at that very moment, the world would’ve been a different place. That trip to DC added new variables to the equation when Victor needed it to be constant and predictable.

  A loud, buzzing noise brought Victor out of his mind palace. He glanced at the phone, which showed a call from an unknown number. He picked up the call but didn’t speak a word.

  “It’s Clay,” said the caller.

  “And?” said Victor.

  “We’re on our way,” said Clay.

  “Any trouble?” asked Victor.

  “He wants to see his daughter,” said Clay. “Before he starts negotiating.”

  “Negotiate for what?” asked Victor.

  “He has recorded a message. I just sent it to you,” said Clay. “We are taking him to the compound.”

  “Okay,” said Victor. “Keep him tangled once you get there.”

  Clay disconnected the call and mailed Victor an audio clip that Vik had recorded.

  Victor turned around and saw Sierra. It looked peaceful. The fire had been brought under control. The dawn was almost upon Sierra.

  Victor opened the audio clip on his phone. It was only thirty seconds long. When it was done, Victor put the phone down on the table and stood up. After awakening from a deep sleep, Victor’s instinctive pandiculation stretching soon followed, like a lion. He was happy.

  He received a call from Dr. Adam Rakter, who wanted Victor to visit the Neurotech building at the earliest.

  Chapter 36: Yin

  After contemplating for a few minutes, Vik directed the third drone forward. He wanted to explore what lied beyond Sierra. Emma was glued to the screen, though she was yawning every other minute. The drone was cruising at a relatively lower altitude. Vik had activated the record function in the software, as he believed he was about to gather some useful intel about Sierra. Around ten minutes later, a few miles ahead of Sierra’s coordinates that Vik had obtained, he saw the road disappearing before leading to a cliff, followed by a body of water. Like a huge lake.

  “What are you looking for?” asked Emma.

  “I’m not sure,” said Vik. “Something that looks out of place.”

  “You mean apart from the private airport and the mysterious drone popping out of an invisible city?” said Emma.

  “Yeah,” said Vik, after a pause.

  He followed the body of water as it connected to a different land a mile away. He turned around the drone and went back towards the cliff. He slowed it down even more. It was barely moving forward. Vik panned the drone wide and rotated the camera for a wide area.

  “There,” said Emma.

  “Yeah, I see it. Looks like a cell tower,” said Vik.

  The tall trees were obstructing their view of the land. Vik moved the drone a few hundred meters west and turned it around to look deep into the trees on the east side.

  “There’s definitely something there,” said Emma.

  “Looks like a double storey building,” said Vik. “Probably half an acre.”

  Emma grabbed the keyboard from Vik’s hands.

  “I’m good at this,” said Emma.

  She maneuvered the drone slightly ahead, before lowering it into the trees. She piloted that drone using the joystick attached to the keyboard like an experienced professional, which surprised Vik. A few minutes later, they were a few hundred meters away from the compound but hidden well inside the woods.

  “Where did you learn that?” said Vik.

  “I’m a natural,” said Emma.

  “If you say so,” said Vik. “So many guards.”

  “Yeah, but who are they guarding?” asked Emma. “Must be someone important.”

  “Then that’s where we should start,” said Vik. “The king is exposed while his invisible army protects him a few miles ahead.”

  “But how are we going to cross that invisible army?” asked Emma. “It’s difficult.”

  “Impossible, actually,” said Vik. “We can’t cross Sierra without a fight. And a fight that we’re probably going to lose.”

  “What’s the plan?” asked Emma.

  “I’ll need to rethink our strategy. Let me drop you home,” said Vik.

  “No, it’s okay. I’ll sleep here,” said Emma, looking around.

  She spotted an old couch in the lounge. “On that couch.”

  “Okay,” said Vik.

  As Emma prepared her bed on the couch in the other room, Vik positioned two drones near Sierra, while the third one watched over the compound.

  A few hours later, when Emma was sleeping, Vik got up and emailed the video recording to Natasha, writing a message.

  ‘I think it’s a good place to land. What do you think? Coordinates embedded in the video.’

  Twenty minutes later, he received a reply.

  ‘The water looks great for a swim.’

  ‘Couldn’t agree more,’ wrote Vik.

  As he was typing the message, he heard few cars arrive at Nucleus. He grabbed a couple of guns and approached the door. He saw through the space between the French door that several men were standing outside. A couple of them were inspecting the empty truck. Everyone was holding rifles and guns that Vik had never seen before. They were dressed in black gear, covering their face with a mask. One of them was without a mask and looking around. He was directing everyone else.

  Vik whispered Emma’s name, but she couldn’t hear him. Vik thought they were part of Sera’s gang and had arrived to eliminate Vik.

  A couple of guards approached the leader. A minute later, the guy yelled at the building.

  “Vik, I know you’re inside. Surrender now,” said the guy.

  “Surrender now? Does that even work?” murmured Vik, as he picked a rifle from the stash.

  “I’ll count to three, and then my men would force you to surrender, but kill everyone else,” said the guy.

  “What do you want?” said Vik as he shouted through the door.

  “It’s about your daughter,” said Clay.

  Vik turned around and put his back against the door. It could be a trap, he thought.

  “1,” said Clay. “2.”

  “Fine,” said Vik as he stepped out the door, after throwing the gun back inside the building.

  Emma was sleeping. Vik didn’t know if he should warn her or not.

  Vik moved forward with his hands raised while the men surrounded him. Clay instructed his men to lower their guns.

  “Who are you?” asked Vik.

  “Clay,” said Clay.

  “What do you know about my daughter?” asked Vik.

  “I know where she is,” said Clay.

  “Where is that?” asked Vik.

  “Someplace, I can take you,” said Clay.

  “Good for you. Anything else?” asked Vik.

  “You don’t believe me?” asked Clay.

  “You’re astute, I’ll give you that,” said Vik as he lowered his hands.

  “Come with me. You won’t regret it,” said Clay.

  “Sorry, Clay. I’m busy. Got a pottery class to attend tomorrow,” said Vik as he turned around.

  “Blowing up a helicopter won’t get you Katie,” said Cl
ay.

  Vik stood his ground. It was them. He turned around and approached Clay. Clay instructed his men to stay put. He grabbed Clay by his collar and picked him up.

  “Where’s she?” shouted Vik. “Where’s my daughter?”

  Emma woke up, hearing noises coming from outside. Rubbing her eyes, she walked towards the door before stopping when she saw through the window.

  “Come with me and see for yourself. Decline my request, and I’ll make sure you never see her,” said Clay. “Now put me down. Katie would like to see her father alive.”

  Vik put Clay down.

  “I need to talk to her,” said Vik.

  “No,” said Clay. “You’re in no position to make any demands.”

  “Who do you work for?” asked Vik.

  “Someone who is interested in giving you back your daughter,” said Clay. “For the right price.”

  “What price?” asked Vik.

  “Like I said. Come with me and see for yourself,” said Clay. “I’ll again count to 3. Say yes if you’re ready. If you don’t, I’ll still take you, but your daughter might not be able to recognize you.”

  Vik looked at the empty truck. He asked himself a simple question – If someone offered him a chance to see Katie under worse conditions than set by Clay, would he still agree?

  “1..2..” said Clay.

  “Yes,” said Vik. “I’ll go.”

  “Great,” said Clay. “You need to get your stuff?”

  “Yeah, if you don’t mind,” said Vik.

  “Too bad,” said Clay. “Get in the van. And let me see your phone.”

  Vik handed Clay his phone. Clay smashed it on the ground, stomping on it and kicking it away.

  “Before we go, can I leave a message for your boss?” asked Vik. “He’d love to hear from me.”

  “Sure,” said Clay.

  Clay gave Vik his phone. Vik pretended to record a message while minimizing the recording app and browsing through Clay’s phone. He read his recent messages before Clay got suspicious. Vik again opened the recording app and began recording.

  “Sorry, I had to delete the last one. I’ll record a new phone,” said Vik as he pressed the recording sign again.

  ‘It’s Jay. You seem to know a lot about me and my past. We might have had a mutual enemy named Victor Daulton, as he was the last person who had my daughter, or you might actually be….But it’s always been you, pulling all the strings through Anthony. You think my daughter will somehow lead you to my pet. I’m not sure he wishes to be loyal to anyone. I’m sure he has probably told you that. But yeah, it’s time we met.’