-(BG) They do realize there is a nuclear reactor on the other side of that door, don’t they?
-(LPJ) And that they could kill everyone in the cavern with a misplaced shot from that rail gun?
-But they’ve stopped, (SVC)? Please tell us they stopped.
-(SVC) Stand by… I’m getting this through Early, who is having it relayed to him via shoulder pinger, so the messages take a moment… he has sent orders for them to disassemble the rail gun, and for them to clear out of the West Hall. They… they’re working on clearing a cart that toppled and a group of guards caught in some kind of net. The plan is to set up a line at the entrance to the West Hall once they get everything moved out and wait.
-Why would (WK) take them in to the reactor room? There must be a reason. There’s no way he would have gone there accidentally, or without a plan. Have we located someone they trust to send in after them, try to talk them out?
(SVC) Stand by… oh, that’s just great. It appears that Leena Achebe, the Bright Hand security officer assigned to vehicles, the one who tracked down Early, is loyal to (WK). She and his bodyguard… Willard something, ambushed a handful of other guards and made it into the reactor room with (WK) and the rest.
-(BG) This just keeps getting better and better, doesn’t it?
-Yeah, it’s a veritable riot. (SVC), did they locate anyone to talk them out or not?
-(SVC) One moment… the… they could not locate Dr. Bhat or any of her staff, but they tracked down Dr. Tom Engel. He… he refused to assist, says they can throw him in jail, but he won’t help them flush (WK) out.
-Well, have him thrown in jail then, let’s see if he changes his tune. So let’s recap, get the entire picture here: we need to catch (WK) before he gets out of the cavern because he could make things intensely uncomfortable for us, and that’s putting it mildly. He is holed up in the Bright Hand reactor room with a group which includes at least a few, what would we call them… enhanced humans? Let’s go with that. Oh, and (WK), he’s enhanced too. They include Chi Kim, who was deadly before they enhanced her, even with one arm; the American prisoner, I can’t recall his name, but he is enhanced enough that he gave the boy a good tussle; (WK)’s personal bodyguard, not enhanced as far as we know, but obviously one of, if not the, toughest of all their security personnel; another of the security forces who you talked to personally, (SVC), and we see how well that worked out; Zoey Perez, who knows more about the Bright Hand and their secrets than anyone alive aside from (WK); and the boy, who is so far enhanced that he is literally superhuman, like a comic book character come to life. We must convince them that (WK) is an American spy who plans to double cross the boy and turn him over to the US so that these enhanced people will allow us to capture (WK). Then, we need to facilitate the boy’s journey to Nevada to rescue his father, whom we plan to reroute promptly to our facilities in New Zealand, where we will convince him to help make all of us into versions of the boy. Do I have it straight so far?
-…
-Of course I do. Next, we don’t know why they’ve gone into the reactor room, but we’re sure it was not an accident or mistake. We’ve rejected the possibility that they plan to blow the reactor. Would (WK) take them there because he knows the risk will scare the security into not following? That can’t be it. The only reasonable answer is that there is an exit in there that we don’t know about.
-(SVC) We have been over the plans…
-The plans are wrong! Somehow (WK) put in an exit we don’t know about, it’s obvious. I want you to get Early back on and have him leave only a few guards at the West Hall. Everyone else needs to be outside scouring the west side of their hill for a hidden exit. Anyone of you disagree? If so, tell me your plan.
-(LPJ) I will suggest two radical and virtual opposite solutions. While some of this group are enhanced, we can still kill them. No, I can see your aversion, but stay with me here for a minute. One very sure and relatively easy solution is to kill them all aside from the boy. Two or three guards with live ammo could accomplish this. Don’t have the stomach for that? Then let them go. Do we really think (WK) would, between now and tomorrow night, have the time to bring the anger of the US crashing down on us? Isn’t it much more likely that what they are about to go through will keep them rather occupied for the next day or two? I think it would make more sense to make a plan to separate him from the rest of them after the Area 51 mission, not before. Hell, he might not even survive, so the problem would be moot. Have the Bright Hand security pivot to getting the essential scientists, engineers, and other staff over to New Zealand.
-(BG) I’ve been thinking the same thing. We’re worrying too much about (WK), at least in the short term. Develop a plan to snatch him after Area 51. That gives us a little time to put together a cogent plan instead of just reacting to current events. Sorry for being blunt, Director, but this seems a little personal for you, and in my judgment you need to let it go a bit.
-See, that’s why I need advice from you guys. You’re right, emotions colored my judgment, I see that now. Let’s begin work on a plan to deal with (WK) after the Area 51 rigamarole. (SVC), get (JR) on the line; we could use his wisdom as well. Aren’t there some cookies around here somewhere?
****
A lthough it was difficult to find hazmat suits big enough for Willard and especially Ernie, they squeezed into the largest ones they could find, Ernie’s bulging out in back because of the gear bag he was carrying, and quickly the group was ready to move on to the next room. Ava, do we need to put on a hazmat suit?
“you’re already wearing the best hazmat suit ever made, sonny boy. There’s no need. Before we go through, put your ear up to the next door. Let’s just make sure there isn’t an army waiting on the other side. Hey, are we having fun yet?”
Are we… I don’t know about you, but I’m not having too much fun. Wait… sarcasm?
“That’s my boy. On we go.”
Bill faced us and made eye contact. “Through this door, there will be a landing, then a long set of stairs down to the reactor room. The reactor itself is a hundred meters under us. Halfway down is a second landing, and to the left is a door to a utility room. That’s our way out. In the back of the utility room is a hidden door to a tunnel leading almost straight up for seventy-five meters, then angling left for another fifty meters, bringing us out through a passageway on the western edge of the plateau atop the cavern. On the opposite side of the plateau is the entrance to the elevator down to my office.”
He rummaged in his pocket and came out with a small device with a couple of tiny buttons on it. “Zoey, this is where you come in. We need you to ride the elevator down to my office, but instead of exiting into the office, when you reach the bottom click this remote. The back of the elevator will open to reveal a narrow door. The second button on the remote will open that door. Inside you will find enough provisions to last months, a cot and a small bathroom. There will be a large throw-switch on the wall to the right. Pull it to the down position, and the third communications array will come online, but only you will have access to it. You can monitor what is happening in the cavern, and any other information gathering sources you normally have access to. We will need you to keep us up to date from there. I’m sorry, you must remain hidden there and it will be claustrophobic for you for a couple of days, but there is no one else who could do the job better.”
Zoey Perez rolled her head from side to side as if cracking her neck, and she clenched her hands into fists. “Okay. Okay, I can do it. How do I get out when all this is over?”
I had noticed that Bill’s Hollywood smiles had almost totally disappeared, but he had replaced them with something more… I don’t know, maybe honest is the right word. He put his arm around Zoey Perez and gave her the honest smile. “You can exit the same way you went in. Out into the elevator, then up to the plateau. If things go as we hope, perhaps we’ll all be there waiting for you, and have Dr. Taylor with us. Right, let’s move along, friends. We have far to go.”<
br />
“Use your ears first, sonny boy. Better safe than sorry.”
I tapped Bill on the shoulder and pointed to my ear. “Better safe than sorry.”
He chuckled. “Right you are. After you, Lucas.”
I wedged my ear against the door, and heard an indistinct thrumming noise, which I assumed was the reactor, and the sound of air circulating, but nothing else. “If there’s anyone on the other side of this door, they don’t breathe or have a heartbeat, so we’re probably okay.”
Several of the group giggled at that, and Cheri grabbed my hand. “You still don’t know when you’re being funny, do you?”
“What was… no, yeah, I know. I was just making a joke.”
“Sure you were. Let’s go, mister comedian.”
Bill set to work on yet another hand pad by the door as Ernie and Leena chatted. “Hey, so, you’re, like, from England or something?”
“What was your first clue, then? Do I look British?”
“No, no, it’s the way you say stuff… you don’t look British… well, you don’t not look British…”
“Aww, relax, I’m just havin’ a go at you. Where are you from, then? No, let me guess… I’d say Eastern Europe, one of the ‘stan’ countries most likely.”
“Oh, no, I’m from Cali… oh, I get it. You’re a good joker.”
“I’m a bloody great joker. Eyes ahead, my son. We’re through.”
The door swung open, and we tromped through onto the perforated steel landing, looking like a bunch of astronauts; everyone except for me, anyway. I still looked like a teenager on the short side. The area around the landing was fairly square, but they had carved it out of the grey rock so it was a little uneven in places. In front of us were stairs of the same perforated metal as the landing, heading down through a tunnel also dug out of the rock of the Bright Hand hill. Bill, his voice low, said, “You see the landing fifty meters down? That’s our next destination. The door on the left side of the landing is the utilities room, and that’s where we go through. We want to be quick but quiet. It would be best not to alert the engineers and techs; they might be tempted to shoot first and ask questions later. Follow me.”
What good would it do to shoot first and ask questions later? The person you would ask questions would be dead… oh, boy… “Hey, if there’s a chance that they might come out and start shooting, maybe I should go first,” I said. “In fact, how about if I jump down there? I can land soft. Then, if everything’s clear, you guys can come down.”
“Hang on, sonny boy. Let’s see what Billy says about your offer. If he’s too quick to accept, that might mean something.”
Bill put his hand on my shoulder. “Thanks for offering, but it would be best for me to go down first. I can get the door open as the rest of you are coming down, and we can be on our way. Quietly, now, no talking. Hand signals only. Lucas, give me five seconds before you start down, and the rest of you one second apart after that. Are we clear?”
“All right, he passed that test. I’m watching him, though.”
Oh, boy. My A.I. is paranoid.
Bill darted down the stairs, and his speed and agility were shocking. By the time I counted to five, he was already at the second landing; I decided that I could get down to him much faster if I just jumped, so I did, and landed as softly as I could just behind him. Zoey Perez came next, and although she is in excellent shape, she still looked exhausted, which meant she probably was, so it took her about thirty seconds to make it to the landing, and she slowed the rest of them down. By the time everyone was on the second platform, Bill had the door open, and we slipped in ahead of him, but we froze when we heard: “Hey! Hold it right there or I’ll shoot!”
26
DIRECTOR’S NOTES
MEETING WITH SVC BG, LPJ, JR
121952 17:48
-Hey, (JR), thanks for joining us. I wanted to bring you up to speed on current events in the Bright Hand cavern and get your thoughts on next steps. You always have a take on things that comes from a fresh angle, and that’s what I need right now.
-(JR) Oh, my pleasure, director. The time is drawing near, eh? Just a little over twenty-four hours and then we’ll see what our future holds. Before you ask, let me tell you that my son is on his way to Las Vegas, and he has been in contact with a young man that he met in Brazil, a prison guard who saved Lucas. His name is Carlitos Ventura. He and a few others are joining with Hassim to take part in the so-called siege on Area 51; they will meet with Mr. Oakes and the American soldiers in Las Vegas and will travel with them.
-This is turning into quite an illustrious gathering. I almost feel like going over there myself just to see the fireworks. What about you guys?
-(LPJ) Not me, no thanks. It’s hot and dirty out there, and all those people? Just imagine the smell.
-(BG) Probably a little risky, too. The government has a habit of protecting that place rather aggressively, which I suppose is understandable with all that alien technology in there.
-(JR) I don’t imagine there is much in the way of alien tech, but there is plenty that they don’t want people to see. Director, are we assured that the throngs will stop before they risk being shot at?
-(SVC), why don’t you take that?
-(SVC) Of course. I have directed the protesters to stop at the gates and simply draw as much attention there as they can. Any who breach the fence will forfeit their payment.
-(JR) Ah, so it’s possible that some more foolish amongst the multitude might do it, but if they do, they are on their own.
-(SVC) Precisely. We don’t want anyone to take any unnecessary risks and have given them directions that will protect them. It’s up to them to follow the directions, and we have given them incentives for doing so.
-(JR) Still, in the thrill of the moment, there can be little doubt that some will attempt to get past the fences anyway, especially in a group as large as this.
-We’re counting on it. We don’t want anyone to get hurt, but we need as big a disruption as possible so that the boy can sneak in and extract his father with a minimum of confrontations. (JR), I suppose you know that (WK) has gone missing, along with the boy, Chi Kim, and a few others.
-(JR) No, I was not aware. Did he discover the plan to leave him behind?
-Not exactly, but I think he put two and two together. They knocked out all the communications in the Bright Hand cavern, so we’re reduced to a single cell phone line for information, but as far as we can tell they are holed up in the reactor room, and we are waiting them out.
-(JR) (WK) is much too clever to have gone there without a way out.
-Yeah, we think so too. I have Bright Hand security scouring the west side of their hill, looking for exits we don’t know about. Do you have any thoughts or recommendations?
-(JR) Well, director, what would be the harm in letting them go? Our greatest desire is for Lucas to succeed, is it not? If (WK) is with him, that must mean that Lucas and Ms. Kim both trust him. If you want to develop a plan to capture (WK), I suggest you do it either when they arrive in the Las Vegas area, or in the aftermath of Lucas’ mission, and allow (WK) to help Lucas navigate the dangers on his trip to Area 51.
-You see, (SVC)? Great minds think alike. That’s almost exactly what (LPJ) and (BG) said. It’s almost like… like you spoke in advance.
-(JR) Oh, please, director, how could we possibly have known what was happening in the Bright Hand cavern? You are the only one with direct contact.
-Aw, you’re right, I’m just getting a little paranoid. So, we just back off, let them go? By the way, did any of you know that (WK) is enhanced, much like your son, (JR)?
-(JR) I did not know, but it certainly makes sense. His appearance has not changed in twenty years or more, and I suspect he is substantially older than any of us. And, he has access to the absolute bleeding edge of technology in human augmentation. I daresay the Bright Hand technology is a generation or two more advanced than the British protocols used on my son.
; -Yeah, well, they have at least two other people with them who also have augmentation, as you put it, so it’s quite a formidable group.
-(BG) So let them go, and concentrate on a plan to pick up (WK) afterward, as (JR) says. That’s the best course of action at this point.
-(LPJ) Yeah, you may have been able to do something different if we had caught it earlier, but it’s too late now. Get the essential staff out of the Bright Hand cavern and get a plan together to snatch (WK) after the boy’s father is clear.
-Excellent. And we don’t need to get a committee together, because we have one right here, eh? (SVC), snacks and drinks. We will be working late.
****
A ll of us aside from Bill were already in the utility room as he called out, his voice clear and commanding, “Oh, hello, Henry. Please, put down the gun. I’m looking for some supplies; I won’t be disturbing you any further.”
A high, reedy, wavering voice answered: “Oh, no. Mr. Kane, we got reports that the security were looking for you, and then all the communications went down. You better just hold it right there.”
Bill chuckled. “Well, Henry, do you intend to shoot me? I suggest you just put the gun down. I’ll get what I need and be on my way.”
Reassemble (Singular Book 4) Page 16