by Lucas Flint
“There’s more to fighting an enemy force than mere strength,” said Uncle Josh. “Besides, you’re assuming Icon would fight you out in the open. That’s not how they work. They have security systems they’ll use to take you down well before you even see their island, assuming you could even get past their cloaking system.”
“It’s quite an advanced one, too,” said Mack. “You could fly directly above it and not see the island anywhere.”
“I had a plan,” I said, though in reality I didn’t.
“Oh?” said Uncle Josh. “And what would that plan be?”
I bit my lower lip, but decided to change the subject, so I said, “It doesn’t matter now, because I’m going to hang out with you guys apparently.”
“Right,” said Uncle Josh. “Well, I’m glad we’re all on the same page now, because that will make it easier for us to break into Icon. I just need you to come with me, Mack, and Gina back to our base.”
“Your base?” I said. “You mean we aren’t going to leave for Iconia right now?”
“Not yet,” said Uncle Josh, shaking his head. “We still have a few preparations to finish before we go anywhere. Plus, because you just joined us, that means we’ll need to get you up to speed on our plan of attack.”
“All right,” I said, though I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed that we were not heading out to Iconia right away. Still, I suppose it made sense to get everything ready before we did anything. TW would probably agree if he was still around, because it was exactly the sort of thing he would advise doing if he was still alive. “Then let’s go.”
CHAPTER THREE
The Pinnacle agents’ base in Port Don was located on the top floor of the Bright Light Hotel, one of the fanciest hotels in the city. According to Uncle Josh, Pinnacle was paying their expenses for this entire mission, which included the fancy hotel room—more like a suite, really—and all of their accommodations. I asked Uncle Josh just how much money Pinnacle had and he said that that was classified information but that the budget for their current mission was on the lower end of mission budgets.
The hotel room itself was big and clean, with sparkling clean windows, ceiling, and walls. The floor was soft dark blue carpeting, while I caught a glimpse of a large bathroom through a cracked door on the other side of the room. A large wide-screen TV was mounted on the wall opposite the two queen-sized beds, while a small kitchen area off to the right looked as if it had just been recently used, based on the clean dishes in the drying rack. The room also smelled of roses, even though I didn’t see any. It was definitely the nicest hotel room I’d ever stayed in and I felt a twinge of regret that I wouldn’t be able to stay and enjoy all of its amenities because of the nature of my mission. But maybe I would be able to convince Mom and Dad to take me here on a family vacation at some point in the future, though given how fancy it looked, I thought it might be too expensive for my family.
“Wow,” I said, looking around at the room as Uncle Josh closed the door behind me, “this is pretty fancy.”
“I’ve seen fancier,” said Gina casually. “They don’t even have a valet service, which means we have to drive our car ourselves.”
I looked at Gina. “Fancier? What do you mean?”
“Oh, I forgot you don’t know anything about me,” said Gina. “I come from a pretty well off family and we used to go on vacations all over the world to tons of different hotels. This is practically bourgeois in comparison to places I’ve stayed in.”
Maybe it was because I came from a somewhat lower middle class background, but I had a hard time imagining how you could get better than this. Maybe if they had a balcony of some sort to overlook the sea or something, though based on Gina’s comments, I doubt even that would impress her.
“We can discuss hotel rooms later,” said Uncle Josh. “For now, we need to sit down and go over the plan.”
“Again?” said Mack, frowning. “But Gina and I already know the plan.”
“You two might, but Jack here doesn’t,” said Uncle Josh, jerking a thumb at me. “And because he’s going to be helping us, he needs to know the plan as well.”
“Oh, right,” said Mack. “I almost forgot.”
“You guys can talk without me,” said Gina. She nodded toward the bathroom. “I need to take a shower after our little scuffle. Getting manhandled like that was really stressful and dirty.”
I opened my mouth to point out that I only ‘manhandled’ her because she attacked me, but Gina closed the bathroom door behind her before even one word could leave my mouth. A second later, I heard the sound of the shower turning on coming from the other side of the door, slightly muffled due to the door being closed.
“Does she need to be here for the meeting?” I said, looking at Uncle Josh.
Uncle Josh shook his head. “Nope, though it would be helpful if she was more of a team player. These types of meetings are most successful when everyone attends them.”
“You know how much Gina values her appearance,” said Mack. “Besides, she already knows the plan, so she doesn’t have to be here. Nor do I, for that matter.”
“Unless you have somewhere better to be, then yes, you do have to be here,” said Uncle Josh. “But it doesn’t matter. Let’s just sit down and talk. We’re supposed to leave for Iconia this evening and we don’t have a whole lot of time left before our sub leaves.”
“Our what?” I said.
“I’ll explain it to you as part of our plan,” said Uncle Josh. “For now, take a seat anywhere you like. You look pretty tired.”
I was, actually, and so I was grateful for Uncle Josh inviting me to sit where I wanted. I took a seat on one of the plush recliners which apparently came with the room, while Mack sat on the sofa, which groaned under his weight but held. I half-worried that the sofa would give out from underneath him, but my real focus was on Uncle Josh, who sat down on the edge of one of the beds and leaned forward with his hands together.
“Now, Jack, you already know that Gina, Mack, and I are in Port Don because we were looking for you,” said Uncle Josh. “That was part of the plan, so we’ve already accomplished Step One, meaning we can now move onto Step Two.”
“Step Two,” I repeated. “What would that be?”
“Infiltrate the island itself, obviously,” said Mack.
“Mack is right,” said Uncle Josh. “The submarine I mentioned earlier? That’s ours, provided to us by Pinnacle. We’re going to use it to sneak past Iconia’s defenses and sneak up on the shore of their island without them noticing.”
“We’re taking a submarine?” I said. “Why don’t we just fly onto it? We could take a helicopter or something.”
“And lose the element of surprise,” Mack said, “which I hoped you would understand, but perhaps you’re not used to the concept of stealth.”
“Can’t say I appreciate Mack’s sarcasm, but he has a point,” said Uncle Josh. “Our orders from the boss were to sneak onto Iconia without being seen, at least at first. We don’t have the numbers to pull off a full-scale assault of the island. Even if we did, full-scale invasions are generally very costly and don’t always work out the way you want them. Best to try to sneak through their defenses with a small force and take them out from within.”
“But we’re just going to rescue Grandfather, right?” I said. “That’s what I was planning to do. Are you guys planning to do the same?”
“Saving Gregory is definitely one of the objectives for this mission, but it’s far from the only one,” said Uncle Josh. “We’re also planning to destroy Iconia itself.”
“Really?” I said. “How are you going to do that?”
Uncle Josh looked at Mack. “Mack, show Jack the bomb.”
Mack gulped. “Are you sure it’s safe to show it to him here, Josh? It’s very sensitive and we’re technically not supposed to open it until we get to Iconia.”
“It’ll be fine,” said Uncle Josh. “It’s not active at the moment, so it won’t blow up. We’
re saving that for Iconia.”
Mack pursed his lips to show that he didn’t agree with Uncle Josh entirely, but he nonetheless got up and walked over to the closet. He opened the closet, revealing a safe within, which he quickly unlocked and opened. He pulled something out of the safe and turned around to show it to me.
It was a small, round object that looked almost like an alarm clock, though the numbers were all 00:00. But the multi-color wires and red sticks behind it were all I needed to know that that was indeed a real bomb. Mack held the bomb gently, like a piece of fine china, and I had to admit to feeling slightly nervous at the sight of it as well, even though I was confident that Mack would not drop the bomb or set it off even accidentally.
“There it is,” said Mack, gesturing at the bomb. “The bomb, specially designed by Pinnacle’s greatest scientists to destroy Iconia. We call it the Gift, because we thought it would be funny to call it that.”
I gulped. “That thing is supposed to blow up a whole island? And you just have it sitting there in a safe like it’s just a valuable necklace or something?”
“Like I said, it’s designed not to go off until the timer has been activated,” said Uncle Josh. “And even then, it can be turned off remotely if necessary. It’s perfectly safe. Mack here has just had bad experiences with bombs in the past, which is why he is hesitant about using it.”
“Not my fault,” Mack said under his breath. “Walking onto a prototype bomb accidentally would make anyone afraid of bombs.”
“Whatever,” said Uncle Josh. “Point is, until we get to Iconia, the bomb will be perfectly safe. Of course, once we activate it, it won’t be safe any longer, especially for Icon’s agents.”
“Wow,” I said. “Pinnacle is serious about ending Icon for good, huh?”
“The boss is tired of them,” said Mack as he put the bomb back into the safe and shut the door closed. “He wants to end their threat once and for all. That’s what he told us.”
Despite what Mack said, I had a feeling that there was more to this mission than just destroying Iconia. I wasn’t sure why I thought that, but it all just seemed so convenient that I ran into these three Pinnacle agents who were trying to do more or less the same thing I was. I guess it could have just been luck on my part, but I’d been a superhero long enough to know that things were rarely as they seemed.
On the other hand, Dad always taught me to take advantage of whatever luck came my way, because you never knew when such luck would ever come again. Besides, I knew I could trust Uncle Josh, at least, even if I couldn’t trust Mack or Gina. There was no way that Uncle Josh would put me in harm’s way unnecessarily, right?
“The plan, then, is simple,” said Uncle Josh. “Using the submarine, we will bypass their sea defenses and sneak up on one of Icon’s secluded beaches. We will then make our way up through the island itself to their main facility, the Tower of Icon. Here’s a picture I took of it the last time I was there.”
Uncle Josh pulled his phone out of his pocket, tapped and swiped across the screen a few times, and then turned the phone to show me. I took his phone and looked at the picture on it more closely.
The Tower of Icon certainly fit the name. It was a large metal tower rising out of the center of what looked like a small town, based on the number of smaller buildings surrounding it. The picture made it impossible to tell just how big the Tower really was, but I could guess that it was a fair bit taller than the Bright Light Hotel, maybe even bigger than the Peter Glow Building back in Rumsfeld. A helicopter could be seen landing on top of it, though I did not see any people around. I did spot a glowing spot at the very top of the Tower, however, which resembled the blinking lights I’d see at the top of cell phone towers back in Rumsfeld.
Handing the phone back to Uncle Josh, I said, “Looks big. What’s at the top?”
“Roland Chaser,” said Uncle Josh. “You know, the Superior of Icon? According to our data, that’s where he lives.”
“Are we going to go up to the top of the Tower and fight Roland there?” I said. “Like the main characters in a fantasy novel climbing the bad guy’s fortress to confront the big bad himself?”
“Nope,” said Uncle Josh, shaking his head. “We’re going to place the bomb in a key spot in the Tower’s basement, near its foundation. The blast will be placed in such a way that the Tower will collapse in on itself as soon as the bomb goes off. That will cause the Tower to collapse on top of every other building in the vicinity, which will result in the complete destruction of Iconia itself once the Power factories are hit.”
“Power factories?” I repeated. “You mean they manufacture the Power drug there?”
“Where else?” said Uncle Josh. “Icon may give the drug to various cartels and gangs around the world for them to distribute and sell, but Icon would never trust the actual manufacturing of the drug itself to anyone else. Too risky.”
“So they’re still producing the stuff?” I said. “Even though the Injectors aren’t around anymore?”
“Of course,” said Uncle Josh. He leaned forward, a serious expression on his face. “Your defeat of the Injectors dealt a blow to Icon’s Texas operations, but Texas wasn’t the only state in the Union that they were selling Power in. They’ve got distributors in all fifty states plus territories. And that doesn’t even get into all of the foreign countries they distribute that crap to as well.”
I already knew that Icon was still shipping Power all over the globe, but I did feel a little sheepish for bringing up the Injectors. “Why are they still making and selling that stuff? What are they trying to do with it?”
“Even we don’t know that,” said Uncle Josh. “The best we can tell is that they make a lot of money off of Power because of how many people want to become superheroes without passing the Exam. But I doubt profit is their main motive, because Icon isn’t exactly a private corporation interested in making a profit off their products.”
“But that’s part of the reason we’re going to blow up the Tower,” said Mack. “It will result in the destruction of the Power manufacturing facilities. Even if somehow Chaser and his cronies survive, they will be crippled, because without the income coming in from Power, they will be unable to fund their operations.”
“But it probably will kill a good chunk of Icon agents in the process,” said Uncle Josh. “And Chaser himself, too, if we’re lucky. Chaser’s been known to have advanced security systems for himself alone, but even the most state of the art security system on the planet can’t protect you from having a falling tower crash on your head.”
I nodded. “He would deserve it, too, he and every last one of his agents. Power has destroyed too many innocent lives, including my own brother’s. If we can rid the world of that stuff, good riddance, I say.”
Both Uncle Josh and Mack nodded in agreement, yet I thought I saw Mack glance uneasily at Uncle Josh. But Josh didn’t even return the look, which made me think my eyes must have just been playing tricks on me or something.
“So the plan is very simple,” said Uncle Josh. “We go in, place the bomb, rescue Gregory, and get out. As soon as we’re out, the bomb goes off and takes every Icon agent on the island with it, along with all of the Power factories. It’s so simple there’s no way it could go wrong.”
“Which is why it will at some point,” said Mack. “Plans never survive contact with the enemy.”
“Right,” said Uncle Josh, “but it should still work. And don’t worry, Jack. Inserting you into the plan won’t be that difficult. Actually, your unique power set could potentially make certain parts of the plan much easier to pull off than we expected.”
“I’ll help however I can, uncle,” I said. “I’m just as interested in taking down Icon as you guys are. Whatever you guys want to do, I’m all for it.”
“Great to hear,” said Uncle Josh. “Now that we’re all on the same page, I think it’s time we get this ball rolling. The time is ripe and we don’t have much time before Icon figures out we’re here
and tries to stop us.”
CHAPTER FOUR
That night, at around midnight, the four of us—me, Uncle Josh, Mack, and Gina—walked along the boardwalk of Port Don. We could have left earlier, but Uncle Josh insisted we wait until midnight before we did anything. It was easier to sneak around during the middle of the night, for one, and there would be fewer people at the docks to see us leave. I didn’t complain, because operating at midnight was my usual method, though Gina whined about having to stay up so late and how she needed her beauty sleep, which made me dislike her more than ever.
Regardless, I was eager and excited to go. I’d been looking forward to attacking Iconia for such a long time now that I could hardly believe I was about to do it. And I didn’t even have to do it on my own. I had three skilled and powerful allies to back me up. I still missed TW, but I supposed that these three would make up for his absence. I was particularly interested in what Uncle Josh could do. Unlike Mack or Gina, he had no powers of his own. As far as I knew, he was just an ordinary human being who happened to be a skilled spy. That Pinnacle had put him in charge of this mission meant he had to be pretty good at what he did.
“Where’s the sub?” I said in a low whisper of a voice.
“We’re almost there,” said Uncle Josh. He glanced out toward the quiet sea, which was reflecting the moon’s rays. “No need to whisper, though. We’re alone.”
“Sorry,” I said, raising my voice slightly, though it was still quieter than usual. “I’m just so used to having to be quiet at night that I tend to default to whispering whenever I’m sneaking around like this.”
“We’ll have to whisper a lot once we get to Iconia, though,” said Mack. Despite being bigger than all three of us combined, Mack made virtually no noise as we walked, which made me jealous, because I wasn’t anywhere nearly as graceful or good at sneaking around as he was. “Not that I expect us to do a lot of talking. We know what we need to do and how we need to do it. All we’ll need to do once we get there is put the plan into action. No talking required.”