Samuel, meanwhile, seemed to have no idea what had just taken place. He finished what he was saying and ushered her out the door before she could recover. He promptly shut the door and Catlin heard the click as he locked it behind him. A little shocked, she turned where she stood and returned down the landing to Station Eight.
“Well, that was quick?” Ursula said.
You got that right, she thought to herself.
“What happened?”
“He told me to deal with it,” she replied, scratching her head. “Kicked me out of the office ... and there was this guy, he …”
Ursula, sensing Catlin’s fragility in the new role, leaned forward and motioned her to come closer. “Let me tell you, when Ma’am was at the helm, it was exactly that. She ran it her way, made her own decisions and decided on the spot. She never went to Samuel unless it was their midday briefing, and even they only lasted for a couple of minutes. Cat, this is your ship now … you make the decisions.”
Could’ve bloody told me that before, she thought in her head. Best to keep that one in she thought smiling to herself. Who was the guy with Samuel? Scared the bejesus out of me! And what was that smack inside my head?
She took a long breath in and exhaled lengthily and loudly to settle herself. Then, as calm as she’d ever been, said out loud for everyone to hear. “Someone get Marion out of detention now!”
There was a moment’s silence first, as if everyone in the room was wondering who the command had come from. A few people flinched in the room as things had been quiet in the facility since the catastrophe. Eventually Ursula stood up. “I can go get her Ms.”
“Excellent, thank you Ursula. Oh, and Ursula?”
“Yes Ms.”
“We need to speak more on this matter later, but for now all I expect is for the thread to get back online, ok?”
“Yes Ms,” she replied enthusiastically.
“And please, we need to make it quick, ok?”
“Ok Ms.”
Catlin let her go and called out another order. “Who can tell me what the Viper’s last location was?”
“Ms, Station Six.” a man stood up from his station with his hand in the air.
Cat moved over to him. “What’s your name?”
“My number is …” he was cut short.
“No numbers, I hate these bloody numbers!”
“Ah, it’s Steven Ms,” he replied hesitantly.
Catlin raised her voice almost to a shout. “Everyone listen up, from now on no more numbers. You have a name, so use it ... if you don’t have a name then make one up!”
Silence in the room.
“By the end of the first shift I want everyone to change their station cards to have their name on it, is that understood? No more bloody numbers, you are people for crying out loud!”
Looking pleased with herself she turned back to Steven. “Now, Steven …” emphasising his name. “Pray do tell, do we track our employees?”
“Ah, if you’re asking about the Viper then yes Ms, we G.P.S track him.”
“Excellent, and what was the Viper’s last known location?”
He read out an address for her in Melbourne.
“Jacob?” she called into her headset.
No response.
“Jacob, are you there?”
No response.
“Number Two?” she tried instead.
“Ahh, yes, Ms, Number Two here.”
“Can you tell me the location of that phone call?”
He read out the location, also in Melbourne and exactly the same as the one Steven had just given her.
“Ok, can someone tell me if we have like a team or something out there that can go searching for him?”
“Ms …” the operator closest to her called out, swallowed hard and continued, “… we don’t have any stationed in Melbourne now, he …”
“What?”
“We had one Ms, and he was terminated.”
“By who?”
“The other group, the one with that hacker kid.”
“Han Solo?” she recalled his name.
“Harrison is his name Ma’am ... I mean Ms.”
“So, what …” she grumbled to herself. “When did this happen?”
“Ah Ms, I think before you started.”
“So, we had a unit and now he’s dead?”
“Yes Ms.”
“Right, so now what?”
“That, aaaah, is up to you, isn’t it?”
“Ha, true. Mr Okko?” she called through the headset.
No answer, she tried again. “Ops?”
“Ma’am.”
“I said its Ms.”
“Yes Ms?”
“I need your assistance, please come to the floor.”
“Aye, aye.”
Moments later Okko emerged.
“Mr Okko, I need to know how we can find the Viper.”
“Your thread thing didn’t work?” he asked.
“It’s broken right now.”
“Broken?”
“Never mind.”
“Ummm, Ms, last I heard he went out in search of the device.”
“Yeah, last known location was Melbourne ...”
“Well there you go then!” he said jubilantly, happy to have helped her reached a conclusion.
“But we don’t have any units there do we?”
“Negative on that one Ms.”
Catlin pondered it for a moment, she knew she needed to act fast on the information on hand. She contemplated her situation and then asked herself what Ma’am would’ve done if it was her standing here right now.
“Jacob?” She called into her headset, a plan hatching in her mind as she spoke.
“Ms? Number Two here.”
She ignored his repeated use of the term Number Two, “Get the government aide Thomas on the line please …”
“Already to go Ms,” came a quick reply. “Here he is.”
“Oh, ok … umm.” She fiddled with the headset, not expecting to speak to him so quickly.
“Hello?” The voice of Thomas sounded on the other line. “Ms.”
“Yes, Thomas?”
“Ms Conley, how can I assist?”
“I need your help Thomas, the help of the government.”
“Oh, is that right?” came a sarcastic reply. “And what makes you think we want to help you?”
“Oh geezers, I don’t have time for this shit, are you going to help me out or not?”
“Well, that would depend on what kind of help Ms Conley,” he said very slowly. “We are very wary at the moment. Strange times you know, strange things happening.”
“Well last meeting I had with your boss I recall him saying you would help in any way possible, is that right?”
“Absolutely.”
Something in his voice irked her but she chose to ignore it. “I need someone in Melbourne? We have no teams and I urgently need to check something.”
Thomas sniggered on the other end, “Ms Conley, in case you hadn’t realised the world is in chaos and the whims of your facility are of little concern now.”
“We’re both trying to find the same people, aren’t we?”
“Perhaps, of whom do you speak of in particular?”
“The kid, Suni … I know where they are.”
“And?”
“And I need your help if I’m going find them.”
- -
Apartment 28a
Suni is not one to condone violence, but she doesn’t like the fact that the Viper is in the other room overhearing their conversation. She’s grateful Truck has silenced him as it’s given them the opportunity to discuss the next move, what they now have in their possession is big, and no way is she going to g
ive Destiny the chance to ruin it.
She already spoke with Alison, who confirmed she made contact, meaning she found a thread buried in Greece. Now, thanks to some sort of a miracle, the device has ended up in their possession. Her plan was simple, get the team on the road straight away and without delay.
“Ok team, this is it, this is the moment we’ve been working toward. I only have one question for you all …” she pauses a moment to give gravity to the question. “Are you with me?”
They all look at her like she’s stupid. Doc replies on their behalf, “Sweetheart, it’s not even a question … but we thank you for asking anyway.”
She smiles and looks at them all in thanks, she has worked hard to get to this point but none of it would have been possible without her team being there to support her.
“You’ve saved all of our lives, allowing us to be here ... what you’ve given us cannot be repaid.” Doc states plainly to her.
“You know, more than once in my case.” Harrison jokes, raising his finger.
“Yeah, you’re like a bloody cat, full of lives!” Truck jostles his shoulder.
“Oh, I love you all so much.”
“I do have one question though?” Truck asks.
“Truck?”
“Pigeon ... if we ... can we …” He struggles awkwardly with the question.
“Truck, I don’t think …” she hangs her head. “He’s gone buddy, I’m sorry.”
He nods, giving his acceptance of both her answer and the situation, “I just thought that maybe we might be able to save him.”
Everyone hung their heads momentarily, thoughts turning to their lost friend. Suni goes on to discuss Harrison’s recovery is nothing short of a miracle and certainly has nothing to do with her actions. Any repeat would take a similar such miracle and would not be a result of anything they could do.
“Alison has found our connection point, I mean for us all to pack up, right now. We cannot delay. We head to Greece to join Alison, once there, everything will change for us, perhaps then opportunities will present themselves to us.”
The look in her eye is a distant one, the kind you would see on a fisherman, a man who is used to staring into far away horizons. For now she’s looking forward, and deep into their future. Suni is beginning to fulfil a dream she’s had for a long time.
“Harry,” she scratches his hair. “Soon I will answer your questions for you, and more.”
“About Destiny?”
“About everything. You came to me searching for the truth, now you are going to get it.”
“What about the other thing?”
“We can find answers for that too.”
“Good, my mind is driving me crazy!”
“The answers will come Harry, I’m sure of it,” she placates him. “Now, let’s pack up our things people, we leave in an hour ... pack light and pack as if you aren’t coming back. Truck, we’re going to need to fly, do you think you can make arrangements?”
“We should be fine. I know a place. Just hope with all hell braking loose out there we can get there safely.”
“Where?”
“Avalon, got an old buddy who has a plane stored. I’m hoping by heading out there we can stay off any government radars.”
“Perfect then.”
She looks to see if any objections come, but there are none. The team has had to move several times in the years they’ve spent together and never have they complained about it. Theirs was a life spent on the run, running from the clutches of Destiny and the government alike.
Within half an hour the team had packed and were starting to ferry all their gear, most which was computer equipment, down to a car they had stationed at the back of the apartment building. The streets were surprisingly quiet considering what they’d witnessed the past few days whilst being locked up in the apartment.
“Are we ok to go?” Doc asks Truck, who reconnoitred the street.
“It seems so.”
“It’s like people have moved on somewhere else, to a new city.” Harrison muses, looking about the desolate scene.
“At this stage, I imagine a lot of people have gone to aid stations for help.”
“The rest are in gangs!” Harrison blurts out.
“Huh, gangs?” Doc asks, slightly concerned.
“Yeah, just like in the movies or like The Walking Dead.”
“The walking what?”
“C’mon, let’s get on with it,” Truck rolls his eyes. “This is real life champ.”
All that remains in the apartment are a couple of carry bags and the heavier, more troublesome baggage Truck brought in earlier. Again, the team find themselves standing awkwardly in a circle pondering the issue of what to do with the Viper, their captive.
Truck pipes up first, “Well I for one think he should go, he’s probably overheard most of what we’ve been talking about, making him dangerous. If we leave him here or set him free then they’ll find us. You guys can all leave and I’ll take care of it. Plus, it would be sweet justice for all that he’s done. That one got some sins to pay for.”
“What, we just kill him?” Docs neck cranes backwards.
“Why not? He’s a piece of shit.”
Suni raises a hand, “I don’t think anyone wants to put that burden on you Truck.”
“It’s no burden … I brought the trash in, I should be the one to take it out.”
Harrison rolls his eyes and shakes his head, he did love his big-hearted friend but he could be incredibly cold when he wanted to be. It was times like this that made him realise just what kind of things Truck must’ve done in his past to react like this, it scares him. He never spoke of his time in the army, but Harrison knows it must have been dark, for why else would Truck have kept it from him.
Harrison moves to comfort him, resting his arm on his shoulder, as he does so his mind flashes like a lightning bolt and his head snaps back. The others don’t pay it much heed but Harrison can sense something different, something inside him at the touch that wasn’t there before. He could see Truck in his mind, see all of him.
“Truck?”
“Yes little buddy?”
“He killed your friends.”
“Who?”
“The Viper, he was the sniper in Afghanistan.”
“Who told you that?”
“You did, when I touched your shoulder.”
“What?”
Before anyone can make any more objections or additions though, there’s a knock on the door, a hard and purposeful knock.
“What the?”
“Who could it be this time?” Doc looks over at the door. “Twice in a day?”
“Maybe it’s Smith,” Suni is cut off.
“It’s not him,” Harrison responds with a funny look on his face. “It’s the Army …”
“How do you know that?”
“I can see.”
“See what?” Trucks asks.
“See you charging like a bull.” Harrison responds.
Truck doesn’t reply, instead he raises his index finger to his lips in a gesture of silence. He moves stealthily over toward the door, with one hand fingering the gun lodged behind his back. He steals a quick glance through the spyglass in the door, trying not to be noticed on the other side.
He notices soldiers.
He turns around and presses his back to the wall, just to the right of the door and rests there for a second. Silently he curses under his breath, sighs, looks up to the others and motions to them with his eyes. His eye movements convey alarm first and then gesture toward the fire escape, his index finger still covering his mouth as he points.
Get out! His eyes scream. Danger!
Without a sound the others stifle their instinct to panic and all move quickly towards the fire escape, another loud knock sounds in t
he apartment as they exit.
“Who is it?” Truck replies, backing away from the door.
“We are from the army. We are looking for survivors.”
“I don’t need any help.”
“Everyone is being evacuated to the safe zones.”
“What safe zones?” he tries to stall as he keeps moving back.
“There are safe zones in the city, we are here to take you all there.”
“I said I was alone.”
“Please, sir, we are only trying to help.”
“I said I am fine.” He keeps backing away from the door, and nearly makes it to the fire stairs when the voice of the Viper screams out in the apartment.
“Sir, we only want to help you and your friends. Are you ok in there?”
Truck, realising the predicament he’s in, and his stupidity at not gagging the prisoner, thinks the men outside are probably his compatriots come back to save him. The door now shudders with a loud thud, he knows they’re trying to force their way in now.
Truck looks over the ledge of the fire escape and takes in the situation, he sees Harrison a level below and the other two another level below him, descending quickly. He knows there isn’t enough time for them to get away before the soldiers come in, for them to reach the streets below and make their escape.
Truck wastes no time in deliberation, he knows what to do, he must give them more time. Before he turns back around from the fire escape he steals a look down at Harrison and smiles at him strangely.
Harrison, seemingly able to read Truck’s expression, cries out in protest. But his objection is quickly met with a raised finger and a shake of the head. Harrison pauses mid descent and looks up at his big-hearted friend, he tries his best to protest.
“Get outta here kid.” Truck whispers down at him. Harrison takes one last wishful look and continues to descend the stairs, knowing that’s what Truck wants him to do, but also sensing inside that he’ll be ok, that they’ll meet again.
Truck, ever determined to protect his friends, turns and looks back at the apartment door as it is being thudded upon from the other side. He pulls the revolver from behind his back and sighs heavily.
Spurred on by love for his family, Truck launches himself forward and starts to charge back across the apartment floor in the direction of the door.
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