by Sean Adami
“How will you specifically enable the shutdown?” Andrew said.
“I have an emergency massh shutdown shenshor that can be activated with my wisht in my offishe .”
Andrew said, “I’m sorry, but did you say ‘wrist’ or ‘list’?”
“I said wisht,” Kurt repeated.
“I think he said wrist,” Rick brought up.
“Yesh.” Kurt changed his facial expression. He said, “I’m showwy , but I need to ushe duh deck. Dose nurtured meatballsh dat Cheryl dwopped off at my office hit diffewentwy , yet dey tashted vewy spwendid . Excushe me, pweashe .” He left the armory and circumnavigated to the bathroom.
Rick punched Andrew’s shoulders. He said, “Come on, man! You’re losing him. Ask for those codes for the hundredth time.”
Andrew gently shoved him back. “I’m doing something better than that. Haven’t you figured out already that asking for the codes straight up is too suspicious? That is why I want to gain knowledge of the fire exit instead. The Spirit Radicals will have an easy entrance to the labs through this. Stop destroying my plans so much!”
“Well, either way, we will need the lock combos to even enter the fire exit from the outside.”
Andrew said, “I know. I know. After he presents me with the fire exit, I will smoothly transition to the lock combinations. This plan is all about timing and persistence.”
Rick, satisfied, said, “I can live with that.” Kurt could be seen at the end of the complex they were in. He made it back to the armory.
Kurt said, “Anyway, dish armory ish a major ashpect of our shecurity . And—”
Interrupting, Andrew said, “Sorry, but do you know what a nurtured meatball is?” Rick looked dissatisfied.
“In fact, yesh, I do,” Kurt noted. “Not many people know what it ish , so I appweciate your curioshity . Duh meatballsh are made in a cooking wab. Duh shientishtsh feed ratsh with butter, cheesh, and yogurt. Dish ish sho dat dey can inweashe duh bweasht gwands of the ratsh . Duh meat becomesh more tender. Dey den kill duh ratsh and exhume duh meat out of it. Dey inhume pweshervativesh to maintain ish fweshnessh . Dey spway artificial meat pweshervativesh to enhanshe duh tashte . And dat’s it! I am gwad you ashked dat . We need more curioush people wike you.”
Andrew wished he didn’t ask this. He only did it to create the modest persona of a person. But, obviously, this was not worth it. He felt genuinely happy he didn't eat the hideous meatballs. Just hearing their process wanted to make Andrew barf. He said, “Thanks for answering. Can you show me the fire exit now?”
“Okay,” Kurt said, “Ash a shide note dough, I am doing you a favor by showing you the exit. No one but myshelf and your father have knowedge of it. I am alsho doing a tweat to Wick from dish.” He departed from the armory and made it back to the reception desk with Andrew and Rick behind. “I alsho heard many gweat thingsh fwom my fewwow shecurity guardsh . They’ve told me how appwoachable and outgoing you are.” He entered the elevator, and pulling down his armor sleeve, he put his wrist up to the elevator keypad, causing the blue glow to shine. Making awkward turns, the elevator opened up to the hallway where the underground rooms with the disk were. Walking up to the door, he laid his index finger on the keypad. “Duh code dat opensh up duh fire exit is 62951413.” After he typed this number in, the disk whirred, prompting the door open. A room didn’t appear; instead, white stairs descended 45 degrees into a white tunnel. The tunnel was brightly lit. “Do you guysh want to shee where duh fire exit weadsh to?”
Andrew affirmed and headed down the stairs. He stepped foot on the beginning point of the narrow tunnel. To the right of him, he saw a giant cylindrical device with three little circular wheels equidistant on the circumference. Inside the cylinder was a hollowed-out seat with a steering wheel and gas pedal. It was painted blue. Andrew pointed to this technological marvel and asked, “What is that?”
“The Pirouette,” Kurt said. “Dese vehiclesh can wevolve at shupershonic shpeeds . Duh thwee inner wheelsh pwopel the Pirouette forward. It can turn ash well.”
“Why is it called the Pirouette?” Andrew asked.
“ Becaushe it twirlsh wike duh bawwewina danshe . Wanna give it a shpin?”
“Sure,” Andrew agreed. Jumping into the cushioned seat, he positioned his legs. There wasn't enough leg room. “Does it require access?”
“No, and, sadwy , I can’t ushe one. My physical body doeshn’t meet the shteering wheel shtandardsh .”
Andrew stigmatized this machine as extraordinary. The engineering fandom couldn't be contained. He put his foot on the pedal, and the Pirouette took off. He suspected that he moved at least 100 miles per hour. The inner wheels rotated above him, below him, behind him, and in front of him. The hallway blurred behind Andrew’s eyes. He was gassed. Solo in the Pirouette, Andrew was free of Kurt and Rick. After driving for 1.2 minutes, Andrew saw a giant light ahead of him. The problem was that he didn't know how to brake the vehicle because there was no brake pedal. The Pirouette kept cycling. A flight of stairs travelled upward to the light. The vehicle rode up the stairs and dove into the light. Andrew’s Pirouette tumbled onto the sand of a desert floor. It was sunny. The hallway had led him here. Nothing but clear skies and sand painted this place. He calculated he traveled two miles from Spirit Intercom.
The Pirouette kept speeding while Andrew tried decreasing its velocity with hard turns. He finally turned the steering wheel to a very jagged left, causing the Pirouette to topple over. The side of Andrew’s body scraped the sandpaper-like sand. Accounting for his speed, Andrew felt a burning agony. The Pirouette stopped sliding. Legs cramped, he adjusted himself out of the seat. Standing up to the scorching heat, he scouted the horizon in every direction. Again, only sand and sky laid visible to his eyes. He saw a tiny speck down the horizon though. It was red and white. He couldn't envision the rest of the speck. The hole he had come from was pretty hiddened. Undoubtedly, he lifted the Pirouette back up on its normal standing side. He rearranged himself back onto the seat. Unfortunately, the Pirouette suffered some scratches on its blue plating. As the wheels ignited, Andrew stuffed the gas pedal, aiming his target at the speck. Soon enough, the Pirouette made it to a visible-distance territory. He saw this speck was the Spirit Radical hideout. It was the same colors of the circus tent. Excited with joy, he came to the conclusion that his plan was a hundred percent accurate. The radicals could enter the labs through the fire exit tunnel. It almost seemed too good to be true. He U-turned the Pirouette, returning back to Rick and Kurt.
Andrew was satisfied. The likelihood of this was downright miniscule, and finally something was going his way. He drove into the hole, down the stairs, and down the white hallway. After driving for one minute, he saw Rick and Kurt, walking the opposite way he drove. Desiring to stop this machine, he overturned the vehicle and it crashed. On the bright side though, the Pirouette did slow down. The impact this time was harder, and Andrew collided into the wall. His hearing was impaired for a couple seconds. Luckily, his head wasn’t the main target that hit the wall; it was his back. The Pirouette endured injuries as well. Two headlights that it used to have completely shattered. Andrew fell into the realm of embarrassment. Not too far from him, Kurt and Rick possibly could have seen his impact. Abandoning the vehicle, he walked to Kurt and Rick.
They had seen everything, and they looked mad, according to their uptight eyebrows. Kurt said, “What in God’sh name are you doing! You’ve deshtwoyed the Pirouette! What were you thinking!”
Quite worried, Andrew said, “I’m so sorry. I tried slowing down the machine, but I didn’t know how to.”
“So you psychotically flipped the Pirouette into a wall!” Rick complained. “That’s the only one that exists.”
Kurt looked unfit for talking. He still spoke though. “Dish machine is worth ten miwwion dowwarsh ! And the one you were in was your father’sh!” He rearranged his left arm. “Wait until you tell your father about dish . He’ll be infuriated.” Kurt arranged his arm again.
>
Andrew was worried the Claver would come out. “Again, I’m sorry. I couldn’t find the brake pedal. I’ll do anything to repay for it.” Kurt stopped arranging his left arm.
Kurt said, “If you want to wepay it, I guessh dere ish one thing you can do.” He took a slight pause. “Actually, there are two thingsh you can do. You’ll have a choishe . The first one is that you twy out a new wie detector machine that we wecentwy cweated , or I ushe the Cwaver on your fingernail.”
Andrew felt the right choice was obvious. He said, “I’ll try out the lie detector, I guess.” All of this felt ominous to Andrew.
“Perfect,” Kurt said. He covered up the Claver. “If you wouldn’t mind, pweashe eshcort the Pirouette back to duh hallway. To slow it down, you pull duh wever dat’sh above your head. My mishtake for not accounting for dish pwecaution .” Andrew lifted the Pirouette and got into the seat. He saw the lever above. Accelerating, the vehicle made it back to the hall after 0.2 minutes. He decelerated it with the lever. Andrew thought, why a lie detector machine? That’s random as fuck. Waiting for the two disappointed men, Andrew hopped off the Pirouette.
They partook in small chat on the way until they arrived. Andrew asked, “Where is this lie detector?”
Kurt casually said, “ Jusht fowwow me.” He walked up the stairs. The hole was closed since the disk door had shut. Entering the same code, he opened the door. He walked down the hallway that led to the elevator. As he put his wrist up to the elevator keypad, the elevator went on its usual strange path. He walked past the reception desk and past the office. He walked down the hallway of where his office door was until he reached a blue door. It was a manual door. Opening it, he let Andrew and Rick come inside. Kurt said, “Dish wie detector twacksh the impulshesh of your neural flow. It is always a hundwed pershent cowwect , and dere ish no other machine wike it.” The lie detector was just a normal Spirit Contrivance with a Spirit Emissary. “Hop on, Andwoo. Wet’sh twy dish out.” A flat computer screen displayed the words “Lie” and “True.” Andrew strapped the Spirit Emissary around his forehead.
Andrew asked, “What are you going to ask me?”
Kurt said, “Nothing too important.” He clicked some buttons on the screen, preparing the device. “I’ll shtart it off eashily . Are you Andwoo Wutano?”
Andrew said, “Yes.” He thought, I’m not how he pronounces it though.
The word “True” was encircled on the screen.
“Good. Ish Wobert Wutano your father?”
“Obviously, yes,” Andrew affirmed. The screen encircled “True” again.
“Good, good,” Kurt said. He took a major pause this time. “Ish Wick a Shpirit Wadical ?” He had a sly look on his face.
Andrew hesitated instantly. He grew nervous. Rick, looking awfully confused and troubled, stared at Andrew deliberately. Perspiration enacted. He knew the device would catch his lie. In respect of Rick though, he said, “No.” He exhaled heavily.
The screen encircled “Lie.” Immediately, hell broke loose. Kurt, pulling out his Claver, aimed it at Rick’s neck. However, Rick retaliated quick enough and shot Kurt in the head with his gun. Andrew jumped up in fear. Head blown to shreds, Kurt’s body laid lifelessly on the floor. Putting his gun away, Rick locked the door. Andrew closed his eyes in terror.
Andrew yelled, “What the fuck!”
Rick said, “Quick! Get outta that contrivance!”
“What are you doing! Why would you—” Rick covered his mouth.
“Protecting the both of us. Now, I need you to shut the fuck up, and listen to what I have to say. You’re in this with me.” Andrew, hyper-ventilating, nodded convincingly.
The receptionist, who was several feet from the incident, asked, “What was that noise?”
Rick said, “It was nothing Cheryl. Kurt is just showing the recoil speed of his new gun again.”
She awkwardly said, “Okay.” The footsteps of her returning back to the reception desk ensued.
Rick sighed and quietly said, “We need to get rid of this body. No one can ever know it was us.”
Andrew said, “How wouldn’t they know? The chief of this whole entire governmental chain is dead!”
Rick slapped his mouth. “Lower your fucking voice down. We’ll just say he died of a heart attack.”
“Yeah, I think a decapitated body goes great for our case.”
“Alright, maybe not then. Can you think of something?”
Percolating thoughts persisted through Andrew’s mind. He thought of something. “Let’s say he went crazy and that he tried killing us for no moral reason.” He peeked over at Kurt’s stinky blood overflow. “Or maybe you can say that you killed him. Then I would be free and could continue your radical mission. You could escape this place and rest at the hideout.”
Rick said, “That could work, but it would be better if I maintain my position here. With him gone, I would now be the new chief of security. I’d provide more resources to the rads if I’m here. Now when I think it over, blaming it on me wouldn’t work.” He examined the body. “What if we put the blame on you?”
“What?”
“If we put the blame on you, I would still control the lock, camera, and guard security systems. I mean, we really don’t need you for anything else if I get the lock combos as chief.”
Andrew said, “But did I tell you that the fire exit literally leads to the radical hideout? With this in mind, we don’t need the lock combinations. All we need is the fire exit. So, I think we should place the blame on you.”
Rick grew frustrated. “Shit, I’m just gonna call Wallace and see what he thinks.” Accessing Mindcord, Rick talked with Wallace. “Hey, Wallace. We’re in a predicament here. Kurt is dead, and we are not sure who to put the blame on. What are your thoughts?”
Andrew couldn’t hear Wallace’s side of the conversation. Rick continually nodded. He hung up the conversation.
“Wallace said we should put the blame on me,” Rick stated. He looked pissed. “Alright, then. Just act scared. Duck and cover in the corner.”
Andrew, happy with this, said, “Okay.” He positioned himself in the opposite corner of Kurt’s lying body.
Rick said, “In five minutes I want you to yell. I will already be miles out of this place when you do so.”
“How are you escaping though ?”
“The fire exit.” He unlocked the door. “Put some of Kurt’s blood on your face to make the scene more realistic.” Andrew was grossed out. “I’m outta here, and remember: five minutes.”
“Got it,” Andrew reassured. Before Rick left, he kneeled next to Kurt’s body. Holding Kurt’s amputated arm, Rick guided the Claver towards Kurt’s other arm. He sliced Kurt’s only hand off. Some blood splattered on Rufus’s face. Andrew yelled, “What are you doing!”
Rick said, “I need his wrist. Remember what he said? He said that the shutdown switch can only be activated from his wrist. We need his skin patterns if we want to start a lockdown. Bye.” He carried the hand and left.
Looking at Kurt’s body, he still couldn't process what happened. The chaos here overwhelmed him too much. Popping open Mindcord, he set a five minute timer. Ticking down second by second, time went fast. He hoped people would buy their cover-up. He contemplated whether he should put blood on his face. His disgust won the decision. He remained stationary.
The five minutes finally passed, and it was his time to shine. He yelled, “Help! Help! Help!” Right away, he heard the receptionist’s footsteps approaching. Cheryl slammed the door open. She gasped at Kurt’s dead body.
She yelled, “Guards! Guards! Kurt is dead! Come quick!” From surrounding hallways Andrew heard their footsteps. Five guards stood by the door.
One of the guards asked, “What in God’s name happened ?”
Andrew, trying to appear frightened, said, “It was Rick.”
CHAPTER 19:
Why did time move at a fast rate?
How much time could Andrew await?
Kurt
wouldn’t wake up next dawn
Because his brain was plain gone.
Escorted by the guards, Andrew was brought to his father. They both sat where Andrew had originally tested the Spirit Contrivance. The yellow-suited guards planted Andrew into a chair. Robert asked, “Son, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Andrew answered. He saw detailed pictographs of the Spirit World behind his father.
“Tell me what happened.” He crossed his legs.
Resorting to frailty, Andrew said, “I was petrified. Kurt, who was giving me a tour, wanted me to try out this lie detector machine. He—”
“Why is that? What led him to use the lie detector?”
Andrew, unsure if his father knew about the Pirouette, said, “When he presented me with the fire exit, a little accident occurred.”
“My Pirouette getting massacred? Was that your ‘little accident’?”
Skittish, Andrew apologized. “I’m so sorry about that, father.” He wasn’t sorry though.
“You’re fine. Just resume your story. What led to Kurt’s death?
Andrew retraced his steps, but these steps had to be told methodically. “Kurt saw the lie detector as a good opportunity for me since I could be better acquainted with the technology.”
“Before you go on, why did you meet with Chief of Security Kurt Strawlin?”
“I wanted to be conscious of our safety and promote some security expertise of mine.”
Robert smiled a bit. “I like that. You take initiation, son, and that’s the good thing about you. Go on.”
“He showed me all the different rooms, which I was fascinated by. Then, we tried the lie detector—”
“Why was Rick with you?”
Clearing his larynx, Andrew said, “He helped me meet with the chief. I personally asked him about my security interest. Little did I know that he would kill the chief. I couldn’t believe it.”