The Eleven

by Adrian Popa

"Well, good luck with everything, I sure hope I don't see any of you guys anytime soon where I'm at"

  Not until we pull this off. With that the video comes to a close. I take off my earphones and started packing up to head to the coordinates that Steve left with me. I made a quick call to Rat, telling him to cover me while I go check on them. He gave me a reassuring response.

  "Don't worry about it, your actions are being monitored very closely by us anyway, just in case you do anything that Kayneth will question"

  I took a glance at Lily's room. She was typing something into her laptop. I continued moving on but couldn't help but put a grin on. I grappled my way to the location. It was a construction site. The only difference from a real one was that there was no construction machines here. It was abandoned. Usually at least they would re make the area into what it used to be, but rare cases where they just left it as it is does happen. I looked around. There was nothing but piles of wood, bricks and a half finished building. The sign that said "Beware Construction Ahead" was even still there, except this one was scratched and edited "Beware" is all that was visible. I continued walking in, near the building. I felt the presence of a group of people. I didn't reach for my guns, I just continued. They were hiding behind piles of construction materials, some were in the building. When I reached the entrance to the building, I felt the presence of rustling. I didn't want to entertain them for too long, but I reached for my Vendetta and pointed at one of them. I spoke in a confident tone with a grin on.

  "I'm looking for an old information broker"

  There was no response. I finished.

  "He had spilled secrets that should be un heard of in the public, that same information had created amends"

  There was a dead silence. The sound of the wind was growing. I soon pointed my gun at the ground, tired of this long waiting game and fired. I heard them reaching for their guns. I holstered mine and said.

  "Fine fine, you guys win, I was given this location by Steve Jole"

  A man stepped out from the building. He had no hair, he wore sunglasses and was smoking a cigarette. He looked at me and then spit out his cigarette and stomped it into the ground. He spoke, he was maybe around his mid twenties, didn't sound too mean, but didn't sound too nice either.

  "Old Steve sent you huh, what business does he want?"

  "Well, he's dead"

  The man quickly pulled out his pistol and everyone hiding came out with rifles. They were all aimed at me. He spoke in a more angry tone and replied.

  "Don't screw with me"

  "What do you mean?"

  "If you're here to mock us then get out"

  "I'm part of the Discarded Knives, I was told by him to tell you"

  He took out his cell phone and made a quick call. When he was done he motioned for his men to lower their guns, he holstered his and said.

  "So what do you want then?"

  "I just came here to inform you of that, and to check up on your situation"

  Well that could have gone a lot worse. The man motioned for me to come in. I began walking inside the building. As I entered I saw a table with two chairs. He sat in one, and I sat in the other. There was two guards nearby. He began.

  "Well first of all, I'm Zack, the leader of this small group"

  "Adam"

  "Heh, no need for introductions, what goes around in the Discarded Knives, goes around here. You're pretty famous yourself"

  "What kind of group is this anyway?"

  "It's a small organization set up by us friends. I guess you can say we're a sister group compared to the D.K"

  "Why not join with them?"

  "Well, we have our reasons, but I guess you can say that we're better off like this"

  "I heard both our groups share similar goals"

  "To stop Kayneth and his crazy plans. We help each other often, with tech stuff and information gathering. You're a new member so you probably don't know too much about us. We like to stay hidden, so it's fine with us."

  "I see, so I guess you won't mind lending a hand when the time to strike comes."

  "Of course, just give us a call, and we'll be there. We're all rooting for you, no pressure but everything depends on what you do. So don't mess up."

  There doesn't seem to be much we can talk about anymore, and I guess that's all I need to know anyway. I don't feel like intruding too much anymore. There's no need to get myself too involved in everything that pops up. But I guess doing that has got me this far. I got up and we exchanged our goodbyes. I grappled my way back to my base. Seven down, four to go. My cell phone rang. I checked the caller.

  "Private."

  Chapter 27

  I picked up the call. I expected a warm welcome from Kayneth, but what I got was rather surprising. The voice of a man I've never heard before was on the other line. He sounded, almost robotic. He was using some kind of voice changer so that I couldn't recognize it.

  "Hello Adam, I take it you're doing well today"

  "And who might you be?"

  "I am nobody, but everybody"

  I have a feeling that this guy is going to be annoying.

  "Do you have business with me?"

  "No fun are you?"

  "Fine, who are you?"

  "Like I sa-"

  "Well, I'll need a name if you want to have fun"

  "Then, if you might be so inclined to, address me as Shade"

  "Alright, Shade, do you have business with me?"

  "I might, and I may not"

  "Well, if you're not sure, then call me back later"

  "Wait"

  "I'm listening"

  "You people really are no fun"

  People? If this is some kind of prank, then it's not amusing me yet. He continues.

  "I know about you, and the Discarded Knives"

  "Discarded Knives?"

  "You can't play dumb with me Adam Henning, the man who's currently undergoing Project Eleven set by Kayneth"

  Now I can't discard this as a prank. Great, so we have some mysterious man messing with me now. Shade? Doesn't ring a bell.

  "Who exactly are you?"

  "Didn't I tell you? I'm Shade"

  "That doesn't tell me much, how do you know about Kayneth?"

  "Let's just say, it was all by coincidence"

  "Coincidence? Information like this doesn't just come and go"

  "Well, to the average person, I guess not"

  "You're not from here are you?"

  "Maybe, maybe not"

  "What do you want, Shade?"

  "I'm just here to lend a hand"

  "Lend a hand?"

  "Yes, this case is quite a troublesome one, don't you agree?"

  "How exactly do you plan to help?"

  "Well, like you said I'm not from here. To be exact, I'm not here at all"

  "You're calling me from another city aren't you"

  "Ding ding ding"

  If he's from another city, then he must have crazy hacking capabilities to be able to gather all of this information. Even the nearest city isn't that close, or maybe he came here to gather the information and then left. Either way, I better test the waters, how much he actually knows, and how much he doesn't.

  "You said before that you knew about me, and about Kayneth and his project"

  "That's right"

  "Well, do you know why Kayneth is making me do this project?"

  "Why do you ask?"

  "Just wondering"

  "Do I hear a sense of doubt in your voice?"

  "Possibly. If you claim to know this much, I assume you would at least get the details in as well"

  "That I did, this was a juicy case indeed and I couldn't help myself"

  "Go ahead"

  "Kayneth is making you do his project so he can use you as a temporary power head when he takes over the world with his super human clones . Once the time is right, he'll officially take over, as a man who never exists, or to the rest of the world, doesn't exist"

  "You know a lot"
/>
  "Well, I do try"

  "And what about the Discarded Knives?"

  "What about them?"

  "How about a little bio?"

  "Well, they're a group of people who banded together to try and stop Kayneth. Kind of like a cute little group of super heroes"

  "Cute?"

  "Yeah, you guys think you have everything under control. But Kayneth isn't that naive, and if you don't listen to me, he'll really have you in for one"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Oh, I wasn't finished"

  "Go on"

  "I also know about Rat, Jacob Anning and Steve Jole. I even know about Hades. You guys sure are crazy, Homunculus, even we never thought about that"

  "Well you seem to know a lot about us, but I know nothing about you"

  "You know I'm not from that city"

  "Have you been to Courtlyn?"

  "Not once"

  "Which city are you from then?"

  "Not Courtlyn"

  He's making it more and more difficult to try and squeeze information out of him. Which crazy city did he grow up in to make him this kind of super genius hacker. He seems to know everything, and he may even be a threat. I reply sarcastically.

  "Thanks for the info"

  "He he, no problem"

  "So, what exactly do you have in mind?"

  "Well it's quite simple really. Just attack him now"

  "Attack him now? Why?"

  "His base, Hades, the high security complex Is the most laughable excuse for a base there is"

  "Huh?"

  "He has one guard, Erin Alteio, he killed Steve Jole, and he's worth about, five of your top gunners, at best"

  "Wait, your saying that, he's the only guard?"

  "Well, he WAS until his clones came in"

  "Wait, what!?"

  "They're not perfect, but he has you in his reins. He needs some more time to take out the kinks and add in some details. But along with Erin, he has a group of, pretty much almost perfect soldiers"

  "So if we attack now, we can stop him before he really has a base?"

  "Exactly, I'd say he would have it done by the time you're on number ten, and it'll be too late"

  "How can you be sure of this?"

  "I haven't been wrong about any of this so far, and it's true that it's hard to prove right now, but I'm telling you, if you don't act now, It'll be all over"

  Hmmm. If he is right, then the only logical thing to do is attack. But it's all a risk if I choose to believe him. I reply.

  "So let's say I believe you, and that your information is correct"

  "Which it is"

  "Then what? We split up in two groups, one suppresses the guards while the other goes for Kayneth?"

  "Yup, and if you do it right, you'll make it and be able to stop him"

  "And if he isn't there?"

  "Oh, don't worry he's there, but if you wait around, he won't be for long"

  "I'll ask you again, how sure are you about this information?"

  "One-hundred percent sure"

  "If I had some kind of visual aid, then I'd be more inclined to believe you"

  "It's a real shame, but I do have an idea. I believe Rat is in that city, part of this whole fiasco. Just ask him, he'll tell you that I'm right"

  "You know Rat?"

  "Old acquaintances"

  "So he's an informant, but we had established before, that place was hard to spy into"

  "Oh you underestimate Rat, I heard he goes by under quite a title there"

  "One of the best informants around, I agree, but does he have enough skill to tap into something that no one else could?"

  "No one else in your city could"

  He has a point. But why would outsiders be interested in our business in the first place? Well, what Kayneth wants to do involves everyone but, how bored can a guy be to snoop into other city affairs? He said it was a coincidence, that may be but, I don't entirely buy it yet.

  "So your saying that Rat knew about all of this because he could tap into Hades all along?"

  "That's what I believe, yes"

  "Anything to back that up?"

  "Well, you may call me impolite, or a genius but, that chat room of yours, is a gold mine of information"

  "You mean the Discarded Knives chat room?"

  "For your particular area, yes, that one"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Don't worry too much about it but, R.T, Rat, mentioned Erin Alteio before, how else did you think he knew about it?"

  "He was hired, he could of tapped into that, and just assumed the most likely"

  "Do you really think Kayneth will just easily let anyone tap into his activity on the net?"

  "Then?"

  "By using the damaged shield the Discarded Knives set up into Kayneth's own computer, he used that to crack it"

  "And what does that prove?"

  "Kayneth hired him, but nowhere in the information that Rat took said he was a hired mercenary"

  "Wait, then"

  "Exactly, the only way to see, was to observe him first hand, Rat had created a way to peer into Hades, I'm still bugging him on how he did it, he won't budge, but that's the truth"

  "Fine, I'll ask Rat"

  "You better do it soon, time is ticking"

  "One more thing"

  "Yes?"

  "Are you an informant for whatever city you're in?"

  "Maybe"

  "Or are you just a genius hacker?"

  "Maybe"

  "Whatever the case is, if you turn out to actually help us, then you have our thanks"

  "A little too soon for that"

  "Well, you never did show your number when you called me"

  "That's true"

  "And I assume that buying that kind of information off of Rat would be expensive"

  "I would assume so as well"

  "So, if you're actually right, thanks"

  "Heh, no problem"

  I hung up. Looks like I have no choice but to go along. If it turns out that he's right, it's a win for us. But even if he's wrong, then it doesn't really change the way we act. We'll just move along according to the plan. But by his confidence, and with the accuracy of his information, I have to check. I called Rat.

  "Hey, I need to quickly check something"

  "Go ahead"

  "I just got a call by a guy who calls himself Shade"

  There was a pause on the other side. After a short break Rat replied.

  "Yeah, I know him, what did he call for?"

  "He knew about Kayneth, and about us"

  "Yeah, I know. It was hard to hide any of it to him. He kind of broke into it with his curiosity. He's a tough one to beat, probably better than all of us combined when it comes to the world of hacking"

  "He told me that we should attack Kayneth now"

  "What!?"

  "Why are you confused? He told me that you could hack into Hades"

  "I did, but I lost connection into it. Why should we attack? The last time I was in I saw Erin Alteio. But that was it"

  I gave Rat the whole story. He didn't speak for a while. I heard fierce typing coming from my phone. After a while he gave me a reply.

  "Yeah, everything he said is the truth, I just called him in to confirm a few things. I was having trouble getting back into Hades for a while, I suspected it was from an outside interference. It looks like it was him"

  "So we should attack?"

  "Yeah, those clones are trouble, we're gathering everyone for an assault, we need to do this now!"

  "He said we should attack as soon as possible"

  "Yeah, but we shouldn't give Kayneth too much breathing time, we should do it tomorrow"

  "Alright, I'll get my equipment ready then"

  "Rendezvous at the chat room when you can"

  "Got it"

  I hung up. An unexpected development, but with this in mind, we can actually do this. It was time to end this all, to stop Kayneth. In a weird twist of fate it looks
like I don't need to finish Project Eleven, it looks like the burden I once held is slowly fading. Heh but no time to relax. I quickly checked my guns, they were all ready to go. I opened up Steve's laptop and went into the chat room.

  It's about time isn't it, Adam.

  Chapter 28

  Oh the joy of waking up in my fancy suite without worry. Is what I would like to say. Well actually I am living the life, although I have intense research and work to do. I couldn't dare ask for any better. I'll even be expecting some guests shortly today. It'll be just wonderful. Ah I wouldn't trade this life for any other. And even if I did, they'll just mess it up. Like they say, we're all unique in our own little way. Well no one says that, but point is, they won't live my life the way I want to. I get up slowly, rubbing my eyes and stretching. I let out a big yawn. I go over to the curtains and pull them. The bright sun shines into my room, and in my eyes. I close them and with one hand over my eyes I look over the window. The view from up here is amazing. I can see practically everything, and they can't see me. I can hear everything, and they can't hear me. This life truly is carefree. Drifting through without a care, listening to everyone's hare. No no, that won't work. Hah, I'm not cut out for a music gig am I. But no matter I get up and walk down the stairs. After making a small conversation with the other resident here I make my way back to my work office.

  I check up on my research. I was working on quite a scientific breakthrough. It was almost complete. Although a little work needs to be done, but no matter, after my guests arrive, I think I'll have all of that sorted out. I gave orders and were sent reports throughout the hour from my computer. It was quite hectic as we were finally reaching the point where all of our hard work can finally come together. We, no that's not right. I have something ambitious I want to pull off. No, that isn't right either. I have something ambitious I WILL pull off. Yeah, that sounds better. I even set up a recruitment campaign and got one lucky candidate. He's pretty able bodied, he'll help me with my ambitions, he just needs to pass through a few more hurdles. Well, actually he's coming to visit today, and I think he's going to be let off the campaign. It's a shame, he was the farthest and the one with the most potential. And to be honest my ambitions aren't the most well viewed. The guests coming today are actually some of my enemies, but hey you know what they say. Keep your friends close ,and your enemies closer.