by Jason Levine
One by one, Murray loaded his work suit up. The remaining tools of the trade, except the cartridges of his knock out drug, were tucked away in his duffel bag each in a protective case. Murray picked up a small, three pocket black satchel that William had loaned him. In one pocket, he placed the general dampener. Another pocket held as many cartridges of his knock-out drug as he could fit. The final pocket was barely big enough for his new creation.
Murray fit the satchel over his neck and across his body. The back of the strap pressed against the pack Sean had made for him. The front crossed over the clasp.
“Here goes nothing,” Murray said. He turned his watch off and pressed the button on his pack. The mask deployed and covered his face. Murray lowered his goggles and ghosted. He flew around the apartment a few times as Ronald chased him beeping and whistling. Finally, Murray landed, de-ghosted, and retracted his mask
“Looks like this will work fine. I was worried that the satchel might interfere with the pack. Thanks for the loan, William.”
“No problem. Anything else we can do?”
“Actually, there is one more thing. Can I borrow your van?”
William looked at Murray and then at Heidi.
“I see no reason why not,” Heidi said, “but can’t you fly there?”
“I could, but it would take me more time. This pack only holds fifteen minutes of air. After that, I have to de-ghost and let it refill before I go on. Plus, ghosting over long distances is tiring. Even if I got to the base before the General did whatever he was planning to do with Thomas, I might be too exhausted to stop him. And if I do get away with Thomas, it would be better if I could put him in the van instead of having to have him hold his breath while we fly.”
“I see,” Heidi said. “By all means, then. Take the van. I don’t think lime green is going to be very inconspicuous, though.”
Murray pulled out the printed satellite photo of the base. He traced his finger along a road on the image.
“It’s okay. This road should be pretty deserted and has a wooded area right nearby. I’ll pull the van over there, conceal it the best I can, and then proceed on foot to the base. I plan on using my powers as sparingly as possible. The General has some way of detecting power use and I don’t want to give him any more early warning than he might already have.”
“Good luck, Murray.”
“Thanks. One more thing. If you don’t hear from me in five hours, that means that things have gone south. If so, please get out of town anyway you can. I have a feeling that things are going to get very bad in the city very quickly if I can’t stop the General from going through with his plans for Thomas.”
“We promise,” William said, handing the van’s keys to Murray.
Ronald beeped and whistled at Murray.
“You keep these two safe, Ronald. Understand?”
Ronald beeped once and whistled sadly.
“Good. Hopefully, I’ll see you all soon with Thomas in tow.”
Murray walked out the door hoping that he looked more confident than he felt.
The trip to the spot where Murray planned on hiding the van was uneventful. He encountered a few traffic jams, normal for the city at that time, but overall made excellent time. Soon, he was able to pull off the road. He spied a perfect place to pull the car into. A small break in the trees let him back the van in slowly. The approaching darkness ensured that the van would be all but invisible to passersby on the road.
“Just remember where you parked,” Murray joked to himself as he exited the van.
He locked up the van, placed the keys into a spare pocket in his work suit, and clipped on his pack. He slung the satchel over his shoulders and ran off towards the base.
Murray followed the road towards the base, but kept off the road itself. He wound his way through the heavy forest just to the side of the road. Several times, he paused and hid behind a tree as trucks rumbled up the road. It was slow going, but Murray wouldn’t have stood a chance out in the open.
As he approached the base, darkness was falling. He went towards one side of the main gate, staying out of sight and looking for a way into the base that didn’t involve his powers.
Murray wasn’t sure how the General could detect powers use and how precise it was. It was possible that he’d be alerted to ‘unauthorized’ powers use within the base. Alternatively, the presence of other people using abilities might mask Murray’s use of his powers. It wasn’t worth the risk, though. He knew that he’d need to use his powers eventually, but he’d delay it as long as possible.
Murray walked along the outer brick wall surrounding the base. It was twenty feet high and looked freshly erected. There was certainly no way he would be able to break through the wall. The top was lined with barbed wire and metal spikes which meant that going over would be tricky at best. Murray crouched by the ground and dug into it with his hand. A few inches down, he struck concrete. This likely extended all the way around the base.
“They’re definitely not making this easy on me,” Murray whispered to himself.
A twig snapped. Murray looked around but saw nothing. Only the darkness of night. With a start, Murray realized that sunset wasn’t for another few hours. It definitely shouldn’t be this dark now. Murray drew his staves and looked around.
“Murray…” came a familiar sounding voice.
Murray looked around. Nobody was in sight, but he couldn’t see much through the darkness. The darkness started to solidify. It swirled around, coalescing until it had a human shape.
“Shadow!” Murray exclaimed.
“Shadow. Yes… you called me by that name.”
“I’m glad you’re here. I’m here to save a friend of mine from the General. Can you help me?”
“Help. I’m… here to stop the General… He must not succeed… Must protect and destroy…”
“Destroy?”
Murray remembered the guards after Shadow had broken out of the cell he had been kept in. They had all been killed in Shadow’s escape.
“Shadow, are you going to kill everyone in there?”
“Only way… Too much at stake… Must protect…”
“Yes. Help me protect them. Without killing them.”
“Sorry, Murray… Must kill all… Only way to be sure…”
Murray backed up.
“All. Do you mean me too?”
“I should… Must protect… But you helped…” Shadow shook his head. His form was dissipating. Slowly his darkness pulled back together until he was solid again. “No. We made a deal… I will honor it... I will not kill you. You shall be spared…”
“There’s got to be another way, though. Those people in there are innocent. They’re being controlled by the General. There’s got to be a way to save them and stop him.”
“Maybe… But too risky… Better to kill them all… Make sure this is stopped…”
“Shadow, I need to try to save my friends. Give me a chance. Help me stop the General without killing everyone.”
“Too risky… I could but… Too much at stake… Too unlikely… He is already too powerful…”
“What is too risky?”
“Could kill just parasites infecting your friends and the others… But to do this, would need them close together.”
“The General is planning some big thing at sunset in the main courtyard.” Murray pulled out his map of the base and pointed it out to Shadow. “He’s going to have everyone he is controlling on-hand.”
“Still… He is too powerful for this to work… Too much risk…”
“Let me try. The General is waiting until sunset to move on his plan. Give me until then. If I don’t succeed, go ahead. If I do succeed, I’ll signal you and you can do your thing to free everyone.”
“If you don’t succeed... I could wind up killing you… Our deal forbids this...”
“Okay, new deal then. We work together and nobody in there gets killed.”
“New deal. You would free me from the old one?�
��
Murray thought for a second.
“Yes, but with the caveat that everyone in there lives. You don’t kill any of those innocent people being controlled by the General.”
Shadow turned into dark mist and flowed around Murray as he pondered the offer. Finally, he solidified again in front of Murray.
“Agreed. Will not kill those being controlled. Deal only applies if you succeed in weakening the General, though.”
Murray patted his satchel.
“Don’t worry. I think I’ve got just the thing.” He turned to face the still-imposing wall. “Now if I could only find a way through this that doesn’t involve using my powers. Don’t want to give away my position in case they can track me.”
“Allow me…” Shadow said. He flowed up to the wall, enveloping it in darkness. “You may now walk through the wall… You will not use your abilities.”
“If they can detect power use, won’t they see yours?”
“They cannot detect me… and if they did, I could lead them away from you…”
“Thank you, Shadow.”
“Good luck, Murray… But hurry… Sundown approaches quickly… If I get no signal by then, you will die with the General’s men…”
“No pressure,” Murray said as he walked to the dark spot in the wall. It rippled as Murray touched it. He pushed and his hand entered the darkness and moved through the wall. Murray walked into the dark spot. For a split second, everything was pitch black and then he was on the opposite side of the wall. The sun hung low in the sky urging him on. He had a heist to pull off.
Chapter Twenty Five: The Hunt For Thomas
Murray examined his surroundings. He was behind one of the larger buildings on the base. The good news was that this meant he was safe from view for now. The bad news was that he was on the opposite side of the base from where he needed to be. Murray peeked around the corner. There were men running up and down the lanes between the buildings. They didn’t seem to be on guard as much as setting up.
“No doubt, final preparations for whatever the General has planned,” Murray thought to himself.
Murray pulled out his map of the base as he ducked back into the shadows. He traced a route with his finger that should keep him in the shadows as long possible. It was the long way around the base, but a shorter route wouldn’t be worth anything if he was seen.
Murray put the map away, extended his mask, and filled up his air tank. He peeked out from the other side of the building. Men and women were walking to the main courtyard while a few people put finishing touches on the stage. There was no sign of Ruth, Eddie, or Sean. Brawn stood at the far end of the courtyard, his arms crossed, looking around the base.
Murray waited until Brawn looked away and then quickly ran from his cover until he was behind a second building. When he was safely behind the second building, he looked back to make sure he wasn’t spotted.
A clicking sound came from behind him. In one swift move, Murray drew his staves, and swung them around. He stopped an inch from hitting Ronald.
“Ronald?” Murray said in shock. He looked back around the corner. His outburst, luckily, had not attracted attention. He pulled Ronald back into the shadows behind the building and retracted his mask.
“What are you doing here?” Murray asked as he put his staves away.
Ronald beeped and whistled.
“Shhh... Keep it down. You snuck into the van and then followed me here, didn’t you?”
Ronald emitted a soft beep.
Murray sighed. “Ronald. What I’m going to do is very dangerous. I could be killed or worse, turned into a soldier in the General’s army. I can’t have you here in danger. Get out of the base and head back to the van. Wait for me there.”
Ronald beeped twice.
“Stubborn robot,” Murray exclaimed.
Ronald skittered around Murray, it’s one shorter leg causing it to wobble slightly as it clacked across the ground.
“Exactly how do you think you’re going to get around without people spotting you?” Murray asked. “It’s not like you’re designed for stealth.”
Ronald beeped twice. He skittered towards the next gap between buildings.
“Stop,” Murray whispered as loud as he dared. “You’ll be spotted.”
As Ronald approached the gap, his body began to ripple. His metallic exterior changed color to blend in with his surroundings. Had Murray not known exactly where to look for Ronald, he wouldn’t have been able to spot him at all. The clicking sound had ceased as well. Ronald silently moved past the gap and reappeared on the other side. Murray checked to make sure nobody was looking in his direction and ran next to Ronald.
“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”
Ronald beeped.
“Fine. You can come with me. But keep hidden as much as you can. And if something bad happens, promise me you’ll get out of here as quickly as possible.”
Ronald beeped
Murray extended his mask. Slowly, the pair moved around the base, running from building to building. A few times, Murray and Ronald paused, sure that they had been spotted, but they eventually made it to the row of five buildings without being detected. Murray consulted his map and approached the fourth building. He risked a glance around the corner at the front of the building. Two men stood guard, facing the courtyard. Murray moved back behind the building.
“Wait here a second. I’m going to check it out,” Murray whispered to Ronald.
Murray ghosted and allowed his head to move into the building. He drifted back out and de-ghosted.
“It looks like the coast is clear. Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”
Ronald walked over to Murray and climbed into his arms. Murray was surprised by how light Ronald felt. Murray ghosted and slowly moved through the wall. Once they were safely within the building, Murray de-ghosted and set Ronald down.
They were in a large room that, at one point, had likely been an office. It was cleared of furnishings. A few random scraps of yellowing paper littered the floor. Murray picked a couple up, hoping they would be some sort of clue as to the General’s plan, but they turned out to be mere remnants from the base’s former owners.
Murray walked to the door and slowly opened it. The hallway was deserted. Murray walked from room to room, checking each one. Every room was empty save for a few scraps hinting at their purposes in their former life–a few cork boards lying on the ground, pieces of paper strewn about, or a chair lying on its side. When he arrived at the room at the end, the door handle refused to budge. Murray looked at Ronald.
“Only one door locked in the whole place. I’ll guarantee you something’s behind there that the General wants protected.”
Ronald emitted a soft beep. Murray picked Ronald up and ghosted through the door. He set Ronald down and looked around. The room was totally dark.
“Thomas?” Murray whispered.
No response.
“I can’t see anything in here,” Murray said.
Ronald beeped and beams of light came out of his eyes. They weren’t strong, but they were enough to illuminate the room.
“Thanks. I do have a compact flashlight in one of my pockets, but yours works nicely too.”
Unlike the other rooms, this one wasn’t empty. There was a chair sitting next to a table. Murray approached the table and picked up some papers that were placed on it. Scribbled writing covered the sheets.
“The General’s been busy,” Murray said, retracting his mask and refilling his air tank. “I’m not sure what any of this means. It looks like mostly equations and stuff.”
As he leafed through the papers, he noticed a circled sentence: Injection into current host should result in permanent absorption of new host.
“Ronald, can you take photos of things? Or somehow save images for later?”
Ronald beeped in response.
“Good. Come here and scan these papers. Something tells me they’re important. At the very least, Sean might wan
t to see them after he’s freed.”
Ronald wobbled over and gingerly picked up each sheet of paper, examined it for a second, and then set it down. Murray took out his flashlight and looked around the room more as Ronald finished his task. Even with the light, Murray almost missed the cabinet. It was large and black. Only the silver keyhole on the handle veered from the all black color scheme.
“Not big enough to keep Thomas in,” Murray commented, “but definitely something important.”
Murray knelt down to examine the lock. He ran his finger over it as he pulled out his lock picking tools.
“Glad I didn’t leave these behind,” he said as he opened the set.
Within a minute, he had the door unlocked. Murray slowly opened the door only to find a second cabinet. This one looked familiar. It had a glass front and a temperature display. Inside was a big glass canister containing black goo.
“Looks like the General took all of the stuff that I didn’t grab,” Murray said.
Ronald beeped in agreement as he wobbled over.
Murray examined the canister. There were blinking lights on the bottom of the canister as well on the inside of the refrigerated case.
“My guess is that there’s some sort of trigger system in place. If I try removing the case without disarming it, it will sound an alarm. Then we’ll be swarmed by the General’s guards. Whatever he’s planning, this has got to be essential. We can’t let him keep it.”
Murray examined the canister. He touched the top of it gently as Ronald whistled in alarm.
“Disabling the alarm would take too much time. We’d likely be spotted before I got it done. I can’t remove the canister and can’t take anything out, but it doesn’t look like adding weight sets off the alarm.”
Murray took out one of his staves and looked them over.
“If I understand those notes correctly, this goo will get injected into the General before he does whatever he’s planning to do to Thomas. I could dump all of my sedative into this canister. That might slow the General down, but if I read this wrong I could wind up killing whoever actually gets the injection. Two or three doses should be fine, though.”